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MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT

Education for Children & Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Helping ALL children and youth enroll, participate & have the opportunity to succeed in school

Lincoln Charter School is committed to ensuring that ALL children and youth experiencing homelessness have an opportunity to participate and succeed in our schools.
The following information will provide families and students with an overview of student’s rights, the legal definition of “homeless children and youth” and access to additional resources.

Please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Day with any questions or concerns or for additional assistance with your child’s educational needs. Mrs. Day may be reached via email at sday@lincolncharterpa.com or by phone at (717) 699-1573, ext. 3322.

The McKinney-Vento Act: Who is Homeless?The term “homeless children and youth”:

  • Means individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence …. and includes:

  • Children & 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 alternate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;

  • Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is public or private place not designed for 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 for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in the previous sections.

A Student’s Rights

  • The right to immediate enrollment in school, even if lacking paperwork normally required.

  • The right to attend school in his/her school of origin (if this is requested by the parent and is feasible) or in the school in the attendance area where the family or youth is currently residing.

  • The right to receive transportation to his/her school of origin, if this is requested by the parent.

  • The right to services comparable to those received by housed schoolmates, including transportation and supplemental educational services.

  • The right to attend school along with children not experiencing homelessness. Segregation based on a student’s status as homeless is strictly prohibited.

Additional Resources/More Information