You are entitled to certain rights and protections under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act. Any child that is “without a fixed, regular and adequate residence” is homeless.
Homeless Services
The Stewart B. McKinney-Vento Homeless Student Assistance Act protects the rights of all homeless/highly mobile students. The act defines homeless children as youth between the ages of 2 to 18 years old who lack a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence
Who is Considered Homeless?
According to the McKinney-Vento Act, a homeless individual lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or has a primary nighttime residence that is:
- Live in a hotel or motel;
- Live in a shelter/transitional housing program;
- Sharing housing with another family due to loss of housing, stemming from financial hardship;
- Live a trailer park or campsite due to the lack of adequate living accommodations;
- Live in an abandoned building, parked car, or other facility not designed as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
- Lives with another person due to the death or incarceration of a parent
- Lives as a youth on their own due to abandonment or runaway status
Children are not considered Homeless if they:
- are incarcerated or in youth correction facilities;
- are in foster care unless they are temporarily placed in foster care because of a lack of shelter space;
- are from a family of migrant workers
Students are identified by the school liaison or through referrals made by school employees, community members, city agency employees or self-referrals. The Administrator oversees the immediate enrollment of these students in school, works with identified school staff to provide assistance to meet their academic and nonacademic needs and ensure that barriers to education are eliminated.
Helpful Links:
Contact
Renaissance Academy McKinney-Vento Liaison
Ashley Koth
(219) 878-8711
Ashley.Koth@rschool.net
Indiana Department of Education State Coordinator
Chaire Gibson McKinneyVenotPOC@doe.in.gov
Gina Woodward
Homeless Education Specialist
gwoodward1@doe.in.gov(link sends e-mail)
(317) 232-9189
Adam Pitt
Assistant Director of English Learners & Migrant Education Programs
apitt@doe.in.gov(link sends e-mail)
(317) 234-7168
National Center for Homeless Education
Toll-Free Helpline
1-800-308-2145
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
naehcy.org
Phone: 678.428.0158
Email: info@naehcy.org