Keeping Children in School

The Educational Rights of Children Experiencing Homelessness

The McKinney – Vento Act

The McKinney – Vento Act is a federal law which guarantees homeless children and youth an education equal to that which they would receive if not homeless.  The law ensures that children and youth experiencing homelessness can enroll in, attend, and succeed in school.

Homeless Coordinator

Joe Kordalski is the designated Homeless Coordinator for USD 232.  The state requires that every district assign a coordinator to serve as a link between homeless families and the school staff, district personnel, shelter workers, and various other social service providers.  Please contact Joe by email or by phone, 913-667-6260, ext. 5454, with questions or concerns regarding a family with children in your school.

Who is Homeless?

The McKinney – Vento Act outlines homeless children and youth to include individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.  This includes children and youth in the following situations:

• Share the house of another person due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (also referred to as “doubling up”)
• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds due to the lack of alternative and adequate accommodations.
• Living in emergency and transitional shelters
• Abandoned in hospitals
• Awaiting foster care placement
• Living in a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designated for, or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for humans
• Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus and/or train station, or a similar such setting; and
• Migratory children who live in any of the circumstances described above

The McKinney – Vento Act also recognizes unaccompanied youth who are homeless.  According to the act an unaccompanied youth is a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or legal guardian.  This includes youth living in runaway shelters, abandoned buildings, cars, on the streets or other inadequate housing; youth denied housing by their families or teen parents living in shelters or facilities for pregnant teens.  

Enrollment

The McKinney – Vento Act requires the immediate enrollment of homeless children and youth even if the family is unable to produce the records normally required for enrollment such as; previous academic records, immunizations, proof of residency, birth certificates, or various other forms of identification.  Upon enrollment it is the responsibility of the homeless coordinator to ensure that documentation normally required for enrollment is gathered and submitted in a timely manner.