Mother successfully readmits her child into a local elementary school under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

Client(s) Client R

At the request of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, Jones Day Pittsburgh assisted a mother in her efforts to readmit her child into a local elementary school under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The McKinney-Vento Act protects the rights of homeless children and youths to equal access to public education. The legal issue was whether a child whose parents live in "day shelter" but have no permanent night-time residence is eligible to attend school where the day shelter is located, regardless of state residency requirements that apply outside the homelessness context. Jones Day briefed the ultimate legal issue to the Pennsylvania Department of Education and successfully negotiated the child's return to school.