McKinney-Vento Act

If your family is in a temporary living situation resulting in loss of housing due to eviction or economic hardship, your child might be eligible for certain educational rights and services under the McKinney Vento Act.

The McKinney Vento Act is federal legislation designed to help children and youth experiencing homelessness to enroll and succeeded in school. Under McKinney Vento, “homeless children and youth” are defined as individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.

Children and youth living in any of the following situations may be entitled to additional support:

  • Children and youth sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason
  • Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations
  • Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters
  • Children and youth abandoned in hospitals
  • Children and youth whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation (e.g. park benches, etc)
  • Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations
  • Migratory children and youth living in any of the above situations

Under the McKinney Vento Act, children and youth in homeless situations have a right to:

  • Go to school, no matter where they live or how long they’ve lived thee
  • Attend either the local school or the school of origin (the school attended when the student was last permanently housed or the school in which the student was last enrolled), if this is in their best interest
  • Receive transportation to/from school to the extent feasible
  • Enroll in school immediately even if missing records and documents normally required for enrollment, while the school assists in getting those documents
  • Have access to all school programs and services available to all other studetns including English language series, special education, gifted and reading or math support, etc.
  • Free breakfast and lunch
  • And more…

For further information on McKinney Vento and the services available to eligible homeless children and youth, please contact:

  • The school McKinney Vento contact
    • the counselor at your child’s school
  • The district McKinney Vento/Foster Care Liaison 
  • The state McKinney Vento liaison
    • Melinda Dyer, Program Manager, Homeless Children and Youth (at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) Melinda.dyer@k12.wa.us

Student Housing Questionnaire (English)  Student Housing Questionnaire (Spanish)