Assisting Students Experiencing Education Instability: Students in Foster Care Placement

Did you know?

Students in foster care placement that have experienced “education instability,” meaning one or more school changes in school entity enrollment during a single school year are eligible for assistance under Pennsylvania law[i].

Act 1 of 2022 (Act 1) promotes timely high school graduation and facilitates equal access to academics and extracurricular activities and the removal of systemic barriers for students who experience education instability as defined by the legislation. This includes students in foster care placement.

Foster care includes a variety of placement settings including placement in foster family homes, foster homes of relatives, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, child care institutions, and pre-adoptive homes[ii].

While students in foster care placement have a right to school stability under federal law[iii], sometimes a change in schools is necessary and appropriate. School entities must work with these students in a foster care placement who have experienced education instability to remove a variety of barriers that could impact their success in school.

What does the law provide students in foster care placement?

  • Establishes a Point of Contact for the student, the placing child welfare agency, foster care parents, education decision maker(s), and other systems or individuals involved in the education, protection and care of the student in foster care placement. The Point of Contact established by the student’s school entity ensures that the student receives all benefits of the law, and this information is added to the student’s education record.
  • Ensures equal access for the student to participate in school-sponsored and extracurricular activities if they meet placement and qualification requirements. This includes lifting registration deadlines due to attending a prior school or other barriers that may be caused by experiencing school instability.
  • Eliminates fees and fines for students that create a barrier to participation in school and school-sponsored activities. Fees and fines may include School ID fees, uniform fees, fees for athletics, extracurricular activities, school-sponsored trips, library fees, materials fees, fees for lost or damaged materials, and graduation regalia fees.
  • Assesses graduation progress to ensure timely graduation of students. This includes adopting more flexible policies regarding course credits, credit transfers, and developing a student-specific graduation plan for students in foster care placement experiencing education instability in grades 9-12.
  • Considers alternative pathways to graduation for students, including a diploma issued by the student’s prior school or a Keystone Diploma issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Why is this important?

Students in foster care placement face a number of systemic barriers, which are compounded by their exposure to trauma and adverse childhood experiences or ACEs.

Schools can reduce these barriers and contribute to positive childhood experiences by facilitating equal access to academic and extracurricular activities, and to promote grade retention and on-time high school graduation.

Implementation Strategies

  1. Addressing fees: Schools should explore the allowability of Title I or other funding streams to address fees and fines covered under Act 1 and may collaborate with the student’s placing child welfare agency to inquire if financial assistance may be available from the child welfare agency. School entities may set-aside Title I funds for students in foster care placement.
  2. Point of Contact: School entities may identify their foster care Point of Contact as the Act 1 Point of Contact. However, to ensure completion of all tasks required by the law, school entities may consider appointing a building level Point of Contact.
  3. Creating community: When students in foster care begin at a new school, the student’s established Act 1 Point of Contact and school foster care Point of Contact should meet to review all available resources and participation opportunities to promote belonging and inclusion in their new school community.
  4. Assessing credits: The Act 1 Point of Contact works with relevant school staff to carefully assess the student’s academic history and investigate whether the student has already completed partial credit or a course that meets a requirement at the current school. This includes education received in residential treatment facilities or children’s institutions.
  5. Graduation planning: The Act 1 Point of Contact works with relevant school staff to create a graduation plan for students in grades 9-12 that thoroughly assesses and specifies the courses necessary for a student to graduate on time. The graduation plan is developed and reviewed with the student and shared with the student’s education decision maker and caseworker.
  6. Act 1 and special education: School entities should carefully work with students in foster care with IEPs or 504 Plans to ensure that Act 1 does not conflict with these applicable laws. Importantly, students who have IEPs may still elect to remain in school until age 21, even if Act 1 offers an earlier pathway to graduation.

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Basic Education Circular, “Act 1 of 2022.”

Contact: [email protected]

Learn more about Educational Stability for Children and Youth in Foster Care in Pennsylvania at PAfosterCare.org.

[i] See Public School Code of 1949 – Assisting Students Experiencing Education Instability.

[ii] See Non-Regulatory Guidance: Ensuring Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care.

[iii] See U.S. Department of Education, Students in Foster Care.