Children in foster care are more likely than other children to have academic and behavioral trouble in school. More than 60 percent of children or youth in care drop out of school before graduation, a rate that is twice as high as the dropout rate for all students.
Many of the families serving children and youth in out-of-home care need to be able to advocate with their schools in order to make sure the children receive the educational benefits to which they are entitled.
This 20-page guide, produced in 2001, outlines those benefits provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In addition, it offers practical tips for effective advocacy, reviews the functions of caretakers acting as parents for a child, summarizes the principal procedural protections in IDEA, and provides a review of the processes for dispute resolution.