McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Information

  • Parents and Guardians: Please fill out this form if you or your family are experiencing homelessness

  • McKinney– Vento Homeless Assistance Act

    If your family lives in any one of the following situations:
    • On the street 
    • In a shelter, motel, or campground
    • In an abandoned building, trailer or any inadequate accommodation
    • Doubled up, living with others because you can’t find affordable housing
    Your preschool and school aged children have certain rights and protections under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act—those rights are:
    • to go to school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there
    • to stay in their original or last school even though they move to another
      district
    • to get transportation to their original school
    • to enroll immediately in a new school
    • to receive automatically free breakfast and lunch at school
    • to receive Title 1 services
    • to receive all the educational and supplemental services that all other
      children are provided

    Click here to view OSPI's Dispute Resolution Process  

  • The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act states:

    Homeless children and youth must have access to the education and other services that such children and youth need to ensure that children and youth have an opportunity to meet the same challenging state student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. Homeless students have the right to enroll in their neighborhood school without records, i.e. birth certificates, transcripts, immunization, academic and/or evaluations for special education. Under McKinney-Vento, homeless students must be given the same access to education as other students and cannot be separated from other students.
     
    Local Liaison for Homeless Education:
     
    High School:                                                     
    Lauren Memmott                                                                                      
    360-446-9135                                                                                            
    memmottl@rainier.wednet.edu                     
     
    Elementary and Middle School:      
    Sammi Firman    
    360-446-2406     
     
    State Liaison for Homeless Education:    
    Melinda Dyer  
    360-725-6050  

     
  • Community Resources for the Homeless
     
    Food:
     
    Rainier Emergency Food Center
    360-446-2517
     
    WIC (Women, Infants, Children)
    1-800-841-1410
     
    DSHS Community Services Office
    877-501-2233
     
    Health/Medical
     
    Medical Assistance for Children
    877-501-2233
     
    Sea Mar Community Health Center
    Dental: 360-570-8016
    Medical: 360-704-2900
    Yelm Office: 360-400-4800
     
    Housing:
     
    Safe Shelter
    888-698-1825
     
    Safeplace
    360-754-6300
     
    Hotlines:
     
    Crisis Line
    360-586-2800
     
    Emergency Shelter Network:
    844-628-7343
     
    Haven House:
    360-754-1151
     
    Child Protective Services
    360-725-6700
  •  

    School’s Responsibility

    • Help students to enroll in school if needed
    • Help students obtain meals and snacks at school
    • Help to ensure that homeless students have access to all of the programs and services offered at school
    • Help to obtain educational and immunization records
    • Help students and families to obtain health insurance, primary care, and immunizations if needed
    • Help identify homeless students, including children in ECAEP and Head Start

    Parents’ Responsibility

    • Make sure your child attends school regularly and completes homework and projects on time
    • Attend Parent/Teacher conferences and other school related activities
    • Stay informed of school rules, regulations and consequences when students break rules
    • Participate in school decision making activities such as IEP’s, 504 plans, etc. for your child

     

    Definition of Homelessness:

    Children and youth who lack a regular adequate and fixed nighttime residence including: children who share housing with other persons due to loss of housing or economic hardship; children living in emergency or transitional shelters; children living in motels, campgrounds, trailer parks, etc. as well as unaccompanied youth.

     

    Some statistics regarding homelessness:

    • Over 3 million men, women, and children become homeless each year.
    • The demand for shelters has increased annually by 14%.
    • Reported barriers by school districts that may inhibit the education of homeless children are domestic violence, lack of adequate housing and transportation, and lack of adequate family support systems.
    • In the 2009-2010 school year, 21,826 students were identified as homeless in Washington state.

     

    Students experiencing homelessness have the right to remain in their school or origin for the duration of the school year; even if they move outside of the district.