The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act) was reauthorized in 2015 with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of this federal act is to ensure immediate enrollment and educational stability for homeless children and youths. The McKinney-Vento Act provides federal funding to states, and states receiving this funding must comply with numerous requirements.

 The term "homeless children and youths" means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:

• 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;
• 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;
• children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
• migratory children who are living in any of the situations described above.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the state educational agency that must submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Education to provide for the education of homeless children and youths. 

Provisions and requirements that align with the federal McKinney-Vento Act are codified in state law. 

Actions of OSPI, school districts, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools that meet the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act as it existed on January 1, 2026 also satisfy equivalent requirements in state law. 

State Policy. OSPI must ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education for qualifying children, as provided to other children and youths.

When requirements of law, practice, or policy, including compulsory residency requirements, create barriers to the identification of or to the enrollment, attendance, or success in school of homeless children and youths, OSPI and school districts must review and undertake steps to revise such laws, regulations, practices, or policies to ensure that homeless children and youths are afforded the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children and youths. 

Homelessness is not sufficient reason to separate students from the mainstream school environment, and homeless children and youths should have access to the education and other services that such children and youths need to ensure that such children and youths have an opportunity to meet the same challenging state academic standards to which all students are held.

State Plan for the Education of Homeless Children. OSPI must submit to the Legislature a plan to provide for the education of homeless children and youth with certain information including:

• a description of specified procedures and policies; 
• strategies to address certain problems; 
• assurances that certain policies and practices will be adopted; and
• a description of how the state will ensure that school districts will comply with the requirements and what technical assistance will be provided.

Duties and Obligations of School Districts. School districts serving a homeless child or youth has certain specified duties including:

• continuing the homeless child's or youth's education in the school of origin for the duration of homelessness; 
• determining the best interest of the homeless child or youth based on certain criteria; 
• enrolling the homeless child or youth immediately even if records are missing or certain deadlines have been missed;
• resolving disputes over eligibility in accordance with certain requirements; 
• providing services comparable to other services including transportation, educational services, career and technical education, highly capable programs, and school nutrition programs; and
• coordinating the provision of these services with the provision of programs for children with disabilities. 

School District Liaisons. School districts must designate an appropriate staff person as a liaison for homeless children and youths with specified duties including:

• identifying and serving homeless children and youths; 
• informing parents and guardians of opportunities and educational rights including transportation services; 
• ensuring school personnel are receiving professional development; and
• coordinating and collaborating with state coordinator and community and school personnel when receiving funding for this purpose. 

School districts receiving funding for this purpose must review and revise policies that may act as barriers to the identification and enrollment of homeless children and youths. 

State Coordinator. OSPI must establish or designate an office of the coordinator for education of homeless children and youths with specified duties including:

• collecting and publishing certain data and information; 
• carrying out the state plan, coordinating activities, and collaborating with specified groups; 
• providing technical assistance and conducting monitoring; 
• providing professional development opportunities; and
• responding to inquiries from parents and guardians. 

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Duties and Authority. OSPI, in coordination with other state agencies and entities, must periodically collect and disseminate certain data and information on homeless children and youths. 

By October 1, 2030, and every four years thereafter, a report on the status of education of homeless children and youth must be submitted.

Grants to School Districts. Subject to appropriations, OSPI must make grants available to school districts for the purpose of facilitating services related to the identification, enrollment, attendance, and success in school of homeless children and youths. Competitive grants must be for terms not to exceed three years. 

Various requirements are specified for these grants including: 

• how services are provided on school grounds or at other facilities;
• what must be included in grant applications; 
• how to evaluate grant applications; and 
• the types of activities that these grants may fund.

Charter Schools and State-Tribal Education Compact Schools. These requirements apply to charter schools and state-tribal education compact schools to the same extent as they apply to school districts.

A federal severability clause is included.

• Replaces references to liaison or local liaison with school district liaison for consistency.
• Removes references to the state coordinator more broadly and replaces with the coordinator for education of homeless children and youths established under section 601 of this act.
• Replaces a plural reference to coordinators with coordinator to reflect that only one coordinator is required at the state level.
• Specifies that the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is the agency that is required to prepare and submit a status report on the education of homeless children and youth.
• Adds that grant funds are for the purpose of facilitating services related to the identification, enrollment, attendance, and success in school of homeless children and youths. 

The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard.  PRO: This ensures that the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act as it currently works gets codified into state law so that the state can protect students as they move forward, regardless of what happens at the federal level. With so much chaos at the federal level it isn't safe to assume that just because things have gone a certain way in the past that they will continue to do so. This is a crucial step towards addressing the issue of homelessness in a meaningful way. Federal Way is the second most diverse district in the state and 7th most diverse district in the country, but it is also experiencing the highest number of homeless youth in the state at over 1,600 students. Rural partners also say that they struggle to connect homeless students with services. All students need access to opportunity.

PRO: Passing the bill is a crucial step in addressing the issues facing homeless children and youth in a meaningful way. The bill streamlines what is currently expected of school districts and reinforces the states position on the issue. The bill has no fiscal impact as reported by OSPI as they are already doing this work.