McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth

Mission and History

The Bureau of Indian Education’s McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program is also known as Title IX, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (as amended in 2015). The McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act is a federal law that ensures immediate enrollment and educational stability for children and youth experiencing homelessness.

The BIE McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program ensures that every child and youth experiencing homelessness has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including public preschool education, as provided to other children and youths.

A student sits at a table facing away from the camera and looking at a project in front of them.

The McKinney-Vento Act provides federal funding to states to support school programs that serve students experiencing homelessness. The Bureau of Indian Education is considered a state for these purposes and makes competitive subgrants available to BIE schools to facilitate the identification, enrollment, attendance, and school success of children and youths experiencing homelessness. Students experiencing homelessness should have access to the education and other services they need to ensure they have an opportunity to meet the same challenging academic standards to which all students are held.

The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." The act provides examples of children who would fall under this definition:

Children and youth sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason
Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or campgrounds due to a lack of alternative accommodations
Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters
Children and youth abandoned in hospitals
Children and youth whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation (e.g. park benches, etc.)
Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations
Migratory children and youth living in any of the above situations

The mission of the Bureau of Indian Education is to provide students at BIE-funded schools with a culturally relevant, high-quality education that prepares students with the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to flourish in the opportunities of tomorrow, become healthy and successful individuals, and lead their communities and sovereign nations to a thriving future that preserves their unique cultural identities.

BIE Student Homelessness Report 2022-2024 (4.04 MB)

Contact

Marie Silverhatband, M.Ed. (Diné)
McKinney-Vento EHCY BIE State Coordinator
marie.silverhatband@bie.edu

McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act Education of Homeless Children & Youths School Grant Application & Technical Assistance

The purpose of the McKinney-Vento subgrant is to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and success in the school of homeless children and youths. The award is for three (3) years. However, grantees must demonstrate success yearly to be funded for a subsequent second and third year. Also, awards are contingent upon funding & availability. The application and technical assistance presentation(s) are listed below to assist schools seeking to apply. Please contact Valerie Todacheene, Education Programs Specialist, at 505-563-5269, or email: valerie.todacheene@bie.edu if you have any questions.

BIE McKinney-Vento Local Education Liaison

Under federal law (the McKinney-Vento Act), every Local Educational Agency must designate a liaison for children and youth experiencing homelessness. The designated staff person must have the capacity to perform the duties of the liaison under ESSA, Title IX, Part A, Sec. 9102(g)(1)(J)(ii). LEA homeless liaisons have 10 specific duties under the law, including obtaining professional development to assist them in improving the “identification of homeless children and youths” and to “heighten the awareness of…specific needs in the education of homeless children and youths.” ESSA, Title IX, Part A, Sec. 9102(b)(5)

Another duty is to provide professional development and other support to school personnel. Training school staff is essential for children and youth experiencing homelessness to be identified and to receive the education that is their surest path out of homelessness and poverty.