Our Helping Homeless Students 2025 training included an overview of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, how to access rights and services granted by that law, how to locate a McKinney-Vento liaison, and a virtual resource fair featuring service providers in King County that specifically serve students and families.
Thank you to Kayla Blau for presenting this training. Kayla is the Strategic Advisor of Housing and Education at Building Changes. She has more than 15 years of experience working with youth that have experienced complex trauma in King County.
An Overview of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
Educational Rights
The main purpose of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is to protect the educational rights of students experiencing homelessness so that they have the same level of academic support as their housed peers.
Rights of students under McKinney-Vento include:
- The right to immediate enrollment
- The right to attend a student’s “school of origin”
- The right to transportation to and from that school of origin
- The right to participate in the same programs and other services provided to other students
- The right to a dispute resolution process
A student’s “school or origin” is the school they were attending before they became homeless. For example, if a student was attending school in Issaquah and then they and their family moved to a shelter in Seattle, the student’s school of origin is their school in Issaquah. Continuing their education at their school of origin is important for a student’s academic success and social-emotional development.
Immediate enrollment means a student has the right to enroll in a school “without delay” even if:
- They don’t have the qualifying documents including a birth certificate or immunization records
- They missed the deadline to enroll
- They have outstanding fees at their old school
Appropriate and adequate transportation to the student’s school of origin can look like many things. It doesn’t necessarily mean a school bus. It can be transit passes, gas reimbursement for family members to drive a student to/from school, or using a service like HopSkipDrive.
Ensuring a student can participate in the same programs as other students could look like waiving fees to participate in a science lab or a field trip.
Eligibility
Students are considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act if they lack a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence. A fixed residence is permanent, secure, and not subject to change. A regular residence is one a student can go to on a consistent, predictable basis. An adequate residence is sufficient for meeting the physical and psychological needs typically met in home environments.
McKinney-Vento also supports homeless unaccompanied youth, which is defined as a young person who meets the above definition of homelessness who is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.
A referral to access McKinney-Vento rights can come from anyone. Friends, family members, peers, school staff, and community-based human service workers can all refer a student, and a student can also self-refer.
To determine if a student is eligible for rights under the McKinney-Vento Act, ask yourself this question: Can the student go to the same place every night to sleep in a safe and sufficient space?
If you’re unsure if a student qualifies, contact the McKinney-Vento School District Liaison, who can confirm eligibility directly with the family or unaccompanied youth. Find the McKinney-Vento Liaison for the appropriate school district on the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) website here.
Resolving disputes
If a dispute arises over eligibility, the student must be immediately enrolled in the school they want to enroll in while the dispute is happening. The parent, guardian, or youth must be referred to the liaison who must carry out the dispute resolution process as expeditiously as possible.
The notice and written explanation for the dispute process should include at minimum:
- A description of the action proposed or refused by the school;
- An explanation of why the action is proposed or refused;
- A description of any other options the school considered;
- The reasons why any other options were rejected;
- A description of any other factors relevant to the school’s decision and information related to the eligibility or best interest determination including the facts, witnesses, and evidence relied upon and their sources;
- Appropriate timelines to ensure any relevant deadlines are not missed; and
- Contact information for the local liaison and state coordinator, and a brief description of their roles.
Immigration Status
If a student meets the above definition of homeless, they qualify for McKinney-Vento regardless of their immigration status. No one at the district level should ask about documentation status.
Q&A with a McKinney-Vento Liaison
Thank you to the Seattle Public Schools McKinney-Vento liaison, Jeanea Proctor-Mills, for joining this training for a live Q&A. To view this segment of the training, jump to 00:52:54 in the recording.
Q: What are three key things that providers need to know about referring students and families to the McKinney-Vento Department?
- Thanks to state law, in addition to a McKinney-Vento liaison for every district, there is a McKinney-Vento point of contact at every school. If you are looking for the McKinney-Vento program at a specific school, ask who the building’s point of contact is. They can support you and offer more specifics on the program. A school’s building point of contact is public knowledge. Visit the school’s website or ask the principal.
- If you are a provider advocating for a student/family, please bring the release of information to the McKinney-Vento liaison so that they can communicate with you if the student or family prefers that.
- Each McKinney-Vento department operates differently. For example, there are different resources available at Seattle Public School, Bellevue Public Schools, and Kitsap Public Schools. Ask your liaison what resources are available to the family and what the family has a right to receive in your school district.
Q: What are some common myths about the McKinney-Vento Act?
- This is not an all-access pass for students or families. When a family is considered homeless and is truly in need, the program is very, very beneficial. But McKinney-Vento cannot help a student get into a specific school besides the student’s school of origin.
- Most McKinney-Vento programs can’t support students/families with housing deposits, utility bills, or ongoing rental assistance. It is not a housing program and cannot help students or families find or keep housing. The core functionality of McKinney-Vento is to make sure students experiencing homelessness have equitable access to education in alignment with their peers.
Q: How can service providers effectively partner with the McKinney-Vento department at each school district?
A: When you reach out to a McKinney-Vento department, be aware of what supports the student or family needs (transportation, tutoring, etc.). Also bring the address where the student is currently living.
Virtual Resource Fair
Lutheran Community Services Northwest
Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW) supports refugees, asylees, and immigrants as they build their lives in the U.S. LCSNW has a diverse group of case managers that help a diverse group of clients from different cultural backgrounds.
LCSNW provides wraparound services including:
- Assistance with securing housing, understanding leases, and navigating utility setups
- Assistance with finding job opportunities, preparing for the workforce through training employment, and resume assistance, connection with resource fairs and job fairs
- Personalized and tailored case management to access healthcare, family reunification, education, and essential benefits
- Sourcing legal assistance including supporting pro bono legal support, asylum clock management, civic rights, and guidance through the U.S. immigration process
LCSNW offers community integration workshops for clients that feature speakers and trainers from different organizations. These workshops cover topics such as culture orientation, self-sufficiency, financial literacy, digital literacy, and understanding the U.S. tax system.
LCSNW also has housing programs in King County, including a rapid rehousing program, a homelessness prevention program, and a housing stabilization program specifically for folks with refugee and parolee immigration statuses.
To refer clients to LCSNW services, go to their website or email rimservices[at]lcsnw[.]org.
Open Doors for Multicultural Families
Open Doors for Multicultural Families (ODMC) serves families and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Its Family Resource Center provides culturally and linguistic responsive information, resources, services, and programming.
ODMC has a multilingual and multicultural staff that collectively speaks more than 23 languages.
ODMC offers an early learning program that includes parent support, a playgroup, and parent education; a program for youth aged 5 to 26 that includes emotional education, assistive technology, and skill building; and a family support program from birth to age 26 that offers system navigation, parent support and education, and support for graduation.
ODMC also has a youth and family homelessness prevention program that offers rental assistance and case management.
In 2027, ODMC will open the Kent Multicultural Village that offers 233 units with about 20 percent of units set aside for individuals with disabilities and their families. The Village will also include an inclusive playground and an inclusive early learning center for children with and without disabilities.
To connect with ODMC services, visit the referral page on their website.
Legal Counsel for Youth and Children
Legal Counsel for Youth and Children (LCYC) offers legal services for young people aged 12 to 24. For LCYC, the children are the clients.
LCYC has four main practice areas including homelessness, child welfare, juvenile defense, and dependency.
Anyone aged 12 to 24 with civil legal needs in King County should be referred to LCYC. The organization can help young people with housing placements, securing safety from a parent, minor guardianship, emancipation, and more.
To access LCYC services, use the referral form on their website.
Additional Resources to Support Students Experiencing Homelessness
- A free, state-specific legal assistance hotline for youth experiencing homelessness via the National Network for Youth: I Am Here: Vital Document Legal Hotline for Youth (1-888-870-DOCS). Also check out National Network for Youth’s collection of webinars and toolkits for supporting youth.
- Strategies for Supporting Immigrant and Migrant Students Experiencing Homelessnessvia SchoolHouse Connection. Check out SchoolHouse Connection’s content for more trainings on supporting students experiencing homelessness including a Sept 17 webinar on supporting unaccompanied minors.
- Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program via Washington DSHS
- How to Support Unaccompanied Immigrant Children & Youth Students in U.S. Schools via Kids in Need of Defense