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Chickasaw City Public Schools

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McKinney-Vento Act

What is McKinney-Vento?

Homeless Children and Youth Assistance at Huntsville City Schools is funded under the McKinney-Vento Act.  The Act is designed to address the challenges that homeless children and youths have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Under the McKinney-Vento Act, State educational agencies (SEAs) must ensure that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youths.  

Who is considered homeless?

Children and youth who are:

  • sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimes referred to as doubled-up);
  • living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
  • living in emergency or transitional shelters;
  • abandoned in hospitals; or
  • migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.

Parents’ and Students’ Rights

  • Receive a free, appropriate public education.
  • Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment.
  • Enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents.
  • Enroll in the local school; or continue attending their school of origin (the school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled), if that is their preference and is feasible. If the school district believes that the school selected is not in his/her best interest, then the district must provide the student with a written explanation of its position and inform the student of his/her right to appeal its decision.
  • Receive transportation assistance to and from the school of origin, if requested.
  • Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to the students’ needs.