Educational stability policy and the interplay between child welfare placements and school moves

Despite recent improvements in child welfare placement stability, youth in foster care still experience high rates of school moves. Although these findings are well documented in the literature, few studies have considered the interplay between child welfare placements and school moves. The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of school moves that can be reduced through implementation of the educational stability provisions of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (FCA, 2008) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), and to identify opportunities to minimize the number of transitions that children and youth in foster care experience. Findings indicate that implementation of the FCA and the ESSA is a critical, but partial, solution for ensuring the educational stability of students in foster care. This article provides an empirical rationale for states and local jurisdictions to incorporate non-regulatory recommendations in order to fill the gaps in federal regulations.