The Local Education Agency (LEA) shall provide an educational environment that treats all students with dignity and respect. Every student experiencing homelessness shall have access to the same free and appropriate educational opportunities as students who are not homeless. This commitment to the educational rights of children, youth, and unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness applies to all services, programs, and activities provided or made available by the LEA.

 McKinney-Vento Definition of Homeless:

The term “homeless children and youth”— means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence [42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2)].

 A student may be considered eligible for services as a “Homeless Child or Youth” under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act if presently living in one of the following situations:

• Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason,

• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations,

• Living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals,

• Have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings,

• Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings, or

• Is a migratory child who qualifies as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described above.

Homeless Assistance Act mandates the following:

1. Immediate Enrollment: Documentation and immunization records cannot serve as a barrier to the enrollment in school [42 U.S.C. §11432(g)(3)(C)].

2. School Selection and Maintained Enrollment: McKinney-Vento eligible students have a right to select from the options outlined below. Students may remain enrolled in their selected schools for the duration of homelessness, and until the end of the academic year upon which they are permanently housed or enroll the child or youth in any public school that non-homeless students who live in the attendance area in which the child or youth is living are eligible to attend [42 U.S.C. §§11432(g)(3)(A); (g)(3)(B); (g)(3)(I)(i)].

3. School of Origin: The school the student attended when permanently housed / The school in which the student was last enrolled

4. School of Residency: The school in the attendance area in which the student currently resides

5. Transportation Services: McKinney-Vento eligible students attending their School of Origin have a right to transportation to and from the School of Origin [42 U.S.C. §11432(g)(1)(J)(iii)].

6. Participation in Programs: McKinney-Vento eligible students are guaranteed the right to services comparable to services offered to other students in the school [42 U.S.C. §§11432(g)(4); (g)(6)(iii)].

7. Unaccompanied Youth Experiencing Homelessness: McKinney-Vento eligible students are guaranteed the right to immediate enrollment without proof of guardianship [42 U.S.C. §1432(g)(1)(H)(iv)].

8. Access to Extracurricular Activities: Removal of barriers to accessing academic and extracurricular activities for homeless students who meet relevant eligibility criteria [42 U.S.C. §11432(g)(1)(F)(iii)].

9. Dispute Resolution: If you disagree with school officials about enrollment, transportation, or fair treatment of a homeless child or youth, you may file a dispute with the school district by contacting the McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison within seven (7) business days of receiving the written eligibility determination notification [42 U.S.C. §11432(g)(3)(E)].

10. Appointment of a McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison: The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act mandates the appointment of a local Homeless Liaison in every school district or local education agency (LEA) to ensure that homeless children and youth are enrolled in and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in school [42 U.S.C. §§11432(g)(1)(J)(ii); (g)(6)(A)].

For more information, refer to Arizona Department of Education Homeless Education Program, 42 USC CHAPTER 119, SUBCHAPTER VI, Part B: Education for Homeless Children and Youths, and the Arizona ESEA Consolidated State Plan. You may also contact:

McKinney-Vento Liaison

Parker Galope

Office Address:  1835 West Chandler Blvd. Ste. #101 Chandler, AZ 85224

Phone #:  (480) 656 – 5555 ex. #124

Email:  Homeless@ballcharterschools.org 

Days/Hours:  Monday – Friday, 8:00 – 4:00

State Homeless Education Program Coordinator:

Arizona Department of Education

1535 W. Jefferson Street

Phoenix, AZ 85007

(602) 542-4963

Homeless@azed.gov