Work Group to Address the Needs of Students in Foster Care or Experiencing Homelessness.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in collaboration with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families; the Office of Homeless Youth Prevention and Protection Programs of the Department of Commerce; and the Student Achievement Council, must convene a work group to address the needs of students in foster care, students experiencing homelessness, or both.  This work group must include representatives of nongovernmental agencies and representation from the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee (EOGOAC).  The work group must also include four legislative members who possess experience in issues of education, the foster care system, and homeless youth from each of the two largest caucuses of the Senate and each of the two largest caucuses of the House of Representatives. 

The work group must develop recommendations to promote the:

• achievement of parity in education outcomes with the general student population; and
• elimination of racial and ethnic disparities for education outcomes in comparison to the general student population.

In developing these recommendations, the work group must:

• review the education outcomes of students in foster care, experiencing homelessness, or both, by examining data, disaggregated by race and ethnicity, on:
  • kindergarten readiness, early grade reading and math, eighth and ninth grade students on track to graduate, high school completion, postsecondary enrollment, and postsecondary completion; and
  • school attendance, school mobility, special education status, and school discipline;
• evaluate the outcomes, needs, and service array for students in foster care, experiencing homelessness, or both, and the specific needs of students of color and students with special education needs;
• engage stakeholders, including students in foster care, experiencing homelessness, or both, foster parents and relative caregivers, birth parents, caseworkers, school districts and educators, early learning providers, postsecondary institutions, and federally recognized tribes, to provide input on the development of recommendations; and
• submit annual reports to the Governor, the appropriate committees of the Legislature, and the EOGOAC that identify:
  • progress the state has made toward achieving education parity for students in foster care, experiencing homelessness, or both; and
  • recommendations that can be implemented using existing resources, rules, and regulations, and those that would require policy, administrative, and resource allocation changes prior to implementation.

The work group must submit a final report to the Governor, the appropriate committees of the Legislature, and the EOGOAC by July 1, 2024.  The work group expires December 31, 2024.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act) is a federal law that provides money for homeless shelter programs.

The term "homeless children and youths" is defined in the McKinney-Vento Act to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and includes:

• children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;
• children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
• children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
• migratory children who qualify as homeless because the children are living in circumstances described the bullets listed above.

Education Data Center.

The Education Data Center (commonly known as the Education Research and Data Center or ERDC) in the Office of Financial Management, conducts collaborative analyses of early learning, kindergarten through grade 12, and higher education programs and education issues across the preschool through higher education system.  Among other duties, the ERDC is required to prepare a regular report on the educational and workforce outcomes of youth in the juvenile justice system.

The work group to address the needs of students in foster care or experiencing homelessness (work group) is expanded to address students in or exiting juvenile rehabilitation facilities.  This expansion is reflected in changes to the work group's reporting requirements and the development of recommendations.  

The work group must include representation from the Education Research and Data Center and meaningful consultation with youth and young adults who have lived experience in foster care, homelessness, and juvenile rehabilitation.

The work group is extended beyond its current expiration date of December 31, 2024, until December 31, 2028.  The deadline for submitting the final report from the work group is delayed until July 1, 2028 (from July 1, 2024).  

The term "students in foster care" is defined to mean students who are the subject of a dependency proceeding.

The term "students experiencing homelessness" is defined to mean students without a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.  

The term "students in or exiting juvenile rehabilitation facilities" is defined to mean a person under age 21 who is a resident or a former resident of an institutional education facility, which means residential habilitation and child study and treatment centers, state long-term juvenile institutions operated by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and facilities of the Department of Corrections that incarcerate juveniles committed as adults.