Students in Foster Care
Per the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, State educational agencies’ (SEAs’) hold specific responsibilities aimed at supporting the educational rights and opportunities of students in Foster Care; this also falls within requirements established under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). These rights include access to immediate enrollment in schools regardless of access to records or additional requirements, free transportation to and from school, access to free meals services, and support engaging in academically and socially enriching activities offered by their school district.
Within this context, Foster Care is defined as substitute care for children placed by the Department of Human Services or a tribal child welfare agency away from their parents and for whom the department or agency has placement and care responsibility, including placements in foster family homes, foster homes of relatives, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, child care institutions and pre-adoptive homes.
Each school district must also have a designated liaison tasked with overseeing the coordination and application of these supports. This is done through collaboration with caseworkers and other human services representatives, training staff within their district on the unique needs of students in Foster Care, and engaging with community organizations and agencies to ensure that students and families are receiving adequate services under ESSA/ESEA.
Foster Care School District Points of Contact List
To update your district's Foster Care Point of Contact or Foster Care Transportation Administrative Contact, please revise the Contacts Section of your district's 2023-2024 CIP Budget Narrative Application. CIP Budget Narrative can be accessed via the
Central Login Application on the
ODE District Website. For CIP Budget Narrative permissions please connect with your
District Security Administrator (DSA).
Office Hours
Foster Care Point of Contacts are welcome to join us on the second Tuesday of every month. You can email our
Foster Care inbox to receive the participation information. Two weeks after each Office Hours, we send a Newsletter that includes the slide deck and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). You can find historical Newsletters in the archive on our
Key Messages page.