Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. ʹʹ 11431-11435, hereafter referred to as "The McKinney-Vento Act"), reauthorized in 2001 by Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind Act, ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. The most critical step in ensuring the provision of needed services and supports is for local educational agencies (LEAs or school districts) to identify children and youth who are eligible under the McKinney-Vento Act's definition of "homeless." This brief explains the key provisions of the McKinney-Vento Act related to the identification of homeless children and youth, explores challenges with identifying homeless children and youth, and provides strategies to increase LEA capacity to identify all children and youth experiencing homelessness. A list of additional resources from National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) is included.

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. ʹʹ11431-11435; hereafter referred to as "the McKinney-Vento Act"), reauthorized in 2001 by Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind Act, ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. Because of their often tumultuous living situations, school may be their only opportunity to benefit from a stable environment, consistent adult attention, positive peer relations, academic support, and regular meals. Enrolling homeless students in school immediately and presenting them with opportunities to participate fully in school provides them with needed educational stability and continuity. This brief explains the key provisions in the McKinney-Vento Act concerning school enrollment, including sections on enrollment barriers, immediate enrollment, enrollment requirements, and full participation in school. Each section also offers strategies for State Coordinators, local homeless education liaisons (hereafter referred to as "local liaisons"), and school personnel to ensure that the key provisions are successfully implemented so that students experiencing homelessness are immediately enrolled in school and provided or referred to appropriate services.

The word "homeless" typically does not bring to mind images of children and youth, but the reality is many homeless people are under the age of 18. Some of them are a part of families experiencing homelessness, while others are on their own, despite their young age. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. ʹ 11431 et seq.) is a federal law that addresses the needs of homeless people, including the educational needs of children and youth. This brief provides basic information about the scope of the problem, the impact of homelessness on education, and the rights of children and youth to a public education.

Each year, over 1.2 million children and youth identified as homeless in the nation's schools experience educational disruption that is caused by not having a safe and stable place to live (NCHE, 2014). Homeless children and youth face educational challenges that include a lack of basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and medical services; discontinuity of education due to mobility; and trauma caused by the chaos, poverty, and instability of their family's circumstances, or in the case of unaccompanied homeless youth, their own circumstances. Many homeless children and youth have disabilities that create additional challenges for educational progress. The National Center on Family Homelessness reported that children who are homeless, as compared to other children, have three times the rate of emotional and behavioral problems, are four times more likely to show delayed development, and have twice the rate of learning disabilities (NCFH, 2008). Educational barriers homeless children and youth with disabilities face include: (1) not being identified as needing special education services; (2) difficulty with diagnosis due to mobility and other stressors; (3) lack of timely assessment, diagnosis, or service provision; (4) lack of continuity of services due to school transfers; (5) lack of timely or efficient records transfer when enrolling in a new school; and (6) lack of an available parent or surrogate to represent the child or unaccompanied youth. Two federal laws increase the educational stability and support needed to help homeless children and youth with disabilities succeed in school: "Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act" [42 U.S.C. ʹʹ 11431-11435], reauthorized in 2001 by Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 [20 U.S.C. ʹʹ 1400-1444] (IDEA). This brief reviews the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act and IDEA so that educators and administrators in education for homeless children and youth (EHCY) programs and special education programs can increase their familiarity with both laws in order to coordinate efforts to improve the educational access and success of homeless children and youth with disabilities. In addition, the brief summarizes specific amendments and implementing regulations in IDEA that address the needs of homeless and highly mobile children and youth with disabilities.

Homelessness is a devastating circumstance for any child or youth, but for youth on their own, the stresses of homelessness are multiplied. The myriad of challenges faced by youth experiencing homelessness on their own puts these students at risk of dropping out or school failure. Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (reauthorized under Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind Act) guarantees rights and services for homeless students, including specific supports for unaccompanied homeless youth. This brief describes the challenges unaccompanied homeless youth face, explains key provisions of the McKinney-Vento Act, and suggests proven strategies from across the country for supporting the educational success of this vulnerable population.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized in January 2002, ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. This document summarizes key provisions of the Act, as well as key provisions of the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act's Title I statute. It is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of new provisions and language changes by topic area. Key provisions of the McKinney-Vento Act that were not amended are also included.