Foster Care

The Foster Care Education Program provides support to students in foster care to ensure educational stability for academic success. 

"Foster care" means 24 hours per day of temporary substitute care for the child placed away from the child’s parents or guardians, and for whom Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) or a licensed or certified child placing agency has placement and care responsibility. This includes any out-of-home care (including a relative or suitable person), so long as the child is under the placement and care responsibility of Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) and placed in out-of-home care by Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). 

Students in foster care have the right to:

• Attend school in the attendance area where they are currently living. 
• When in the best interest of the child, attend the school of origin (the school they attended at the time they entered care), or the school in which they were last enrolled. 
• Immediate enrollment and support from district foster care liaison in obtaining school records and coordinating services. 
• Receive transportation to their school, if necessary. 
• Free school meals. 
• Support with on-time grade progression and graduation. 

Additional resources

• Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Foster Care Program 
• Treehouse: Provides academic support for foster care children and youth