Foster Youth: Dismantling Educational Challenges.

This article discusses the need of foster youth for special education services in the U.S. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), procedural rights to obtaining special education services for students belong to their parents. Without strong parental advocates, delivery of special education services to foster youth is often delayed, inadequate, or overly restrictive. The current IDEA regulations allow foster parents to hold educational rights for a child. However, they can do so only if the birth parents' educational rights have been limited by juvenile court, the youth is placed in long-term foster care and has an ongoing relationship with the foster parent, and the foster parent is willing to make educational decisions for that youth.