Pensar Academy

The Stewart B. McKinney-Vento Homeless Student Assistance Act protects the rights of all homeless/highly mobile students and potential challenges they may face in enrollment, attendance, and success in school.  To be eligible to receive assistance, the McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children, youth, and unaccompanied youth as follows:

• Homeless Children and Youth as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
• Unaccompanied Youth as a homeless child (under the age of 18 years old)  not in the physical custody of a parent or legal guardian.

An identified student is granted certain rights and protections which may include the following:

• Transportation, if applicable
• Free breakfast and lunch
• Assistance with school fees, fines, and supplies
• Before/After school clubs, activities, and intervention/extension academic services
• Referrals to community agencies

Criteria to Qualify for McKinney-Vento Assistance:

According to the McKinney-Vento Act, a homeless individual lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or has a primary nighttime residence, that is:

• A hotel or motel;
• A shelter/transitional housing program; 
• Shared housing with another family due to loss of housing, stemming from financial hardship;
• A trailer park or campsite due to the lack of adequate living accommodations;
• An abandoned building, parked car, or other facility not designed for regular sleeping accommodation of human beings; 
• Living with another person due to the death or incarceration of a parent 
• Living as a youth on their own due to abandonment or runaway status

Children are not considered "Homeless" if they:

• are incarcerated or in youth correction facilities; 
• are in foster care unless they are temporarily placed in foster care because of a lack of shelter space;
• are from a family of migrant workers

Students are identified by Pensar Academy's McKinney-Vento Coordinator or through referrals made by Pensar Academy employees, community members, city agency employees or self-referrals. The McKinney-Vento Coordinator oversees the immediate enrollment of these students in school, works with identified school staff to provide assistance to meet their academic and nonacademic needs and ensure that barriers to education are eliminated.

Pensar Academy Point of Contact

for McKinney Vento Services: 

Daniela Medina

602-383-4013

dmedina@pensaracademy.org