On December 10, 2015, Former President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This legislation re-authorized the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and Title I, Part A. This law entitles all unhoused school-aged children equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as is available to other children and youths. Accordingly, all local education agencies (LEA), which include school districts and independent charters, are required to remove barriers to the enrollment, attendance, and success of students experiencing homelessness in school. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as federal law, supersedes state and local educational law and policy and is applicable to all schools, centers and offices within an LEA regardless of funding sources, or lack thereof.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act serves as the federal education definition is the most inclusive and applies to children and youth between 0-22 years of age due to early head start and special education service provisions and consistent with their eligibility for public education services under state and federal law. Children and youth who lack a “fixed, regular and adequate” nighttime address are considered unhoused and may include:
- Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, stemming from financial issues or economic hardships (doubled or tripled up)
- Motels, hotels, trailer parks, campgrounds temporarily due to lack of alternative accommodations
- Shelters or transitional housing
- Abandoned in a hospital
- Nighttime residence is a public or private space that was not meant as sleeping accommodations (garage, office, storage facility, etc.)
- Cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train
- Migratory children, runaway, pushed out, or unaccompanied youth living in any of the situations noted above
If you believe your child may qualify for services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, please complete our Student Housing Questionnaire. If your child’s status has changed, completing and submitting a new Student Housing Questionnaire is also a good idea. Please turn in or email your completed form to Assistant Principal, Nicole Read, at nicole.read@sgv.csarts.net
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