Waterville Public Schools and the Maine Department of Education follow the provisions of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which aims to minimize the educational disruptions experienced by students experiencing housing instability. Students in temporary housing situations are guaranteed the right to a free, appropriate, public education. McKinney-Vento protections apply to all public school students, pre-K through grade 12 who “lack a fixed, regular and adequate night time residence”, including children and youth:

• Sharing housing due to loss of housing or economic hardship

• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or campgrounds due to lack of alternative adequate housing

• Living in emergency or transitional housing

• Abandoned in hospitals

• Having a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping accommodations

• Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations

• Migratory students meeting the descriptions above