Student Athletes Experiencing Homelessness

A Legal Memo

This legal memo is taken from a letter responding to an inquiry regarding a homeless youth who was barred from student athletics due to eligibility standards that required a continuous period of residency in the school district.

This memo explains that the McKinney-Vento Act requires schools to ensure that students experiencing homelessness are able to access school athletic activities immediately.  Schools cannot allow typical participation rules that students experiencing homelessness cannot meet, such as those demanding a continuous period of attendance or residence or guardianship documents, to present barriers to immediate participation in athletics. (NLCHP, 2004)

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