Policy 7661 – Appointment of Surrogate Parent

  1. A Surrogate Parent Must be Appointed When:
    • A Parent as defined in 8 N.Y.C.R.R. 200.1 (ii) cannot be identified;
    • The School District, after reasonable efforts, cannot discover the whereabouts of the parent;
    • The Student is an unaccompanied homeless youth;
    • The Student is a Ward of the State; or
    • The rights of the Parent to make educational decisions on behalf of the Student have been subrogated by a judge in accordance with State law.
  2. Qualifications of Surrogate Parents
    • A surrogate parent may not be an officer, employee or agent of the local School District or State Education Department or other agency involved in the education or care of the student except a school district may select a person who is an employee of a nonpublic agency that only provides non-educational care;
    • A surrogate parent is not an employee of the agency solely because he or she is paid by the agency to serve as a Surrogate Parent;
    • A surrogate parent shall have no other interests which may conflict with his/her primary allegiance to the student represented; and
    • The surrogate parent shall have knowledge and skills to ensure adequate representation of the student.
  3. Procedures for Assigning Surrogate Parents
    • Any person whose work involves the education or treatment of students and who knows that a student may need special education services, and that the Student requires the appointment of a surrogate parent may file a request with the Committee on Special Education (CSE).
    • The Committee on Special Education (CSE) shall send notice of the possible need for a surrogate parent to the adult in charge of the student’s place of residence and to the Student’s parents at their last known address.
    • The CSE shall determine within a reasonable time following the request whether the student’s parents can be identified or located, or whether the Student is a Ward of the State. This determination shall be completed within a reasonable time following the receipt of the original request for a Surrogate Parent.
    • If the Committee on Special Education finds that there is a need for a Surrogate Parent, a person who is qualified to be a surrogate parent shall be selected from the list approved by the Board of Education, within 10 business days of the date of the determination by the Committee of the need.
    • The Surrogate Parent shall be assigned to represent the Student in all matters relating to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the Student and the provision of a free appropriate public education to the Student at least through the time of the first periodic review of the student’s educational placement.
    • Foster parents who otherwise meets the qualifications of a surrogate parent may be appointed as the surrogate parent of the student without being on the list approved by the Board of Education.

This Policy shall remain in full force and effect unless modified by the Board of Education.

Authority:       8 N.Y.C.R.R. 200.1(ccc)
8 N.Y.C.R.R. 200.5(n)

Adopted: 02/04/15