Education Stability

On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), a 1965 federal law governing education last reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. Among its provisions, the law now requires states to ensure protections for vulnerable youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. These include school stability and transportation, mandatory data reporting, and agency collaboration.

Joint Guidance on the Foster Care Provisions of ESSA - Issued by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, July 23, 2016. This guidance sends a strong message to schools and districts that the needs of children in foster care must be addressed. The provisions go into effect December 10, 2016. State and local child welfare and education agencies must immediately begin conversations about their shared responsibility to support the school stability and success of students in foster care.

• Every Student Succeeds Act
• Final Federal Department of Education Regulations
• Department of Education’s website on ESSA
• Child Welfare Information Gateway, Education Stability in Foster Care
• Dear Colleague Letters to Chief State School Officers and Child Welfare Directors: Foster Care Guidance (6/16), Foster Care Timelines (6/16)
• U.S. Department of Education letter on foster care provisions (12/16)
• U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education and Labor Press Statement
• U.S. Senate letter requesting the joint guidance
• HHS letter on education stability (7/16)

Webinars

• An Overview of Joint Guidance from ED and HHS (PowerPoint presentation)
  
• Education and Child Welfare Points of Contact 
  (PowerPoint presentation)
• Best Interest Determinations (Best Interests in School of Origin Checklist)
• Transportation Procedures (PowerPoint presentation)