§ 3244. Education of children in foster care. 1. Definitions. For
purposes of this section only, the following definitions shall apply:

a. Child or youth in foster care. For the purposes of this article,
the term "child or youth in foster care" shall mean a child who is in
the care and custody or custody and guardianship of a local commissioner
of social services or the commissioner of the office of children and
family services.

b. School district of origin. The term "school district of origin"
shall mean the school district within the state of New York in which the
child or youth in foster care was attending a public school or preschool
on a tuition-free basis or was entitled to attend at the time of
placement into foster care when the social services district or the
office of children and family services assumed care and custody or
custody and guardianship of such child or youth, which is different from
the school district of residence.

c. School district of residence. The term "school district of
residence" shall mean the public school district within the state of New
York in which the foster care placement is located, which is different
from the school district of origin.

d. Feeder school. The term "feeder school" shall mean:

(1) a preschool whose students are entitled to attend a specified
elementary school or group of elementary schools upon completion of that
preschool;

(2) a school whose students are entitled to attend a specified
elementary, middle, intermediate, or high school or group of specified
elementary, middle, intermediate, or high schools upon completion of the
terminal grade of such school; or

(3) a school that sends its students to a receiving school in a
neighboring school district pursuant to section two thousand forty of
this chapter.

e. Preschool. The term "preschool" shall mean a publicly funded
pre-kindergarten program administered by the department or a local
educational agency or a Head Start program administered by a local
educational agency and/or services under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act administered by a local educational agency.

f. Receiving school. The term "receiving school" shall mean:

(1) a school that enrolls students from a specified or group of
preschools, elementary schools, middle schools, intermediate schools, or
high schools; or

(2) a school that enrolls students from a feeder school in a
neighboring local educational agency pursuant to section two thousand
forty of this chapter.

g. School of origin. The term "school of origin" shall mean a public
school that a child or youth attended at the time of placement into
foster care, or the school in which the child or youth was last
enrolled, including a preschool or a charter school. Provided that, for
a child or youth in foster care who completes the final grade level
served by the school of origin, the term "school of origin" shall
include the designated receiving school at the next grade level for all
feeder schools. Where the child is eligible to attend school in the
school district of origin because the child was placed in foster care
after such child is eligible to apply, register, or enroll in the public
preschool or kindergarten or the child is living with a school-age
sibling who attends school in the school district of origin, the school
of origin shall include any public school or preschool in which such
child would have been entitled or eligible to attend based on such
child's last residence before the circumstances arose which caused such
child to be placed in foster care.

2. Choice of district and school. a. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law to the contrary, the social services district, in
consultation with the appropriate local educational agency or agencies,
shall designate either the school district of origin or the school
district of residence within which the child in foster care shall be
entitled to attend in accordance with a best interest determination made
by the applicable social services district or voluntary authorized
agency, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision ten of section three
hundred seventy-one of the social services law, in accordance with the
regulations of the office of children and family services. The child
shall be entitled to attend the school of origin or any school that
children and youth who live in the attendance area in which the foster
care placement is located are eligible to attend, including a preschool,
subject to a best interest determination made by the applicable social
services district or voluntary authorized agency, as defined in
paragraph (a) of subdivision ten of section three hundred seventy-one of
the social services law, for the duration of the child's placement in
foster care and until the end of the school year in which such child is
no longer in foster care and for one additional year if that year
constitutes the child's terminal year in such building.

b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, where
the school district of origin or school of origin that a child was
attending on a tuition-free basis or was entitled to attend when such
child entered foster care is located in New York state and the child's
foster care placement is located in a contiguous state, the child shall
be entitled to attend the school of origin or any school that children
and youth who live in the attendance area in which the foster care
placement is located are eligible to attend, including a preschool,
subject to a best interest determination made by the applicable social
services district or voluntary authorized agency, as defined in
paragraph (a) of subdivision ten of section three hundred seventy-one of
the social services law, for the duration of the child's placement in
foster care and until the end of the school year in which such child is
no longer in foster care and for one additional year if that year
constitutes the child's terminal year in such building.

c. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph a or b of this
subdivision, a child in foster care who is moved from one foster care
placement to another shall be entitled to continue to attend the school
of origin or the social services district may designate that the child
in foster care attend any school that children and youth who live in the
attendance area in which the foster care placement is located are
eligible to attend, including a preschool, subject to a best interest
determination made by the applicable social services district or
voluntary authorized agency, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision
ten of section three hundred seventy-one of the social services law, for
the duration of the child's placement in foster care and until the end
of the school year in which the child is no longer in such foster care
placement and for one additional year if that year constitutes the
child's terminal year in such building.

d. Upon notification of the designation made by the social services
district for a foster care youth, the designated school district of
attendance shall immediately:

(1) enroll the child or youth in foster care even if the child or
youth is unable to produce records normally a requirement for
enrollment, such as previous academic records, records of immunization
and/or other required health records, proof of residency or other
documentation and/or even if the child has missed application or
enrollment deadlines during any period of placement in foster care, if
applicable. Provided that nothing herein shall be construed to require
the immediate attendance of an enrolled student lawfully excluded from
school temporarily pursuant to section nine hundred six of this chapter
because of a communicable or infectious disease that imposes a
significant risk of infection of others;

(2) treat the child or youth in foster care as a resident for all
purposes; and

(3) make a written request to the school district where the child's
records are located for a copy of such records.

e. Within five days of receipt of a request for records in accordance
with subparagraph three of paragraph d of this subdivision, the school
district shall forward, in a manner consistent with state and federal
law, a complete copy of the records of the child or youth in foster care
including, but not limited to, proof of age, academic records,
evaluations, immunization records, and guardianship papers, if
applicable.

f. Where the school of origin is a charter school, the school district
designated pursuant to this subdivision shall be deemed to be the school
district of residence of such child for purposes of fiscal and
programmatic responsibility under article fifty-six of this chapter and
shall be responsible for transportation of the child in foster care. If
the designated school district of attendance is not the school district
of origin, the designated school district of attendance may seek
reimbursement from the school district of origin in accordance with the
provisions of subdivision four of section thirty-two hundred two of this
article.

g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each
local educational agency, as such term is defined in subsection
twenty-six of section ninety-one hundred one of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student
Succeeds Act of 2015, shall designate a local educational agency point
of contact for children and youth in foster care. Provided that such
point of contact shall not be the same as the liaison designated
pursuant to the subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Assistance
Act, unless the McKinney-Vento liaison has sufficient ability to carry
out the responsibilities of the McKinney-Vento liaison in addition to
the responsibilities of the point of contact for children and youth in
foster care.

3. Reimbursement. The tuition costs of the education of such child or
youth in foster care shall be borne in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph d of subdivision four of section thirty-two hundred two of
this article.

4. Transportation. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
child or youth in foster care who requires transportation in order to
attend a school of origin designated pursuant to subdivision two of this
section, shall be entitled to receive such transportation pursuant to
this paragraph. The designated school district of attendance shall
provide transportation to and from the child's foster care placement
location and the school of origin. Any cost incurred for such
transportation that is allowable up to fifty miles each way pursuant to
the applicable provision of parts two and three of article seventy-three
of this chapter or herein, shall be aidable pursuant to subdivision
seven of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter, provided that
the approved transportation expense shall not exceed an amount
determined by the commissioner to be the total cost for providing the
most cost-effective mode of such transportation in a manner consistent
with the commissioner's regulations.

b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where any child or
youth in foster care attends the school district of residence and such
child does not attend the school of origin, such school district shall
provide transportation to such child on the same basis as a resident
student. Any cost incurred for such transportation that is allowable
pursuant to the applicable provisions of parts two and three of article
seventy-three of this chapter or herein, shall be aidable pursuant to
subdivision seven of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter,
provided that the approved transportation expense shall not exceed an
amount determined by the commissioner to be the total cost for providing
the most cost-effective mode of such transportation in a manner
consistent with the commissioner's regulations.

c. Excess allowable transportation costs beyond those reimbursed in
paragraphs a and b of this subdivision resulting from the attendance of
a child or youth in foster care shall be shared between the social
services district responsible for the foster care costs of the child or
youth and the designated school district of attendance equally. Excess
transportation costs shall mean the difference between what a school
district otherwise would spend to transport a student to his or her
assigned school and the cost of transporting a child in foster care to
his or her school of origin; except as otherwise reimbursed under
paragraph a or b of this subdivision and as further defined in
regulations of the commissioner. The school district and local social
services district are expected to consider and utilize all allowable
funding sources, including any available federal funds, to cover
additional transportation costs. Provided however that school districts
and social services districts that have written agreements relating to
how excess transportation costs should be funded, that both entities
have agreed to and are consistent with the requirements in subparagraph
five of paragraph c of section one thousand one hundred twelve of title
twenty of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended
by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, filed with the department and
the office of children and family services shall not be subject to this
paragraph. In the absence of such a shared agreement, such school
districts and local departments of social services are subject to the
provisions of this paragraph.

d. Where the child has been placed in foster care in a contiguous
state and has designated a school of origin located in the state of New
York, the designated school district of attendance in New York state
shall collaborate with the social services district to arrange for
transportation.

5. Each child or youth in foster care to be assisted under this
section shall be provided services comparable to services offered to
other students in the school selected under this section, including the
following: transportation services; educational services for which the
child or youth meets the eligibility criteria, such as services provided
under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or
similar state or local programs; educational programs for children with
disabilities; educational programs for English learners; programs in
career and technical education; programs for gifted and talented
students; and school nutrition programs.

6. The commissioner, in consultation with the office of children and
family services, may promulgate regulations to carry out the purposes of
this section.