The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law that requires state and local educational agencies to remove barriers to school enrollment for students experiencing homelessness.^[i] The right to enroll immediately in school, even without documents normally required for enrollment, is one of the core protections of the Act.^[ii] The Act recognizes that homelessness often makes it impossible to prove residency, produce immunization and other health records, and, for youth experiencing homelessness on their own, have a parent or guardian complete the enrollment process.

Unfortunately, online enrollment processes may erect barriers to immediate enrollment for students experiencing homelessness.

Families and youth experiencing homelessness struggle with limited access to technology and connectivity, as well as basic enrollment barriers such as lack of information about the McKinney-Vento Act, lack of a pathway to enroll without documents, and inaccessible language. Students and families for whom English is not their first language, and those unfamiliar with online platforms and processes, will be disproportionately impacted by these barriers.

This checklist outlines some of the most common barriers to online enrollment for students experiencing homelessness and provides strategies for addressing them. Using this checklist to assess and remove barriers will help ensure students experiencing homelessness can have immediate and equitable access to school.

Download the Checklist

Footnotes

[i] 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(I).

[ii] 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3)(C).

[iii] 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3).