Homeless Outreach Services
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act: Education of Homeless Children and Youths
If your family is in a temporary or inadequate living situation due to a loss of housing, your child might be eligible for certain educational rights and services.
The Basics: If you lost your housing and now live in a shelter, motel, vehicle, camping ground, or temporary trailer; on the street; doubled-up with family or friends; or in another type of temporary or inadequate housing, your child might be able to receive help through a federal law called the McKinney-Vento Act.
Under the McKinney-Vento Act, children in homeless situations have the right to:
Website: www.michigan.gov/homeless
If your family is in a temporary or inadequate living situation due to a loss of housing, your child might be eligible for certain educational rights and services.
The Basics: If you lost your housing and now live in a shelter, motel, vehicle, camping ground, or temporary trailer; on the street; doubled-up with family or friends; or in another type of temporary or inadequate housing, your child might be able to receive help through a federal law called the McKinney-Vento Act.
Under the McKinney-Vento Act, children in homeless situations have the right to:
- Go to school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there.
- Attend either the local school or the school of origin, if this is in their best interest; the school of origin is the school the child attended when he/she was permanently housed or the school in which the child was last enrolled.
- Receive transportation to and from the school of origin.
- Enroll in school immediately, even if missing records and documents normally required for enrollment, such as a birth certificate, proof of residence, previous school records, or immunization/medical records.
- Enroll, attend classes, and participate fully in all school activities while the school gathers records.
- Have access to the same programs and services that are available to all other students, including transportation and supplemental educational services.
- Attend school with children not experiencing homelessness; a school cannot segregate a student because he or she is homeless.
Website: www.michigan.gov/homeless