McKinney Vento Students

Educating Missouri's Homeless Children

Homeless Liasion:
DeAnna Sheets, Director of Federal Programs
1756 Bee Creek Road
Branson, MO 65616
Phone: 417-334-6541 ext. 9702
Fax: 417-243-2520


State Definition of a homeless student:

Students who qualify for a homeless status are those that lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This includes students who are staying in a shelter, in a hotel/motel or campground due to the lack of an alternative adequate accommodation, in a car, park, abandoned building, or other location not ordinarily used for human habitation, students staying in substandard housing, students who have run away or have been thrown out of their home, and students sharing housing with other people due to the loss of housing caused by economic hardship or disaster.

Students who meet this criteria qualify for a homeless status and have educational rights and protections under federal law, The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

McKinney-Vento Eligible students have the right to:

  • Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment.
  • Attend classes and actively participate in school activities while needed documents are being gathered.
  • Remain in the same school for the duration of the school year (if feasible and in the student’s best interest) even if he/she moves, or may enroll in the attendance area school where he/she is temporarily staying.

*If the Homeless Liaison believes that the school selected is not in his/her best interest, then The Office of Students in Transition will provide the student with a written explanation of its position and inform the student of his/her right to appeal its decision. This information for the appeal process may be found here.

  • Receive transportation to and from school (comparable to other students), if requested.
  • Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to the students' needs.
  • Automatic enrollment in the free meal program.

*A homeless status is awarded on a case by case basis and takes into consideration the permanency of the situation and each individual case.

Important Documents

Complaint Resolution Process McKinney Vento Poster
Branson Schools Homeless Policy Higher Education for Homeless Youth
Community Resources