In March 2018, Mecklenburg County's Model Court Advisory Committee created the Special Education Decision Maker (SEDM) Work Group to address concerns related to identifying individuals who can make special education decisions for children in foster care. Representatives from Council for Children’s Rights (CFCR) chaired the SEDM Work Group from April 2018 until October 2019. The SEDM Work Group included representatives from CFCR, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), Youth and Family Services (YFS), the Guardian ad Litem Program (GAL), Alexander Youth Network’s (AYN) Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF), Teen Health Connection, Sugar Creek Charter School, along with parent attorneys, a DSS-CMS Educational Liaison, and a volunteer CMS surrogate parent.

The SEDM Work Group had the following objectives:

1. Clarify the process for (1) determining who holds a child’s special education rights, (2) deciding when a surrogate parent is needed, and (3) identifying a surrogate parent for children in YFS custody receiving, or in need of, special education services.

2. Clarify expectations about the involvement of Child and Family Team members at IEP meetings and their interaction with surrogate parent volunteers.

3. Brainstorm recruitment opportunities for surrogate parent volunteers.

4. Identify opportunities to enhance surrogate parent training.

5. Determine the process by which to raise concerns regarding surrogate parents.

One of the outcomes of the SEDM Work Group was CFCR’s creation of the Special Education Advocacy for Kids (SpEAK) Volunteer Program. Through the SpEAK Volunteer Program, CFCR trained volunteers to serve as court-appointed SEDMs for children who did not have anyone willing or able to serve that role. As the SpEAK Volunteer Program began, the SEDM Work Group did not continue to meet. In the summer of 2020, CFCR made the decision to end the SpEAK Volunteer Program, to better respond to community needs in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, many the concerns that prompted the creation of the SEDM Work Group remained, including confusion about who may make education decisions for children in foster care in need of special education services, significant challenges identifying individuals to serve as SEDM, inadequate training for surrogate parent volunteers, and Child and Family Team members not consistently being included in IEP meetings for children in foster care.