Educational Stability for Students in Foster Care

This session will focus on the importance of school stability around mitigation of harm of removal. Education is a critical component to positively impacting the lives of students who experience foster care. These students face significant educational challenges. On every academic measure, outcomes for students in foster care are lower than the outcomes of all other student groups, including students experiencing homelessness. Research shows that frequent school moves are a barrier to academic success, while school stability is linked to improved graduation rates.

Success in school and supportive relationships with teachers, school staff, peers, and friends offer a positive counterbalance to the disruption inherent in foster care placement. In recent years, federal and state legislation has focused on educational stability for students in foster care, as well as collaboration between child welfare and schools. This session will provide an overview of those laws and highlight the successful partnerships between government and non-profit agencies related to supporting students in foster care.