Dear Friends of NCYL:

NCYL just won a major case in California, securing fair and equal treatment of foster youth who play high school sports. This victory could potentially affect thousands of foster youth in the state.

NCYL represented Dalton Dyer, a 16-year-old foster youth who transferred to Placer High School this year due to a change in his foster care placement. Part of the way through the season, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) found him ineligible to play on the school's football team because certain transfer student paperwork had not been completed -- paperwork that would not have been required of a student moving with his "entire immediate family." Although the school quickly completed the requirements imposed by the CIF and Dalton was found eligible, the CIF forced his team to forfeit wins they had already earned, which kept the team out of the playoffs.

NCYL took on the case because of its commitment to advocating for the educational rights of youth in foster care, and to ensure that laws protecting those rights -- such as California AB 490 -- are enforced. NCYL argued that the CIF's bylaws, which force foster youth to overcome barriers that would not exist if they were not in foster care, violate California law requiring that foster children be provided with immediate and equal access to all programs that are available to other students.

(l to r) NCYL Staff Attorney Bryn Martyna,
Dalton Dyer and NCYL Director John O'Toole after Placer High's first playoff victory

NCYL obtained a temporary restraining order on Friday, November 21, to delay the playoff game scheduled for that night. On Monday, November 24, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Judith Ford ruled that the CIF's bylaws were in violation of California state law. Thus Dalton should never have been found ineligible, and the wins should not have been forfeited. The forfeits were "set aside" and Placer High was allowed to participate in the playoff game that Friday, which it won. The team has gone on to win in the next round of the playoffs, and will compete in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship game today -- for the first time since 1981!

The more lasting effects of this case will be felt throughout California, as foster youth are afforded fair and equal treatment by the CIF. The CIF must now change its bylaws to ensure foster youth are held to the same eligibility requirements as youth living with their families. Foster youth will no longer be required to file extra paperwork or apply for special waivers.

For many foster youth, a sports team can provide an important social community in an otherwise unfamiliar school. Interscholastic athletics can also provide an incentive to continue succeeding in school. In standing up for his rights, Dalton ensured that thousands of foster youth have equal and fair access to these opportunities.

The case has generated widespread media attention. Below are links to some of the media coverage, including in the San Francisco Chronicle, KTVU Channel 2, and the Auburn Journal, whose stories on Dalton's case generated the largest number of web hits, and online comments, of any other stories in the paper's history.