Who can apply

The student must:

• Attend a rental assistance eligible school
  See eligible schools
• Be experiencing homelessness
  See definition of homelessness

This program is not available for students in a:

• Charter school
• Private school

Student families must:

• Have a household income at or below 30% of area median
• Be referred into the program by a school social worker

See more support programs

How to apply

• Talk to your school social worker.
• School social workers make program referrals.

We decide on referrals by:

• Academic needs
• Family's housing history
• Availability of school referral openings

Immigration status

Immigration documentation status does not affect a family’s eligibility.

Public housing waiting lists

Program participants will stay on Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) waiting lists for:

• Public housing
• Housing choice vouchers

• Anishinabe Academy
• Bancroft Elementary
• Bethune Arts
• Bryn Mawr Elementary
• Cityview Elementary
• Ella Baker Global Studies and Humanities

• Emerson Dual Language*
• Folwell Elementary
• Green Central Dual Language
• Hall STEM Academy
• Hmong International Academy
• Jenny Lind Elementary

• Lake Nokomis (Keewaydin & Wenonah)*
• Las Estrellas Dual Language
• Loring Elementary*
• Lucy Craft Laney Elementary
• Lyndale Elementary*
• Marcy Arts

• Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary
• Pillsbury Elementary
• Seward Montessori*
• Sullivan STEAM
• Webster Elementary
• Whittier Elementary

*Schools added for the 2023-2024 school year.

Nighttime residence

This program defines homelessness as children and youth who lack a nighttime residence that is:

• Fixed
• Regular
• Adequate

Examples

This includes children and youth living in the following situations:

• Shelters or transitional housing programs
• Motels, hotels or weekly rate housing
• Double up with friends or relatives because family cannot find or afford housing
• Abandoned buildings, public space, car or other inadequate accommodation

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

This definition comes from the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001.

The McKinney-Vento act requires schools to remove barriers to:

• Enrollment
• Attendance
• Success for students experiencing homelessness

See the Minnesota Department of Education