PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · May 31, 2012
Increasing Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care Act - Amends the school improvement program under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require the annual report cards issued by states to include information on the academic achievement and secondary school graduation rates of foster children.
Requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to reserve school improvement funds to serve children in foster care.
Establishes part J (Educational Stability of Children in Foster Care) under title I of the ESEA.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires states to develop and implement a plan to ensure that children that move to a new school attendance area due to being placed in foster care, changing their foster care placement, or leaving foster care: (1) enroll or remain in their school of origin and receive transportation to and from that school, unless it is determined to be in their best interest to attend a different school; (2) are immediately enrolled in a school once it is determined to be in their best interest to attend the school, even if they are unable to produce the records normally required for enrollment; and (3) have their school records maintained and available for immediate transfer to their new school.
Gives a child who leaves foster care the right to remain in his or her school of origin only for the remainder of the school year.
Requires states to ensure that foster children are able to: (1) preserve the credits or partial credits they earned at schools they previously attended, and (2) receive a secondary school diploma from one of the schools at which they were enrolled or through a state-issued secondary school diploma system.
Requires LEAs and state educational agencies to each designate an individual to oversee implementation of their part J obligations and serve as a point of contact for the child welfare agencies responsible for foster children.
Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to eliminate children and youths who are awaiting foster care placement from the definition of "homeless children and youths."
People & committees
Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] · D–IL
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Human Resources.
Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Mar 23, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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