Education for Homeless Children and Youth

School districts are responsible for ensuring that youth who are experiencing homelessness have full access to educational programs in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

• Right to immediate school enrollment, even when records are not present

• Right to remain in the school of origin, if in the student's best interest

• Right to receive transportation to and from the school of origin

• Right to receive support for academic success

The McKinney-Vento Definition of Homeless

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (per Title IX, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act) defines homeless as follows:

The term "homeless children and youths" -

(A) means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence (within the meaning of section 103(a)(1)); and

(B) includes -

(i) children and youths who are sharing housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;*

(ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (within the meaning of section 103(a)(2)(C));

(iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

(iv) migratory children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).

view entire Mckinney-vento homeless assistance act

TTUSD Board Policies Supporting Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness

• Regulation 6173 Education For Homeless Children
• Regulation 6173.1 Education For Foster Youth
• Regulation 6158 Independent Study
• Regulation 6146.1 High School Graduation Requirements.pdf
• Regulation 5141.31 Immunizations.pdf
• Regulation 5125.1 Release Of Directory Information.pdf
• Regulation 5111.1 District Residency.pdf
• Regulation 5111.1 District Residency (1).pdf
• Regulation 3553 Free And Reduced Price Meals.pdf
• Regulation 1312.3 Uniform Complaint Procedures.pdf
• Policy 6173.1 Education For Foster Youth.pdf
• Policy 6173 Education For Homeless Children.pdf
• Policy 6158 Independent Study.pdf
• Policy 6146.1 High School Graduation Requirements.pdf
• Policy 5141.31 Immunizations.pdf
• Policy 5125.1 Release Of Directory Information.pdf
• Policy 3553 Free And Reduced Price Meals
• Policy 1312.3 Uniform Complaint Procedures
• Policy 1020 ^Youth Services

California Department of Education

Resources for Homeless Children and Youth

National Center for Homeless Education

Informational Resources

Videos: Awareness Videos on Homelessness and Homeless Education

acohen@ttusd.org