Students in foster care in alternative education settings in California: Recent trends in enrollment and school mobility

Youth in foster care are a vulnerable population, many of whom have experienced trauma from neglect and abuse, leading to developmental challenges, mental health problems, and school disengagement. Consequently, students in foster care are at a higher risk of being suspended, expelled, or involved with the juvenile justice system and are more likely to transition to schools providing education in alternative settings. The goal of this paper is to examine trends in enrollment and transitions to and from alternative education settings among youth in foster care in California. We conduct the analysis by school type using data from the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System for academic years 2017–18 through 2023–24. We find that the share of foster youth enrolled in juvenile court and community schools dropped sharply during the 2020–21 academic year but showed a slower and less consistent decline in subsequent years. In 2023–24, the share of students in foster care transitioning to juvenile court and community schools decreased, while more students moved from these schools to other alternative or traditional education settings. The enrollment share in continuation and opportunity schools has grown slightly in recent years due to both a greater share of students transitioning to these schools and a smaller share moving to other school types. The share of students enrolled in alternative schools of choice declined after the COVID-induced growth but remained above pre-COVID levels. The paper concludes by discussing policy implications, limitations, and directions for future research.