From the Homeless, Foster Care, & Refugee Blog
2023-2024 Foster Care Education Program Trainings
Wed, Oct 11 2023
Foster Care Education trainings for the 2023-2024 school year.
Foster Care Transportation Arbitration Process
The purpose of this transportation arbitration process is designed to provide an avenue for either a local educational agency (LEA) or the Department of Child Safety (DCS) to dispute the transportation plan to the school of origin for children in foster care once all available troubleshooting options have been exhausted. The arbitration process was codified in Arizona Revised Statute (ARS) 8-530.05 to support the efforts of LEAs & DCS to implement federal legislation requirements pertaining to the school stability of children in foster care.
Both federal and state statutes require that LEAs and DCS collaborate to develop policies and procedures to ensure that, when in their best interest, children in foster care are provided transportation to and from their schools of origin.
Federal Statutory Requirement
The Non-Regulatory Guidance: Ensuring Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care details the following requirement for children in foster care:
An LEA must collaborate with the State or local child welfare agency to develop and implement clear written procedures governing how transportation to maintain children in foster care in their schools of origin, when in their best interest, will be provided, arranged, and funded for the duration of the child’s time in foster care (the transportation procedures). These procedures must ensure that—
State Statutory Requirements
Before filing for a transportation arbitration, be sure to exhaust all available troubleshooting options to address any challenges with the current transportation plan, including the following strategies:
If the issue remains unresolved after the implementation of troubleshooting strategies, a representative from the LEA or DCS may initiate arbitration to address the following situations:
The arbitration initiator will need to fill out the ARS 8-530.05 Foster Care Transportation Arbitration Process Form on ADE’s Foster Care webpage under the Documents menu item. The arbitration can only be filed by either the LEA or DCS.
Preview the Foster Care Transportation Arbitration Process Reference Form to ensure that the arbitration initiator has all the information required for a timely resolution prior to officially submitting an arbitration request.
If there is a need for arbitration relating to the arrangement and/or funding of transportation to the school or origin, the following requirements are to be immediately implemented:
The party initiating the arbitration shall provide information related to the issue in question by filling out the ARS 8-530.05 Foster Care Transportation Arbitration Process Form on ADE’s Foster Care webpage, under the Documents menu item.
The State-level arbitration process shall be immediately initiated following the conclusion of the Best Interest Determination (BID), or at such time that the agreed upon transportation plan is no longer effective in transporting the child in foster care to the school of origin.
Upon receipt of the dispute, the Arizona Department of Education Foster Care Point of Contact, or designee, and the DCS Point of Contact, or designee, shall conduct the following steps within the arbitration process:
The decision rendered from the State-level arbitration process: