Every Student Succeeds Act
Over the past few years, the federal government has launched various efforts to increase educational stability and improve academic outcomes for youth in foster care. In December 2015, Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), and instituted new protections specifically for foster children.
The foster care requirements emphasize collaboration and shared decision-making among child welfare and educational agencies. While ESSA does not create new mandates for child welfare, it mirrors and enhances similar provisions in the Fostering Connections and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. Considered together, these laws make clear that child welfare agencies and school systems are jointly responsible for the educational stability of children in foster care.
The new requirements under ESSA are designed to provide foster youth equitable opportunity for academic achievement and social development. These provisions emphasize the importance of keeping foster children in their schools of origin when their living arrangements change (either by entering foster care or changing substitute care placements) unless it is determined to be in an individual child’s best interest to change schools. Should a school transfer be necessary, ESSA further requires that foster children be immediately enrolled in their new schools without delay, regardless of whether relevant records are available in order to limit educational disruption. These provision are effective December 10, 2016.
Guidance
Ohio's Joint Foster Care Guidance
Ohio's ESSA Foster Care Implementation Checklist
Ohio's Foster Care Student Checklist
Ohio's Foster Care Educational Stability Process
Ohio's Model Best Interest Determination Form
Ohio's Sample Transportation Procedure
Foster Care Presentations
Foster Care Overview
Educational Stability
Local Point of Contact
Transportation
Collaboration
Resources
U.S. Department of Education Foster Care Guidance
ESSA Foster Care Overview
U.S. Department of Education Dear Colleague Letter
Point of Contact Communication to Superintendents October 2016
Public Children Services Association of Ohio
American Bar Association
U.S. Department of Education Educational Stability for Students in Foster Care
Implementing Transportation Procedures - AASA/NAEHCY
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth - NAEHCY
Data Sharing Toolkit
Chronic Absenteeism Toolkit
U.S. Department of Education Foster Care Transition Toolkit
Points of Contact
Local Child Welfare Agencies: County Child Welfare Contacts
State Child Welfare: Lucy.Gobble@jfs.ohio.gov
The Ohio Department of Education Website
Ohio Department of Education: FosterCare@education.ohio.gov
The Ohio Department of Youth Services (for Title IV-E Courts): Courtney.Alcott@dys.ohio.gov