Meeting the Every Student Succeeds Act’s (ESSA’s) Key Provisions

How Do LEAs and CCYAs Meet ESSA’s Key Provisions?

Collaboration

ESSA emphasizes dual-agency collaboration between education and child welfare partners to make decisions that best serve foster care youth. Routine collaboration shared responsibilities, and joint decision-making are key to helping ensure school stability and school success.

Find more information on the role of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services in the education of children and youth foster care homelessness.

School Placement Best Interest Determinations (BIDs)

Children placed into foster care must remain in their school of origin unless a determination is made that it is not in the child’s best interest. Local education agencies (LEAs) and county children and youth agencies (CCYAs) must collaborate to design a formalized school placement best interest determination process to ensure that both agencies have the opportunity to gather meaningful input from all relevant parties.

Immediate Enrollment and Records Transfers

If a determination is made that remaining in the school of origin is not in a child’s best interest, the school of origin, the placing CCYA, and the enrolling schools must collaborate to ensure that the student is immediately enrolled in his or her new school. Enrollment must not be denied or delayed because documents normally required for enrollment have not been provided.

Transportation

Transportation may be needed for a child to remain in their school of origin when it is determined to be in their best interest. LEAs must collaborate with CCYAs to develop and implement clear written procedures to ensure that transportation is provided, arranged, and funded for foster care youth.

Overview of ESSA’s Foster Care Provisions

Staff and Collaboration

Emphasis on “dual-agency” vision, establishing state and local points of contact.

Ensuring Educational Stability

School Placement Best Interest Determinations, transportation, immediate enrollment, and transfer of records.

Data Collection and Reporting

Reporting graduation rates and academic achievement of foster students in annual State Report Card.

McKinney-Vento Updates

Removing “awaiting foster care placement” from the definition of homeless children and youths. Students now served under Title I, Part A.

Stability is Key to School Success

Of the approximately 400,000 children and youth in foster care, nearly 270,000 children in foster care are of school age. ESSA provides foster care youth with the core protection of school stability.

Children in foster care are some of the most vulnerable students in our nation and often face steep challenges to school success, including high rates of both residential and school mobility.

Data reveals that foster youth are more likely than their peers to experience a host of barriers that lead to troubling outcomes, including low academic achievement, grade retention, and lower high school graduation rates.

Foster care provisions found in ESSA promote greater stability for foster care youth so that they can continue their education without disruption, maintain important relationships with peers and adults, and have the opportunity to achieve college and career readiness.

School Placement Best Interest Determination Process (BID)

Section 1111(g)(1)(E) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by ESSA, requires LEAs to ensure that a child in foster care remains in his or her school of origin unless it is determined that remaining in the school of origin is not in that child’s best interest.

Local education agencies (LEAs) and county children and youth agencies must participate in the educational placement best interest determination (BID) process and consider how additional relevant parties can meaningfully participate in the BID.

This process must be formalized between the LEA(s) and the CCYA, meaning procedures should be consistent and efforts to determine the best interest should be documented.

LEAs and CCYAs must consider all factors relating to a child’s best interest and should be student-centered. These factors include the appropriateness of the current educational setting, proximity of placement, and preferences of the child.

Transportation costs must not be considered when determining a child’s best interest.

To the extent feasible and appropriate, the child must remain in their school of origin until a final determination is made.

LEAs and CCYAs are encouraged to utilize the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Best Interest Determination (BID) Form (PDF).

Local Education Agency Foster Care Point of Contact

LEAs receiving Title I funds in Pennsylvania are required to identify and establish a local-level Foster Care Point of Contact (POC). This includes public school districts and charter schools.

The LEA POC is the first line of contact for the placing CCYA to notify the LEA of a new or change in foster care placement. A sample list of roles and responsibilities of the LEA POC can be found here.

LEA POC Primary Responsibilities

• To maintain an understanding of the Title I, Part A provisions for foster care youth under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
• To serve as the primary education link between LEAs and the placing County Children and Youth Agency (CCYA).
• To maintain routine coordination with CCYAs they work with frequently to effectively implement the Title I provisions in order to best serve foster youth enrolled in their schools.

The LEA POC is a Critical School Link

The LEA POC is anticipated to play an important role regarding educational placement, best interest determinations (BIDs), coordination of transportation when needed, and enrollment and records transfers. The LEA POC should be well-supported in their role and will likely need to work regularly with a network of other colleagues both within and outside the LEA to accomplish the requirements of ESSA.

Educational placement BIDs will require the LEA POC to gather meaningful input from relevant parties connected to the child’s education. This network may include feedback from teachers, counselors, coaches, IEP Team, English Language Coordinator(s), and school administrators.

The CCYA should gather meaningful input from relevant parties connected to the child’s welfare including the preferences of the child and the child’s parent(s) or education decision maker(s).

Enrollment and records transfers may require the LEA POC to work with school administrators, enrollment and records offices, or guidance departments.

Fulfilling transportation requirements may require coordination with transportation departments including transportation directors and coordinators.

Given the emphasis on dual-agency collaboration to best serve foster youth, LEAs will always be working with the placing CCYA regarding educational placement BIDs, transportation coordination, and enrollment and records transfers.

Sample LEA POC Network

Transportation

For many students in foster care, transportation is needed to allow them to remain in the same school. ESSA requires LEAs receiving Title I funds to collaborate with child welfare agencies to ensure that transportation for children in foster care is provided, arranged, and funded. (ESEA section 1112 (c)(5)(B).

By December 10, 2016, local education agencies (LEAs) in Pennsylvania and their corresponding county children and youth agency (CCYA) were required to collaboratively develop and implement a local written transportation plan for students in foster care.

An LEA must ensure that a child in foster care needing transportation to the school of origin receives such transportation for the duration of the time the child is in foster care.

LEAs must have met the following assurances by December 10, 2016, to comply with ESSA’s requirements related to transportation for foster youth:

1. LEAs and CCYAs must develop and implement clear written procedures governing how transportation to maintain children in foster care in their schools of origin, when in their best interest, will be provided, arranged, and funded for the duration of the time in foster care.
2. LEAs and CCYAs must develop and implement procedures to ensure that children in foster care needing transportation to their school of origin will promptly receive it in a cost-effective manner and in accordance with Section 475 (4)(A) of the Social Security Act.
3. If there are additional costs incurred in providing transportation to the school of origin, the LEA will provide such transportation if:

• The local CCYA agrees to reimburse the LEA for the cost of such transportation.
• The LEA agrees to pay for the cost.
• The LEA and local CCYA agree to share the cost.

OR

• The LEA of origin, the LEA of foster residence, and the placing CCYA agree to share the costs.

Resolving Disputes Related to Transportation

LEAs and CCYAs are also asked to develop a local dispute resolution process as part of their local transportation procedures to address how the transportation requirement will be met if parties cannot come to an agreement. This dispute process should include which agency or agencies will initially provide and pay for transportation during the pendency of a dispute.

For additional tips and strategies, the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services have collaborated to provide a Pennsylvania Transportation Plan Guide (PDF).

Please submit all new or revised transportation plans to [email protected].