Kansas foster children are missing school because of paperwork troubles.
In one case, a child was moved from their home to another county, where they attended school without issues. But when the child needed to leave that foster home, a case summary from the Office of the Child Advocate said, the foster care agency couldn’t find a new home. That meant weeks of night-to-night placements, most in a different county.
The child wasn’t allowed to switch schools, though. So they would arrive at a new home between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., wake up around 7 a.m. and get driven over two and a half hours to their old school in their former county.
They showed up late to class, forgot textbooks at past houses and eventually became so frustrated they refused to go to school.
In total, the child spent five and a half hours commuting to school and caseworker offices each day. Struggling to get a consistent address prevented the student from switching to a closer school.
Federal law says foster children shouldn’t have to wait for enrollment. Some school districts told The Beacon they’re following that law. Social workers and lawmakers say they believe districts are doing the best they can, but these delays still pop up.
Other foster children are also missing school or commuting long distances because of logistical issues.
Some special-education children need certain services that the new district doesn’t offer, so there’s a delay in enrollment. Other students are waiting until their educational records are transferred.
It isn’t clear how many children are missing school because of these logistical issues.
One state lawmaker said it happens hundreds of times. But state agencies — like the Kansas Department for Children and Families, state foster care contractors and the Kansas State Department of Education — don’t track this information.
Moving from one foster home to another — or even from one city to another — doesn’t mean a child needs a new school. Kimberly Duncan, education and transition team supervisor at foster care contractor KVC Kansas, said the agency has transported children from Olathe to Topeka for school.
Multiple foster care agencies said they want to keep kids in the same school — and with the same friends, same teachers and classes — if possible. Some distances, like Wichita to the Kansas City metro, just aren’t doable.
That’s when this transfer process will happen.
Duncan said a few issues combine to prevent a smooth transition. Some districts assume the foster care agencies have certain records for the child when they don’t. Other districts don’t process records transfers quickly.
'Everybody wants to do this better'
Foster care staff said the children most at risk of missing school are those with higher needs. These children need more intensive or specialized care, and agencies might struggle to find homes willing to take them long term.
A foster care lawsuit settlement has spent years monitoring how often children are moving from new placements. The 2024 report, which looked at data from 2023, found foster children move an average of 7.94 times for every 1,000 days in care — or 2.7 years.
That means repeatedly switching homes before finding a stable foster family.
“That might go on for a week or two weeks or even two months,” said Kristalle Hedrick, CEO of the Children’s Alliance of Kansas. “It just depends (when) they can find that right fit.”
Duncan said KVC Kansas hasn’t had any children miss school for an extended period of time.
Angela Hedrick, vice president of operations at KVC Kansas, said school districts are trying their best to place children, but she thinks state law needs some tweaks to iron out issues.
The Beacon asked multiple school districts about enrollment issues, and they said this isn’t an issue. The Haysville School District said it transfers students immediately. The Shawnee Mission School District said delays in enrollment are rare.
Leah Fliter, lobbyist with the Kansas Association of School Boards, said in February that there’s already a federal law requiring immediate transfer of students.
She said schools are working to address this issue locally. Fliter spoke at a hearing in February for a bill that would have required schools to handle this process, mandated that they transfer documents within two days and prevented districts from denying enrollment to children.
Her group was neutral on the bill.
The bill didn’t advance out of committee last year, but it will return next year, said Rep. Jason Goetz, a Dodge City Republican.
Goetz, chair of the K-12 budget committee, said he believes schools are doing everything they can to enroll students, but he’s heard from caseworkers who have had students sit at home while paperwork is sorted out.
“Everybody wants to figure out how to do this better and not have kids waiting to be enrolled,” he said.
This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
