AN ACT CONCERNING EDUCATIONAL STABILITY FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.

Superseding any other state law to the contrary, this bill creates a presumption that it is in the best interest of a child in the care of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) under an order of temporary custody or commitment to continue to attend the school he or she attended before being placed in DCF's custody or before a change of placement. DCF must provide its reasons for the educational placement in writing to all parties. If a party disagrees, a court must make a determination and the child must remain in his or her school until the court decides the dispute.

Under the bill, the districts where such children attend school must count them as resident students for purposes of (1) school attendance requirements; (2) student health assessments and other health requirements; (3) school meal programs; (4) student records; (5) grading, curriculum, statistical reporting, and discipline; and (6) distribution formulas for state education grants, including Education Cost Sharing (ECS) and school construction project grants. The local or regional board of education for the district where the child attends school must provide or continue to provide needed special education and related services. Starting July 1, 2010, the State Board of Education must reimburse the district for 100% of any special education costs for the child that exceed the district's average per-pupil costs for the prior fiscal year.

The bill makes DCF responsible for transporting the child from the district where he or she is placed to the child's school. The department must (1) take full advantage of any reimbursements for the transportation costs available under the federal Social Security Act for eligible foster children and (2) consider various cost-effective transportation options, including reimbursing foster parents and relatives for providing transportation to the child.

Finally, by October 1, 2010, the bill requires DCF to report the following information to the Education, Appropriations, and Children's committees: (1) the number and ages of the children for whom it provided transportation under the bill; (2) the types, distances, and annual costs of the transportation provided; and (3) the number of children who did not remain in their previous schools.

P. L. 110-351, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, requires a foster child's case plan to (1) assure that the child's foster care placement takes account of his or her current educational setting and proximity to the school; (2) assure that the state agency has coordinated with local educational agencies to ensure the child remains in school; (3) assure that the state and local agencies will provide immediate enrollment and transfer the child's records to a new school if remaining in the current school in not in the child's best interest; and (4) consider reasonable travel to allow the child to remain in his or her current school. Connecticut must implement the federal law by July 1, 2010.

sHB 5842, reported favorably by the Human Services Committee, establishes the same presumption as this bill. sHB 5842 differs from this bill by applying the presumption only to children in foster care, requiring transportation only if the placement is within 25 miles of the child's current school, and making the requirements effective July 1, 2009. Among other things, sHB 5842 excludes the provisions in this bill requiring (1) the child to remain in his or her current school while a court decides a dispute about the child's best interest, (2) the State Board of Education to pay for 100% of the excess costs for any special education the child needs, and (3) DCF to report to the legislative committees.

Yea

Nay

(03/16/2009)