Representatives Davis and Bass Introduce Legislation to Help Foster
Youth Stay in School

WASHINGTON, DC—In the ongoing national effort to provide better
opportunities for the nearly 400,000 young people in the U.S. foster
care system, Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Congresswoman Karen
Bass (D-CA) today introduced the “Education Stability for Foster Youth
Act,” legislation that would address some of the education challenges
foster youth face when they enter the foster care system and are
forced to change homes and schools or school districts.

Recent studies have found that school aged children in foster care
experience on average over three placements, often forcing them to
change schools when they change homes. Studies have consistently
concluded that foster youth change schools more often than students
not in the foster care system, and children who change schools
frequently make less academic progress than their peers.

One of the biggest reasons foster youth face delays in enrolling in
school when they are initially placed in foster care or when they
change homes is lost or misplaced school records. A study in New York
City found that 42 percent of foster youth experienced a delay in
school enrollment while in foster care, and nearly half experienced a
delay because of lost or misplaced records.

But the problem is not unique to New York City.  Brian Morgantini
attended at least ten schools, including four high schools, since he
entered the Pennsylvania foster care system at four-years-old. The
constant movements resulted in Brian graduating from high school with
only a ninth grade English proficiency. When he applied for college,
his prior schools had lost or misplaced many of his academic records,
making the application process even more difficult.

“I had no choice but to switch schools,” said Brian, who is now 20 and
having problems enrolling in college because of issues he faced as a
foster youth. “I don't want any more foster youth to have the negative
experiences I went through.”

The “Education Stability for Foster Youth Act” will address several of
the issues that Brian faced as well as the thousands of young people
like him by ensuring that foster youth can remain in their current
school when they enter care or change placements, allowing immediate
enrollment in a new school and prompt access to educational records,
requiring local school districts and child welfare agencies to work
together to ensure funding for transportation exists to allow students
to remain in the school they know.

“We know that school mobility negatively affects educational outcomes
for foster youth - diminishing access to academic content, academic
supports, school enrichment opportunities, and participation in
extracurricular activities,” stated Rep.  Davis.  “This legislation
eliminates key obstacles faced by foster youth to improve educational
stability and academic success of foster youth.  Ensuring that youth
can remain in their current schools, requiring prompt transfer of
relevant documents and credit, and designating a point of contact for
foster youth are commonsense policies to improve educational
opportunity for foster youth.”

“We need to support foster youth and not put up even more barriers
when they are forced to change homes,” said Rep. Bass. “As young
people are going through dramatic changes that come with entering the
foster care system, allowing them to stay in the school that they know
will give them needed stability and will encourage academic success.”

In addition to addressing school stability and records, the
legislation will assure points of contact for foster youth in both
their schools and the child welfare system and will require the
Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to report to
Congress on the progress made in and remaining barriers to addressing
educational stability.