Legal
McKinney-Vento Act
Dear Parent or Guardian: The McKinney-Vento Act puts services in place for children and youth who are homeless. The school is a point of contact to start those services. The lists below describe living situations and supports for homeless students. Our Family Resource Officer, Cami Jo Stephenson, is ready and willing to help.
Who is considered homeless?
Anyone who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence including:
- Sharing the housing of others due to lack of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason
- Living in motels, hotels, camping grounds or other temporary housing, due to lack of adequate alternative accommodations
- Living in emergency or transitional shelters
- Abandoned in hospitals
- Awaiting foster care placement
- Living in a public or private place not designed for humans to live
- Living in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, public train stations, etc.
- A migrant child who qualifies under any of the above
Educational Rights for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness
- A homeless education liaison (Family Resource Officer at UTVA) in every public school
- Right to immediate enrollment in school where seeking enrollment without proof of residency, immunizations, school records, or other documents
- Right to choose between the local school where they are living, the school they attended before they lost their housing, or the school where they were last enrolled
- Right to transportation to their school of origin
- Right to be free from harassment and exclusion. Segregation based on a student’s living status and homelessness is strictly prohibited.
- Right to access educational services for which they are eligible including IDEA services, ESL, gifted and talented programs, vocational/technical education, and school nutrition programs.
- Right to be notified of their options and rights under McKinney-Vento. Family Resource Officer must post rights of students experiencing homelessness in schools and other places in the community.
- Right to have disagreements with the school settled quickly.
We are here to support your student. If your child is considered homeless and needs help, please contact our Family Resource Officer, Melody Burum. You can email her at mburum@utahvirtual.org or call at (801) 383-2908Warmly, Shelly Strahan Special Programs ManagerUtah Virtual Academy
Parents Right to Know
As a parent/guardian with a student attending Utah Virtual Academy, a school that receives Title I funds,
you have the right to know the qualifications of your child’s classroom teacher. ESSA requires that any
school district receiving Title I Funds must provide the following information to parents/guardians who
ask about the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teacher:
Whether the teacher has met the Utah teacher licensing criteria for the grade level and subject areas in which the teacher provides your child instruction.Whether the teacher is teaching under an emergency or temporary status that waives state licensing requirements. The undergraduate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate degree or certification (such as National Board Certification) held by the teacher and the field of discipline of certification or degree. Whether your child is provided services by instructional paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications. All requests
must be made in writing and should include the following information: student’s full name, legal parent/guardian’s full name, address, city, state, zip code, and teachers name. Your request can be sent to Utah Virtual Academy, 310 E. 4500 S. Ste 620, Murray, Utah 84107
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