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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.
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Arkansas
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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)
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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.
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Iowa
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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
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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.
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Maine
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2014 ME S 378
Education Disruption
Status: Enacted - Act No. 439
Date of Last Action:* 01/12/2014 - Enacted
Author: Langley (R)
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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.
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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.
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Maryland
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2014 MD S 64
Children in Need
Status: Enacted - Act No. 468
Date of Last Action:* 05/15/2014 - Enacted
Author: Judicial Proceedings Committee
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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.
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Texas
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2013 TX H 2619
Educational Needs of Children
Status: Enacted - Act No. 688
Date of Last Action:* 06/14/2013 - Enacted
Author: Naishtat (D)
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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.
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EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
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California
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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)
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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.
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EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTERS, GROUP HOMES, EMERGENCY SHELTERS AND OTHER FACILITIES
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California
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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)
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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.
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South Dakota
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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
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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.
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South Dakota
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2013 SD S 158
Educational Programs Funding
Status: Enacted - Act No. 77
Date of Last Action:* 03/14/2013 - Enacted
Author: White (R)
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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.
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INFORMATION SHARING AND INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION
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California
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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)
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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.
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Texas
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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)
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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.
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Illinois
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2014 IL S 2782
Juvenile Court Act
Status: Enacted - Act No. 868
Date of Last Action:* 08/08/2014 - Enacted
Author: Koehler (D)
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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.
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Georgia
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2013 GA S 115
Free Public Instruction
Status: Enacted - Act No. 36
Date of Last Action:* 04/24/2013 - Enacted
Author: Tippins (R)
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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.
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Nevada
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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
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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.
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OVERSIGHT OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND ACHIEVEMENT
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Connecticut
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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)
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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.
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Washington
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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)
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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.
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SCHOOL DISTRICT RESIDENCY FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE AND KINSHIP CARE
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Oklahoma
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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)
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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.
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Tennessee
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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)
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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.
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Virginia
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2013 VA S 960
Public School Student Residency
Status: Enacted - Act No. 779
Date of Last Action:* 04/03/2013 - Enacted
Author: Barker (D)
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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.
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OTHER EDUCATIONAL PROTECTIONS AND BENEFITS
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Illinois
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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)
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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.
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Tennessee
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2015 TN S 537
Graduation Requirements
Status: Enacted - Act No. 357
Date of Last Action:* 05/04/2015 - Enacted
Author: Gresham (R)
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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.
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Missouri
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2013 MO S 205
Foster Care
Status: Enacted - Signed by Governor
Date of Last Action:* 06/13/2013 - Enacted
Author: Sater (R)
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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.
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TEACHER TRAINING TRAUMA INFORMED PRACTICE
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Connecticut
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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)
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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.
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TUITION WAIVERS/REIMBURSEMENT/SCHOLARSHIPS/
TAX CREDITS/TUITION ASSISTANCE/POST-SECONDARY OPPORTUNITIES/OTHER SUPPORTS
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Alabama
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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)
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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.
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Michigan
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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)
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Provides for individual income tax checkoff for the Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund.
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Oregon
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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)
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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.
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Alabama
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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)
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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.
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Arizona
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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)
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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.
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Arizona
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2014 AZ H 2328
School Tuition Organizations
Status: Enacted - Act No. 278
Date of Last Action:* 05/05/2014 - Enacted
Author: Livingston (R)
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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.
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California
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2014 CA S 1023
Community Colleges: Foster Youth
Status: Enacted - Act No. 771
Date of Last Action:* 09/29/2014 - Enacted
Author: Liu (D)
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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.
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Illinois
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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)
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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.
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Maryland
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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)
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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.
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Maryland
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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)
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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.
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New Hampshire
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2013 NH S 134
Higher Education
Status: Enacted - Act No. 2013-0164
Date of Last Action:* 06/28/2013 - Enacted
Author: Stiles (R)
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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.
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Oregon
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2013 OR H 2095
Foster Child
Status: Enacted - Act No. 116
Date of Last Action:* 05/16/2013 - Enacted
Author: Office of the Governor
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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.
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