Surrogate Parents

To protect the rights of a child, the District must determine if he or she needs a surrogate parent, and if appropriate, assign a surrogate parent when:

• No parent or guardian can be identified;

• The District, after reasonable efforts, cannot find the parent or guardian; or

• The child is a ward of the State;

• The court has specifically limited the right of the parent or guardian to make educational decisions;

• A youth is homeless and not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.

The District must ensure that the person selected to be a surrogate parent has no interest that conflicts with the interest of the child he or she represents. In addition, the person selected should have the knowledge and skills to adequately represent the child.

The surrogate parent may not be a person employed by the District. A person is not an employee of the District solely because he or she is paid by the District to serve as a surrogate parent.

The surrogate parent may represent the child in matters relating to the identification, assessment, instructional planning and developing, reviewing and revising of the IEP, and in other matters relating to the child's special education services. The surrogate parent may sign any consent relating to the special education process and purposes.

A surrogate parent will be held harmless by the State of California when acting in his or her official capacity except for wanton, reckless, or malicious acts or omissions.