Foster Care and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

• Mandatory collaboration between child welfare and educational agencies at both the local and state level to ensure school of origin protections, transportation, best interest decision-making, and dispute resolution processes are jointly established and followed.
• Designation of state and local level points of contact at both the educational and child welfare agencies to support implementation of ESSA education stability provisions for children in the foster care system.
• Collaboration on the best interest decision-making processes between educational and child welfare agencies to determine factors that influence whether remaining in the school of origin is in the best interest of the child.
• Education and child welfare joint development of local written transportation procedures and “additional cost” sharing of transportation when it is in the best interest for children in foster care to remain in their school of origin.
• Development of dispute resolution processes for disagreements between child welfare and educational agencies on how to cover costs of transportation to sustain school of origin attendance.
• Reporting of disaggregated data by state and local educational agencies on the academic achievement and graduation rates of students in foster care.