This manual was developed to assist LEAs, placing agencies, and other service providers in the implementation of state and federal requirements pertaining to the appointment of surrogate parents. Explanations of state and federal mandates about parental involvement, educational entitlements, and procedural safeguards for individualized education programs (IEPs) are contained in this manual as required by California Government Code Section 7579.5(m) .
This manual covers the major considerations under state and federal law that should be applied by LEAs when appointing surrogate parents. These considerations are listed below:
• Identification of children in need of a surrogate parent
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Appointment process
• Rights, responsibilities, and requirements of surrogate parents
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Recruitment of surrogate parents
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Training of surrogate parents
• Roles and responsibilities of agencies in implementing this program
The goal of this manual is to develop a common body of information for local policymakers, administrators from both educational and social service agencies, and coordinators of local training programs who will implement or participate in the appointment and training of surrogate parents. This manual also provides references to statutes and regulations, sample forms, and documents containing other agency guidelines.
Current State and Federal Law
This section provides an overview of state and federal legal mandates and describes surrogate parents and other persons who have legal authority to act on a child’s behalf in the special education process. Federal law requires the state and LEAs to establish and maintain procedures for assigning a surrogate parent to a student whenever the location of the biological parents or guardian of the child is not known or available or the child is a ward of the state. The surrogate parent must not be an employee of any public agency involved in the education or care of the child ( Title 20, United States Code, Section 1415[b][2][A] and Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 300.519[d][2][i] ). Federal implementing regulations provide a legal definition of a “surrogate parent” and stipulate the requirements that must be met when a public agency selects and assigns a surrogate parent for a child with no identifiable parent or to a child who is a ward of the state. State law provides that “surrogate parent” shall be defined as it is defined in the IDEA regulations cited above ( Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 300.519[d] ). A surrogate parent may represent a student who receives special education in matters relating to identification, assessment, instructional planning and development, educational placement, reviewing and revising the individualized education program, and in other matters relating to the provision of a free appropriate public education to the student ( California Education Code Section 56050 and Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 300.519[g] ).
Chapter 4 – Procedural Safeguards, Charter SELPA
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As of 11/18/2016
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