BILL REQ. #: H-2786.1
| State of Washington | 60th Legislature | 2007 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 3/5/07.
AN ACT Relating to supporting educational achievement for children in foster care; amending RCW 28A.150.510; adding a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.20A RCW; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that the educational
achievement of children in foster care continues to be significantly
lower than students in the general population. Children in foster care
are more likely to change schools frequently, be retained and repeat
a grade, perform at lower levels on standardized tests, and graduate at
a significantly lower rate than their peers. An important strategy for
supporting the educational progress of children in foster care is to
facilitate continuity of school placement when children are removed
from their homes or when subsequent changes in placement are necessary.
The legislature also finds that the primary barriers to continuity of
school placement are inadequate numbers of local foster homes and a
lack of funding to provide transportation when local placements are not
available. Despite some efforts to support continuity of school
placement for children in foster care, limited progress has been made.
The legislature further finds that an additional factor in
supporting improved educational outcomes for children in foster care is
timely data collection and analysis. Aggregate reporting about the
educational attainment of children in foster care is crucial to
understanding and assessing the impact of policy and practice changes
on educational outcomes. The legislature, therefore, intends to
promote the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative
and practical strategies for maintaining continuity of school placement
for children in foster care, and to facilitate data sharing between the
office of the superintendent of public instruction and the children's
administration within the department of social and health services.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 (1) Subject to availability of funding
amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the oversight committee
established in RCW 74.13.570, by August 1, 2007, shall: (a) Select
stakeholders to assist the committee with facilitating innovation and
effectiveness in the recruitment and retention of foster parents; (b)
identify promising and effective strategies for school enrollment
stabilization; (c) select strategies for implementation and evaluation
in the ten school districts with the highest rate of removal of school-age children from their homes under chapter 13.34 RCW; and (d) develop
a request for qualification to community agencies and the division of
children and family services within the department of social and health
services for grant funding to implement school enrollment stabilization
strategies. Such strategies may include practice pilot programs
designed to affect a geographical cohort of children as well as
programs using child-specific strategies to maintain school enrollment
stability, including but not limited to strategies relating to: (i)
Foster parent recruitment, retention, and support; (ii) transportation
within and between school districts; (iii) incentives for schools,
foster parents, and regional offices of the division of children and
family services to support enrollment stability; (iv) funding of
individual safety and services plan-driven strategies for individual
children; and (v) public relations and communications campaigns
regarding the needs of children in foster care and the opportunities in
foster parenting.
(2) Based on the recommendations of the oversight committee, the
department of social and health services shall select grant recipients
and begin disbursing grant funds not later than October 31, 2007. The
committee shall, to the extent practicable, provide technical support
and assistance to the grant recipients with implementation and data
collection.
(3) By July 31, 2009, the department of social and health services
shall inform the appropriate committees of the legislature about the
strategies and practices implemented, and shall make additional policy
recommendations based on evaluations of the same.
(4) This section expires September 1, 2009.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 28A.150
RCW to read as follows:
Subject to availability of funding amounts for this specific
purpose, not later than January 1, 2008, the office of the
superintendent of public instruction shall facilitate interagency
agreements consistent with protocols developed under RCW 74.13.560 and
execute data-sharing agreements with and between local school districts
and the children's administration within the department of social and
health services for the purposes of: (1) Promoting school enrollment
continuity of children in foster care; and (2) evaluating and analyzing
the impact of changes to state, school district, and department
policies and practices on the educational outcomes of children in
foster care. Data-sharing agreements required under this section shall
include state and school district-level data as well as data about
individual children in foster care.
Sec. 4 RCW 28A.150.510 and 2000 c 88 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
In order to effectively serve students who are under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system as dependent pursuant to
chapter 13.34 RCW, education records shall be ((released upon request
to)) transmitted to the department of social and health services within
two school days after receiving the request from the department ((of
social and health services)) provided that the department of social and
health services certifies that it will not disclose to any other party
the education records without prior written consent of the parent or
student unless authorized to disclose the records under state law. The
department of social and health services is authorized to disclose
education records it obtains pursuant to this section to a foster
parent, guardian, or other entity authorized by the department of
social and health services to provide residential care to or
educational advocacy services on behalf of the student.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 43.20A RCW
to read as follows:
The children's administration within the department of social and
health services shall request funding and/or approval necessary to
expedite the development and implementation of an interface between the
statewide automated child welfare information system and the
information system within the office of the superintendent of public
instruction in order to facilitate ongoing effective data sharing
between the two agencies regarding the educational achievement of
children in foster care.