Foster Care Program

The Lafayette Parish Foster Care Education Program is structurally based on Title 1 Part A foster care provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA sets forth efforts to ensure educational stability for foster youth by emphasizing that it is the shared responsibility of education and child welfare agencies in promoting the well-being of children in Foster Care.

MISSION STATEMENT
The Department of Foster Care Education provides supportive and supplemental services of immediate enrollment, transportation assistance, and wrap around services to enhance and support educational achievement and outcomes for students.

Foster Care and Student Success: A Support Guide for District and School Staff Only

Foster Care Enrollment Procedures 2023-24^{For District Employees Only}

Definition: “Child in Foster Care”
24-hour substitute care/for children placed away from their parents or guardians/and for whom the child welfare agency has placement and care responsibility.

This includes, but is not limited to, placements in foster family homes, foster homes of relatives, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, child care institutions, and pre-adoptive homes.

A child is in foster care in accordance with this definition regardless of whether the foster care facility is licensed and payments are made by the State, Tribal or local agency for the care of the child.

ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) amended the McKinney-Vento Act to remove the phrase “awaiting foster care placement” from the definition of homelessness. ESSA’s foster care transportation changes and the removal of “awaiting foster care placement” from the McKinney-Vento Act took effect on December 10, 2016.

In addition, the policies regarding school placement and transportation of foster care students were issued in Revised Statute 17:238 and in BESE Bulletin 741, Chapter 11 Student Services, Section 1109: Assignment and Transfer of Students. Together, these policies outline the requirements for the local education agencies (LEAs) regarding school placement and transportation in foster care.

Federal Law also requires reporting of academic achievement for foster care students for accountability purposes:

Reporting on Annual Report Cards, Achievement, and Graduation Rates (ESSA of 2015, Pub. L No. 114-95. Sec. 1111 (h)(1)(C)(iii) and ESSA of 2015. Pub. L. No. 114-95. Sec 111(h)(1)(C)(ii), and 34 CFR 200.30. ESSA of 2015. Pub. L. No. 114-95. Sec. 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi)