Unhoused Students

Contact Information

Families with questions about eligibility, enrollment, transportation, or available support are encouraged to contact Hawbridge’s McKinney-Vento Liaison.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act helps ensure that children and youth experiencing housing instability have equal access to a free and appropriate public education.

The law requires schools to remove barriers that may interfere with enrollment, attendance, participation, or academic success while helping students remain connected to their school community and the educational services and support they need.

Protections under the McKinney-Vento Act include:

• Equal access to public education
• Removal of barriers to enrollment and attendance
• Access to educational programs and support services
• Protection from segregation or discrimination based on housing status

Who Is Eligible?

Students may qualify for support under the McKinney-Vento Act when they do not have a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Eligibility is based on each student’s individual living situation.

Students may qualify if they are:

• Sharing housing with others because of a loss of housing, financial hardship, or a similar reason
• Living in a hotel, motel, trailer park, or campground because adequate housing is unavailable
• Living in an emergency or transitional shelter
• Living in a place that is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation
• Living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, bus station, or similar setting
• Migratory children living in any of these circumstances
• Unaccompanied youth living in any of these circumstances

Families who are uncertain whether their circumstances qualify are encouraged to speak with the school liaison. Conversations are handled with care and respect for each family’s privacy.

Student Rights

Students who qualify under the McKinney-Vento Act have important educational rights designed to provide stability and continuity during periods of housing uncertainty.

Eligible students have important educational rights, including the ability to:

• Enroll in school immediately, even when normally required documents are not yet available
• Attend the local school or remain in the school of origin when doing so is in the student’s best interest
• Continue attending the school of origin while eligible under the Act
• Receive transportation to and from the school of origin when applicable
• Receive free school meals and appropriate Title I support
• Participate in gifted education, career and technical education, athletics, and other school programs for which they are eligible
• Receive support without discrimination or segregation based on housing status

Resources for Students and Families

The following resources can help students and families better understand their educational rights and the support available through the McKinney-Vento Act.

View McKinney-Vento educational rights resources

How the School Liaison Can Help

Hawbridge’s McKinney-Vento Liaison works with students and families to understand their rights, connect with available services, and remove barriers that may affect a student’s education.

The liaison may assist with:

• Determining whether a student may qualify for McKinney-Vento support
• Selecting and enrolling in an appropriate school
• Obtaining school records or other documents needed for enrollment
• Requesting transportation to the school of origin when applicable
• Connecting families with school meals, academic services, and community resources
• Ensuring that a student remains enrolled and receives appropriate services while a dispute is being resolved

State and National Resources

Families can learn more about educational rights, available services, and statewide programs through the following resources:

• North Carolina Homeless Education Program
• National Center for Homeless Education
• North Carolina Homeless Education Data
• National Homeless Education Data