Homeless Program
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 USC §§11431-11435, 2001) is a federal law that
ensures immediate enrollment and educational stability for homeless children and youth. It defines homeless
children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." The act provides
examples of children who would fall under this definition:
● Children and youth sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar
reason
● Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or campgrounds due to a lack of
alternative accommodations
● Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters
● Children and youth abandoned in the hospital
● Children and youth whose primary nighttime residences are not ordinarily used as regular
sleeping accommodations (e.g. park benches, etc.)
● Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard
housing, bus or train stations
● Migratory children and youth living in any of the above situations
An unaccompanied homeless youth is a youth who meets the definitions of unaccompanied youth and
homeless included in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The Act defines unaccompanied
youth as, "a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian" (42 USC §11434a(6), 2001). This
means that the youth is not living with a parent or guardian, and includes youth who are residing with a
caregiver who does not have legal guardianship and youth who are living on their own.
The McKinney-Vento Act requires schools to enroll homeless children and youth immediately, even if they
lack normally required documents, such as immunization records or proof of residence. The act ensures that
homeless children and youth have transportation to and from their school of origin if it is in the child's or
youth's best interest.
Local school districts must designate a homeless liaison to ensure that homeless children and youth are
identified and served. The liaison must provide information to homeless families and facilitate access to
school services including transportation. School districts are also required to track their homeless students
and report that data annually to the State and Federal Government. We submit our Homeless counts in June
each year. The counts for the North Carolina and Nation homeless can be located on the below websites:
National Homeless Data
Washington Montessori Public Charter School Liaison
Arlene Whiteside, Social Worker
(252) 945-1977 ext. 1601 / [email protected]
Information School Age Children- Spanish
North Carolina Homeless Education Program
National Center for Homeless Education
