Children and youth in foster care are one of the most vulnerable populations in the country. The barriers they experience to stability and equitable education are multifaceted. This set of curated resources focuses on legislative changes, interagency collaboration, supporting state level points of contact, and data related to educating students in foster care placements.

    • Review this series of presentations created by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for information on ensuring educational stability for children in foster care and lesson from the field.

    • Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act, now requires each state educational agency to identify a foster care point of contact (POC), who is responsible for overseeing the educational stability of students in foster care. The Foster Care Exchange provides the opportunity for POCs to share questions and knowledge in chats or topical discussion threads, host conference calls, store files, and share resources.

      To join the Foster Care Exchange contact cendres@serve.org or FosterCare@ed.gov. To sign in, visit the Foster Care Exchange.

    • The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires states to gather data on the academic achievement and graduation rates of students placed in foster care. States submit this information to EDFacts, a U.S. Department of Education initiative to collect, analyze, and promote the use of high-quality data. Learn more about EDFacts and the data it collects.

      The ESEA also requires states to provide information about students in foster care as a part of their state report cards. As a result, information about academic achievement, graduation rates, and other state-adopted academic indicators can be found on state educational websites in easily understandable formats.