MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT

The McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act is a federal law that ensures immediate enrollment and educational stability for homeless children and youth. McKinney-Vento provides federal funding to states for the purpose of supporting district programs that serve homeless students.

The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." The act provides examples of children who would fall under this definition:

• Children and youth sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason
• Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations
• Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters
• Children and youth abandoned in hospitals
• Children and youth awaiting foster care placement
• Children and youth whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation (e.g. park benches, etc)
• Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations

RESOURCES

• National Association for the Education of Homeless Children & Youth
• National Center for Homeless Education
• Tennessee Department of Education
• U.S. Department of Education

CONTACT INFORMATION

Children & Youth in Transition Coordinator 
Rebekah Atchison
Phone:  865-453-4671
Email:  rebekahatchison@sevier.org