New TEHCY Support Hotline and Intake Form

McKinney-Vento Responsibilities for School Systems

Under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, school systems (e.g., districts and charter schools) must ensure the identification, enrollment, and support of students experiencing homelessness.

Key legal responsibilities include:

• Removing barriers to education for students experiencing homelessness
• Designating and training homeless liaisons to coordinate services
• Participating in ongoing technical assistance and policy updates aligned with federal law (42 USC §11432)
• Each school system must appoint a local liaison to fulfill these duties (42 USC §11431–§11435). Liaison information is maintained in AskTED. School systems are required to update this information annually to ensure accurate and timely support. Use the AskTED How-to-Guidance to learn how to directly locate liaison information or visit the McKinney-Vento Liaisons | TEHCY Web Portal.

TEHCY Support: Strengthening Statewide Implementation

To enhance statewide implementation of McKinney-Vento requirements, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) launched Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth (TEHCY) Support—a coordinated system that includes:

• A real-time hotline
• A web-based intake form
• Advanced data-tracking of technical assistance inquiries

This initiative works in partnership with the TEHCY Regional Network, composed of 20 Education Service Centers (ESCs) that provide direct support to students, families, and school staff across more than 1,200 school systems.

While the TEHCY Regional Network is well-established and has been in place since 2021, the hotline, intake form, and data tracking tools are new enhancements designed to improve coordination and responsiveness. TEHCY Support complements the ongoing work of ESC McKinney-Vento Liaisons, who continues to support school systems in meeting federal requirements and promoting educational stability.

Below are statewide resources and support available to help Texas schools implement the requirements of McKinney-Vento and serve students and families experiencing homelessness.

TEHCY Support Hotline & Web-based Intake Form 

TEHCY Support Hotline (New)

• Call: 1-855-85TEHCY or 1-855-858-3429
• Hours: Monday–Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. CST

Web-Based Intake Form (New) 

• Submit inquiries via the intake button on the TEHCY Web Portal

TEHCY Regional Network (Support through ESC McKinney-Vento Liaisons)
TEA partners with ESCs to deliver localized McKinney-Vento services for students experiencing homelessness. Each ESC McKinney-Vento Liaison provides:

• Regional implementation support
• Direct assistance to students, families, and school staff
• Outreach, professional development, and capacity building

To locate your regional contact, visit the McKinney-Vento Statewide Regional Contacts page.

TEHCY Web Portal: Centralized Resources

The TEHCY Web Portal offers a comprehensive suite of tools to support McKinney-Vento implementation across Texas. Resources include:

• Training and professional development
• Guidance documents and compliance tools
• Practical resources for identifying and supporting students experiencing homelessness
• A place to submit technical assistance inquiries (New)

These materials provide real-time guidance on eligibility, compliance, and best practices, designed to build local capacity, promote consistency, and improve educational outcomes.

Explore the TEHCY Web Portal.

Contact Us

For additional questions or information, please contact: HomelessEducation@tea.texas.gov.