PARENT INFORMATION
YOUTH INFORMATION
CONTACT
FAMILIES IN TRANSITION
The McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act is a federal law that ensures immediate enrollment and educational stability for homeless children and youth. McKinney-Vento provides federal funding to states for the purpose of supporting district programs that serve homeless students.
Defining Homeless
The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." The act provides examples of children who would fall under this definition:
Children and youth sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason
Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations
Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters
Children and youth abandoned in hospitals
Children and youth whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation (e.g. park benches, etc)
Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations
Migratory children and youth living in any of the above situation
For more information please visit the OSPI website.
C-Tran's free Youth Opportunity Passes available for students
C-TRAN’s Youth Opportunity Program (YOP) is available to anyone who is 18 years of age and under. It provides free access on C-TRAN Local services, including fixed-route, The Vine, C-VAN paratransit (must be medically qualified to ride or ride with someone who is), The Current microtransit, and Vanpool. With the passage of the Move Ahead Washington grant program, effective with the start of the 2023-2024 school year, C-TRAN no longer requires riders who are 18 years or younger to possess a valid YOP card to ride our Local services, nor do they need to have a completed Guardian Release Form.
The YOP program is only available on C-TRAN Local services and doesn’t extend to Regional or Express routes, or other transit systems. Additional fares will apply when transferring to these services; however, riders can visit a C-TRAN Customer Service Office to get a free Youth Hop card, which can be loaded with additional funds.
Students older than 18 who are enrolled in a school district life skills program such as GATE, Archway Academy, etc., are also eligible to ride free under YOP. Those students, as well as youth who appear older than 18, may be asked to show photo ID. In those instances, a valid student photo ID, Youth Hop photo ID card, or state-issued photo ID may be presented.