McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
If you are experiencing homelessness, there are resources that can be provided to you. Please visit with your campus counselor for specific supplemental resources available to students that are identified as eligible for McKinney-Vento Services. You can also contact the McKinney-Vento Liaison for the District, Kaitlin Puckett, at 830-798-3695 or kpuckett@mfisd.txed.net.
Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized by Title X, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act, ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is a lack of permanent housing resulting from extreme poverty, or, in the case of unaccompanied youth, the lack of a safe and stable living environment.
The term “homeless children and youth”—
McKinney-Vento determinations are made on a case-by-case basis. The McKinney-Vento Liaison for Marble Falls ISD is Kaitlin Puckett, LMSW, District Social Worker. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kaitlin Puckett at 830-798-3695 or kpuckett@mfisd.txed.net
The McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program is the federal program that removes barriers to education for children and youth experiencing homelessness. McKinney-Vento Definition of Homeless: means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This may include the following:
McKinney-Vento decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and information collected in the student residency questionnaire at enrollment is essential in helping staff identify potential MV situations.
The term unaccompanied youth includes a youth, not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. This would include youth living in abandoned buildings, cars, on the streets, or in other inadequate housing; children and youths denied housing by their families; potentially youth that are couch-surfing, and other situations dependent on the permanence, context, and involvement of a parent or guardian. Determinations are made on a case-by-case basis.
The McKinney-Vento Act (Section 725) specifies and protects the rights of children and youth in homeless situations. Highlights include:
Immediate Enrollment – The right to be enrolled immediately in school, without immunization or academic records, and birth certificate, regardless of district policy.
Transportation – Students in highly mobile or homeless situations are entitled to transportation to and from the school of origin, if it is feasible, in the student’s best interest, and requested by the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth.
Services – Students experiencing homelessness are entitled to the same programs and services that are available to other children in the District, such as gifted and talented education, special education, vocational education, English Language Learner services, and tutoring.
Homeless Student School Choice
Students who are experiencing homelessness have the right to attend school in their school of origin or in the school in the attendance area where the family or youth is currently residing. School of origin is defined as the school in which the child/youth was enrolled when they became homeless or the school in which the child/youth was last enrolled. The campus a child attends is determined by which campus can serve the best interests of the child. In Texas, a student experiencing homelessness may enroll in any district they choose, regardless of the location of their residence, school of origin or attendance zone campus. Transportation is only required to be provided for identified MV students for school of origin transportation.
Dispute Resolution – If problems arise between the school and parents or between districts, the parent shall be referred to the school’s McKinney-Vento liaison for dispute resolution.
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