McKinney-Vento

The McKinney-Vento Act is federal legislation that has been in effect since 1987 to support children and youth experiencing homelessness. The act defines ‘homeless children and youth’ as individuals who lack a fixed, regular,and adequate nighttime residence. 

If you lost your housing and now live in a shelter, motel, vehicle, camping ground, or temporary trailer; on the street; doubled-up with family or friends; or in another type of temporary or inadequate housing, your child might be able to receive help through a federal law called the McKinney-Vento Act.

Children in homeless situations have the right to:

• Go to school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there.

• Attend either the local school or the school of origin, if this is in their best interest; the school of origin is the school the child attended when he/she was permanently housed or the school in which the child was last enrolled.

• Receive transportation to and from the school of origin.

• Enroll in school immediately, even if missing records and documents normally required for enrollment, such as a birth certificate, proof of

  residence, previous school records, or immunization/medical records.

• Enroll, attend classes, and participate fully in all school activities while the school gathers records.

• Have access to the same programs and services that are available to all other students, including transportation and supplemental

  educational services.

• Attend school with children not experiencing homelessness; a school can not segregate a student because he or she is homeless

For more information about Rochester's homeless services, contact your school counselor or the District McKinney-Vento Liaison at 360-273-5536 or 360-858-1818.

Additional information about homeless services is also available through:

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Melinda Dyer, Program Manager, Homeless Children and Youth

Phone: (360) 725-6050