surrogate parents, and educators are encouraged to review these documents in addition to this manual for local requirements.
Recruitment efforts and timelines for surrogate parent appointments will be different for students already eligible for special education and related services and for those students suspected of having a disability. The suggestions presented in this chapter for a step-by-step approach to the appointment process are offered for guidance only. Except for the reference statutes, regulations, and court decisions, the described practices are not mandatory. Related sample forms are included in appendix B and are optional. Any student who has been referred for assessment because of a suspected disability, who is already eligible for special education, or who is enrolled in special education may need a surrogate parent. If the parent cannot be identified; documented “reasonable inquiries” do not locate the parent or guardian; a child is an unaccompanied homeless youth; or a child has been declared a ward or dependent of the court, a surrogate parent appointment would be in order.
Step 1: Contacting the Parents
The majority of students eligible for special education or suspected of being eligible for special education will have an easily identifiable and locatable parent, as defined under law. However, in situations in which the parent is not known, efforts to locate the parent should begin immediately once a student has been referred for assessment. Time is of the essence for several reasons. First, a series of tasks with specific timelines begin on referral that pertain to identification, assessment, and placement decisions ( California Education Code Section 56043 ). Since a parent must be involved in education-related decisions, the determination of the need for a surrogate parent should be made within 30 days of the referral. If the student has not been adjudicated a ward or dependent, and if the LEA cannot determine that the student is in a home with an adult who is acting as a parent or who could be appointed as the surrogate parent, the LEA is advised to consider making a report of neglect or abuse to the child welfare agency in the county ( California Penal Code Sections 11165.7 and 11165.9 ). Before appointing a surrogate parent, an LEA must make reasonable efforts to locate the parent ( Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 300.519[a][2] and California Government Code Section 7579.5[a][3] ). Reasonable efforts to contact parents include, but are not limited to, the following measures:
•
Documented telephone calls
•
Letters
•
Certified letters with return receipts
• Documented visits to the parents’ last known address
If the reasonable efforts described above fail to locate the parent or to obtain parent status notification from the placing agency, a surrogate parent appointment may be necessary. Please note that the placing agency is the entity that makes a placement, and a placement is the arrangement for the care of a child in a foster home or a child-caring agency or institution, including placement with a relative, or into a pre-adoptive home (visit the California Department
Chapter 4 – Procedural Safeguards, Charter SELPA
Page 59
As of 11/18/2016
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