Implementing Senate Bill 905
Senate Bill 905 was passed during this year’s Legislative Session. SB 905 impacts residency determinations for students voluntarily placed in foster care, without Department of Human Services (DHS) custody. This includes students who are voluntarily placed in: (1) a foster home for children with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD); (2) a group home for children with IDD; or (3) a voluntary placement through Child Welfare where the parent/guardian retains guardianship. SB 905 returns residency determinations for this population of children to how they were made prior to 2017 under ORS 339.133 and ORS 339.134.
Children in the circumstances described in SB 905 are considered residents—for school purposes—in the school district where they reside because of their voluntary placement. SB 905 provides for an exception to this default rule. A voluntarily-placed child will remain a resident for school purposes in the school district where their parent/guardian resides if:
- The child’s preferences regarding school attendance are taken into consideration;
- The child’s parent/guardian retains legal guardianship;
- There is a plan for the child to return home;
- The voluntary placement is within 20 miles by the nearest traveled road from the school the child attended prior to the voluntary placement, unless there are physiographic conditions that make transportation to the school not feasible; and
- The parent/guardian and school staff from the school the child attended prior to voluntary placement can demonstrate it is in the best interest of the child to continue attending the same school as before the voluntary placement.
ORS 339.134 provides a non-exhaustive list of “best interest” factors for deciding whether the child should continue attending the same school as before the voluntary placement. These include the following:
- The child’s siblings attend the school;
- A change in the child’s routine would be detrimental to the child; and
- The child has developed and maintained a network of personal contacts, support services and friends and a sense of community within the school.
The effective date for SB 905 was July 1, 2019.
Please contact Special Education Legal Specialist Elliot Field if you have any questions.
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