One of the top reasons for school absenteeism is housing instability, when students find themselves in temporary housing. The McKinney-Vento Act, a federal law passed in 1987, is designed to help homeless students, however few people know about it. I had the pleasure of meeting Bernadette Luzama Noll at a conference last spring, where I learned about the McKinney-Vento act and the critical support this law provides for vulnerable students. At a time when housing costs are causing so much financial strain, it’s more important now than ever to make sure students enduring housing instability are afforded the educational opportunity they deserve.
Think about losing your home in a fire, or due to financial strain, and not only do your children lose their home, but they also have to go to another school. The McKinney-Vento law provides resources and support that allow students in temporary housing to remain in their existing school until their family establishes a new permanent residence. McKinney-Vento also goes further to provide more comprehensive services such transportation assistance, it can help with costs of field trips or uniforms, everything a child needs so they can realize the same educational opportunities as their peers. The law provides some of our most vulnerable students with much needed stability at a time when they are likely experiencing SIGNIFICANT instability.
At Politics for Parents my goal is to let you know how this issue relates back to your representatives and how you can hold them accountable on the issue. As I pointed out, this law is federally funded, and the funding flows through the Department of Education. So first, take a look at how your representatives prioritize funds to the DOE, or see if your representatives have made any comment on the portion of Project 2025 that calls for eliminating the DOE altogether. It’s also important to highlight, as Bernadette mentioned in our discussion, that the 2021 America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provided a huge boost to the program (to the tune of $3 billion). The ARPA bill barely passed in the House and Senate, so check the roll call vote in the House here to see how your congressional rep voted, and check how your senators voted here.
As parents, we all want what is best for our children. And I would like to think that we all would prefer to live in a society where all children have opportunities to thrive. McKinney-Vento can be a wonderful example of how government SHOULD work when we advocate and demand that our lawmakers provide the funding necessary to invest in vulnerable youth. We need to make sure that families in need are aware of this program so they may access these critical resources! Please listen to the full episode for this discussion. If you’re not jiving with Substack’s spiffy new video offering, it’s available on YouTube, Spotify, and most other platforms. ALSO, take a look at the resources below so you can learn more about the program.
And if one of your representatives voted Nay on the funding bill for this program, it might be time to give them a call :)
Resources:
SchoolHouse Connection is a comprehensive source of McKinney-Vento facts and tools
Bergen County Special Services has resources for families in NJ to help you learn about the program and identify your liaison.
(Perhaps) The Most Impactful Federal Program You Don't Know About