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Homeless Services

If you are living in SPUSD boundaries and are in any of the situations below, you may be eligible for McKinney Vento support services.  Please contact the SPUSD Homeless Liaison, Meghan Travers at meghan.travers@sanpasqualunion.net or 760-745-4931 for more information.

McKinney-Vento Services for Homeless Youth and Families

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act for Homeless Children and Youth entitles all homeless school-aged children to the same free and appropriate public education that is provided to non-homeless students. Law mandates the elimination of educational barriers facing homeless children and youth, to increase school stability and protect students from discrimination. Under this legislation, homeless children and youth are entitled to have access to the same educational experience and resources as all students. 

The federal government’s legal definition of a homeless youth based on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act is anyone who is:

  • Lacking a regular, fixed and adequate nighttime residence:
  • Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason
  • Living in a shelter, motel, hotel, or trailer parkers
  • Living in a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings 
  • Living in cars, parks, public spaces abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings
  • A child who is not in the physical custody of their parent or legal guardian
  • A child or youth abandoned in a hospital
  • A migrant child who qualifies under any of the above

Homeless students have the right to:

  • Go to school, no matter where they live now or how long they have lived there.
  • Start school immediately, even if they are missing records and documents normally required for enrollment
  • Attend the neighborhood school closest to where they currently live, or, attend their school of origin. School of origin is the school the child attended when permanently houses or the school in which the child or youth was last enrolled.
  • Receive transportation to and from their original school (school of origin), whenever feasible.
  • Participate fully in all school activities, while their new school arranges for records transfers.
  • Receive the same programs and services as their schoolmates, and be treated with the same respect and attention as their classmates. It is against federal law to separate students based on their living conditions.