McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance & Section 504

Purpose of the program:

The program goals are to:

• Ensure a stable education experience for homeless and highly mobile students
• Provide support services to overcome barriers to learning
• Positively impact students’ academic achievement
• Engage parents and guardians with their child’s education

Students Served:

• Individuals aged 4-21 who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence
• Children and youth who are sharing housing of other persons due to loss of housing due to economic hardship, are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement
• Children and youth who 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 being
• Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because they are living in circumstances described above

Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 is a federal civil rights mandate that prohibits discrimination against any person, including students, who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities are defined as walking, talking, breathing, seeing, hearing, learning, taking care of oneself and controlling one's own behavior.