Goal 4
Youth Have the Opportunity and Support to Fully Participate in All Aspects of the School Experience
Too often, youth are prevented from accessing school services available to all other youth. Not only must youth in out-of-home care receive equal treatment, they also will frequently need additional supports. The absence of family and educational stability combined with histories of abuse and neglect mean that youth in care experience higher rates of grade retention and lower academic achievement than their peers. Effectively responding to these needs may require the creation of specific policies and additional supports designed to improve academic achievement and broaden their access to all aspects of the school experience.
Benchmarks
A. Youth are entitled and encouraged to participate in all aspects of the school experience, including academic programs, extracurricular activities, and social events, and are not excluded because of being in out-of-home care.
E. Youth are not inappropriately placed in nonpublic schools or other alternative school settings, including schools for students with disabilities.
I. Youth with disabilities receive the special help they need to learn content appropriate to their grade level or, when that is not possible, the content that is appropriate to their learning level.
B. Youth receive the additional supports necessary to be included in all aspects of the school experience.
F. Youth receive supports to improve performance on statewide achievement tests and other measures of academic success (such as attendance and graduation).
J. Youth with disabilities receive their education in regular classrooms (with the necessary supports and accommodations) whenever possible.
C. Youth’s records relating to his or her education and needs are made available to necessary individuals working with the youth, while respecting the youth’s privacy.
G. Youth are surrounded by trained professionals that have the knowledge and skills to work with children who have experienced abuse and neglect; school curricula and programs utilize the research on trauma-informed care.
D. Youth’s appointments and court appearances are scheduled to minimize their impact on the child’s education, and children are not penalized for school time or work missed because of court or child welfare case-related activities.
H. Youth with disabilities are located, evaluated, and identified as eligible for special services.
What the Data Tells Us
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Students in foster care are more likely to repeat a grade in school
Students in foster care perform worse on academic assessments, including math, reading, and science assessments
Students in more family-like placements fare better academically; students in congregate care settings are more likely to experience greater school instability and poorer outcomes
Students who attend onsite schools in residential facilities are less likely to receive an appropriate, high-quality education.
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Studies show that children who enter foster care have often missed many school days.
Once in foster care, children and youth often have higher school absence rates than their non-foster care peers.
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School connectedness is key to academic success; when youth feel engaged and connected to their school, they are more likely to have higher grades and succeed academically.
Students in foster care are more likely than their peers to experience other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and high overall ACE scores. This leaves them at risk for mental health and behavioral challenges in school that impact their ability to learn.
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Several studies show children and youth in foster care are between 2.5 - 3.5 times more likely to receive special education services than their non-foster care peers. Studies also estimate that one-third to one-half of children in foster care are identified for special education services.
Research suggests that students in foster care with disabilities experience higher levels of placement disruption, spend more time in foster care, experience more restrictive placement settings, and change schools more frequently than students receiving special education services not in foster care.
Studies have also found that children in foster care may not be receiving the special education services they potentially need and experience delays in receiving the services to which they are entitled.
For more information on this data, see “Exploring Education Outcomes: What Research Tells Us.”
Federal Law and Policy
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IDEA: Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children with disabilities have the right to services and supports to help them succeed in school. The IDEA requires that eligible school-aged students (ages 3-21) with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
Section 504: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by recipients of federal financial assistance, including public schools. Students with disabilities who are eligible for services under the IDEA and students with disabilities who are not eligible under IDEA are both protected by Section 504. Under Section 504, students may receive school-based accommodations to ensure that they receive equal access to an education.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 : Some children in foster care are also English Language Learners. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA) require public schools to ensure that all English Learner students, including students in foster care, can participate equally in educational programs and that there is meaningful communication with Limited English Proficient parents.
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FERPA: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits schools from disclosing personally identifiable information from a student’s education records to a third party without a parent’s consent, but contains numerous exceptions.
Uninterrupted Scholars Act: To facilitate information sharing between child welfare and education agencies, the Uninterrupted Scholars Act (USA) amended FERPA to allow child welfare agencies to access educational records for children in their custody without parental consent. Under the USA exception, schools can share a student’s education records with an agency caseworker or other representative of the state or local child welfare agency if they are “legally responsible… for the care and protection of the student” and have the right to access a student’s case plan. For more information, read our read our factsheet about USA.
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Education records required in case plan: Provisions of IV-E require child welfare agencies to keep certain records in a child’s case plan for children receiving IV-E foster care maintenance payments- including a child’s education provider, their grade level performance, and other relevant education information. For more information, see “Key Federal Laws Supporting Children in Foster Care.”
Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard: To promote normalcy for students in foster care, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act requires caregivers to use a “reasonable and prudent parent standard” when determining whether to allow a child in foster care to participate in age-related extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities.
State Law & Policy
Oregon- ORS 418.194 (2021): To reduce absences for students in foster care, this Oregon law requires that family visits be scheduled around a child’s school day, to the extent practicable.
New Mexico- SB 213(2017): Requires the sending school district and the receiving school district enrolling a high school student who has experienced disruption in the education process through no fault of the student, including children in foster care, to provide that student with opportunities to participate in comparable school academic programs and extracurricular activities for which the student is eligible and to earn credits and graduate from high school.
Georgia- HB 855 (2020): When a student in foster care is enrolled in a school, this law requires local school systems to assess whether exposure to trauma has had or is likely to have an adverse impact on a student’s educational performance, including both academics and classroom behavior. This assessment is part of an overall determination of whether the student is eligible for special education and related services, and what services, if any, should be provided.
Nevada- SB 257 (2017): Clarifies that students in foster care have the right to have reasonable access to participate in extracurricular, cultural and personal enrichment activities; creates a fund to provide financial support to allow those students to participate in such activities, and provides protection from liability for caregivers who allow children in their care to participate in such activities if they follow the “reasonable and prudent parent” standard.
Arkansas- Code § 9-28-113(f) (2024): This Arkansas statute requires that those directly involved in the care and education of a child in foster care—including educators, child welfare staff, and attorneys, and the court presiding over the case-- work together to ensure the continuity of educational services, including ensuring they have access the same extracurricular enrichment activities available to all students. The grades of students in foster care also cannot be lowered due to absences due to a change in the child’s school enrollment, attendance at court, or participation in court-ordered counseling or treatment.
Pennsylvania-Act 1 (2022): School entities must clearly define how full and partial credits will be assessed, ensure that students are awarded full or partial credits for work satisfactorily completed at prior schools, and may waive any course needed for graduation if the student has completed similar course work or demonstrates competence in the content area. If a student is not able to graduate from their current school or a prior school, they can receive a “Keystone Diploma” by meeting statewide graduation requirements.
