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HR 5817 111th Congress House

Fostering Success in Education Act

Official title: To provide children in foster care with school stability and equal access to educational opportunities.

Introduced: July 28, 2010 See on congress.gov
Education Adoption and foster careAdvisory bodiesChild safety and welfareCivil actions and liability
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Education of the disadvantagedEducation programs fundingElementary and secondary educationIntergovernmental relationsPreschool educationSchool administrationState and local government operationsTransportation costs
This bill died when the 111th Congress ended
It never became law before the 111th Congress (2009–2010) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 6 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Oct 13, 2010
Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.
Jul 28, 2010
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1457)
Jul 22, 2010
Referred to House Ways and Means
Jul 22, 2010
Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on 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.
Jul 22, 2010
Referred to House Education and Labor
Jul 22, 2010
Introduced in House
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 Latest action October 13, 2010

Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Fostering Success in Education Act - Requires each state receiving school improvement funds under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to ensure that its foster care children have the right to: (1) continue attending the school they were in when placed in foster care or before a change in such placement (school of origin), unless it is determined to be in the child's best interest to be immediately enrolled in a different school; (2) immediate enrollment in a new school in their school attendance area; (3) well-maintained school records that are available in a timely manner; (4) equal access to the same education and opportunities as other students attending the school or school district; and (5) free transportation to and from their school.

Includes preschool children as beneficiaries of such rights, with respect to preschool programs.

Requires states to: (1) ensure that their state and local educational agencies (LEAs) and child welfare agencies collaborate in specified activities aimed at satisfying such rights; and (2) maintain a complaint management system, and an effective system for transferring and recovering a foster child's school credits.

Requires an LEA serving a foster child's school of origin to make an expedited decision on whether it is in the foster child's best interest to attend such school or be immediately enrolled in a new school in the child's school attendance area, unless the state decides that the decision is to be made solely by the dependency court or state or local child welfare agency. Requires states to have fair and impartial procedures to resolve school selection disputes promptly.

Allows parties who claim that their rights under this Act have been violated to bring a civil action in the appropriate U.S. district court.

Directs the Secretary of Education to allot grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to public agencies, including LEAs and local child welfare agencies, to carry out this Act's requirements.

Requires each state grantee to: (1) implement a Secretary-approved state foster care and education plan for satisfying this Act's requirements; and (2) establish a Stakeholder Council that monitors, and makes recommendations regarding, plan implementation.

Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require state child welfare agencies to arrange for, provide, or pay the cost of the transportation necessary for foster children to remain in the school they attended at the time of their placement.

Requires state and local child welfare and educational agencies to collaborate in eliminating barriers to the educational stability, enrollment, and success of foster children.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 3
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5817: Fostering Success in Education Act. 111th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5817/
MLA
"H.R. 5817: Fostering Success in Education Act." 111th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5817/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5817, 111th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5817/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5817: Fostering Success in Education Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5817/)
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