Tale from the Field: Ensuring McKinney-Vento Status when Compared to Residency

Many of our helpline calls are used to determine initial eligibility.  Unique situations can make determining whether a student is eligible for the McKinney-Vento designation difficult.  The NYS TEACHS Helpline supports district liaisons in determining eligibility for students in unique circumstances and considers each situation on a case-by-case basis.  Please call the Helpline at 800-388-2014 for assistance in eligibility determinations.

The Tale

A parent called in January 2025 to discuss a residency dispute letter they’d received from the school.

The 10th grader had been living with his former step-mom in the district, though she did not have legal custody.  The student had behavioral and medical concerns related to family disagreements and was kicked out of his house by his stepmother.  He moved in temporarily with his biological father before experiencing additional disagreement. He left his father’s home and then moved in with his grandparents to ensure stability.  The grandparents live in an outside district.

The district determined that the 10th grader was living out of district and issued a residency dispute, allowing the family 30 days to appeal.  However, upon investigation, it was determined that the student was McKinney-Vento eligible as an unaccompanied youth.  The school district allowed the student to re-enroll in January; however, they conducted a second residency determination (not a 310 Dispute), having never formalized the student’s McKinney-Vento status upon return to school. The father received another letter mid-spring explaining that his son had 30 days to appeal the residency dispute before being disenrolled again.

School districts should complete a STAC form whenever a student is designated as McKinney-Vento.  Having a STAC form on file and sharing McKinney-Vento status on a need-to-know basis with other staff members can avoid mistakes that put families through unnecessary stress.

As an Unaccompanied Youth, the student has McKinney-Vento rights and, after discussion with the district and NYSED, the student was allowed to continue attending the district as a formally designated McKinney-Vento student.

Questions to Consider:

1. How is the youth considered an Unaccompanied Youth?

2. If the youth’s father is still supporting his education, is he still considered a UHY?

3. What is the difference between a district’s Residency Policy and the 310 Dispute process?

Answers:

1. An unaccompanied youth is a student who is not in the physical custody of their parent or legal guardian; this includes young people who have run away from home, have been kicked out of their homes, or have been abandoned by parents. There is no age limit for unaccompanied youth, but these students are most often in their teens. Unaccompanied youth are protected under the McKinney-Vento Act when the student also does not have a fixed, adequate, and regular nighttime residence.  42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2).

This student previously lived with his former stepmom, who was not a legal guardian or a biological parent.  Before living with his grandparents, the student should have been identified as an Unaccompanied Youth.  Now, he is living with his grandparents, who are also not legal guardians or biological parents.

2. The McKinney-Vento Act neither authorizes nor requires school districts to make judgments about the validity of why a student is not living with a parent or a legal guardian. Determinations of MV eligibility are based solely on the definition of an unaccompanied homeless youth.

Per FERPA, parents still retain parental rights until the student turns 18, and they can access educational records and otherwise be involved with the student’s education regardless of UHY status.

3. Once a family; parent, guardian or an unaccompanied youth asserts McKinney-Vento rights, the residency claim is void/pulled back. If the district continues to believe that the family is not in temporary housing, then the district may begin a McKinney-Vento Dispute process, often referred to as the 310-dispute process. However, the 310 Dispute process is different from the school’s residency policy and appeal process.

   
   

Bottom line, if there is a claim of McKinney-Vento rights/status, it needs to be accepted. Because there is disagreement in housing-residency vs. temporarily housed, the 310 Dispute Process needs to be followed. 

Resources

Dispute/Resolution Appeal Process

NYS Field Memo

Appeal Form

Appeal Sample Evidence