For those students who do not have a permanent home, clothing, shoes, and food are difficult to find. Highline Schools Foundation partners with the district’s McKinney-Vento Program Family Support Liaison to identify needs and help to fill them.
The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children or unaccompanied youth as lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, which includes:
- Families doubled up with friends or relatives due to loss of housing.
- Children living in motels, hotels, trailer parks and campgrounds due to lack of alternative accommodations.
- Children living in emergency or transitional shelters.
- Children living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, and bus or train stations.
The McKinney-Vento Act ensures that children have a right to:
- Attend the school they last attended before they became homeless (school of origin) OR enroll in their neighborhood school.
- Immediate enrollment in school even if they lack required documents, such as school records, immunization records, or proof of residence.
- Free transportation to school of origin, when feasible.
- Free meals at school.
- Assistance for school fees, school supplies, and connecting to social service supports.
Some of the support provided this last year includes: gift cards for groceries, school uniforms, shoes, coats, and certificates for vision screenings and glasses.s