4
What You Need to Know
to Help Your Child in School
A Guide for Parents, Guardians and Caregivers
If your family is in a temporary or inadequate living situation due to a loss of housing,
your child might be eligible for certain educational rights and services.
THE MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT: THE BASICS
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.
Under 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 cannot segregate a student because he or she
is homeless.
