II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2801 

To provide children in foster care with school stability and equal access 

to educational opportunities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2009 

Mr. FRANKEN (for himself and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide children in foster care with school stability and 

equal access to educational opportunities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Fostering Success in Education Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is the following: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 3. Purpose. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

Sec. 5. Regulations. 

Sec. 6. Effective date. 


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TITLE I—EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER 

CARE 

Subtitle A—Required Educational Rights, Protections, and Services for 

Children in Foster Care 

Sec. 101. Required educational rights, protections, and services for children in 

foster care. 

Sec. 102. Remedies; rule of construction. 

Sec. 103. Conforming amendments. 

Subtitle B—State Foster Care and Education Plan Grants 

Sec. 111. State foster care and education plan requirements and grants. 

Sec. 112. Subgrants. 

Sec. 113. Responsibilities of the Secretary. 

Sec. 114. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—SOCIAL SECURITY ACT AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 201. Social Security Act amendments. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) Educational success is vital to every young 

5 person’s well being, successful transition to adult6 hood, and economic stability. 

7 (2) At the end of fiscal year 2007, approxi8 mately 500,000 children were in foster care in the 

9 United States, with nearly 800,000 children having 

10 spent at least some time in foster care in the United 

11 States during the year. 

12 (3) Numerous studies have demonstrated that 

13 children in foster care fall behind the general stu14 dent population with respect to test scores, gradua15 tion rates, and successful transitions to postsec16 ondary education. 


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1 (4) Only one-third of high school students in 

2 foster care graduate on time and only 3 percent of 

3 such students graduate from college. 

4 (5) On average, children in foster care move to 

5 new foster care placements 2 times per year, and 

6 often change schools when they move. 

7 (6) Studies indicate that with each school move, 

8 children, on average, fall 4 to 6 months behind their 

9 classmates. Because foster children often change 

10 schools multiple times, it is difficult for them to 

11 make significant educational progress. 

12 (7) Children in foster care are frequently denied 

13 the ability to remain in the same school as a result 

14 of changes in their living situations. 

15 (8) In addition, children in foster care who are 

16 required to change schools are frequently denied im17 mediate enrollment in a new school, which results in 

18 detrimental disruptions to their education. 

19 (9) Moreover, the enrolling school frequently 

20 does not have access to the child’s complete and ac21 curate education records, which often results in the 

22 child’s placement in inappropriate classes and edu23 cational settings. 

24 (10) When foster children change schools, they 

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1 vious schools and meeting the new set of graduation 

2 requirements in their new school. 

3 (11) In 2008, Congress enacted the Fostering 

4 Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions 

5 Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–351), which requires, 

6 among other things, child welfare agencies to ensure 

7 that a child in foster care remains in the same 

8 school after moving to a new placement or, when re9 maining in the same school is not in the child’s best 

10 interest, is enrolled in a new school immediately, and 

11 that the child’s education records are transferred 

12 promptly. While the Fostering Connections to Suc13 cess and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 requires 

14 child welfare agencies to coordinate with local edu15 cational agencies, the local educational agencies 

16 must play a critical role in the process. Otherwise, 

17 the education provisions of the Act cannot be fully 

18 implemented. 

19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that— 

21 (1) in order to successfully meet the needs of 

22 the 500,000 children in foster care in the United 

23 States, State educational agencies, local educational 

24 agencies, State child welfare agencies, and local child 


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1 welfare agencies must work together at the Federal, 

2 State, and local level to— 

3 (A) address the unique needs of this popu4 lation; and 

5 (B) ensure school stability, immediate en6 rollment, and access to appropriate services; 

7 and 

8 (2) such efforts will significantly increase the 

9 secondary school graduation rates and improve edu10 cational outcomes for children in foster care. 

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

12 The purpose of this Act is to ensure that the edu13 cational needs of children in foster care are addressed in 

14 a seamless and complete manner by— 

15 (1) requiring the State educational agency of a 

16 recipient State to work together with the State child 

17 welfare agency to ensure that the educational needs 

18 of each child in foster care in the State are being 

19 met; 

20 (2) requiring local child welfare agencies and 

21 local educational agencies of a recipient State to 

22 work together to ensure that the educational needs 

23 of each child in foster care in the State are being 

24 met; 


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1 (3) ensuring that issues related to stability in 

2 education, school attendance, and the proper han3 dling of information, including education records 

4 and health records, are coordinated between schools 

5 and child welfare agencies; and 

6 (4) ensuring that a coordinated process is uti7 lized to address the best interest and needs of the 

8 child with regard to school placements, school at9 tendance, access to appropriate education services, 

10 and required supports, including the provision of 

11 transportation services to ensure school stability. 

12 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) CHILD IN FOSTER CARE.—The term ‘‘child 

15 in foster care’’ means a child whose care and place16 ment is the responsibility of the State or Tribal 

17 agency that administers a State plan under part B 

18 or E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 621 et seq.; 670 et seq.), without regard to 

20 whether foster care maintenance payments are made 

21 under section 472 of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 672) on behalf of the child. 

23 (2) COURT REPRESENTATIVE.—The term 

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1 pointed by a court to represent a child in a juvenile 

2 court dependency proceeding. 

3 (3) EDUCATION DECISIONMAKER.—The term 

4 ‘‘education decisionmaker’’ means— 

5 (A) a parent of a child in foster care; or 

6 (B) a person identified by the dependency 

7 court to make education decisions for a child in 

8 foster care who is someone other than the 

9 child’s parent. 

10 (4) EDUCATION RECORDS.—The term ‘‘edu11 cation records’’ means documents and other mate12 rials relating to a child’s enrollment and education, 

13 including transcripts, reports, plans, evaluations, 

14 and assessments maintained by a local educational 

15 agency. 

16 (5) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen17 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec18 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

20 (6) ENROLLMENT.—The term ‘‘enrollment’’ 

21 means attending classes in a public preschool pro22 gram, an elementary school, or secondary school and 

23 participating fully in the activities of such school or 

24 program. 


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1 (7) LOCAL CHILD WELFARE AGENCY.—The 

2 term ‘‘local child welfare agency’’ means, with re3 spect to a child in foster care, the public agency in 

4 the local political subdivision where the child resides, 

5 or the Indian tribe or tribal organization, that is re6 sponsible for the placement and care of the child. 

7 (8) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

9 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

11 (9) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means a bio12 logical or adoptive parent or a legal guardian of a 

13 child, as determined under applicable State law. 

14 (10) PLACEMENT.—The term ‘‘placement’’ 

15 means the current or proposed living situation for a 

16 child in foster care, which can include a group home 

17 or other congregate care setting. 

18 (11) PUBLIC AGENCY.—The term ‘‘public agen19 cy’’ means any State or local government entity. 

20 (12) PUBLIC PRESCHOOL PROGRAM.—The term 

21 ‘‘public preschool program’’ means a preschool pro22 gram funded, administered, or overseen by a State 

23 educational agency, local educational agency, or 

24 other State agency. 


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1 (13) RECIPIENT STATE.—The term ‘‘recipient 

2 State’’ means a State that receives funds under part 

3 A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.). 

5 (14) SCHOOL OF ORIGIN.—The term ‘‘school of 

6 origin’’ means, with respect to a child in foster care, 

7 any of the following: 

8 (A) The school in which the child was en9 rolled prior to entry into foster care. 

10 (B) The school in which the child is en11 rolled when a change in foster care placement 

12 occurs or is proposed. 

13 (C) The school the child attended when 

14 last permanently housed, as such term is used 

15 in section 722(g)(3)(G) of the McKinney-Vento 

16 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 11432(g)(3)(G)). 

18 (15) SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREA.—The term 

19 ‘‘school attendance area’’ has the meaning given the 

20 term in section 1113(a)(2)(A) of the Elementary 

21 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

22 6313(a)(2)(A)). 

23 (16) SCHOOL SELECTION DECISION.—The term 

24 ‘‘school selection decision’’ means a school selection 

25 decision as described in section 101(b)(4). 


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1 (17) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec2 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

3 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.). 

5 (18) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

6 means the Secretary of Education. 

7 (19) SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERV8 ICES.—The terms ‘‘special education’’ and ‘‘related 

9 services’’ have the meaning given such terms in sec10 tion 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu11 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

12 (20) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

13 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 

14 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

15 (21) STATE CHILD WELFARE AGENCY.—The 

16 term ‘‘State child welfare agency’’ means the State 

17 agency responsible for administering the programs 

18 authorized under subpart 1 of part B and part E of 

19 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 

20 et seq.; 670 et seq.). 

21 (22) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

22 ‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

23 the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec24 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS. 

2 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary shall develop, issue, and publish 

4 in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking 

5 to implement the provisions of this title. The issuance, 

6 amendment, and repeal of any regulations promulgated 

7 under this title shall comply with section 553 of title 5, 

8 United States Code. 

9 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

10 Except as otherwise provided, this Act and the 

11 amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, except that subtitle A, and the 

13 amendments made by such subtitle, shall apply with re14 spect to recipient States that receive funds under part A 

15 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

16 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) on or after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE I—EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS 

2 FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE 

3 Subtitle A—Required Educational 

4 Rights, Protections, and Serv5 ices for Children in Foster Care 

6 SEC. 101. REQUIRED EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS, PROTECTIONS, 

7 AND SERVICES FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER 

8 CARE. 

9 (a) RIGHTS OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.—Each 

10 recipient State shall ensure that each child in foster care 

11 in the State has the following rights: 

12 (1) SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.— 

13 (A) SCHOOL OF ORIGIN.—A child in foster 

14 care shall have the right to enroll in, or con15 tinue to enroll in, any of the child’s schools of 

16 origin when the child is placed in foster care 

17 and during all subsequent changes in placement 

18 (including when the child returns home, as re19 quired under subparagraph (B)), unless it is de20 termined through the school selection decision 

21 process that it is in the child’s best interest to 

22 be immediately enrolled in a different school. 

23 (B) SCHOOL UPON PERMANENT PLACE24 MENT.—In the case of a child in foster care for 

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1 sult of the child returning home or achieving 

2 another permanency outcome during a school 

3 year— 

4 (i) the child shall be entitled to com5 plete the school year in the school that the 

6 child is attending unless the entity making 

7 the school selection decision determines 

8 that a change in schools is in the child’s 

9 best interest; and 

10 (ii) necessary transportation to the 

11 current school shall be arranged and fund12 ed by the local educational agency in which 

13 the current school is located. 

14 (2) TREATMENT AS RESIDENT.—A child in fos15 ter care who remains in a school of origin shall be 

16 treated by the local educational agency serving such 

17 school as if the child resides in the school district 

18 and is entitled to all school privileges. 

19 (3) IMMEDIATE ENROLLMENT.—If it is deter20 mined through the school selection process that it is 

21 not in the best interest of a child in foster care to 

22 attend a school of origin, or if a school selection de23 cision is not sought for the child, the child shall have 

24 the right to be immediately enrolled in a new school 

25 in the child’s school attendance area, regardless of 


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1 the status of records normally required for enroll2 ment such as previous academic records, medical or 

3 immunization records, proof of residency, or other 

4 documentation or requirements. 

5 (4) RECORDS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The education records 

7 of a child in foster care shall be— 

8 (i) maintained so that the records are 

9 available, in a timely fashion, when a child 

10 enters a new school or school district; 

11 (ii) immediately sent to the enrolling 

12 school as complete as possible, even if the 

13 student owes fees or fines or was not with14 drawn from the previous school in con15 formance with local withdrawal procedures; 

16 and 

17 (iii) maintained in a manner con18 sistent with section 444 of the General 

19 Education Provisions Act (commonly re20 ferred to as the ‘‘Family’’ (20 U.S.C. 

21 1232g). 

22 (B) RECORDS FOR ACADEMIC DECI23 SIONS.—The education records needed for aca24 demic placement decisions and decisions regard25 ing the transfer of school course credits for a 


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1 child in foster care shall be released imme2 diately to an enrolling school by facsimile or 

3 other available electronic means. 

4 (5) EQUAL ACCESS.—Each child in foster care 

5 shall have equal access to the same education and 

6 opportunities as other students attending the school 

7 or school district, including— 

8 (A) having the same opportunities, access, 

9 and services needed to meet the challenging 

10 State student academic achievement standards 

11 under section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary 

12 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)) that are provided to other 

14 students; 

15 (B) receiving educational services and 

16 transportation services that are comparable to 

17 the services offered other children in the child’s 

18 school; 

19 (C) having— 

20 (i) equal access to the full range of 

21 educational offerings, including— 

22 (I) services under title I of such 

23 Act (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.); 


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1 (II) publicly funded early child2 hood programs and public preschool 

3 programs; 

4 (III) Early Head Start or Head 

5 Start programs under the Head Start 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.); 

7 (IV) public charter and magnet 

8 schools; 

9 (V) Advanced Placement courses 

10 and dual enrollment higher education 

11 courses; 

12 (VI) career and technical edu13 cation programs; 

14 (VII) summer school; and 

15 (VIII) extracurricular activities; 

16 and 

17 (ii) as appropriate, prioritization in 

18 the educational offerings described in 

19 clause (i) in accordance with Federal and 

20 State law; 

21 (D) being integrated with other students in 

22 all schools or programs within a school that are 

23 operated, licensed, or funded by a public entity; 


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1 (E) attending the elementary school or sec2 ondary school that serves the child’s school at3 tendance area unless— 

4 (i) the student has an individualized 

5 education program under section 614 of 

6 the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

7 Act (20 U.S.C. 1414) requiring placement 

8 in an alternative setting, in another public 

9 school in the same or another local edu10 cational agency, or in a private school; 

11 (ii) it is in the child’s best interest to 

12 enroll in a school of origin that is not the 

13 school that serves the child’s school attend14 ance area, based on the school selection de15 cision for the child; or 

16 (iii) the education decisionmaker con17 sents to another appropriate school place18 ment. 

19 (6) TRANSPORTATION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—A child in foster care 

21 shall be provided with free transportation to 

22 and from the child’s school of origin or other 

23 school in which the child is enrolled, in accord24 ance with this subsection, paragraphs (4)(H) 

25 and (5)(D) of subsection (b), and section 


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1 475(1)(G)(ii)(II) of the Social Security Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 675(1)(G)(ii)(II)). 

3 (B) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.—In 

4 the case of a child in foster care that receives 

5 services under part A or C of the Individuals 

6 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

7 1400 et seq., 1431 et seq.), nothing in this Act 

8 or section 475(G)(ii)(II) of the Social Security 

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 675(1)(G)(ii)(II)) shall relieve a 

10 local educational agency of the agency’s respon11 sibility to provide the child with transportation 

12 as part of such services. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR

14 CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.—In order to provide each 

15 child in foster care with the rights described in subsection 

16 (a), each recipient State shall meet the following require17 ments: 

18 (1) POLICY REVIEW AND REVISION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not more than 120 

20 days after the effective date of this Act, any 

21 State or local educational agency in the State 

22 that has a school attendance law or other law, 

23 regulation, practice, or policy that may prohibit 

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1 hibit implementation of any other requirement 

2 of this title, shall undertake steps to revise such 

3 law, regulation, practice, or policy to ensure 

4 that children in foster care— 

5 (i) are afforded the same free, appro6 priate public education as is provided to 

7 other children; and 

8 (ii) receive the protections of this sub9 title. 

10 (B) NO DELAY.—Nothing in this sub11 section shall be construed to permit a State or 

12 local educational agency to delay implementa13 tion of this Act until such review and revision 

14 is completed. 

15 (2) COORDINATOR.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall des17 ignate a coordinator within the State edu18 cational agency to be the lead staff member to 

19 implement this title. 

20 (B) COLLABORATION.—The coordinator 

21 shall collaborate with representatives from the 

22 State child welfare agency, the State’s program 

23 supported under subtitle B of the McKinney24 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 11431 et seq.), when appropriate, and with all 


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1 other State and local agencies necessary to im2 plement the requirements of this title and the 

3 provisions of parts B and E of title IV of the 

4 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 42 

5 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) relating to the educational 

6 needs of children in foster care. 

7 (C) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of a 

8 State that receives a grant under section 111 in 

9 an amount that is more than the minimum al10 lotment described in section 111(b)(1)(B), the 

11 coordinator under this paragraph for the State 

12 shall not be the same individual who is assigned 

13 the role of State Coordinator for purposes of 

14 the State’s program supported under subtitle B 

15 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 11432 et seq.). 

17 (D) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibil18 ities of a coordinator described in subparagraph 

19 (A) shall include, at minimum— 

20 (i) ensuring that the requirements of 

21 this title and clauses (ii)(II), (iii), and (iv) 

22 of section 475(1)(G) of the Social Security 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 675(1)(G)) are carried out; 

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1 ter care have in gaining access to public 

2 preschool programs and schools; 

3 (iii) monitoring the progress of the 

4 State and local educational agencies in ad5 dressing any problems or difficulties in 

6 meeting the requirements of this title; 

7 (iv) ensuring the success of the pro8 grams under this title; 

9 (v) providing technical assistance to 

10 local educational agencies and local child 

11 welfare agencies on how to comply with 

12 this title; 

13 (vi) collecting data related to the im14 plementation of this title and the edu15 cational outcomes of children in foster care 

16 and reporting such information to the ap17 propriate State officials and to the Sec18 retary; and 

19 (vii) ensuring effective implementation 

20 of a dispute resolution procedure, as de21 scribed in paragraph (5), and a complaint 

22 management system, as described in para23 graph (6). 

24 (3) FOSTER CARE LIAISON.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational 

2 agency shall ensure that each local educational 

3 agency in the State designates a foster care liai4 son with sufficient capacity, resources, and time 

5 to fulfill the requirements of this title effec6 tively. 

7 (B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The foster care 

8 liaison shall ensure, at minimum, that— 

9 (i) each child in foster care served by 

10 the local educational agency is— 

11 (I) identified for purposes of this 

12 title; 

13 (II) enrolled in the appropriate 

14 public preschool program or elemen15 tary or secondary school, in accord16 ance with any school selection decision 

17 made for the child; and 

18 (III) has a full and equal oppor19 tunity to succeed in the child’s school 

20 program and receive educational serv21 ices for which the child is eligible, in22 cluding— 

23 (aa) special education and 

24 related services and protections 

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1 abilities Education Act (20 

2 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.); 

3 (bb) programs under title I 

4 of the Elementary and Secondary 

5 Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); 

7 (cc) English as a Second 

8 Language programs, including 

9 programs under title III of such 

10 Act (20 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.); 

11 and 

12 (dd) early childhood and 

13 preschool programs; 

14 (ii) the parents and education deci15 sionmaker of the child in foster care, and 

16 the child welfare agency representative, are 

17 informed of the opportunities available to 

18 the child under this title; 

19 (iii) school personnel are adequately 

20 prepared to implement this title; and 

21 (iv) the local educational agency serv22 ing the child works collaboratively with in23 dividuals designated by the local child wel24 fare agency to ensure— 


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1 (I) that child welfare agency per2 sonnel are informed of the rights of 

3 children in foster care and responsibil4 ities of the State and local agencies 

5 under this title; 

6 (II) that a child in foster care in 

7 a school served by the local edu8 cational agency has school stability 

9 and is promptly enrolled in a school in 

10 accordance with any school selection 

11 decision made for the child; 

12 (III) that the child is provided 

13 with special education evaluations and 

14 services, as needed, and if the child is 

15 a child with a disability, as defined in 

16 section 602 of the Individuals with 

17 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

18 1401), the arrangement for, and pro19 vision of, the transportation, records 

20 transfers, and special education and 

21 related services as required under 

22 such Act, including— 

23 (aa) the timely conduct of 

24 evaluations as required by section 


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1 614(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

2 1414(a)); 

3 (bb) the prompt transmittal 

4 of records under section 

5 614(d)(2)(C)(ii) of such Act (20 

6 U.S.C. 1414(d)(2)(C)(ii)); and 

7 (cc) when appropriate, the 

8 appointment of a surrogate par9 ent for a child required under 

10 section 615(b)(2) or 639(a)(5) of 

11 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(b)(2), 

12 1439(a)(5)); and 

13 (IV) the appointment by the ap14 propriate court of an education deci15 sionmaker for the child for purposes 

16 of this title, as needed. 

17 (4) SCHOOL SELECTION DECISION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon a request made 

19 in accordance with subparagraph (C), the ap20 propriate entity described in subparagraph (B) 

21 shall make an individualized school selection de22 cision on an expedited basis for a child in foster 

23 care regarding whether it is in the child’s best 

24 interest to attend a school of origin or to be imVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:00 Nov 20, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2801.IS S2801

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1 mediately enrolled in the appropriate school 

2 where the child resides. 

3 (B) ENTITIES MAKING SCHOOL SELECTION

4 DECISIONS.—The school selection decision shall 

5 be made by the local educational agency that 

6 serves the school of origin in which enrollment 

7 is sought for a child in foster care, unless the 

8 State determines the school selection decision 

9 shall be made solely by— 

10 (i) the dependency court; 

11 (ii) the State child welfare agency; or 

12 (iii) the local child welfare agency. 

13 (C) INITIATING A SCHOOL SELECTION DE14 CISION.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The local child wel16 fare agency responsible for a child in foster 

17 care shall, after consultation with the child 

18 and with the education decisionmaker and 

19 parent of the child, initiate the school se20 lection decision process under this para21 graph if the agency believes that a child 

22 should remain or enroll in a school of ori23 gin. 

24 (ii) TIMING.—A school selection deci25 sion may be requested for a child in foster 


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1 care each time the child’s placement is 

2 changed or a placement change for the 

3 child is proposed. 

4 (iii) NOTIFICATION OF FOSTER CARE

5 LIAISON.—The local child welfare agency 

6 shall notify the foster care liaison described 

7 in paragraph (3) for the local educational 

8 agency serving the school in which the 

9 agency wants the child to remain or enroll 

10 to initiate the school selection decision 

11 process. 

12 (iv) EXCEPTION.—If the local child 

13 welfare agency has not initiated the school 

14 selection process, the child’s education de15 cisionmaker may do so by contacting the 

16 appropriate foster care liaison described in 

17 clause (iii). 

18 (D) DEPENDENCY COURT DECISION.—Not19 withstanding any other provision of this sub20 section, if the court with dependency jurisdic21 tion over a child in foster care initiates or 

22 makes a school selection decision for such child, 

23 or appoints another person to initiate or make 

24 a school selection decision, the court’s deter25 mination shall be binding on all parties, the 


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1 State educational agency, and the appropriate 

2 local educational agency. 

3 (E) SOURCES OF INFORMATION; FAC4 TORS.— 

5 (i) SOURCES OF INFORMATION.—The 

6 entity making the school selection decision 

7 for a child in foster care shall consider in8 formation and factors provided by— 

9 (I) the State child welfare agen10 cy, local child welfare agency, State 

11 educational agency, local educational 

12 agency, or other public agency; and 

13 (II) individuals who have knowl14 edge about the child’s education, in15 cluding the child and the parent, edu16 cational decisionmaker, foster parent, 

17 court representative, and teachers of 

18 the child. 

19 (ii) INFORMATION AND FACTORS.— 

20 The information and factors described in 

21 clause (i) shall include— 

22 (I) the harmful impact of school 

23 mobility on the child’s academic 

24 progress, achievement, and social and 

25 emotional well-being; 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (II) the age of the child; 

2 (III) the impact the commute to 

3 school may have on the child’s edu4 cation or well-being; 

5 (IV) personal safety issues, in6 cluding safety as it relates to family 

7 violence; 

8 (V) the child’s need for special 

9 instruction, including special edu10 cation and related services, and where 

11 those needs can best be met; 

12 (VI) the length of stay in foster 

13 care, placement type, and permanency 

14 plan for the child; 

15 (VII) the time remaining in the 

16 school year; 

17 (VIII) the school placement of 

18 family members; 

19 (IX) the number of previous 

20 school changes; 

21 (X) the child’s connection to the 

22 school of origin under consideration; 

23 (XI) the extent to which the edu24 cational program of the school of ori25 gin is appropriate, meets the child’s 


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1 needs and interests, and nurtures the 

2 child’s talents; and 

3 (XII) the availability of special 

4 programs, academically rigorous 

5 courses, and extra-curricular activities 

6 that are appropriate for the child. 

7 (F) CONSIDERATIONS.—An entity making 

8 a school selection decision under this paragraph 

9 shall consider the wishes of the child. 

10 (G) EXCLUDED FACTORS.—The cost of 

11 transportation to or from a school shall not be 

12 a consideration when making a school selection 

13 decision. 

14 (H) TRANSPORTATION.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The local edu16 cational agency serving the school of origin 

17 in which a child in foster care shall remain 

18 or enroll, based on the school selection de19 cision for the child, shall collaborate with 

20 the local child welfare agency to ensure 

21 that the child is provided transportation to 

22 the school of origin in a cost effective man23 ner and in accordance with section 

24 475(1)(G)(ii)(II) of the Social Security Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 675(1)(G)(ii)(II)). 


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1 (ii) COST OF TRANSPORTATION.—In 

2 carrying out clause (i), a local educational 

3 agency shall provide the transportation de4 scribed in such clause for a child in foster 

5 care if— 

6 (I) the local child welfare agency 

7 reimburses the local educational agen8 cy for the cost of such transportation, 

9 in accordance with section 

10 475(1)(G)(ii)(II) of the Social Secu11 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 675(1)(G)(ii)(II)); 

12 (II) the local educational agency 

13 agrees to pay for the cost of such 

14 transportation; or 

15 (III) the local educational agency 

16 and the local child welfare agency 

17 agree to share the cost of such trans18 portation. 

19 (5) SCHOOL SELECTION DECISION DISPUTE

20 RESOLUTION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational 

22 agency, or another State agency designated by 

23 the State, shall develop and oversee a fair and 

24 impartial dispute resolution procedure to 

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1 putes, except that such procedure shall not be 

2 applied to disputes regarding school selection 

3 decisions made by a court. 

4 (B) COMPONENTS OF DISPUTE RESOLU5 TION.—The dispute resolution procedure de6 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall include, at a 

7 minimum— 

8 (i) a procedural safeguard system to 

9 resolve disputes and render prompt school 

10 selection decisions; 

11 (ii) written notice of the school selec12 tion decision and basis for the decision to 

13 the— 

14 (I) parent, education decision15 maker, and court representative of the 

16 child; and 

17 (II) local child welfare agency 

18 serving the child; 

19 (iii) a right to appeal a school selec20 tion decision, an impartial and prompt re21 view of such decision, and a written deter22 mination of the administrative appeal; and 

23 (iv) a right to initiate a dispute under 

24 this paragraph that is provided to— 


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1 (I) the parent, education deci2 sionmaker, and court representative of 

3 the child; and 

4 (II) a representative from the 

5 local child welfare agency or local edu6 cational agency serving the child. 

7 (C) SCHOOL PLACEMENT DURING DIS8 PUTE.—If a dispute arises over the school selec9 tion decision, the child shall remain in the 

10 child’s current school until full resolution of the 

11 dispute, unless— 

12 (i) the dependency court determines 

13 otherwise and selects a different school for 

14 the child; or 

15 (ii) the State child welfare agency or 

16 local child welfare agency with responsi17 bility for the child determines that the 

18 child’s health or safety would be at risk if 

19 the child remained in such school prior to 

20 a determination made under subparagraph 

21 (A) and selects a different school for the 

22 child. 

23 (D) TRANSPORTATION.—In the case of a 

24 dispute under this paragraph regarding a child 

25 in foster care, the local educational agency 


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1 where the child is attending school pending the 

2 resolution of the dispute, as determined under 

3 subparagraph (C), shall collaborate with the 

4 local child welfare agency to ensure transpor5 tation is provided, as required under section 

6 101(a)(6), for the child to such school, until the 

7 full resolution of the dispute in accordance with 

8 this paragraph. 

9 (6) COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—Each 

10 State shall maintain a complaint management sys11 tem by which individuals and organizations acting 

12 on behalf of a child in foster care can request that 

13 the State investigate and correct violations of this 

14 subtitle in a timely manner on behalf of a child in 

15 foster care or a group of children in foster care. 

16 (7) SCHOOL READINESS FOR CHILDREN IN FOS17 TER CARE.— 

18 (A) STATE AND LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

19 AGENCIES.—Each State educational agency and 

20 local educational agency shall ensure that public 

21 preschool programs funded, administered, or 

22 overseen by such agency— 

23 (i) provide preschool-aged children in 

24 foster care with the rights described in 

25 subsection (a), and comply with the reVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:00 Nov 20, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2801.IS S2801

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1 quirements of this subsection with respect 

2 to such children, except that such pro3 grams shall not be required to enroll a 

4 child in foster care immediately in a public 

5 preschool program that is operating at full 

6 capacity when enrollment for the child is 

7 sought, unless otherwise required by State 

8 law; 

9 (ii) identify and prioritize preschool10 aged children in foster care for enrollment 

11 and increase such children’s enrollment 

12 and attendance in the public preschool pro13 gram, through activities such as— 

14 (I) reserving spaces in public pre15 school programs for children in foster 

16 care; 

17 (II) conducting targeted outreach 

18 to local child welfare agencies and fos19 ter care providers; 

20 (III) waiving application dead21 lines; 

22 (IV) providing ongoing profes23 sional development for staff regarding 

24 the needs of children in foster care 


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1 and their families and strategies to 

2 serve such children and families; and 

3 (V) developing capacity to serve 

4 all children in foster care in the area 

5 served by such agency; and 

6 (iii) review the educational and related 

7 needs of children in foster care and their 

8 families in such agencies’ service areas, in 

9 coordination with the State child welfare 

10 agency, the local child welfare agency, and 

11 the foster care liaison designated under 

12 paragraph (3), and develop policies and 

13 practices to meet identified needs. 

14 (B) OTHER STATE AGENCIES.—In the case 

15 of public preschool programs that are not fund16 ed, administered, or overseen by the State edu17 cational agency or a local educational agency, 

18 the State agency that funds such public pre19 school programs shall— 

20 (i) develop, review, and revise its poli21 cies and practices to remove barriers to the 

22 enrollment, attendance, retention, and suc23 cess of children in foster care in public 

24 preschool programs funded, administered, 

25 or overseen by the agency; 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (ii) provide preschool-aged children in 

2 foster care with the rights described in 

3 subsection (a), and comply with the re4 quirements of this subsection with respect 

5 to such children, except that such pro6 grams— 

7 (I) shall not be required to enroll 

8 a child in foster care immediately in a 

9 public preschool program that is oper10 ating at full capacity when enrollment 

11 is sought for the child, unless other12 wise required by State law; 

13 (II) shall not be subject to the 

14 dispute resolution procedures of the 

15 State educational agency or local edu16 cational agencies, but shall— 

17 (aa) ensure that all of the 

18 dispute resolution procedures 

19 available through such programs 

20 and the State agency that funds, 

21 administers, or oversees such 

22 programs are accessible to the 

23 education decisionmaker, court 

24 representative of a child in foster 

25 care, and a representative from 


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•S 2801 IS

1 the local child welfare agency; 

2 and 

3 (bb) provide such individuals 

4 with a written explanation of 

5 their dispute and appeal rights; 

6 and 

7 (III) shall not be subject to the 

8 transportation requirements of para9 graph (5)(D) and subsection (a)(6), 

10 but shall remove barriers to existing 

11 transportation services for children in 

12 foster care and shall, to the maximum 

13 extent practicable, arrange or provide 

14 transportation for children in foster 

15 care to attend public preschool pro16 grams, including the children’s school 

17 of origin; 

18 (iii) identify and prioritize children in 

19 foster care for enrollment and increase 

20 such children’s enrollment and attendance 

21 in public preschool programs, including 

22 through activities described in subclauses 

23 (I) through (V) of subparagraph (A)(ii); 

24 and 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (iv) review the educational and related 

2 needs of children in foster care and the 

3 children’s families in the State, in coordi4 nation with the coordinator described in 

5 paragraph (2), and develop policies and 

6 practices to meet identified needs. 

7 (C) SCHOOL OF ORIGIN.—For the pur8 poses of applying this paragraph, a reference to 

9 a school shall be deemed to include a public 

10 preschool program. 

11 (8) SHARING INFORMATION.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational 

13 agency and local educational agency shall re14 view and eliminate any barriers to information15 sharing with State child welfare agencies and 

16 local child welfare agencies, while continuing to 

17 protect the privacy interests of children and 

18 families, as required by Federal or State law. 

19 (B) IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY.—To ensure 

20 a child in foster care’s immediate enrollment in 

21 a new school (including a preschool program), 

22 all education records of the child shall be made 

23 available in accordance with subsection (a)(4). 

24 A school sending education records shall ensure 


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•S 2801 IS

1 that the records are as complete and accurate 

2 as possible. 

3 (C) COMPLIANCE WITH FERPA.—Edu4 cation records of a child in foster care shall 

5 be— 

6 (i) maintained and provided to other 

7 schools in a manner consistent with section 

8 444 of the General Education Provisions 

9 Act (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Family 

10 Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 

11 1974’’) (20 U.S.C. 1232g); and 

12 (ii) provided to the child welfare agen13 cy or other child welfare system advocates 

14 in a manner that complies with such sec15 tion. 

16 (D) EXPEDITED TRANSFER.—Each foster 

17 care liaison described in paragraph (3) and co18 ordinator described in paragraph (2) within a 

19 State shall work to expedite the transfer of edu20 cation records of children in foster care. 

21 (9) TRANSFER OF CREDITS; DIPLOMA.— 

22 (A) TRANSFER OF CREDITS.—The State 

23 shall have a system for ensuring that— 

24 (i) a child in foster care who is chang25 ing schools can transfer school credits and 


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•S 2801 IS

1 receive partial credits for coursework satis2 factorily completed while attending a prior 

3 school or educational program; and 

4 (ii) a child in foster care is afforded 

5 opportunities to recover school credits lost 

6 due to placement instability while in foster 

7 care. 

8 (B) ELIMINATING BARRIERS.—The State 

9 shall undertake steps to eliminate barriers to al10 lowing a child in foster care who has experi11 enced multiple school placements to receive a 

12 secondary school diploma either from one of the 

13 school districts in which the student was en14 rolled or through a State-issued secondary 

15 school diploma system. 

16 (10) EQUAL ACCESS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State and each 

18 local educational agency of the State shall take 

19 steps to eliminate barriers to access for children 

20 in foster care to academic, nonacademic, or ex21 tracurricular programs that are created by ap22 plication or entrance deadlines and other admis23 sions requirements that children in foster care 

24 cannot meet because of frequent school 

25 changes. 


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1 (B) NO FORCED PRIVATE PLACEMENT.— 

2 The State shall ensure that each group home or 

3 placement facility in the State in which a child 

4 in foster care may be placed does not explicitly 

5 or implicitly condition such placement on at6 tendance at a private school owned or operated 

7 by an agency associated with the facility. 

8 (C) NO SCHOOL SEGREGATION.—The 

9 State shall ensure that a child in foster care, 

10 including a child residing in a group home or 

11 placement facility— 

12 (i) shall not be educated in a seg13 regated setting due to the child’s status as 

14 a child in foster care; and 

15 (ii) shall have access to— 

16 (I) a public elementary school or 

17 secondary school; or 

18 (II) in the case of a child with an 

19 individualized education program 

20 under section 614 of the Individuals 

21 with Disabilities Education Act (20 

22 U.S.C. 1414), an alternative setting, 

23 if required under such plan. 

24 (11) COLLABORATION IN DEVELOPING CHILD25 SPECIFIC CASE PLANS.— 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational 

2 agency of the State shall collaborate, at the 

3 local child welfare agency’s request, with the 

4 local child welfare agency with respect to the 

5 following to ensure that educational issues for 

6 children in foster care are appropriately identi7 fied and addressed: 

8 (i) The development of the following 

9 components of the case plan required for 

10 children in foster care: 

11 (I) The written description of the 

12 programs and services which will help 

13 the child prepare for the transition 

14 from foster care to independent living 

15 required under subparagraph (D) of 

16 section 475(1) of the Social Security 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 675(1)). 

18 (II) The plan for ensuring the 

19 educational stability of the child while 

20 in foster care required under subpara21 graph (G) of section 475(1) of the So22 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(1)). 

23 (ii) The requirement under subpara24 graph (H) of section 475(5) of the Social 

25 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)) to provide 


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•S 2801 IS

1 a child in foster care with assistance and 

2 support in developing a transition plan for 

3 aging out of foster care to independent liv4 ing. 

5 (iii) The programs and activities, in6 cluding vouchers for education and train7 ing, including postsecondary training and 

8 education, for youths who have aged out of 

9 foster care, carried out under the John H. 

10 Chafee Foster Care Independence Program 

11 established under section 477 of the Social 

12 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677). 

13 (iv) All other child welfare agency14 based planning that relate to educational 

15 issues for a child in foster care or a child 

16 transitioning out of foster care to inde17 pendent living. 

18 (B) CONTENTS.—The local child welfare 

19 agency shall specify in the case plan required 

20 for children in foster care under parts B and E 

21 of title IV of the Social Security Act the local 

22 educational agency’s role in providing guidance, 

23 information, and support to implement the edu24 cation-related provisions of the plan. 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (C) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ROLE.— 

2 Each local educational agency of the State 

3 shall— 

4 (i) cooperate with the implementation 

5 of programs, activities, services, and vouch6 ers described in subparagraph (A); and 

7 (ii) ensure that such programs, activi8 ties, services, and vouchers are coordinated 

9 with any education plans developed by the 

10 local educational agency, including, when 

11 appropriate, any plan for transition serv12 ices for a child in foster care that is in13 cluded in the child’s individualized edu14 cation program, as required under section 

15 614(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities 

16 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)). 

17 (12) COLLECTING INFORMATION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall collect 

19 valid and reliable information as needed to re20 port annually to the Secretary on the State’s 

21 progress in meeting the requirements of this 

22 title. Such report shall include, at a minimum— 

23 (i) the number of children in foster 

24 care enrolled in school and in public pre25 school programs; 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (ii) the number of such children who 

2 remained in the child’s school of origin; 

3 (iii) the number of such children who 

4 experienced enrollment delays; 

5 (iv) State assessment scores 

6 disaggregated for children in foster care; 

7 (v) secondary school graduation rates, 

8 including on-time graduation rates, for 

9 such children; 

10 (vi) the number of such children who 

11 repeated grades; and 

12 (vii) the number of such children 

13 who— 

14 (I) are eligible for special edu15 cation and related services; or 

16 (II) receive services under title I 

17 of the Elementary and Secondary 

18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 6301 et seq.). 

20 (B) INFORMATION SHARING.—The State 

21 educational agency and local educational agen22 cies shall collaborate with the State child wel23 fare agency and local child welfare agencies to 

24 collect and share necessary information in order 

25 to generate such reports. 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (c) COLLABORATION.—To carry out this section, each 

2 State educational agency and the local educational agen3 cies of a recipient State shall collaborate with the State 

4 child welfare agency and local child welfare agencies of 

5 such State. 

6 SEC. 102. REMEDIES; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

7 (a) JUDICIAL REMEDIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any party aggrieved by a 

9 finding or decision made under paragraph (5) or (6) 

10 of section 101(b), or who otherwise claims that a 

11 right provided under this Act has been violated, may 

12 bring a civil action in an appropriate district court 

13 of the United States. 

14 (2) JURISDICTION.—The district courts of the 

15 United States shall have jurisdiction of actions 

16 brought under this title without regard to the 

17 amount in controversy. 

18 (3) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any action or pro19 ceeding brought under paragraph (1), the court, in 

20 its discretion, may award reasonable attorney’s fees 

21 and expert witness fees as part of costs to a pre22 vailing party who is acting on behalf of a child in 

23 foster care. 

24 (4) STATE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A recipient State’s re2 ceipt or use of funds under title I of the Ele3 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

4 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) shall constitute a 

5 waiver of sovereign immunity, under the 11th 

6 amendment to the Constitution or otherwise, to 

7 a civil action brought under paragraph (1). 

8 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

9 shall apply with respect to violations that occur 

10 in whole or in part after the effective date of 

11 this Act. 

12 (C) REMEDIES.—In a civil action against a 

13 State for a violation of this paragraph, remedies 

14 (including remedies both at law and in equity) 

15 are available for such a violation to the same 

16 extent as those remedies are available for such 

17 a violation in the civil action against any public 

18 entity other than a State. 

19 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title 

20 shall be construed to restrict or limit the rights, proce21 dures, and remedies available under— 

22 (1) the Constitution; 

23 (2) the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 11461 et seq.); 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (3) the Fostering Connections to Success and 

2 Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110– 

3 315), or the amendments made by such Act; 

4 (4) section 444 of the General Education Provi5 sions Act (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Family 

6 Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’) (20 

7 U.S.C. 1232g); 

8 (5) the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

9 Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.); or 

10 (6) any other Federal or State law protecting 

11 the rights of children in foster care. 

12 SEC. 103. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

13 The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

14 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended— 

15 (1) in section 1111 (20 U.S.C. 6311)— 

16 (A) in subsection (b)(2), by adding after 

17 subparagraph (K) the following: 

18 ‘‘(L) ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CHILDREN IN

19 FOSTER CARE.—The accountability provisions 

20 under this Act shall ensure that children in fos21 ter care, as defined in section 4 of the Fos22 tering Success in Education Act, are included 

23 in academic assessment, reporting, and account24 ability systems, in accordance with paragraph 

25 (3)(C)(xi).’’; and 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (B) in subsection (c)— 

2 (i) in paragraph (13), by striking 

3 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

4 (ii) in paragraph (14), by striking the 

5 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

6 and 

7 (iii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(15) the State and State educational agency 

10 will ensure that the requirements of section 101 of 

11 the Fostering Success in Education Act will be satis12 fied.’’; and 

13 (2) in section 1112(c)(1) (20 U.S.C. 

14 6312(c)(1))— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (N), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (O), by striking the 

18 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(P) comply with the requirements of sec21 tion 101 of the Fostering Success in Education 

22 Act that relate to the local educational agen23 cy.’’. 


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•S 2801 IS

1 Subtitle B—State Foster Care and 

2 Education Plan Grants 

3 SEC. 111. STATE FOSTER CARE AND EDUCATION PLAN RE4 QUIREMENTS AND GRANTS. 

5 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—From amounts appro6 priated to carry out this subtitle and not reserved under 

7 subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall make grants to 

8 States, from allotments under subsection (b)(1), to enable 

9 the States to carry out activities, and award subgrants, 

10 in accordance with subsection (d). 

11 (b) ALLOTMENTS AND RESERVATION.— 

12 (1) ALLOTMENTS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara14 graphs (B) and (C), the Secretary is authorized 

15 to make an allotment to each State with an ap16 proved State foster care and education plan 

17 under subsection (c) for a fiscal year in an 

18 amount that bears the same relation to the 

19 total amount available under this paragraph for 

20 a fiscal year as the number of children in foster 

21 care who reside in the State bears to the total 

22 number of children in foster care who reside in 

23 all States with approved State foster care and 

24 education plans. 


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•S 2801 IS

1 (B) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.—The amount 

2 of a State’s allotment under this paragraph for 

3 a fiscal year shall not be less than $300,000. 

4 (C) RATABLE REDUCTIONS.—In the case 

5 of a fiscal year for which the amounts available 

6 to carry out this subtitle are not sufficient to 

7 award grants to States in the amounts de8 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B), the Sec9 retary shall ratably reduce the amount of all 

10 such grants. 

11 (2) RESERVATIONS.— 

12 (A) RESERVATION FOR TECHNICAL ASSIST13 ANCE AND EVALUATION.—Of the funds made 

14 available to carry out this section, the Secretary 

15 shall reserve 1 percent of such funds to pro16 vide— 

17 (i) technical assistance to States that 

18 receive grants under this subtitle; and 

19 (ii) rigorous evaluation of the activi20 ties funded with grants under this subtitle 

21 in accordance with section 113. 

22 (B) STUDENTS IN TERRITORIES.—Of the 

23 funds made available to carry out this section, 

24 the Secretary shall reserve 0.10 percent of such 

25 funds to be allocated among the United States 


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1 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and 

2 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is3 lands, according to their respective need for as4 sistance under this subtitle, as determined by 

5 the Secretary. 

6 (C) INDIAN STUDENTS.—Of the funds 

7 made available to carry out this section, the 

8 Secretary shall reserve 1.0 percent to provide 

9 assistance to the Secretary of the Interior for 

10 programs that are for Indian children in foster 

11 care who are served by schools funded by the 

12 Department of Interior and that are consistent 

13 with the purposes of the activities described in 

14 this subtitle. 

15 (c) STATE FOSTER CARE AND EDUCATION PLAN.— 

16 (1) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.—No State 

17 shall receive a grant under this subtitle unless the 

18 State educational agency has submitted to the Sec19 retary, and the Secretary has approved under sec20 tion 113(a)(1), a State foster care and education 

21 plan (referred to in this section as the ‘‘plan’’) 

22 that— 

23 (A) includes the information described in 

24 paragraph (3); and 


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1 (B) describes the specific responsibilities 

2 and procedures undertaken by each applicable 

3 agency of the State to meet the requirements of 

4 subsections (e) and (f) and subtitle A. 

5 (2) APPROVAL, REVIEW, AND RESUBMISSION.— 

6 (A) DEVELOPMENT AND APPROVAL.—The 

7 plan for a State shall be— 

8 (i) developed by the State educational 

9 agency, in collaboration with the State 

10 child welfare agency; and 

11 (ii) approved by the chief executive of12 ficer of the State before submission to the 

13 Secretary. 

14 (B) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Each State receiv15 ing a grant under this subtitle shall review the 

16 plan annually, in collaboration with the State 

17 child welfare agency and the State educational 

18 agency, to determine the State’s compliance 

19 with the plan, including a review of the— 

20 (i) information collected under section 

21 101(b)(12); and 

22 (ii) the State’s progress in eliminating 

23 barriers identified under paragraph (3)(B). 

24 (C) RESUBMISSION.—Each State receiving 

25 a grant under this subtitle shall resubmit the 


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1 plan, with amendments as necessary, after col2 laboration with the State child welfare agency 

3 and approval by the chief State official in 

4 charge of the State’s child welfare system, every 

5 3 years for review and approval by the Sec6 retary. 

7 (3) PLAN CONTENTS.—The plan shall address 

8 how each right and requirement under section 101 

9 will be achieved, including— 

10 (A) the method by which the State will 

11 monitor local educational agencies and other 

12 local agencies with responsibility under this title 

13 to ensure compliance with this title; 

14 (B) an analysis of the State and local bar15 riers to meeting the requirements of this title, 

16 including the barriers described in paragraphs 

17 (8), (9)(B), and (10) of section 101(b), and 

18 specific steps taken to eliminate those barriers; 

19 (C) a description of, and protocol for, how 

20 State foster care coordinators described in sec21 tion 101(b)(2) and foster care liaisons described 

22 in section 101(b)(3) will work collaboratively 

23 with State child welfare agencies and local child 

24 welfare agencies to implement the provisions of 

25 this title; 


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1 (D) detailed procedures for making the 

2 school selection decisions for children in foster 

3 care in the State in accordance with section 

4 101(b)(4); 

5 (E) clear procedures regarding how trans6 portation to maintain each child in foster care 

7 in the appropriate school will be provided, ar8 ranged, and funded; 

9 (F) an explanation of how the State will— 

10 (i) ensure transfers of school credits 

11 and partial credits for children in foster 

12 care who experience multiple school moves; 

13 and 

14 (ii) eliminate barriers to allowing such 

15 children to obtain secondary school diplo16 mas as required under section 101(b)(4); 

17 (G) an explanation of how the State will 

18 put in place a procedural safeguard system that 

19 meets the requirements of section 101(b) and 

20 protects the rights of children in foster care, as 

21 described in section 101(a), and how such sys22 tem will— 

23 (i) operate; 


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1 (ii) resolve disputes about school sta2 bility, immediate enrollment, and eligibility 

3 for services under the title; 

4 (iii) provide notice to children in fos5 ter care, and the parents, educational deci6 sion makers, and court representatives, of 

7 the rights of children under section 101(a) 

8 and the processes for obtaining a school se9 lection decision for the child and for resolv10 ing disputes under section 101(b); and 

11 (iv) protect the child’s rights under 

12 section 101(a) during the resolution of any 

13 disputes; 

14 (H) a description of how the State has in15 volved, and will continue to involve, individuals 

16 representing all critical stakeholders involved 

17 with children in foster care, including children 

18 in foster care, parents, education decision19 makers, foster parents and other caretakers, 

20 caseworkers, court representatives, and judges, 

21 in the development of the plan and when mak22 ing decisions about policies and procedures to 

23 implement this title; 


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1 (I) a description of how training needs re2 lating to children in foster care will be identi3 fied and addressed for— 

4 (i) critical stakeholders in the State 

5 educational agency, local educational agen6 cies, the State child welfare agency, and 

7 local child welfare agencies; and 

8 (ii) other necessary parties involved 

9 with children in foster care; 

10 (J) a description of how local educational 

11 agencies in the State, in collaboration with local 

12 child welfare agencies, will meet the require13 ments of subsection (f), section 101(b)(1), and 

14 other provisions in this title relating to local 

15 educational agencies; 

16 (K) a description of services or policies 

17 needed for children in foster care to meet the 

18 same challenging student academic achievement 

19 standards under section 1111(b)(1) of the Ele20 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

21 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)) to which other children 

22 are held, and a description of the steps that will 

23 be taken to create and implement those services 

24 or policies; 


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1 (L) a description of all efforts to promote 

2 efficient record maintenance and sharing to fur3 ther the purposes of this title while protecting 

4 confidentiality rights under section 444 of the 

5 General Education Provisions Act (commonly 

6 referred to as the ‘‘Family Educational Rights 

7 and Privacy Act of 1974’’) (20 U.S.C. 1232g) 

8 and other laws; 

9 (M) a description of how immediate enroll10 ment for children in foster care, as required 

11 under section 101(a)(3), will be achieved, in12 cluding how any record requirements in effect 

13 as of the date of the plan will be addressed so 

14 as to not delay enrollment; 

15 (N) a description of the system that will 

16 ensure the timely transfer of education and 

17 health records of children in foster care and an 

18 explanation of how any delay in such transfer 

19 will not interfere with immediate enrollment; 

20 and 

21 (O) procedures for periodically monitoring 

22 local educational agency compliance with the re23 quirements of this title and for maintaining a 

24 complaint management system as required 

25 under section 101(b)(12). 


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1 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A State receiving an allotment 

2 under this subtitle shall use— 

3 (1) not more than 25 percent of the State’s al4 lotment to carry out the State plan under subsection 

5 (c), meet the requirements under subsections (e) and 

6 (f), and carry out activities, directly or through 

7 grants or contracts, to further the purposes of this 

8 title; and 

9 (2) not less than 75 percent of the State’s allot10 ment to award subgrants under section 112. 

11 (e) STATE REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 (1) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ROLE.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational 

14 agency of a State receiving a grant under this 

15 subtitle shall be responsible for— 

16 (i) the general administration and su17 pervision of programs and activities receiv18 ing funds under this subtitle, including the 

19 activities described in paragraph (2) and 

20 subgrants awarded under section 112; 

21 (ii) monitoring programs and activi22 ties used by the State to carry out this 

23 title, whether or not such programs or ac24 tivities are receiving assistance under this 

25 subtitle; and 


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1 (iii) ensuring that the State is in com2 pliance with the requirements under this 

3 title. 

4 (B) COLLABORATION.—A State edu5 cational agency shall collaborate with the State 

6 child welfare agency in carrying out the respon7 sibilities under this paragraph. 

8 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Each State receiving a grant 

9 under this subtitle shall carry out the following ac10 tivities: 

11 (A) STAKEHOLDER COUNCIL.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—The State edu13 cational agency shall establish a Stake14 holder Council (referred to in this para15 graph as the ‘‘Council’’) that meets pub16 licly on not less than a semiannual basis. 

17 (ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of 

18 the Council shall include, at a minimum— 

19 (I) a designee from the State 

20 educational agency; 

21 (II) a designee from the State 

22 child welfare agency; and 

23 (III) individuals representing 

24 local educational agencies, local child 

25 welfare agencies, juvenile courts, court 


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1 representatives, court appointed spe2 cial advocates, children in foster care, 

3 foster parents, and parents. 

4 (iii) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 

5 (I) review the State’s policies, 

6 practices, data, and other information 

7 regarding the implementation of this 

8 title; 

9 (II) review and advise the State 

10 on the plan before the plan’s submis11 sion or resubmission; 

12 (III) make recommendations re13 garding procedures and policies for 

14 implementing this title; 

15 (IV) assess progress towards 

16 eliminating identified barriers to com17 pliance that are described in sub18 section (c)(3)(B); 

19 (V) prepare and submit an an20 nual report to the State educational 

21 agency, the State child welfare agen22 cy, any other applicable State agency, 

23 and the Secretary on the status of im24 plementation efforts, including an 

25 analysis of data collected; and 


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1 (VI) make recommendations re2 garding the next steps the State 

3 should take regarding implementation 

4 and submit such recommendations to 

5 the Secretary with each plan resub6 mission under subsection (c)(2)(C). 

7 (B) MONITORING.—The State educational 

8 agency, in collaboration with the State child 

9 welfare agency, shall periodically monitor local 

10 educational agencies and other local agencies 

11 with responsibilities under this title to ensure 

12 compliance. 

13 (f) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REQUIRE14 MENTS.—Each local educational agency in a State receiv15 ing a grant under this subtitle shall meet the following 

16 requirements: 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The local educational agency 

18 shall ensure, in coordination with the corresponding 

19 local child welfare agency, that children in foster 

20 care in the school district served by the local edu21 cational agency receive all of the rights described in 

22 section 101(a) by carrying out, at a minimum, all of 

23 the following: 

24 (A) Ensuring that each child in foster care 

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1 cational agency remains in a school of origin or 

2 is immediately enrolled in a new school, in ac3 cordance with the child’s best interest as re4 quired under section 101(a). 

5 (B) Documenting that written notice has 

6 been provided to the parent, education decision7 maker, and court representative of the child 

8 and the local child welfare agency representa9 tive responsible for the child with regard to any 

10 decisions made by the local educational agency 

11 regarding the rights under this title of a child 

12 in foster care, including— 

13 (i) an explanation of the basis for the 

14 decision; 

15 (ii) the right to appeal the decision; 

16 and 

17 (iii) the right of the child to remain in 

18 the child’s current school while a dispute is 

19 pending. 

20 (C) Ensuring compliance with this title by 

21 all schools served by the local educational agen22 cy. 

23 (D) Identifying and removing any barriers 

24 that exist in schools served by the local edu25 cational agency, including— 


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1 (i) barriers identified in the plan 

2 under subsection (b)(3)(B); 

3 (ii) barriers to remaining or enrolling 

4 in a school of origin, or to enrolling 

5 promptly in a new school for a child in fos6 ter care if such enrollment is in the child’s 

7 best interest; or 

8 (iii) other barriers impeding the rights 

9 of a child in foster care under this title. 

10 (E) Ensuring that the schools served by 

11 the local educational agency promptly transfer 

12 the school credits and partial school credits of 

13 children in foster care, and provide children in 

14 foster care with access to credit recovery pro15 grams or services. 

16 SEC. 112. SUBGRANTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The State educational agency 

18 shall, in accordance with section 111(b)(2), award sub19 grants, on a competitive basis, to public agencies, includ20 ing local educational agencies and local child welfare agen21 cies, or partnerships comprised of public agencies, to carry 

22 out the requirements of this title or clause (ii)(II), (iii), 

23 or (iv) of section 475(1)(G) of the Social Security Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 675(1)(G)). 


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1 (b) APPLICATION.—A public agency, or a partnership 

2 of public agencies, desiring a subgrant under this section 

3 shall submit an application to the State educational agen4 cy at such time, in such manner, and containing such in5 formation as the State educational agency may require. 

6 (c) AWARD BASIS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The State educational agen8 cy shall award subgrants under this section based 

9 on— 

10 (A) the established need for attention to 

11 the education of children in foster care in the 

12 area served by the public agency or partnership 

13 of public agencies; and 

14 (B) the quality of activities proposed to ad15 dress such need by the agency or partnership in 

16 the application described in subsection (b). 

17 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding subgrants under 

18 this section, the State educational agency shall give 

19 priority to the following applicants: 

20 (A) Local child welfare agencies that have 

21 entered into agreements with local educational 

22 agencies to share responsibilities for providing, 

23 arranging, and paying for the transportation of 

24 children in foster care to the children’s school 

25 of origin in a cost-effective manner. 


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1 (B) Local educational agencies that have 

2 entered into such agreements with local child 

3 welfare agencies. 

4 (C) Partnerships that— 

5 (i) include not less than 1 local child 

6 welfare agency and not less than 1 local 

7 educational agency; and 

8 (ii) have entered into such agree9 ments. 

10 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A public agency, or a partner11 ship of public agencies, receiving a subgrant under this 

12 section shall use subgrant funds to assist the State edu13 cational agency providing the subgrant in meeting the 

14 State’s responsibilities under this title or clause (ii)(II), 

15 (iii), or (iv) of section 475(1)(G) of the Social Security 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 675(1)(G)), which assistance may in17 clude— 

18 (1) funding of foster care liaison positions, as 

19 described in section 101(b)(3), at the local edu20 cational agency; 

21 (2) coordinating activities that support the pur22 poses of this title between local educational agencies, 

23 local child welfare agencies, and other relevant agen24 cies; 

25 (3) expenditures for transportation costs; 


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1 (4) tutoring or other educational support serv2 ices specifically targeted to children in foster care; 

3 (5) expediting special education evaluations for 

4 children in foster care; 

5 (6) pupil activities and services needed to pro6 mote school and preschool success for children in 

7 foster care; 

8 (7) training for the staff of the State edu9 cational agency, the local educational agencies, the 

10 State child welfare agency, and the local child wel11 fare agencies, and for children in foster care, such 

12 children’s families, and others involved with children 

13 in foster care, about— 

14 (A) the unique educational needs of chil15 dren in foster care; 

16 (B) the benefits afforded under this title; 

17 and 

18 (C) other issues that further the purposes 

19 of this title; and 

20 (8) assisting in funding State-level education 

21 coordinators in the State child welfare agency and 

22 local education liaisons within the local child welfare 

23 agency to be specific points of contact on education 

24 issues. 


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1 SEC. 113. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

2 (a) REVIEW OF STATE PLANS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, 

4 in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services, shall review the plan submitted or 

6 resubmitted by a State under section 111(c). If the 

7 plan meets the requirements of section 111 and is 

8 reasonably calculated to ensure that all children in 

9 foster care in the State receive all rights, benefits, 

10 and protections required by this title, the Secretary 

11 shall approve the plan. 

12 (2) DISAPPROVAL.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a plan does not meet 

14 the requirements described in paragraph (1), 

15 the Secretary shall disapprove the plan and pro16 vide the State educational agency with specific 

17 findings as to what needs to be corrected for 

18 approval. 

19 (B) REVIEW PROCESS.—The Secretary 

20 shall promulgate regulations establishing a sys21 tem by which States whose plans are dis22 approved can appeal such disapproval. 

23 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

24 provide— 

25 (1) training, support, and technical assistance 

26 to a State educational agency receiving a grant to 


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1 assist the State educational agency in carrying out 

2 its responsibilities under this title; and 

3 (2) training, support, and technical assistance 

4 to a State that has had the State’s plan described 

5 in section 111 disapproved. 

6 (c) SUBMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

7 shall— 

8 (1) require applications for grants under this 

9 subtitle to be submitted to the Secretary not later 

10 than the expiration of the 60-day period beginning 

11 on the date that funds are available for purposes of 

12 making such grants; and 

13 (2) award such grants not later than the expi14 ration of the 120-day period beginning on such date. 

15 (d) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—The Sec16 retary, based on the information received from the States 

17 and information gathered by the Secretary under this sub18 title and under section 101(b)(11), shall determine the ex19 tent to which State educational agencies are ensuring that 

20 each child in foster care has access to a free, appropriate 

21 public education. 

22 (e) INFORMATION.— 

23 (1) COORDINATION; ENFORCEMENT.—The Sec24 retary shall coordinate and enforce the information 


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1 collection requirements under this subtitle and sec2 tion 101(b)(12). 

3 (2) DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION.— 

4 The Secretary shall— 

5 (A) directly or through grants, contracts, 

6 or cooperative agreements, periodically collect 

7 and disseminate data and information regard8 ing the education of children in foster care; and 

9 (B) require each State receiving a grant 

10 under this subtitle to annually provide— 

11 (i) the information described in sec12 tion 101(b)(12)(A); and 

13 (ii) such other data and information 

14 as the Secretary determines to be nec15 essary and relevant to carry out this sub16 title. 

17 (f) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION.—The Sec18 retary shall conduct evaluation and dissemination activi19 ties regarding programs designed to meet the educational 

20 needs of elementary and secondary school students who 

21 are children in foster care. 

22 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare and 

24 submit to the Committee on Education and Labor and the 

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1 resentatives and the Committee on Health, Education, 

2 Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Finance of 

3 the Senate a report on the status of the education of chil4 dren in foster care, which shall include information on— 

5 (1) the educational outcomes of children in fos6 ter care; and 

7 (2) the actions of the Secretary and the effec8 tiveness of the programs supported under this title. 

9 SEC. 114. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

11 the subtitle, $150,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

12 2011 through 2015. 

13 TITLE II—SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 

14 AMENDMENTS 

15 SEC. 201. SOCIAL SECURITY ACT AMENDMENTS. 

16 (a) EDUCATIONAL STABILITY FOR FOSTER CARE

17 CHILDREN.—Section 475(1)(G) of the Social Security Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 675(1)(G)) is amended— 

19 (1) in clause (ii)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of sub21 clause (I) and inserting ‘‘and’’; and 

22 (B) by striking subclause (II), and insert23 ing the following: 

24 ‘‘(II) assurances that the State agency 

25 has coordinated with the appropriate local 


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1 educational agency to ensure that the child 

2 remains in the school in which the child is 

3 enrolled at the time of placement includ4 ing, when necessary, the State agency ar5 ranging for, providing, or paying the cost 

6 of the transportation necessary to enable 

7 the child to remain in the school;’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(iii) assurances by the State agency 

10 and the local educational agencies, if re11 maining in such school is not in the best 

12 interests of the child, to provide immediate 

13 and appropriate enrollment in a new 

14 school, with all of the educational records 

15 provided to the school; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) assurances by the State agency 

17 and local child welfare agencies that steps 

18 have been undertaken to collaborate with 

19 the State and local educational agencies to 

20 eliminate barriers to the educational sta21 bility, school enrollment, and educational 

22 success of the child.’’. 

23 (b) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 471 of the 

24 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (32), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

2 the semicolon; 

3 (2) in paragraph (33), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(34) provides that the State agency and local 

7 child welfare agencies will collaborate with the State 

8 and local educational agencies to collect the data 

9 and other information necessary to monitor imple10 mentation of the requirements of clauses (ii)(II), 

11 (iii), and (iv) of subparagraph (G) of section 475(1) 

12 and the provisions of section 101 of the Fostering 

13 Success in Education Act; and 

14 ‘‘(35) provides that the State agency and local 

15 child welfare agencies have identified staff within the 

16 agencies to be the point people with the State and 

17 local educational agencies related to educational 

18 issues, including the implementation of the require19 ments of clauses (ii)(II), (iii), and (iv) of subpara20 graph (G) of section 475(1), as well as to coordinate 

21 with educational agency liaisons and coordinators to 

22 implement the provisions of section 101 of the Fos23 tering Success in Education Act.’’. 

Æ 


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