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The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act ensures educational rights for children and youth experiencing homelessness. The primary goal is educational stability.

The Act defines homeless students as those who:

  1. Lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence;
  2. Share the housing of other persons, live in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; live in emergency or transitional shelters;
  3. 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;
  4. Live in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
  5. Are migratory and live in the conditions set forth in items 2-4 above.

Homeless students have certain educational rights and can: enroll without delay in school (zoned or school of origin) without proof of residency or permanent address, immunization, school records, or other documents or while documentation is being obtained; choose between the local school where they are living or the school last attended before becoming homeless, when requested by the parent/guardian and determined by the district to be feasible and in the student’s best interest; attend school and participate in school programs with children who are not homeless; and receive all the school services available to other students including transportation services, special educational services where applicable, and other supportive services (food, housing, clothing, etc.).


For more information regarding homeless services, 

including checking your eligibility and enrollment, contact the 

Families Overcoming Rough Times (FORT) Helpline (517)755.2813

11,500 Enrollment by 2025
85% Graduation Rate by 2025
90% Attendance by 2025