Alachua County schools outline McKinney‑Vento supports, cite state law changes and rising post‑secondary enrollment

Alachua County Public Schools officials and partner agencies summarized the district's McKinney‑Vento services and cited recent Florida policy changes at a homeless student awareness event, saying those measures remove barriers to enrollment and to health and higher‑education access for students without stable housing.

The McKinney‑Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a federal law, requires schools to remove barriers that children and youth experiencing homelessness may face when enrolling, attending and succeeding in school, Gina Dickey, regional navigator for the McKinney‑Vento program, said. "The purpose of the McKinney Vento act is to remove barriers that children and youth experiencing homelessness may face when enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school," Dickey said.

The law's protections include immediate enrollment even without typical records and the right to stay at a school of origin with transportation supports. "They have the right to immediate enrollment," Dickey said.

Why it matters: district leaders said these protections and recent state…