Chantal Hinds Submits Public Testimony to the New York City Council Committee on Education in Support of New York City Students in the Foster System

On Wednesday, June 21, 2023, the New York City Council Committee on Education held a hearing on Int 0857-2022, a bill to expand disaggregated data in Department of Education reporting including metrics on students in the foster system. Next100 policy entrepreneur Chantal Hinds, testified during the hearing and submitted the following written testimony to the Council for their record. The testimony calls for the Council to pass Int 0857-2022 to increase educational data transparency for young people in the foster system and to hold the Department of Education accountable for the disparate outcomes experienced by this student population. Chantal’s testimony also calls on the council to allocate $5 million for door-to-door transportation to support school stability for students in the foster system.

The text of Chantal Hinds’ written testimony is presented below.

To learn more about the bill and read submitted testimony, click here.

To view a recording of the hearing click here.

The New York City Council Committee on Education

Honorable Rita Joseph, Chair

Re: Int 0857-2022 to Expand Disaggregated Data in Department of Education Reporting Including Metrics on Students in Foster Care

June 21, 2023

Testimony of Next100

Good afternoon Chair Joseph and members of the Committee on Education. Thank you for the opportunity to testify about Int 0857-2022. Thank you, Chair Joseph, for sponsoring this bill and moving it forward.

My name is Chantal Hinds and I am a policy entrepreneur at Next100, a startup think tank working to diversify the public policy sector. As a policy entrepreneur at Next100, I conduct original research and provide policy recommendations at the intersection of the foster system and education—an intersection I am familiar with having advocated on behalf of these students and families for nearly 8 years. Prior to Next100, I was an attorney at Advocates for Children of New York, where I represented students and families in the foster system in New York City, ensuring those students received the supports and services they needed to succeed.

Last year, I issued a report¹ about the need for increased education data transparency for foster youth in New York State as an initial step in addressing the challenging academic outcomes experienced by many young people in the foster system. Through my research and scan of state report cards, I made recommendations that New York State should consider making publicly available more data points about the educational outcomes and experiences of students in the foster system. Some of the recommendations included data about suspensions; disability status, classifications, and school placement; and grade retention. I am delighted that New York City, through the City Council, is taking a step forward in leading the charge in our state on reporting more details about the educational outcomes and experiences of young people in the foster system.

This bill’s focus on increasing and expanding reporting for students in the foster system including data on special education, suspensions, and enrollment is a critical step in our state for improving overall education outcomes for this student population. The City’s existing education data reporting laws must be amended to include students in the foster systems as a distinct group.

In January 2023, Advocates for Children of New York (AFC) released a report² highlighting some of the educational outcomes for students in the foster system in New York City. This report was based on a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request and until its issuance, many of the disparities and challenging experiences were unknown to the public. The fact that this data was unknown made it nearly impossible to hold the New York City Department of Education (DOE) accountable for these student outcomes.

AFC’s report specifically highlighted the rates of special education for students in the foster system in New York City noting that over 40 percent of students in the foster system were classified as students with disabilities—a rate more than twice that of all students. Additionally, when it comes to suspensions, the report noted that one in every 13 students in the foster system were suspended during the 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 school years. Students also experienced a disproportionate number of superintendent’s suspensions (suspensions lasting 6–180 days) during those school years, combined, by a rate more than five times the rate at which the DOE issued suspensions to New York City students overall.

Data plays an important role in providing a baseline understanding of the educational experiences of students in the foster system and can act as a guide for informed and educated decision-making about how to address the educational challenges faced by these young people. For example, the state of California has a long history of collecting data on the educational experiences and outcomes of students in the foster system. In 2021, that data informed a report³ that included recommended practices from four districts across the state that improved outcomes for their students in the foster system through various strategies like individualized plans and supports and restorative justice practices. With the reporting data required under Int 0857-2022, the DOE and City Council can not only identify problem areas as it relates to the academic success of our young people in the foster system, the DOE and City Council can also begin to recognize positive trends where students are excelling and work to ensure those practices are shared across all schools in the district.

Improved access to data is critically important for the DOE, Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), policymakers, and advocates to monitor disparities, identify key intervention points, develop targeted solutions, and measure the effectiveness of any new programs or initiatives.

In addition to the need for data in improving educational outcomes for young people in the foster system, the City must ensure that students have prompt, reliable, and appropriate transportation to school. Getting to school is a challenge that no student should have to face, much less students who are in the City’s care and custody. Federal⁴ and state⁵ law require the City to provide transportation to students in the foster system so they can stay in their original school when they come into the system or change foster homes, except in the limited situations where it is in the students’ best interest to transfer schools. While many students in the foster system do currently receive busing, the DOE still has not guaranteed bus service or another comparable mode of transportation to these students. According to their website, students in the foster system in grades Pre-K-6 are eligible for school bus service OR a student MetroCard; if a bus is not available in 10 business days, alternative transportation may be available.

As a result, students who cannot travel to school on their own have been forced to transfer
schools, or even transfer foster homes, if they cannot be added to an existing bus route. Even when students do receive busing, delays of a month or longer in placing students on a bus route can be hugely destabilizing to students. Furthermore, while the DOE says it will reimburse agencies and foster parents for transportation costs if no bus route is available, they will not reimburse costs for a chaperone if the foster parent or agency staff cannot accompany the student to and from school every single day, and agencies have experienced extensive delays getting reimbursed for those costs that are allowed.

The DOE’s current stance on transportation does not meet its obligation under federal and state law. To ensure students receive the transportation they need, the City should invest $5 million in the DOE budget to provide prompt, reliable, workable bus service or other door-to-door transportation to the relatively small number of students in the foster system who need it to maintain school stability.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this testimony and for considering the importance of data reporting and transportation funding for students in the foster system.

Submitted by:
Chantal Hinds, J.D.
Policy Entrepreneur, Next100
[email protected]

1. “Why Data Matters for New York Students in the Foster System,” Next100, accessed June 21, 2023, https://thenext100.org/why-data-matters-for-new-york-students-in-the-foster-system/.
2. “Building on Potential: Next Steps to Improve Educational Outcomes for Students in Foster Care,” Advocates for Children of New York, accessed June 21, 2023, https://www.advocatesforchildren.org/sites/default/files/library/building_on_potential.pdf.
3. “California Foster Youth Outcomes: Recommended Practices from Four Successful School Districts,” California Department of Education, accessed June 21, 2023, https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/pf/fy/documents/fyoutcomes.docx.
4. Every Student Succeeds Act. Pub. L. No. 114–95, § 1112, 129 Stat. 1856.
5. N.Y. Educ. Law § 3244.