South Carolina Statehouse Blog

Bill helps foster care children succeed in public schools

A bill to help children in foster care succeed in South Carolina’s public schools is making its way out of the Senate. The South Carolina Bill of Rights for Children in Foster Care Act has been championed by Majority Leader Harvey Peeler and was approved today by the full Senate on third reading.

“It’s no secret that it’s not easy to be a foster child. We have to ensure that they have every chance to get a good education and build successful lives,” Peeler said. “This bill goes a long way toward removing barriers and providing needed assistance.”

In addition to making sure school districts don’t place additional enrollment requirements on foster children, it also requires districts to facilitate quick enrollment and quick transfer of records from one district to another. In the event that a child has to change homes, the bill provides that the Department of Social Services enroll the child in the new school, but taking care to keep the child in the same school, if possible.

“Moving and changing can be hard for anyone. If a child is moving to a new place, it’s a big help to facilitate that transition. And if we can, it’s good to keep the child in the same school so they can keep up with their studies without interruption,” Peeler said.

There are also provisions to ensure students aren’t barred from services and programs open to current students at the school, and to require districts to allow for absences because of court-ordered circumstances. If a child has more absences than normally allowed, administrators must give the child a chance to make up the assignments without a penalty.

Finally, the bill requires DSS to provide an education advocate for the child, gives access to an officer of DSS to the child’s records in order for that officer to adequately help the child during their academic career.

“By enacting these changes, we’re doing right by our state’s foster children and helping them be on the same educational plain as children who aren’t in state care,” Peeler said.