A 14-year-old student resides with his mother and is attending District A. He has a father in District B, whom he sees on some weekends and holidays. There is no formal custody agreement. When the student’s mother went into a mental health facility unexpectedly, he moved in with his father in District B while his mother is hospitalized. The plan is for him to return to his mother’s home after her hospitalization. Is the student McKinney-Vento eligible?

Answer: As with so many of these challenging situations, it is hard to give a definitive answer without more information. In this situation, we would be considering whether the sudden hospitalization of a parent could be viewed as a reason for sharing housing of others that is “similar to” loss of housing, and therefore qualify for MV.

If there were a custody agreement, he probably wouldn’t be McKinney-Vento eligible, because he would have fixed, regular residence (FRA) with his dad. If there was a no-visitation order, then he’d definitely be McKinney-Vento, because a court has found that dad is not safe for him, and he should not be there.

In this case, since there appears not to be a no-visitation order, if dad has FRA for the son, the student probably is not McKinney-Vento eligible.  But depending on more information, including the conditions of dad’s living situation (is it FRA?), that determination could change.

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