Research shows progress and challenges for foster students
Alison Yin / EdSource
Over 300,000 children in the United States are in foster care due to formal findings of parental neglect, abuse or abandonment, and nearly 40,000 of them are enrolled in California public schools. For decades, researchers, policymakers and practitioners have known that students in foster care change schools frequently, which is linked to poor educational outcomes.
Until now, there has been little actionable data to guide local decision-making.
Our research team at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), in collaboration with the California Department of Education, recently released data on school mobility for counties and districts with at least 11 students in foster care. Our findings shed new light on school mobility among students in foster care, and we found both encouraging trends and urgent challenges.
One finding is that school mobility is declining — but not equally across student groups. School mobility — defined as changing schools in a school year — has declined for students in foster care from 36% in 2017-18 to 30% in 2023-24. This improvement is largely due to a decrease in the number of students in foster care who make three or more school moves in a year. This is a promising sign given the well-documented harms of frequent school moves.
This past spring, we spoke with educators, social workers and community members in seven counties. Many told us there is a growing awareness of the importance of educational stability. County offices of education, school districts and child welfare agencies have made concerted efforts to help students remain in their schools of origin.
Even more encouragingly, the gap in school mobility between Black and white students in foster care is shrinking. In 2017-18, 41% of Black students in foster care changed schools during the school year, compared with 34% of white students. By 2023-24, those rates dropped to 35% for Black students and 31% for white students. The difference between high school students and elementary students has also narrowed.
A second finding from the study is that most school moves are associated with a change in residence. Students in foster care switch schools for many reasons, including academic needs, behavioral challenges and mental health supports. One of the most common reasons is a change in their living situation. More than two-thirds of students in foster care (69%) who change schools also move to a new residence in the same year.
Residence moves are often more than 20 miles, which makes it hard for students to stay in the same school. As a result, many end up transferring to a different district (in the same county) or even a different county.
We can’t improve school mobility without addressing foster placement. In some counties, social workers try to place students in the same school district or recruit educators to get approval to care for children in foster care. This has led to marked improvement in school mobility in their area.
Another finding is that students in foster care have overlapping needs. They are more likely to have disabilities, and some also experience homelessness — either before entering foster care or after exiting. As a result, students with complex needs often face greater school mobility. For example, nearly half of students in foster care who experience homelessness change schools in a year.
A fourth finding from our study is that students in foster care are more likely to enroll in alternative settings such as county community schools and continuation schools. Students who move more frequently, are more likely to move between alternative settings. For example, 21% of first moves in a year involve transitioning from a traditional school to an alternative setting, or between alternative settings. By the third move, nearly 20% are between alternative education settings. While alternative education settings may offer more flexibility, they are often associated with poor educational outcomes.
Finally, the AIR research found that not all school mobility is detrimental, but we need to know more. About 30% of school mobility involves moving from a high-poverty school (where at least three-quarters of students are low-income) to a more affluent one. These school moves may provide access to better resources and supports — but do they lead to better educational outcomes? More research is needed to understand the conditions under which such moves may benefit students.
Our research highlighted the urgency of improving school mobility for students in foster care, particularly those with more complex needs. To help guide policymakers, local leaders, and educators in their efforts, we recently released a statewide interactive map showing school mobility rates for counties and districts with at least 11 students in foster care. We hope this data will empower local leaders to set goals, identify gaps and strengthen their efforts to support students in foster care. The progress is real — but so is the work ahead.
•••
Niu Gao is a principal researcher with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to solve urgent challenges in the U.S. and around the world.
Note: This research is supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through grant R305S240021 to the AIR). Any errors or misinterpretations belong to the authors and do not reflect the views of the Institute or the Department of Education.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
