Welcome to our Blog Series, McKinney-Vento in New York State, or MV@NYS! The intent of this blog series is to provide some very short reads for liaisons, educators, administrators, and other stakeholders on a variety of topics that are covered by McKinney-Vento legislation. For this first introductory blog, we are going to cover just the basics of McKinney-Vento in New York State.
What is McKinney-Vento?
This is directly from our New York State Education Department site on McKinney-Vento Homeless Education:
The McKinney-Vento Act states that children and youth who lack “a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” will be considered homeless.
McKinney-Vento eligible students have the right to:
receive a free, appropriate public education;
enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment, or having missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness;
enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents;
continue attending the school of origin, or enroll in the local attendance area school if attending the school of origin is not in the best interest of the student or is contrary to the request of the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth;
receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested by the parent or guardian, or by the local liaison on behalf of an unaccompanied youth; and
receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to each student’s need.
How do you identify students that may be McKinney-Vento eligible?
The broad definition includes all students that are lacking a “fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” To see the full definition, please see the reading from the National Center for Homeless Education.
You can also visit the NYS TEACHS site for information on determining eligibility- but this flowchart is very helpful as a starting point.
Special Events with NYSTEACHS:
January 20, 2022 Webinar: Meeting the Needs of Unaccompanied Youth. You can register here!
Three-Part Web Series: Becoming Trauma-Informed to Support Students Experiencing Homelessness to be held on February 17th, March 3rd and March 17th. Registration coming soon!
Coming up next in MV@NYS:
Supporting Unaccompanied Youth. The next few blogs will cover topics related to supporting unaccompanied youth, the benefits they should receive, and how to provide support.