McKinney Vento
Community Schools of Frankfort's Mission:
Ensuring Excellence for Every Student Every Day
CSF provides support to students who are experiencing homelessness. Specific supports are part of the Indiana Education for Homeless Children and Youth (INEHCY) program. Students who receive these supports are defined by the guidance provided by the Indiana Department of Education:
Homeless students are those who lack a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence. This includes students who are:
- sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or similar reason
- are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or campgrounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations
- are living in emergency or transitional shelters
The Rights of Homeless Students
The McKinney Vento Act provides certain rights for homeless students. They include waiving certain requirements such as proof of residency when students are enrolling and allowing categorical eligibility for certain services, such as free textbooks. The Act also states:
● Homeless students may attend their school of origin or the school where they are temporarily residing;
● Homeless students must be provided a written statement of their rights when they enroll and at least two times per year;
● Homeless students may enroll without school, medical, or similar records;
● Homeless students have a right to transportation to school;
● Students must be provided a statement explaining why they are denied any service or enrollment;
● Students must receive services, such as transportation, while disputes are being settled;
● Students are automatically eligible for Title I services;
● School districts must reserve a portion of Title IA funds to serve homeless students;
● School districts must review and revise policies that provide barriers to homeless students;
● Schools must post information in the community regarding the rights of homeless students, in schools and other places that homeless families may frequent; and
● School districts must identify a McKinney Vento Liaison to assist students.
Your child has the right to:
- Go to school, no matter where you live or how long you have lived there;
- Stay in the school that he or she was attending before becoming homeless or the school he or she last attended if that is your choice and best interest of the child;
- Enroll in school immediately, even if you do not have all the paperwork, such as your child's school or medical records;
- Access the same special programs and services that are provided to other children including special education, migrant education, and vocational education;
- Receive the same public education that is provided to other children, including preschool. (Your child cannot be be separated from the mainstream school environment because he or she is homeless. He or she cannot be segregated in a separate school, separate programs within a school or separate settings within a school).
If your child is experiencing any of the following living situations listed below, please fill out the McKinney Vento residency information form.
- You and your child are living doubled up with another family or friends.
- You and your child are living in a hotel/motel.
- You and your child do not have adequate shelter
- Child is not living with a parent or guardian.
Forms can be returned to the school your child attends. School counselors are available to answer questions on site.
District Contact Information
Michelle Wolfe, Director of Title I & Literacy
2400 E. Wabash
Frankfort, IN 46041
765-654-5585 ext. 1226
- IDOE state coordinators’ contact information: Flora Jones, Director of Student Pathways & Opportunities and Charie Gibson, Homeless Education Specialist, 317-232-0957, [email protected]
Resources: