McKinney-Vento-Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth (TEHCY)  Program

The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless as children lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate resident. If any one of the three conditions is missing, the child is considered homeless.

-Fixed:  Stationary, permanent, not subject to change

-Regular: Used on a regular (nightly) basis

-Adequate:  Sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in home environments

The McKinney-Vento Act provides rights and services to children and youth experiencing homelessness...

This includes those who are:

-Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason

-Staying in motels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of an adequate alternative

-Staying in shelters or transitional housing; or sleeping in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, or similar settings. 

Students experiencing homelessness have rights and services including:

-Enrollment: the right to immediate enrollment even if documents normally required are not available

-School of Origin:  the right to attend the school where the child or youth was permanently housed or the last school enrolled

-Transportation:  the right to receive transportation to and from their school of origin, including all feeder schools to the school of origin

-Educational Stability:  the right to have full and equal educational opportunity to meet the academic and state achievement requirements as their non-homeless peers

-Educational Services:  the right to receive educational services for which the student is eligible including preschool programs

-Parent Engagement:  the right for parents to be informed of educational opportunities and participate through meaningful engagement in the education of their child or youth