Educating Children in Foster Care State Legislation 2008-2015

9/27/2016

States Respond to Fostering Connections
Information Sharing and Interagency Collaboration
Early Education Development
Post-Secondary Educational Opportunities
Other Educational Protections and Benefits
State Policy Options
About This NCSL Project
Additional Resources

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Child Welfare Project, Denver Office, 303-364-7700

classroom with children Positive school experience can help children and youth in foster care overcome some of the effects of any abuse, neglect, separation and impermanence they may have experienced; enhance well-being; and help them make successful transitions into adulthood. Yet, studies have found several barriers that may prevent foster children from succeeding in school, including multiple school changes; inconsistency; lack of communication; and delays in enrollment, among others. Since the early 2000s, a growing body of state legislation has addressed some key challenges to improving educational results for children and youth in foster care. In the four years prior to the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Fostering Connections Act), at least 51 state laws were enacted to improve educational experiences and opportunities for children and youth in foster care. State legislatures were primarily concerned with interagency coordination, collaboration and information sharing, education stability and continuity, and post-secondary education opportunities for youth in foster care.

At the beginning of 2013, President Obama signed the Uninterrupted Scholars Act (USA) as a follow-up to the Fostering Connections Act. It is designed to address a barrier identified by child welfare agencies with regard to providing educational stability to children in foster care. The USA makes it easier for schools to release a child’s education records to child welfare agencies without the prior written consent of the parents. These changes are designed to help child welfare agencies quickly access a student’s educational records, which not only will help make decisions regarding education stability, but also will ensure that children are promptly enrolled with all school records when they do change schools. Under the USA, state legislatures likely will continue to focus on education and child welfare agency collaboration to provide stability and continuity for children in foster care.

Recent Guidance and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

Most recently, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance on June 2, 2014, in the form of a joint letter from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to increase the educational stability of children and youth in foster care.

On June 23, 2016 the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released joint guidance to states, school districts and child welfare agencies on important new provisions of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to complement similar provisions in the Fostering Connections Act to further ensure the educational stability of children and youth in foster care. ESSA clarifies that educational stability of these children is a joint responsibility, requiring continuous collaboration, of child welfare and state and local education agencies.

The U.S. Department of Education created a website,“Students in Foster Care,” to assist states in their efforts.

In the years 2008 through 2015, equipped with the Fostering Connections Act, the Uninterrupted Scholars Act and recent guidance state legislators continued to focus on education stability and continuity for children in foster care. Of the total 99 enactments related to educating children in foster care, at least 44 were directly related to Fostering Connections Act provisions. In addition, at least 16 state laws were enacted related to collaboration and communication between schools and child welfare agencies. States also continued to focus on providing post-secondary opportunities for youth in foster care. Between 2008 and 2015, at least 23 states enacted laws designed to help foster care students access post-secondary education opportunities.

The following major categories of legislation related to the education of children in foster care were enacted between 2008 and 2015.

State Response

Stability: The Fostering Connections Act requires child welfare agencies to work with education agencies to ensure that children remain in their schools of origin. Even before its passage in 2008, several states—including Arkansas, California, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oregon, Washington and Virginia—addressed educational stability through legislation that allowed children and youth in foster care to attend their school of origin. After passage of the act, Arkansas, California, Oregon and Virginia added more provisions. Between 2009 and 2015, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and the District of Columbia enacted legislation related to educational stability.
Transportation: The Fostering Connections Act provides that state foster care maintenance payments can include “reasonable travel for the child to remain in the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement.” Connecticut and Louisiana laws specifically required schools to provide transportation for children to their school of origin, if necessary.
Continuity: If it is not in the child’s best interest to remain in the school of origin, the Fostering Connections Act requires immediate and appropriate enrollment in a new school, along with transfer of all educational records. Before passage of the act, nine states had legislatively required immediate enrollment of children in new schools when a school transfer was necessary. Between 2009 and 2012, an additional seven states— Colorado, California, Oklahoma, Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas—enacted education continuity laws.
Transition Planning: From 2009 through 2015, lawmakers in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin enacted legislation requiring development of a transition plan to help foster youth successfully enter adulthood. The transition plans must cover specific education options.

Information Sharing and Interagency Collaboration

Information Sharing: Information sharing can help child welfare workers make informed individual placement decisions and develop transition goals for children in foster care. Between 2008 and 2015, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, Texas and Washington addressed information-sharing concerns through legislation.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: California, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine and Texas legislatively addressed interdisciplinary collaboration between departments such as child welfare, education, corrections and/or health to ease implementation of services for children in foster care.
Report to the Legislature: Colorado and Washington enacted legislation requiring the department of human services or education to provide an annual report to the legislature regarding the status of education for children in foster care.

Early Education Development

Children under age 1 represent the largest group of children to enter into the foster care system annually. Many of the infants, toddlers and preschoolers in foster care have been exposed to poverty, substance abuse, and/or parental neglect and abuse. Developmental delays are extremely common among children younger than age 5 who are in out-of-home care. In 2012, Connecticut and Michigan enacted laws designed to provide resources for early childhood development services for children in foster care.

Post-Secondary Educational Opportunities

Unfortunately, far fewer youth in foster care attend a post-secondary education program compared to their peers who are not in foster care. States have worked to remedy some of the factors contributing to why foster youth have not attended or succeeded in post-secondary education programs including: lack of awareness of available opportunities; lack of skills to navigate the application process; and, lack of financial assistance. Between the years 2008 and 2015, Delaware, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas enacted legislation designed to improve post-secondary opportunities for youth in foster care.

Other Educational Protections and Benefits

Oversight of Student Performance and Achievement: Colorado, Connecticut, Mississippi, Nevada and Washington enacted legislation to provide oversight either from the Department of Education or the Department of Human Services to track performance of students who are in out-of-home placement.
Safeguards: Georgia provided further safeguards for foster care students by allowing a student to not be counted as absent from school in order to attend court proceedings. Tennessee prohibited local education agencies from requiring more than the minimum graduation requirements for students in custody of the Department of Children's Services.

State Legislation
EDUCATIONAL CONTINUITY: If it is not in the child’s best interest to remain in the school of origin, the Fostering Connections Act requires immediate and appropriate enrollment in a new school, along with the transfer of all educational records.
Arkansas	2015 AR H 1694 School District Enrollment By Foster Children Status: Enacted - Act No. 1094 Date of Last Action:* 04/06/2015 - Enacted Author: Fite (R)	Allows school district enrollment by foster children, allows the payment of state foundation funding, ensures continuity of education for foster children, provides that a foster child may remain enrolled in a school district in this state even if the foster home or placement is located outside the boundaries of the school district, provides access to academic resources, services, and extracurricular enrichment activities that are available to all students.
Iowa	2014 IA H 2388 Child Welfare Liaison for Foster Care Services Status: Enacted - Act No. 1091 Date of Last Action:* 04/10/2014 - Enacted Author: Education Cmt	Encourages the area education agency board to employ a child welfare liaison to provide services and guidance to local school districts to facilitate the efficient and effective transfer and enrollment of a child in foster care to another school district. Requires the school districts to work with the child welfare liaison to develop systems to ease the enrollment transition of a child in foster care to another school, develop procedures for awarding credit for coursework, including electives, completed by a child in foster care at another school, promote practices that facilitate access by foster children to extracurricular programs, summer programs, and credit transfer services, establish procedures to lessen the adverse impact of enrollment transfer, enter into a memorandum of understanding with the department of human services regarding the exchange of information to facilitate the enrollment transition, and provide other assistance as identified by the area education child welfare liaison.
Maine	2014 ME S 378 Education Disruption Status: Enacted - Act No. 439 Date of Last Action:* 01/12/2014 - Enacted Author: Langley (R)	Relates to students who experience an education disruption, sets out the process for the Department of Education to follow in awarding a Department diploma to a student who has experienced an education disruption, describes the responsibilities of the schools and interim programs with respect to the education of a student who experiences an education disruption including responsibilities when multiple disruptions occur.
EDUCATIONAL STABILITY: The Fostering Connections Act requires child welfare agencies to work with education agencies to ensure that children remain in their schools of origin.
Maryland	2014 MD S 64 Children in Need Status: Enacted - Act No. 468 Date of Last Action:* 05/15/2014 - Enacted Author: Judicial Proceedings Committee	Requires the court to inquire as to the educational stability of a child at a shelter care hearing, adjudicatory hearing, disposition hearing, and any change of placement proceeding. Defines educational stability as the continuous process of identifying and implementing the appropriate educational placement, training, resources, services, and experiences that will address the fundamental needs necessary to ensure the successful educational outcome of a child and contribute to the child's overall well-being. Details the criteria the court may use when determining educational stability.
Texas	2013 TX H 2619 Educational Needs of Children Status: Enacted - Act No. 688 Date of Last Action:* 06/14/2013 - Enacted Author: Naishtat (D)	Relates to educational needs of children in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services. Outlines the appointment of a surrogate parent for children in special education programs and the identification of the education decision-maker in permanency hearing procedures. Additionally, H.B. 2619 outlines what notices schools should send to educational decision-makers. It is important for attorneys and guardians ad litem to be knowledgeable about the child's educational needs and goals, including special education, whether the child is at grade level, and school behavioral interventions. H.B. 2619 makes these part of the attorney ad litem and guardian ad litem duties. When children in foster care miss school for court-ordered family visits and other appointments, the students are given unexcused absences. H.B. 2619 adds mental health appointments, family visitations, and appointments with health care professionals to the list of excused absences. H.B. 2619 requires the Department of Family and Protective Services to develop an educational stability plan. H.B. 2619 requires schools to transfer the records of students in substitute care who switch schools no later than the tenth working day after the date the student begins enrollment.
EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
California	2015 CA A 224 Educational Liaison for Foster Children: Rights Notice Status: Enacted - Act No. 554 Date of Last Action:* 10/07/2015 - Enacted Author: Jones-Sawyer (D)	Requires the State Department of Education to develop a standardized notice of the educational rights of foster children, and make the notice available to liaisons for such children by posting the notice on its Internet Web site. Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTERS, GROUP HOMES, EMERGENCY SHELTERS AND OTHER FACILITIES
California	2015 CA A 379 Foster Youth: Complaint of Noncompliance Status: Enacted - Act No. 772 Date of Last Action:* 10/11/2015 - Enacted Author: Gordon (D)	Relates to authorization for foster children living in emergency shelters to receive education services at the shelter as necessary for short periods of time for specified reasons. Authorizes certain complaints. Requires a local education agency to provide a remedy in certain cases. Makes changes concerning transfers between schools for pupils in foster care or homeless children or youth and coursework acceptance.
South Dakota	2014 SD H 1032 Children in Residential or Intensive Treatment Centers Status: Enacted - Act No. 85 Date of Last Action:* 02/12/2014 - Enacted Author: Education Committee	Revises provisions regarding the education of children placed in residential treatment centers or intensive residential treatment centers, requires such education to be the responsibility of the school district where the center is located, provides for the calculation method for special education services.
South Dakota	2013 SD S 158 Educational Programs Funding Status: Enacted - Act No. 77 Date of Last Action:* 03/14/2013 - Enacted Author: White (R)	Provides for the funding by school districts of educational programs for children in residential treatment centers, intensive residential treatment centers, or licensed group care centers.
INFORMATION SHARING AND INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION
California	2015 CA A 854 Educational Services: Pupils in Foster Care Status: Enacted - Act No. 781 Date of Last Action:* 10/11/2015 - Enacted Author: Weber (D)	Relates to the education of pupils in foster care to include the establishment of the Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program and its operation by each county office of education and identifying a program coordinator. Requires application for grant funding. Relates the development of related allocation formula. Requires a foster youth services coordinating plan. Relates to plan reporting requirements. Provides the preference for funding such services plan. Authorizes agreements to provide such services.
Texas	2015 TX H 3748 Coordination of Educational Support Services Status: Enacted - Act No. 822 Date of Last Action:* 06/17/2015 - Enacted Author: Farney (R)	Relates to the coordination of educational support services for and information regarding students who are currently or were formerly placed in foster care, provides for the designation of a liaison officer at institutions of higher education, provides for a memorandum of understanding regarding exchanges of certain information.
Illinois	2014 IL S 2782 Juvenile Court Act Status: Enacted - Act No. 868 Date of Last Action:* 08/08/2014 - Enacted Author: Koehler (D)	Amends the Juvenile Court Act, provides that upon issuing a temporary custody order concerning an abused, neglected, or dependent minor, whenever a special education or early intervention services surrogate parent is appointed under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the court may appoint one or both parents or the minor's legal guardian who is a respondent as the educational surrogate parent or early intervention program surrogate parent for the minor if certain conditions are met.
Georgia	2013 GA S 115 Free Public Instruction Status: Enacted - Act No. 36 Date of Last Action:* 04/24/2013 - Enacted Author: Tippins (R)	Relates to free public instruction, provides that a child in custody of the Department of Justice, the Department of Human Services or the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities is eligible for enrollment in local educational programs, including special education, provides that no child in a youth development center, regardless of custody status, is eligible for enrollment in local educational programs.
Nevada	2013 NV S 31 Sharing of Information Regarding Certain Children Status: Enacted - Act No. 155 Date of Last Action:* 05/25/2013 - Enacted Author: Judiciary Committee	Authorizes directors of juvenile services, chief juvenile probation officers and the Chief of the Youth Parole Bureau to release certain information concerning a child who is within the purview of the juvenile court to certain persons, including a guardian ad litem, an attorney, or the child to whom the information pertains, relates to the application of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 to children in protective custody and the release of information concerning abuse or neglect.
OVERSIGHT OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND ACHIEVEMENT
Connecticut	2014 CT S 45 Well Being Of Children Status: Enacted - Act No. 14-99 Date of Last Action:* 06/06/2014 - Enacted Author: Joint Committee on Children Additional Authors: Bartolomeo (D)	Requires the superintendent of each school district, providing education to foster youth, to provide the department, a foster parent, and the attorney for the child, a description of the child's educational status and academic progress that is substantially similar to the description provided to parents of non-foster youth. Details the information that must be provided as educational performance, including absenteeism and grade level performance, test results, report cards, individual success plans and discipline reports. Requires the Department of Children and Families and Court Support Services Division to review the educational files to determine if the child is eligible for special education services.
Washington	2013 WA H 1566 Educational Outcomes of Youth in Out of Home Care Status: Enacted - Act No. 182 Date of Last Action:* 05/08/2013 - Enacted Author: Carlyle (D)	Requires that certain youth who are in foster care receive an educational liaison, outlines the responsibilities of the liaison, the Department of Social and Health Services, school districts, and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction with regards to school-aged youth who reside in foster care, expands the Passport to College Promise Program eligibility, requires a specified annual report on educational outcomes for youth residing in out-of-home care.
SCHOOL DISTRICT RESIDENCY FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE AND KINSHIP CARE
Oklahoma	2015 OK H 2069 Schools District Residency of Children in Foster Care Status: Enacted - Act No. 363 Date of Last Action:* 06/03/2015 - Enacted Author: Nelson (R)	Relates to school district residency for children in foster care, provides for changing the residency of children in foster care upon request of the foster parent, adds residency for children admitted to facilities that provide on-site educational services, allows children in foster care family homes to transfer, provides that residency shall be determined as any facility in which a child has been admitted and is receiving on-site education services.
Tennessee	2013 TN S 496 Education of Children in Foster Care Status: Enacted - Act No. 397 Date of Last Action:* 05/14/2013 - Enacted Author: Gresham (R)	Revises provisions regarding the education of children in foster care, provides that any child placed in the custody of the department of children's services shall become a resident of the county in which such child is placed by the department, provides that the board of education of each local school system shall assign the student to a public school, provides for school records, provides for appeals and hearings.
Virginia	2013 VA S 960 Public School Student Residency Status: Enacted - Act No. 779 Date of Last Action:* 04/03/2013 - Enacted Author: Barker (D)	Relates to public schools, relates to residency of children in kinship care, allows a child receiving kinship care from an adult relative to enroll in the school division where the kinship care provider resides, allows local school divisions to require one legal parent and the kinship care provider to sign affidavits detailing the kinship care arrangement as well as a power of attorney authorizing the adult relative to make educational decisions regarding the child.
OTHER EDUCATIONAL PROTECTIONS AND BENEFITS
Illinois	2015 IL S 1255 Foster Youth Summer Internship Program Status: Enacted - Act No. 285 Date of Last Action:* 08/05/2015 - Enacted Author: Hunter (D)	Amends the Children and Family Services Act, provides that the Department of Children and Family Services shall adopt rules on the development and implementation of a Foster Youth Summer Internship Pilot Program for the purpose of providing foster youth with professional training and experience through internships, provides that the Department may collaborate with other appropriate State agencies to establish the pilot program.
Tennessee	2015 TN S 537 Graduation Requirements Status: Enacted - Act No. 357 Date of Last Action:* 05/04/2015 - Enacted Author: Gresham (R)	Prohibits an LEA from requiring more than the minimum graduation requirements for students enrolling or transferring in the eleventh grade or later who are in the custody of the Department of Children's Services to receive a full diploma.
Missouri	2013 MO S 205 Foster Care Status: Enacted - Signed by Governor Date of Last Action:* 06/13/2013 - Enacted Author: Sater (R)	Provides that all foster children fifteen years of age or older shall receive a visit to a state university or a state community or technical college in the foster child's area or an armed services recruiter before the child may be adopted or otherwise terminated by foster care, provides that all youth fifteen years of age or older in the division of youth services program shall receive such a visit.
TEACHER TRAINING TRAUMA INFORMED PRACTICE
Connecticut	2015 CT S 843 Trauma Informed Practice Training for Teachers Status: Enacted - Act No. 15-232 Date of Last Action:* 06/30/2015 - Enacted Author: Joint Committee on Children Additional Authors: Urban (D)	Relates to trauma-informed practice training for teachers, administrators, and pupil personnel, provides trauma-informed practices for the school setting to enable teachers, administrators and pupil personnel to more adequately respond to students with mental, emotional or behavioral health needs.
TUITION WAIVERS/REIMBURSEMENT/SCHOLARSHIPS/ TAX CREDITS/TUITION ASSISTANCE/POST-SECONDARY OPPORTUNITIES/OTHER SUPPORTS
Alabama	2015 AL S 157 Fostering Hope Scholarship Act of 2015 Status: Enacted - Act No. 2015-121 Date of Last Action:* 05/05/2015 - Enacted Author: Brewbaker (R)	Establishes the Fostering Hope Scholarship Act of 2015, relating to a tuition scholarship program for current or former foster children in Alabama, imposes requirements for participation, directs the Department of Human Resources to adopt and administer the program, authorizes the department to develop rules to administer the program, and, establishes a support system for participants in the program.
Michigan	2015 MI S 543 Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund Status: Pending - House Tax Policy Committee Date of Last Action:* 10/6/2015 Author: MacGregor (R)	Provides for individual income tax checkoff for the Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund.
Oregon	2015 OR S 418 State Administered Grants and Waiver of Tuition Status: Enacted - Act No. 781 Date of Last Action:* 07/27/2015 - Enacted Author: Knopp (R)	Relates to a work group to identify methods for improving the success rate of students receiving state-administered waivers of tuition, or state-administered grants for amount of tuition, for courses taken at community college. Relates to preparation for community college courses, provides for accelerated college credit programs, and, provides funding priority to schools with high participation in school lunch programs and low graduation rates.
Alabama	2014 AL H 48 Tax Credit for Intrastate Adoption Status: Enacted - Act No. 2014-413 Date of Last Action:* 04/09/2014 - Enacted Author: Lee (R)	Makes minors who are fourteen years of age or older, and who are adopted from the Alabama foster care system, eligible for $15,000 in post-secondary education assistance at any Alabama public institution of higher learning, college or university, any public two-year college, or any public trade or vocational school. Extends eligibility until the adopted child turned 26.
Arizona	2015 AZ H 2022 Foster Care Tuition Waiver Scholarships Status: Enacted - Act No. 69 Date of Last Action:* 03/26/2015 - Enacted Author: Brophy McGee (R)	Relates to tuition waiver scholarships for persons formerly in foster care, provides a pilot program to provide a tuition waiver scholarship at any university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, provides that each community college district shall develop a five-year pilot program to provide a tuition waiver scholarship at any community college in that community college district to any qualified person under twenty-three years of age.
Arizona	2014 AZ H 2328 School Tuition Organizations Status: Enacted - Act No. 278 Date of Last Action:* 05/05/2014 - Enacted Author: Livingston (R)	Modifies requirements for qualified students under Lexie's Law, which provides for tax credits for corporations which donate to school tuition organizations, so that any student who is a prior qualified student who continues to attend a qualified school, is placed in foster care, or is identified as having a disability under relevant laws is eligible for the program.
California	2014 CA S 1023 Community Colleges: Foster Youth Status: Enacted - Act No. 771 Date of Last Action:* 09/29/2014 - Enacted Author: Liu (D)	Authorizes the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to enter into agreements with community college districts to provide additional funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth. Provides the various services. Requires such districts to apply to the Board of Governors for program funding. Requires funding priority. Specifies the semester unit requirements for an eligible individual. Requires the submission of a related biennial report on the program.
Illinois	2014 IL H 4652 Children and Family Services Act Status: Enacted - Act No. 805 Date of Last Action:* 08/01/2014 - Enacted Author: Feigenholtz (D)	Requires the Department to select at least 53 students who are in foster care, who aged our of care at age 18 or older, were formerly inr foster care but were adopted, or who have been placed in private guardianship, to receive scholarships and fee waivers to assist them in attending and completing their post-secondary education at a community college, university, or college. Details the requirements for eligibility and the selection criteria. Requires the Department to report annually to the General Assembly regarding specified measures of success.
Maryland	2013 MD S 414 Tuition Waiver for Foster Care Recipients Status: Enacted - Act No. 259 Date of Last Action:* 05/02/2013 - Enacted Author: King N (D)	Alters the definition of a foster care recipient for purposes of a tuition waiver, includes persons who are placed into guardianship or who are adopted out of an out-of-home placement by a guardianship family, provides that qualified foster care recipients are eligible for a tuition waiver if the recipient is enrolled in a vocational certificate program at a public institution of higher education in the state, subject to certain conditions.
Maryland	2013 MD H 1012 Foster Care Higher Education Tuition Waiver Status: Enacted - Act No. 260 Date of Last Action:* 05/02/2013 - Enacted Author: Wilson (D)	Alters the definition of a foster care recipient to include individuals who are placed into guardianship or who are adopted out of an out-of-home placement by a guardianship family, provides that specified foster care recipients are eligible for a tuition waiver if the recipient is enrolled in a vocational certificate program at a public institution of higher education in the State, subject to specified conditions.
New Hampshire	2013 NH S 134 Higher Education Status: Enacted - Act No. 2013-0164 Date of Last Action:* 06/28/2013 - Enacted Author: Stiles (R)	Revises the application and approval process for institutions of higher learning to seek and receive approval from the higher education commission, establishes the higher education fund, transfers rulemaking authority for tuition waivers and scholarship programs for children of firefighters and police officers, and for foster children from the department of education to the university system of New Hampshire and the community college system of New Hampshire.
Oregon	2013 OR H 2095 Foster Child Status: Enacted - Act No. 116 Date of Last Action:* 05/16/2013 - Enacted Author: Office of the Governor	Aligns definition of a former foster child with federal standard for purposes of higher education grants, tuition waivers, and scholarships, and provides for an Indian child under the jurisdiction of a tribal court for out-of-home placement and not dismissed from care before reaching 16 years of age.

State Policy Options for Educating Children in Foster Care

Children and youth in foster care face significant challenges in attaining positive educational experiences and academic achievement that, in turn, influence adult life. State legislators can continue to play a critical role in improving educational opportunities and achievement for these children by considering the following state policy options.

Decreasing unnecessary discontinuity and trauma associated with school transfers.
Helping foster children remain in their school of origin.
Increasing the ability to share information between child welfare agencies and schools.
Working as conveners to bring together education agencies and child welfare agencies.
Developing greater accountability and compatibility between education and child welfare data systems to better track educational results for children in foster care.
Finding ways to fund post-secondary degree programs for current and former foster youth.
Providing guidance services to foster care youth to help them successfully enter and complete a degree program.

About This NCSL Project

The Denver-based child welfare project staff focuses on state policy, tracking legislation and providing research and policy analysis, consultation, and technical assistance specifically geared to the legislative audience. Denver staff can be reached at (303) 364-7700 or childwelfare@ncsl.org.

NCSL staff in Washington, D.C. track and analyze federal legislation and policy and represent state legislatures on child welfare issues before Congress and the Administration. Staff in D.C. can be reached at (202) 624-5400 or cyf-info@ncsl.org.