What About a Guardian Ad Litem?

This is a random picture I took while traveling from the Cairo International Airport to our hotel. Notice all the sand on the road...

Page 46566 of the comments to the IDEA 2004 regulations explains "We agree that guardians with limited appointments that do not qualify them to act as a parent of the child generally, or do not authorize them to make educational decisions for the child, should not be considered to be a parent within the meaning of these regulations." What this means...there are differnt kinds of guardians who serve in different roles as authorized by the State. In South Carolina, a Guardian ad Litem is a volunteer trained to perform five important functions: investigator, reporter, spokesperson, monitor, and protector. This person would not be able to make educational decisions on behalf of the child (e.g., receive notice, give or revoke consent, file formal complaints, request mediation, file for a due process hearing, give or deny permission for release of records, etc.) unless a court authorized them to act as a child's parent. If in doubt, school officials need to ask for documentation from a court authorizing the guardian to make educational decisions.

What About Step-Parents?

Another view of Cairo from the plane...

A letter from the Family Policy and Compliance Office dated August 20, 2004 clarifies the term "parent" includes natural parents, a guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a parent or a guardian. The Department has determined that a parent is absent if he or she is not present in the day-to-day home environment of the child. Accordingly, a stepparent has rights under the FERPA where the stepparent is present on a day-to-day basis with the natural parent and child and the other parent is absent from that home. In such cases, stepparents have the same rights under the FERPA as do natural parents. Conversely, a stepparent who is not present on a day-to-day basis in the home of the child does not have rights under the FERPA.

Who is Considered to be a Parent?

A view of Cairo from the plane...

34 C.F.R. Section 300.30 defines the term "parent":
Parent includes a biological or adoptive parent; a guardian; a foster parent; an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a biological or adoptive parent or a guardian, who has legal responsibility for the child's welfare (including a grandparent, stepparent, or other relative); or a surrogate parent.
With regard to non-custodial parents, as long as the non-custodial parent's rights are not terminated or restricted through a court order, the non-custodial parent has equal rights to access the student's education record. The non-custodial parent retains the right to review or amend the records and consent to the disclosure of his or her child's records.

Surrogate Parent Information

That's me in the sunglasses with my daughter (blue scarf) and our friend Ai. Yes...that is the Sphinx between the two pyramids.

Here are some surrogate parent tips:

• Each public agency must ensure a surrogate parent is assigned for a child with a disability when: no parent can be identified; the public agency, after reasonable efforts, cannot locate a parent; the child is a ward of the State; or the child is an unaccompanied homeless youth (34 CFR Section 300.519)
• The surrogate parent may not be an employee of the state educational agency (SEA)/LEA/or other agency involved in the education or care of the child
• The surrogate parent may be an employee of a non-public agency that only provides non-educational care for the child
• The SEA must ensure surrogate parents are appointed not more than (30) days after determination of need
• Surrogate parents must have knowledge and skills that ensure adequate representation for the child
• A foster parent may serve as the surrogate parent if (s)he has no interest that conflicts with the child's interest and is willing to make educational decisions required of parents under IDEA

What Constitutes an Educational Record?

Another pyramid/camel pic...

So, what constitutes an educational record under FERPA?

Educational records are records directly related to a student and maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.

They may include, but are not limited to:

• academic work completed by a student;
• attendance data;
• scores and test protocols of standardized intelligence, aptitude, and psychological tests
• interest inventory results;
• health data;
• family background information;
• information from teachers or counselors;
• documentation regarding student behaviors;
• individualized education programs (IEPs);
• IEP meeting minutes of conference summaries;
• documentation of parent notice and consent;
• videotapes, such as a videotape of a student with a disability made by a physical therapist working with the student; and
• audio tapes of IEP meetings.

FERPA and IDEA

This is St. George's Church in Old Cairo. There is a dungeon under the church we toured. Very dark, cramped, stuffy. Not a place I'd want to be.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under a United States Department of Education program, including Head Start programs. (20 USC section 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99)

The state must also have policies and procedures in effect to ensure that public agencies in the state comply with 34 CFR sections 300.610 through 300.626 related to protecting the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information collected, used, or maintained under Part B of the IDEA.

What rights are available under the IDEA and the FERPA?

34 CFR section 300.613--Access rights

• Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the LEA.
• The LEA must comply with a request without unneccessary delay and before any meeting regarding an IEP, any due process hearing pursuant to section 300.507, any due process hearing related to the discipline provisions in sections 300.530 through 300.532, or a resolution session pursuant to section 300.510.
• In other situations the LEA must comply no later than 45 calendar days after the request is made.

Common PLAAFP Errors

Here is another pic of Old Cairo. There is a solid gate at least a foot thick at the entrance of this part of the city. Our guide explained that many, many years ago this area was inhabited by the Christian population.

Here is a list of common errors found in the Present Levels of Academic and Functional Performance section of IEPs:

1. Writing vague descriptions of academic and/or functional needs
2. Writing statements that are not related to a student's disability
3. Writing statements based solely on a standardized battery of tests
4. Writing PLAAFP statements that are not individualized
5. Using a student's disability as the PLAAFP statement