ADVOCATING FOR A STUDENT IN FOSTER CARE
By Eric Fisher
Taylor English Duma LLP
[email protected]
U
nder Georgia law, K-12 public school students
faced with proposed out-of-school suspensions of
more than 10 days, or with expulsion, are entitled
to dispute the proposed disciplinary action at an
administrative hearing often called a “tribunal.” When the
Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice heard concerns
about the availability of qualified counsel to assist students,
especially indigent students, in the proceedings, Appleseed’s
Young Professionals Council (the “YPC”) responded.
hearing was scheduled for the following Tuesday morning.
Other than being given a summary of the charges against
her, I was told that the student, Megan (not her real name),
was 12 years-old and that she was a foster child in the Fulton
County Division of Family and Child Services (“DFCS”) system.
Unfortunately, since being returned to foster care, Megan had
not been keeping up with the medication that was supposed to
keep her temper in check. Prior to my involvement, the school
refused to acknowledge the connection between Megan’s
disability and her improper behavior at school.
Someone Was in Her Corner
Compromise
Representing Students
The first thing I did for Megan was learn as much as I could
about her from her Foster Care Case Manager. Megan had
been in and out of foster care since she was a toddler. Most
recently, she was returned to foster care after her elderly
great-aunt could no longer care for her. Megan was currently
living in a hotel with several other foster children because the
group foster homes were overcrowded.
Youth in Foster Care
In Georgia Appleseed’s Student Tribunal Hearing Training, I
learned that the punishment recommended by the school was
meted out on most occasions. While I was not optimistic that I
could do much to help keep Megan in school, I hoped that by
simply showing up as a tra