BILL REQ. #:  S-3724.5 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     AN ACT Relating to improving educational outcomes for students in foster care; amending RCW 28A.150.510; adding new sections to chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 74.13 RCW; and making appropriations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:
     Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this purpose, the Puget Sound educational service district shall designate a foster care program supervisor to coordinate programs and services for students in foster care. The foster care program supervisor shall:
     (1) Facilitate the use of education system resources to improve educational stability and other measurable outcomes for children in children's administration out-of-home care and enrolled in a school district within the Puget Sound educational service district;
     (2) Develop and distribute model school district policies to improve services and supports to children in children's administration out-of-home care and enrolled in a school district within the Puget Sound educational service district;
     (3) Provide training to public education and children's administration staff on the impact of child abuse and neglect, school preparedness, and the child welfare system upon children who live in children's administration out-of-home care, the likely need for students in children's administration out-of-home care to have a strong relationship with one or more adults at school and academic and behavioral remediation, and the need to determine eligibility of students in children's administration out-of-home care for the many programs for which they qualify that are provided in schools;
     (4) Provide technical assistance to schools concerning interagency agreements and children's administration policies relative to the education of children who live in children's administration out-of-home care;
     (5) Coordinate with the McKinney-Vento education of homeless children and youth program supervisor within the office of the superintendent of public instruction on issues that relate to the definition of children's administration out-of-home care and homelessness;
     (6) Coordinate with the office of the superintendent of public instruction the legal interpretations of the family education rights and privacy act and the health insurance portability and accountability act relative to data exchange;
     (7) Provide technical assistance to school districts within the Puget Sound educational service district to facilitate local data exchange;
     (8) Coordinate with the region 4 children's administration education program manager to facilitate completion of interagency agreements for top priority school districts within the Puget Sound educational service district; and
     (9) Establish a model information and data-sharing agreement between school districts and the children's administration and facilitate completion of information and data-sharing agreements.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:
     The superintendent of public instruction shall provide an annual aggregate report to the legislature on the educational experiences and progress of students in children's administration out-of-home care. This data should be disaggregated in the smallest units allowable by law that do not identify an individual student, in order to learn which school districts are experiencing the greatest success and challenges in achieving quality educational outcomes with students in children's administration out-of-home care.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this purpose, the Puget Sound educational service district shall create a grant program for local school districts to improve stability and educational outcomes for students in foster care. Grants shall be awarded to school districts with the highest incidence of child protective services removals and foster care placements under chapter 13.34 RCW.
     (2) School districts receiving grants under this section shall agree to the following:
     (a) The grant shall not supplant funding already in place for all students.
     (b) The grant shall be used to supplement and enhance educational stability and educational outcomes for students in foster care.
     (3) Grant activities may include but are not limited to the following:
     (a) Dedicated staff time for:
     (i) Additional counselor support for students in foster care and foster parent support;
     (ii) Facilitation of education planning meetings with children's administration caseworkers, students, foster and relative caregivers, other community providers, and birth parents when appropriate;
     (iii) Coordination with programs for which students in foster care may be eligible including: Title I, Upward Bound, free and reduced meals, etc.;
     (iv) Tutoring;
     (v) Temporary arrangements for transportation to enhance educational stability;
     (vi) Coordination with the McKinney-Vento education of homeless children and youth program activities within the office of the superintendent of public instruction and local school district Title X liaisons;
     (vii) Activities promoting engagement of foster parents in school programming activities;
     (viii) Outreach to birth parents, when appropriate;
     (ix) Assurance of timely and accurate record and data transfer when a student in foster care moves to a different school;
     (x) Support for school-based foster parent recruitment; and
     (xi) Additional school staff training concerning the characteristics and needs of students in foster care including protecting the right to privacy for students in foster care;
     (b) Fees normally covered by parents for extracurricular activity participation, school pictures, yearbooks, ASB cards, school fines, etc.
     (4) The Puget Sound educational service district shall annually submit a report to the legislature on grant program outcomes under this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to availability of funds appropriated specifically for this purpose, the department of social and health services, within the children's administration, shall fund two school district-based foster care recruitment pilots in one or more of the school districts with the highest number of child protective services removals and out-of-home placements under chapter 13.34 RCW. Pilots must coordinate with existing foster care recruitment contracts and the family-to-family model. Funds can be used to expand existing contracts or fund children's administration staff.
     (2) The department of social and health services shall annually report to the legislature on the increase or decrease of foster homes within the pilot areas.

Sec. 5   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)) transmitted to the department of social and health services within two school days after receiving the request ((to)) 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 the student.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) The sum of five hundred eighty-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, from the general fund to the department of social and health services children's administration for the purposes of increasing the number of educational advocacy coordinators in the educational advocacy program by nine full-time employees. A portion of these full-time employees may be assigned to increase educational continuity.
     (2) The sum of one hundred eight thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, from the general fund to the department of social and health services children's administration for the purposes of section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   (1) The sum of fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, from the general fund to the Puget Sound educational service district for the purposes of section 1 of this act.
     (2) The sum of two hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, from the general fund to the Puget Sound educational service district for the purposes of section 3 of this act.