McKinney-Vento Act
The Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program is authorized under Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.) (McKinney-Vento Act). The McKinney-Vento Act was originally authorized in 1987 and most recently reauthorized in December 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
The McKinney-Vento Act is designed to address the challenges that homeless children and youths have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Under the McKinney-Vento Act, state educational agencies (SEAs) must ensure that each homeless child or youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youths. Homeless children and youths must have access to the educational and related services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging state academic standards to which all students are held. State education agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) are required to review and undertake steps to revise laws, regulations, practices, or policies that may act as barriers to the identification, enrollment, attendance, or success in school of homeless children and youths.
If you or your family may be living in the following situations:
- in a motel or campground due to the lack of an alternative adequate accommodation,
- in a car, park, abandoned building, or bus or train station, or
- doubled up with other people due to loss of housing or economic hardship,
you may qualify for certain rights and protections under the federal McKinney-Vento Act.
Please contact the St. Charles Parish Schools Child Welfare & Attendance/Student Services Department and speak with your local liaison at 985-785-3149.