Bipartisan Bill Will Give Foster Youth More Stability, Better Education

Juvenile Law Center applauds Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) for introducing the Educational Stability for Foster Youth Act earlier this month. This important bipartisan measure, also supported by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-IA) and Parry Murray (D-WA), aims to give youth in foster care the best opportunity to succeed in school.

Approximately 400,000 youth are in foster care nationwide, and over a third of high school-age foster youth have experienced 5 or more school changes. Frequent school and living placement changes disrupt foster youths’ academic progress and often lead to delayed enrollment, missing records, and lost credits. Only half of students in foster care are likely to graduate from high school by age 18.

This bill will help address the unique educational challenges facing thousands of youth in foster care and builds on previous legislation by promoting collaboration between education and child welfare agencies.

The bill ensures that, when it is in their best interest, youth can remain in their original school even if they move to a foster placement in a new school district. And, local educational and child welfare agencies are required to work together to provide transportation to and from the student’s original school. When a foster youth must change schools, the new school must immediately enroll the student and grant prompt access to educational records.

Along with partners such as Children’s Defense Fund, Education Law Center, National Center for Youth Law, and National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, Juvenile Law Center has been urging national leaders to pursue important educational reforms for foster youth. We’re excited to see a bipartisan initiative focused on improving educational success for students in foster care.

The Education Stability for Foster Youth Act will have a huge impact on thousands of children by reducing the number of times they will need to change school, or, if they must change schools, expediting the enrollment and record transfer process. You can read a summary of the bill here.

Image credit: “Fashion of Fish 7” via USFWS – Pacific Region, licensed by CC Attribution 2.0.