The Hawaii MV1 form is a one-page Hawaii Department of Education questionnaire that identifies a student as homeless under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. A parent, legal guardian, or unaccompanied youth fills it out and turns it in at the student’s school. Once the student is identified, federal protections kick in: immediate enrollment without records, the right to stay at the school of origin, transportation to that school, and free school meals.
You can download the MV1 as a PDF from the Hawaii DOE website or pick up a paper copy at any public school’s main office.1Hawaiʻi State Department of Education. Enrollment FAQs If you can’t find it, call the State Homeless Concerns Office at 808-305-9869 (toll free 1-866-927-7095).2Hawaiʻi State Department of Education. Information for Parents – McKinney-Vento
Who Should File the MV1
Federal law defines a homeless child or youth as someone who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The statute lists several specific situations that qualify:3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11434a – Definitions
- Sharing someone else’s housing because of lost housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (often called “doubled up”).li>
- Living in an emergency or transitional shelter.
- Staying in a hotel, motel, trailer park, or campground because no other adequate housing is available.
- Sleeping in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, bus or train station, or any place not designed as regular sleeping quarters.
- Living in substandard housing that lacks running water, electricity, or heat.
- Children or youth abandoned in a hospital.
The DOE’s parent brochure adds living on a beach as a qualifying example in Hawaii.2Hawaiʻi State Department of Education. Information for Parents – McKinney-Vento
Doubled-up situations qualify, and they’re the most common. You don’t need an eviction notice or any paperwork to prove economic hardship. If your family moved in with relatives or friends because you couldn’t afford your own place, that counts.
A student who isn’t in the physical custody of a parent or guardian is an “unaccompanied youth” under the Act and can sign the MV1 themselves.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11434a – Definitions The student still needs to be in one of the living situations above. Talking to a parent regularly doesn’t disqualify a youth — what matters is whether they’re living with the parent.
How to Fill Out the MV1
The form is one page and doesn’t require any supporting documents. Work through it field by field.
Student information. Full name, date of birth, grade level, and student ID if you know it. If the student is new to Hawaii public schools and doesn’t have an ID yet, leave that field blank.
Current school. The name of the school the student is attending or wants to attend.
School of origin. The last school the student attended while the family was permanently housed, or the school where the student was most recently enrolled. This field matters because the student may have the right to stay at that school even after moving.
Geographic exception. Check this box if the student is attending a school outside the attendance area where they’re currently staying. A geographic exception may apply when the student is continuing at a school of origin in a different area.
Current residence. Describe where the student sleeps at night. If there’s no street address, write a physical description: a landmark, cross streets, the shelter’s name, or the general area.
Living situation checkbox. Pick the box that best matches the student’s nighttime situation. The categories track the federal definitions above.
Contact information. Give a phone number, or the name and number of someone reliable who can relay messages. A shelter front desk works. The school needs a way to reach you about enrollment and services.
Siblings. If the form has space for other school-age children in the household, list them. That way the school identifies every eligible child at once instead of processing separate requests later.
Signature and date. A parent, legal guardian, or unaccompanied youth signs and dates the form, certifying that the information is truthful.
Where to Turn the Form In
Give the completed MV1 to the school principal or their designee. From there it goes to the school’s Registrar or the designated Community Homeless Liaison.4Hawaiʻi State Department of Education. MV1 Form Every school complex area in Hawaii has an assigned homeless liaison. Ask the front office who that person is, because the liaison becomes your main contact for anything that comes up later.
If you need to go beyond the school, the State Homeless Concerns Office oversees the program statewide at 808-305-9869 or toll free 1-866-927-7095.2Hawaiʻi State Department of Education. Information for Parents – McKinney-Vento
What Happens After You File
The school reviews what you wrote to decide whether the living situation meets the federal definition. There is no published Hawaii DOE timeline for that decision, so if you don’t hear back within a few days, follow up with the homeless liaison.
The student does not have to wait for the decision to start school. Federal law requires immediate enrollment while the review happens, and the student attends classes and takes part in everything in the meantime.
What the MV1 Unlocks
Once a student is identified as homeless, several federal protections apply. Hawaii’s parent brochure summarizes them, and they come from the federal statute.2Hawaiʻi State Department of Education. Information for Parents – McKinney-Vento
Immediate Enrollment Without Records
The school must enroll the student right away, even without the records normally required: previous transcripts, immunization records, proof of residency, proof of age, or proof of guardianship.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11432 – Grants for State and Local Activities for the Education of Homeless Children and Youths The school contacts the previous school to collect records while the student attends classes. In practice, “immediately” means the same day or the next day. A missed application or enrollment deadline is not grounds to turn the student away.
School of Origin
The student can stay at the school they attended before losing stable housing, or the school where they were most recently enrolled, if that is in the student’s best interest.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11432 – Grants for State and Local Activities for the Education of Homeless Children and Youths The law presumes staying put is in the student’s best interest. If the district disagrees, it has to weigh student-centered factors like academic progress, health, and safety, and it has to give priority to what the parent or youth wants. Transportation and tuition costs cannot be part of that decision.
This right lasts for the full time the student is homeless and continues through the end of the school year in which the family finds permanent housing. If you secure stable housing in February, your child can finish the school year at the same school.
Transportation
If the student stays at a school of origin that’s no longer close to where the family is living, the district must provide or arrange transportation on request.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11432 – Grants for State and Local Activities for the Education of Homeless Children and Youths For an unaccompanied youth, the liaison can make the request. The school cannot force a family to disclose the address of a domestic violence shelter; a mutually agreed pickup and drop-off location is enough.
Free School Meals
Students identified as homeless are categorically eligible for free school breakfast and lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.6U.S. Government Publishing Office. Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act The school certifies the student directly, and no separate meal application is needed.
If the School Denies Eligibility
If the school denies eligibility, refuses enrollment, or places the student at a different school than the one you asked for, you can challenge the decision. While the dispute is open, the student stays enrolled at the school you chose, including through any appeals.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11432 – Grants for State and Local Activities for the Education of Homeless Children and Youths
The school has to give you a written explanation in language you can understand, together with information about your appeal rights. The homeless liaison runs the dispute resolution process. If the school-level outcome doesn’t work for you, call the State Homeless Concerns Office at 808-305-9869 to escalate.2Hawaiʻi State Department of Education. Information for Parents – McKinney-Vento Federal law requires disputes to be resolved as quickly as possible, and the student keeps attending throughout.