| State |
Status/Date |
Level |
Summary |
|
 IL | Signed into law 07/2012 | Postsec. | Amends provisions regarding scholarships for foster youth. Former language limited scholarship eligibility to children under care, or children formerly under care who have been adopted or in the subsidized guardianship program. New language replaces references to "children" with "youth," replaces reference to "subsidized guardianship program" with "in guardianship placement," and explicitly extends scholarship eligibility to youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older. Former language required eligible scholarship candidates to have completed 4 years in an accredited high school. New language requires scholarship candidates to have earned a high school diploma from a public school district or a recognized nonpublic school or a certificate of general education development (GED), or who have met the state criteria for high school graduation. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/97/SB/PDF/09700SB2818lv.pdf
Title: S.B. 2818
Source: www.ilga.gov
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| WA | Signed into law 03/2012 | P-12 | Establishes the educational success for youth and alumni of foster care act. Includes in the purpose of the passport to college promise program to improve high school graduation outcomes for foster youth.
Adds or replaces requirements for the department of social and health services, higher education institutions, school districts, and other partners relating to outcomes for foster youth. Revises foster youth enrollment requirements in the college bound scholarship program. Changes the expiration of the passport to college promise program from June 30, 2013, to June 30, 2022. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2011-12/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Law%202012/2254-S.SL.pdf
Title: H.B. 2254
Source: apps.leg.wa.gov
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| CA | Signed into law 10/2011 | Postsec. | From bill summary: Until January 1, 2017, requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority for registration for enrollment to foster youth or former foster youth. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_0151-0200/ab_194_bill_20111004_chaptered.pdf
Title: A.B. 194
Source: www.leginfo.ca.gov
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| OR | Signed into law 07/2011 | Postsec. | Requires state institutions of higher education, community colleges and Oregon Health and Science University to waive tuition and fees for current or former foster children under the age of 25. Provides that students are eligible to receive awards for equivalent of four academic years. Requires recipients of tuition waivers to perform 30 hours of community service and specifies other conditions for receiving tuition waiver. Expands college scholarship program to include current foster children. Specifies foster child enrolled at postsecondary institutions as undergraduate may receive award no later than three years after removal from care, or receiving high school diploma. Provides algorithm for determining amount of waiver. Details role of the Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) in administering waiver and determining amount of student, family, federal and state share. Requires OSAC to adopt rules prioritizing foster children and former foster children for purposes of awarding Oregon Opportunity Grant.
http://www.leg.state.or.us/11reg/measpdf/hb3400.dir/hb3471.en.pdf
Title: H.B. 3471
Source: http://www.leg.state.or.us
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| TX | Signed into law 06/2011 | Postsec. | Directs each institution of higher education to assist full-time postsecondary students who have been under the conservatorship of the department of family and protective services in locating temporary housing between academic terms, including summer session. Permits an academic institution to provide a stipend to cover temporary housing costs, or provide temporary housing directly to the student for the applicable period. http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/pdf/HB00452F.pdf#navpanes=0
Title: H.B. 452
Source: www.capitol.state.tx.us
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| VT | Signed into law 05/2011 | P-12
Postsec. | Requires schools and local districts coordinate educational services to children and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance with the department of mental health, the department for children and families, the department of disabilities, aging, and independent living, and the department of education. Makes other provisions for children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbance. Amends the membership on the advisory council on special education. All members of the council shall serve for a term of three years (beginning April 1 of year of appointment) or until their successors are appointed. A majority of the members shall be either individuals with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities. Makes a child or young adult under the custody of the commissioner of children and families and who is accepted to a Vermont college eligible for a grant.
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2012/Acts/ACT058.pdf
Title: S.B. 100 - Disabilities Sections
Source: http://www.leg.state.vt.us
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| MD | Signed into law 04/2011 | Postsec. | Alters from 21 to 25 the age before which foster care recipients must be enrolled at public institutions of higher education to be exempt from paying specified tuition. Also alters from 21 to 25 the age before which foster care recipients must be enrolled as candidates for specified degrees to not be required to pay the difference between the amount of specified scholarships or grants and the amount of specified tuition. http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/hb/hb1208t.pdf
Title: H.B. 1208
Source: http://mlis.state.md.us
| |
| RI | Signed into law 06/2010 | P-12 | Creates the Task Force on the Education of Children and Youth in the Care of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Directs the task force to make recommendations for:
(1) Identifying challenges to ensuring the educational stability and success of children and youth involved with DCYF from pre-K through college undergraduates, including, but not
limited to:
(i) Determining when a child's and/or youth's educational placement is not in his/her best interest
(ii) Ensuring that transportation issues are addressed to assist in maintaining educational stability
(iii) Immediate transfer of student records and collaboration between schools on the provision of student information when a student needs to move schools
(iv) Ensuring the portability of student credits and graduation requirement expectations when a student's educational placement changes
(v) Identifying issues related to school residency and/or educational funding issues related to youth involved with DCYF; and
(vi) Issues related to ensuring the stability of educational placements unless they are not in the best interest of the child; and ensuring that schools and school districts collaborate in sending and obtaining the information and records necessary when a child/youth moves schools.
Directs the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the general assembly by March 22, 2011. Provides the commission expires on May 31, 2011. http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/PublicLaws/law10/res10/res10363.htm
Title: H.R. 8109, S.R. 2872
Source: www.rilin.state.ri.us
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| DE | Signed into law 05/2010 | Postsec. | Allows children who are leaving foster care to have access to the SEED scholarship, without the condition that they begin their higher education immediately after high school. Allows them to attend school part-time. These exceptions are necessary because children aging out of foster care have the unique responsibility to support themselves and may not be able to follow the traditional timetable that children with the support of a more traditional family are able to follow. http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis145.nsf/vwLegislation/SB+41/$file/legis.html?open
Title: S.B. 41
Source: http://legis.delaware.gov
| |
| CA | Signed into law 10/2009 | Postsec.
Community College | Requests community college campuses, and requires California State University and University of California campuses that maintain student housing facilities open for occupation during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster youth for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation, and next give priority to current and former foster youth for housing that is open for occupation during the most days in the calendar year and housing for which they are eligible. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_1351-1400/ab_1393_bill_20091011_chaptered.pdf
Title: A.B. 1393
Source: Lexis-Nexis/StateNet
| |
| CA | Signed into law 10/2009 | Postsec. | Allows an exception to the uniform residency requirements for a student 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment in postsecondary education, who resides in the state and is a dependent or ward of the state through the child welfare system, or was served by the system and is no longer being served either due to emancipation or aging out of the system. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0651-0700/ab_669_bill_20091011_chaptered.pdf
Title: A.B. 669
Source: www.leginfo.ca.gov
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| TX | Signed into law 06/2009 | P-12
Postsec. | Directs the state education agency to assist the transition of foster care students from one school to another by specified means, including ensuring expedient transfer of student records; developing transition programs to assist a foster care student in his/her first two weeks in a new school; developing course transfer provisions; facilitating access to extracurricular programs, summer programs, credit transfer services, electronic courses and after-school tutoring programs at low to no cost; encouraging districts to provide services to foster care students in transition when applying for admission to postsecondary study and when seeking sources of funding for postsecondary study; and requiring districts and schools to accept a referral for special education services made for a foster care student by the student's previous school. Adds foster care students to the subgroups of students eligible for full-time enrollment in the state virtual school. http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/pdf/SB02248F.pdf
Title: S.B. 2248
Source: www.legis.state.tx.us
| |
| IN | Signed into law 05/2009 | P-12
Postsec. | Relates to educational assistance for foster care youth; requires the state student scholarship commission to annually report to the legislative council concerning data on the individuals who received certain assistance; establishes eligibility requirements for the twenty-first century scholars program for foster care youth; requires a caseworker of a foster child to provide information to the child concerning specified scholarship programs. Requires state agencies to jointly study whether there is a need for a foster care educational assistance program and to submit a report containing recommendations to the legislative council by October 1, 2009 concerning whether legislation is needed to establish a program and the best agency to administer the program. Public Law 100
http://www.state.in.us/legislative
Title: H.B. 1681
Source: http://www.state.in.us
| |
| HI | Signed into law 06/2008 | Postsec.
Community College | (Governor's Package Bill) Expands the definition of former foster youth; clarifies provisions relating to Higher Education Board Allowances for former foster youth; increases the age limit and revises eligibility criteria for such allowances; provides a duration for which allowances are allowed; specifies that such allowances must be provided subject to the availability of state and federal funds. http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/Bills/HB1356_CD1_.htm
Title: H.B. 1356
Source: Lexis-Nexis/StateNet
| |
| NH | Signed into law 07/2007 | Postsec. | Establishes tuition waivers for foster children at any public postsecondary institution.
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2007/SB0168.html
Title: S.B. 168
Source: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/
| |
| MD | Signed into law 05/2007 | Postsec.
Community College | Clarifies the definition of a foster care recipient; provides that specified foster youth placed by the Department of Human Resources in out-of-home placements other than foster care homes may be eligible for waiver of tuition and fees at specified institutions of higher education.
Title: H.B. 1309
Source: Maryland Legislature
| |
| IN | Signed into law 05/2007 | P-12
Postsec. | Provides that a student who is in foster care or placed in the home of a relative or other unlicensed caretaker may enroll in the 21st Century Scholars program at any time before the student graduates from high school, is not required to be eligible for free or reduced price lunches to participate and is not required to have a custodial parent or guardian agree to the student's participation in the program. http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2007/PDF/HE/HE1266.1.pdf
Title: H.B. 1266
Source: www.in.gov
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| WA | Signed into law 04/2007 | P-12
Postsec. | Declares an intent to create the passport to college promise pilot program that will have two primary components, as follows: (1) Significantly increasing outreach to foster care youth between the ages of fifteen and eighteen regarding the higher education opportunities available to them, how to apply to college, and how to apply for and obtain financial aid; and (2) Providing financial aid to former foster care youth.
http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1131-S.PL.pdf
Title: H.B. 1131
Source: http://www.leg.wa.gov/
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| LA | Signed into law 06/2006 | Postsec. | Provides tuition and fee exemptions at public postsecondary education institutions for persons previously in the state's foster care program. http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=406264
Title: H.B. 1287
Source: www.legis.state.la.us
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| TN | Signed into law 05/2006 | Postsec. | Concerns Lottery, Scholarships and Programs; permits students receiving Tennessee HOPE foster child tuition grants to attend eligible private, as well as public, postsecondary institutions.
http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/bills/currentga/BILL/HB2809.pdf
Title: H.B. 2809; S.B. 2587
Source: Tennessee Legislature
| |
| KS | Signed into law 04/2006 | P-12
Postsec. | Establishes the Kansas Foster Child Educational Assistance Act. Provides that the purpose of the act is to establish an educational assistance program under which eligible foster children receive tuition waivers to any area vocational school, area vocational-technical school, community college, municipal university, state educational institution or technical college. Requires participating foster children to pay all fees charged by the state postsecondary institution that are not directly required for the courses in the student's educational program. Requires participating student, as condition of continuing eligibility, to remain in good standing at the postsecondary institution and make satisfactory progress toward completion of the requirements of the educational program in which the eligible foster child is enrolled.
Directs the secretary to publish an annual report on the Kansas foster child educational assistance act and to present the report to the legislature. Requires the annual report to account for the ways in which the purpose of this act have been carried out. Requires the recommendations to note what changes are necessary to better address the purposes of the program.
http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2006/85.pdf
Title: S.B. 85 Section 1-10
Source: www.kslegislature.org
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| WA | Signed into law 03/2006 | P-12
Postsec. | Provides that, beginning in 2006, the department shall have the authority to allow up to 50 youth reaching age 18 to continue in foster care or group care as needed to participate in or complete a post-high school academic or vocational program, and to receive necessary support and transition services. Provides that, in 2007 and 2008, the department has the authority to allow up to 50 additional youth per year
reaching age 18 to remain in foster care or group care as provided in this act. Declares that a youth who remains eligible for such placement and services pursuant to department rules may continue in foster care or group care until the youth reaches his or her 21st birthday. Provides that, beginning in July 2008, and subject to the approval of its governing board, the Washington state institute for public policy shall conduct a study measuring the outcomes for foster youth who have received continued support pursuant to RCW 74.13.031(10). The study should include measurements of any savings to the state and local government. The institute shall issue a report containing its preliminary findings to the legislature by December 1, 2008, and a final report by December 1, 2009.
http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2005-06/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Law%202006/2002-S2.SL.pdf
Title: H.B. 2002
Source: http://www.leg.wa.gov
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