The term "unaccompanied youth" includes youth in homeless situations who are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. A youth may also be unaccompanied but not homeless. Please involve the school McKinney-Vento liaison to assist any youth with enrollment.

Youth without a parent should go to the local school and be immediately enrolled and referred to the school McKinney-Vento Liaison for an assessment.

Unaccompanied youth in transition include young people:
● who have run away from home
● been thrown out of the home, and/or
● been abandoned by parents or guardians.
● left home for their own reasons

These young students are separated from their parents for a variety of reasons. For most of these individuals, leaving home is a survival issue. School may be the only safe and stable environment available to unaccompanied youth. Yet unaccompanied youth often face unique barriers to enrolling and succeeding in school. Without a parent or guardian to advocate for them and exercise parental rights, they are sometimes denied enrollment and remain out of school for extended periods of time.

Unaccompanied youth also may not understand their educational rights or know how to acquire this information. (NCHE).