Contact information: Andrew Pardi,

Mt. Healthy City School District Homeless Liaison,

513-619-1778 ; apardi@mthcs.org

If you or your family is experiencing any of the following situations:

• In a shelter

• In a motel or campground due to the lack of an alternative adequate accommodation

• In a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station

• Doubled-up with other people due to loss of housing because of natural disaster, economic hardship or substandard housing

Then your school age children may qualify for certain rights and protections under the federal McKinney-Vento Act. The McKinney-Vento Act, amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act, is a federal law related to ensuring homeless children and youth have access to education. It is designed to reduce barriers to education for school aged youth experiencing homelessness.

Homeless children and youth, as defined by McKinney-Vento, are “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence”, including:

i. Children and youth sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; living in emergency or transitional shelters; or abandoned in hospitals.

ii. Children and youth who have 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.

iii. Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.

iv. Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).

Parents and their students who are designated as homeless have specific rights under the McKinney-Vento Act to ensure they are able to enroll and maintain enrollment in their school of origin or school closest to current living situation based on the best interest of the student(s). Families are designated as homeless on a case by case basis by completing a Homelessness Questionnaire and/or by speaking with the District Homeless Liaison.

If you have questions or concerns regarding your family’s current living situation, please contact Andrew Pardi, Mt. Healthy City School District Homeless Liaison, at 619-1778 or apardi@mthcs.org. You can also seek more information at education.ohio.gov/McKinneyVento or by calling State Homeless Education Coordinator Susannah Wayland at 614-387-7725.