• McKinney-Vento Homeless Act

    MCKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS ACT NOTICE
    AND ASSISTANCE FROM BOYERTOWN AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

    In compliance with the Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Act, as reauthorized in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Boyertown Area School District believes that homeless youth should have access to free and appropriate public education and wishes to limit the barriers that homeless children may face. Our goal is to have the educational process continue as uninterrupted as possible while children are in homeless situations.

    Homeless students are defined as individuals lacking a fixed, regular, and nighttime residence, which includes students living under the following conditions:

    1. Sharing the housing of other people due to loss of housing or economic
    2. Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to a lack of adequate alternative
    3. Living in an emergency, transition or domestic violence
    4. Abandoned in hospitals
    5. Awaiting foster care
    6. Living in public or private places not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for humans.
    7. Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, transportation stations, or similar settings.
    8. Living as migratory children in conditions described in the previous
    9. Living as a runaway
    10. Being abandoned or forced out of homes by parents/guardians or
    11. Living as school-age unwed mothers in houses for unwed mothers if they have no other living.

    For further information, please see the Student Handbook.

     

    What are the rights of students experiencing homelessness?

    • Access to free public education 

    • Immediate enrollment and full participation in the school program (even without proper documentation) 

    • Attend their school of origin or school of residence

      • Immediate transfer of records if enrolling in the district of residence.

    • Access to transportation to and from school

    • Equitable access to services

    • Free from Stigmatization

    • Free school meals

    • Right to dispute

    Links:
    Educational Rights for Students- English
    Educational Rights for Parents- Spanish
    Educational Rights for Parents- English
    Educational Rights for Parents- Spanish

     

    Unaccompanied Youth receive the same rights and supports listed above, in addition to the following:

    • Ability to enroll in school without a parent or guardian.

    • Assistance with moving on to the next grade or reaching graduation.

    • Assistance with college planning and applying for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as an Independent student without their parent's income information.


    Additional Information Related to The McKinney-Vento Act:

    Board Policy #251: Students Experiencing Homelessness, Foster Care, and Other Educational Instability

    Basic Education Circular (BEC): Education for Homeless Youth

    BCIU Regional Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness program (ECYEH)
    610-987-8509

    Educational Rights for Students (English)

    Educational Rights for Parents (English)

    Educational Rights for Students (Spanish)

    Educational Rights for Parents (Spanish)

     

     Dispute Process

           Dispute Letter (English)

           Dispute Letter (Spanish)

     

  • Homelessness