What Does the McKinney-Vento Act Do?

The education subtitle of the McKinney-Vento Act requires state and local educational agencies to remove barriers to:

• Identification
• School enrollment
• Retention and success for children and youth experiencing homelessness

Each local educational agency (LEA) must designate a homeless liaison to carry out these responsibilities.

What Do Homeless Liaisons Do?

Homeless liaisons are essential to implementing the McKinney-Vento Act’s core protections, including:

• Immediate enrollment in school without typically required documentation;
• Transportation assistance to ensure school attendance;
• School stability, allowing students to remain in their school of origin despite residential moves; and
• Referrals to community resources that support academic and basic needs.

In addition, homeless liaisons are required to:

• Ensure that young children are enrolled in Head Start, Early Head Start, and early intervention services under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);
• Inform unaccompanied homeless youth of their eligibility for independent student status on the FAFSA and help them obtain necessary documentation;
• Ensure that homeless children and youth have access to comparable services provided to other students, including Title I, Part A programs, career and technical education, and gifted and talented programs.

How Other Education Federal Programs Depend on McKinney-Vento

Congress has acknowledged that homelessness creates significant barriers to participation in a wide range of federal education programs. The McKinney-Vento Act helps remove these barriers—and many federal programs rely on its protections and local implementation to effectively reach students experiencing homelessness.

The chart below summarizes key provisions in federal law that are designed to support homeless students, and how they depend on the McKinney-Vento Act to do so:

Federal Law	McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance/Liaison References
Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq	Any state receiving IDEA funds must ensure that the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act are met for all children with disabilities who are homeless.LEAs must assign a surrogate parent for an unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness within 30 days. In the interim, a temporary surrogate parent must be assigned. School district homeless liaisons and homeless service providers may serve as temporary surrogates.Under IDEA Part C, States must include a representative of the McKinney-Vento Office of State Coordinator on the State Interagency Coordinating Council.States must ensure that all children who are homeless and have disabilities are identified, located, and evaluated.
Title I Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Act 20 US Code 6301 et seq.	All LEAs that receive Title I Part A funds must reserve funds to support homeless students; these funds may be used for services not ordinarily provided by Title I, including supporting the position of the local school district homeless liaison.State and local TItle I plans must describe how homeless children and youth will be supported, including identification, enrollment, attendance, and success, in coordination with the McKinney-Vento Act
Head Start Act	Head Start programs must remove barriers to the enrollment and participation of homeless children in Head Start programs, including ) policies and procedures to ensure that homeless children are identified and prioritized for enrollment; 2) allowing families of homeless children to apply to, enroll in, and attend Head Start programs  while required documents, are obtained within a reasonable time frame; and (3) to coordinate individual Head Start programs with efforts to implement the education subtitle of the McKinney-Vento Act.Head Start programs must conduct community needs assessments that use data on children experiencing homelessness in collaboration with McKinney-Vento local education agency liaisons.
Higher Education Act	School district homeless liaisons are authorized to provide a determination of a youth’s status as an unaccompanied homeless youth to be an independent student on the FAFSAs. Financial aid administrators must consider and accept this documentation, unless there is documented conflicting information.
Perkins 5 – Career and Technical Education	State plans must be developed in consultation with the McKinney-Vento Office of the State Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
Child Care and Development Fund Block Grant Act	States are required to prioritize children experiencing homelessness, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Act, for child care services, and use funds to expedite their enrollment and provide outreach and training.