DETROIT — A new Michigan law aims to ensure that foster youth in the state receive an education that builds toward a high school diploma.
The law, signed Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, comes nearly two years after NBC News exposed an educational crisis that had forced vulnerable teens to repeat classes they took while living in state-funded residential facilities, delaying graduation for some and leading others to drop out.
The law will, for the first time, require the state to provide children in foster care with “an education that prioritizes meeting the graduation requirements” to earn a diploma. Until now, the state had placed children in residential facilities that were required only to provide “appropriate educational services.” That vague description meant some students took substandard classes that didn’t count toward graduation.
Some were enrolled in classes they’d already taken. Some discovered that their transcripts were missing or incomplete. Others were pulled out midsemester to move to a new home without consideration for whether they’d be able to finish their coursework.
“We’re so excited,” said Saba Gebrai, the program director for the Park West Foundation, which supports the youth-led advocacy organization that lobbied for the legislation.
“The kids have been asking for a real education,” she said, and now “there will be no confusion about what students should be doing to graduate from high school.”
The law won’t take effect until next year, but Gebrai said advocates have been urging the state to start amending its contracts with residential facilities to reflect the new educational expectations. A spokesman with the state Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment.
The law is part of a three-bill package that state Rep. Stephanie A. Young, a Detroit Democrat, introduced last year after seeing what she called “a truly disturbing news report” about the issue from NBC…
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