School rights for a child in foster care in the United States

Differs between the US and Canada

Why it matters

Educational disruption is one of the clearest measurable
harms of time in care. In the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study,
65% of alumni had experienced seven or more school
changes between elementary and high school. Those alumni
were placed between 1988 and 1998, so treat it as evidence of a
pattern rather than a current national statistic.

More recently, Department of Education guidance reports that 71%
of students in foster care graduate high school by 21, against 88%
of all young people.

The rights ESSA gives you

• School of origin. The presumption is that a
  child stays at the same school when a placement changes, unless a
  formal best interest determination says otherwise.
• Transport cost is not a permitted reason to
  move a child’s school. This is stated explicitly and is the single
  most useful sentence to quote in a meeting.
• Immediate enrolment where a move is necessary,
  ideally within three business days, without the usual documentation
  requirements.
• A foster care point of contact at every state
  education agency, and at each district once notified in writing.
  Finding yours is the most actionable step on this page.

Special education, and who counts as the parent

Where no parent can be identified or located, or the child is
a ward of the state, a surrogate parent must be
appointed, normally within 30 days of that determination. The
surrogate cannot be an employee of the education agency.

Canada

There is no equivalent to ESSA and no federal special
education framework. Ontario identifies exceptionality through an
IPRC and requires an IEP within 30 school days of placement in a
special education programme. British Columbia requires an IEP as
soon as practical after identification, with defined exceptions.
Other provinces use different terminology and different processes,
so ask your school board directly.