Arizona Schools. Children in foster care must go to school in person, says DCS
While parents, teachers and public officials debate whether it’s safe to send kids back to the classroom, one group is guaranteed to be on site when schools reopen: foster children.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety has advised foster parents and relatives who care for kids in DCS custody that the children should attend school in person, whenever schools reopen.
“Children and youth are seeking normalcy,” DCS Director Mike Faust wrote in a letter to caregivers this month. Kids benefit from the engagement that a traditional classroom allows, he said, while noting that lessons might be delivered in nontraditional ways (such as distance learning) at the start of the school year.
There are 12,900 children in Arizona’s foster system, according to the most recent numbers available.
