McKinney-Vento (Homelessness in NC)

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  • District McKinney-Vento Liaison:

    Teresa Coleman

  • At each school, the School Social Worker serves as the school-based McKinney-Vento Point of Contact.

    • For Thomasville Primary and Liberty Drive Schools, contact Kelly Young.

    • For Thomasville High and Thomasville Middle Schools, contact Kelvin Wilder

  • North Carolina McKinney-Vento State Coordinator: Lisa Phillips

  • The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law passed in 1987 to help families who are homeless keep their children in school with minimal barriers. It was most recently re-authorized in December 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). 

  • The term “homeless children and youth”—

     means

    individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and

     includes —

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

    2. children and youths 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…

    3. children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

    4. migratory children who qualify as homeless.

  • In addition to the provisions that apply to all homeless students, the McKinney-Vento Act includes the following provisions specifically for unaccompanied youth:

     

    • Unaccompanied homeless youth shall be immediately enrolled without proof of guardianship.

    • During a dispute over school selection or enrollment, unaccompanied homeless youth shall receive a written statement explaining the school’s decision, the youth’s right to appeal the decision, and a referral to the local liaison.

    Number of Students identified in Thomasville City Schools by year:

  • 2024-2025: 109 students

  • 2023-2024: 75 students

  • 2022-2023: 113 students