Education for Homeless Children and Youths Non-Regulatory Guidance
The US Department of Education issued revised non-regulatory guidance on Aug. 4, 2026, for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance program to replace the July 2016 (and updated August 2018) guidance.
The guidance was originally published in 2016 and was updated in 2017 to include three new questions in the transportation section, questions J-10 to J-12, and in 2018 to include question M-6a on the Title I, Part A homeless reservation. The current version of the guidance was published on Aug. 4, 2026, to include question H-4 and H-5.
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
Subtitle VII-B of The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act authorizes the federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program and is the primary piece of federal legislation related to the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. It was reauthorized in December 2015 by Title IX, Part A, of ESSA.
Educational Rights for Parents and Students Experiencing Homelessness
The McKinney-Vento (MKV) Homeless Assistance Act is a federal law that protects the educational rights of homeless students. MKV was reauthorized by ESSA to ensure that every homeless child receives services of support to eliminate barriers and meet the changing needs in education. The Educational Rights for Parents and Students Experiencing Homelessness document provides an overview of the federal guidelines of MKV, dispute resolution procedures, and the mission of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) Homeless Education Program and staff contact information.
The Educational Rights for Parents and Students Experiencing Homelessness document is available in the following languages: English, Spanish (Español), Amharic (አማርኛ), Chinese (中文), French (Français), Korean (한국어), Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt).
Additional Information
For additional information about the homeless education program, please select the links below.
Return to the Homeless Education Program’s main webpage.
Contact Us
For questions or additional information, please email [email protected].
The Homeless Education Program is administered by OSSE’s Office of Special Populations and Programs within the Division of Strategic Funding for School Quality.
[Date Posted: May 10, 2023]