Homeless Assistance
The purpose of the McKinney-Vento Act is to ensure that all children and youth have equal access to the same free and appropriate public education and ensure immediate enrollment and educational stability for students who are homeless or unhoused.
Students meet the McKinney-Vento definition of homeless when they lack a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence. Students who share the housing of another person (doubled up) due to loss of housing, economic hardship or similar reasons meet the definition of homeless. This includes students living in motels, hotels, RV parks, or campgrounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations and those living in emergency or transitional shelters or abandoned in hospitals.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, people living in the following situations are considered homeless:
- Doubled up with family or friends due to economic conditions
- Living in motels and hotels for lack of other suitable housing
- Runaway and “Throwaway” children and youth
- Homes for unwed or expectant mothers for lack of a place to live
- Homeless and domestic violence shelters
- Transitional housing programs
- The streets
- Abandoned buildings
- Public areas not meant for housing
- Cars, trailers, and campgrounds
- Awaiting foster care
- Migratory children staying in housing not fit for habitation
McKinney-Vento Act Contacts and Links
(If the forms are not visible below, click here.)
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education State Coordinator at the Indiana Department of Education is:
Valerie Beard
Assistant Director of English Learners and Migrant Education Programs
South Tower, Suite 600
115 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-232-0558
vbeard@idoe.in.gov