McKinney-Vento 2001, Law Into Practice Issue Brief

Transportation

Changing schools greatly impedes students academic and social growth. A rule of thumb is that it takes a child four to six months to recover academically after changing schools.

Highly mobile students have also been found to have lower test scores and overall academic performance than peers who do not change schools. This diminished achievement hurts students and schools.  

Although the McKinney-Vento Act permits students in homeless situations to remain in their schools of origin despite their residential instability, lack of transportation commonly prevents them from continuing in their schools of origin. Therefore, Local Educational Authorities (LEAs) are now required to provide transportation to the school of origin.

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