McKinney-Vento Program Rights and Services

The McKinney-Vento Act’s Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program ensures that homeless children and youth are provided a free, appropriate public education, despite a lack of a fixed place of residence or a supervising parent or guardian. The state public school admission statute assuring the right of homeless and other children and youth in similar circumstances to enroll in schools is ORS 339.115(7).

Educational Rights of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness

WHO QUALIFIES:  Children & Youths who are:

• Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimes refereed to as "doubled-up");

• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations;

• Living in emergency or transitional shelters; or Abandoned in hospitals;

• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or 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 because they are living in circumstances described above.

RIGHTS: Children & Youths experiencing homelessness have the right to:  

• Receive a free, appropriate public education;
• Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment; 
• Enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents;
• Enroll in the local school; or continue attending their school of origin (the school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled), if that is the preference and is feasible; If the school district believes that the school selected is not in the best interest of the child, then the district must provide a written explanation of its position and inform parents of their right to appeal its decision. 

• Receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested;
• Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to your children's needs.