McKinney-Vento (Families in Transition)
General Information
McKinney-Vento (Families in Transition)
The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law passed in 1987 to help families who are homeless keep their children in school with minimal barriers. It was most recently re-authorized in December 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This law is designed to eliminate barriers to enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school when students and families are experiencing homelessness. Children and youth experiencing homelessness have the same rights to access educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same high academic standards to which all students are held.
The term “homeless children and youth”—
A. means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and
B. includes:
- children and youths who are sharing the 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.
- 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…
- children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
- migratory children who qualify as homeless.
- children and youth who are "unaccompanied youth" (a student not living with a parent or legal guardian and are living in one of the above situations.
Students eligible for services under the McKinney-Vento Act have the right to:
- Receive the free, appropriate public education to which they are entitled.
- Be enrolled in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment.
- Be enrolled in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documentation.
- Enroll in the local school near where they are living; or continue attending their school or origin (the school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled) if it is in the best interest of the student.
- Receive transportation to and from school, if applicable.
- Receive educational services comparable to those provided to all other students, according to the student's needs.
More information about the McKinney-Vento Act:
North Carolina Homeless Education Program (NCHEP)
National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE)
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY)
National Center on Family Homelessness
Supporting the Education of Unaccompanied Homeless Youth
When Legal Guardians Are Not Present
Contact Information:
If you have questions about the Orange County Schools McKinney-Vento program, please contact:
Dr. Jessica Dreher, Director of Student Engagement and Support Services
District McKinney-Vento Liaison
Phone: 919-732-8126
Email: jessica.dreher@orange.k12.nc.us
*Note: At each school, the School Social Worker serves as the school-based McKinney-Vento point of contact.*
If you feel your concerns have not been addressed by Orange County Schools or if you have further questions, you may contact the NC McKinney-Vento State Coordinator, Lisa Phillips via email at lphillip@serve.org.
For your information, please see below for historical data on Orange County Schools students who have been identified as eligible for McKinney-Vento services during the previous five years: