Education

Tuition Waivers for Foster Youth, Enacted in 2011

Find more information on our Policy page.

Education Needs of Children in Foster Care

Foster children have historically had very poor educational outcomes due to frequent school changes, experiences of abuse and neglect, numerous health and social risk factors, and higher rates of disability.  The recent report, "Education is the Lifeline for Youth in Foster Care," is available here.

YRJ attorney Brian Baker was a presenter at the conference, "Child Welfare, Education and the Courts: A Collaboration to Strengthen Educational Successes of Children and Youth in Foster Care," in November 2011.  You can find materials from the conference here.

School Discipline

In November 2003 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a policy statement on "Out-of-School Suspension and Expulsion."  It states: "Suspension and expulsion may exacerbate academic deterioration, and when students are provided with no immediate educational alternative, student alienation, delinquency, crime, and substance abuse may ensue." (Pediatrics, November
2003) 

The AAP Committee on School Health recommended: "Out-of-school placement for suspension or expulsion should be limited to the most egregious circumstances. For in-home suspension or expulsion, the school must be able to
demonstrate how attendance at a school site, even in an alternative setting
with a low ratio of highly trained staff to students, would be inadequate to
prevent a student from causing harm to himself or herself or to others."

For information on the problem of minority overrepresentation in school discipline, go to our Minority Overrepresentation page.

Special Education

 Updated content coming soon!