- Chester County Intermediate Unit
- Surrogate Parent Program
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The CCIU provides surrogate parent services for children in need of an adult to look after their educational interests. It is important to protect the educational rights of every child, but extremely important for a child with disabilities. The CCIU will assist Local Education Agency’s in providing a surrogate parent who will have legal authority to act on behalf of an IDEA eligible child in the special education process.
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What is a Surrogate Parent?
A surrogate parent is an individual who represents an IDEA-eligible child or thought to be eligible child in matter relating to the identification, assessment, educational placement, and the provisions of FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education).
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Criteria for Requesting a Surrogate Parent
- No parent, as defined in 34 CFR §300.30, can be identified
- The LEA, after reasonable efforts, cannot locate a parent
- The child is a ward if the state under the laws if the State (Pennsylvania does not have a state law definition of “ward of state” so this provision does not apply in Pennsylvania)
OR
- The child is an unaccompanied homeless youth, as defined in section 725(6) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434(a)(6))
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Requirements to Become a Surrogate Parent
The requirements to become a surrogate parent are:
- A person of good character who is at least 18 years of age
- Possesses reasonable abilities to make decisions about a student’s educational needs
- Committed to learning about a student’s educational needs and rights in PA
- Dedicated to advocating for an appropriate education for the student
- Cannot be an employee of the CCIU
- Complete FREE PA State Police Criminal History and Child Abuse History Clearances
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Responsibilities of a Surrogate Parent
The responsibilities of a surrogate parent include:
- Participate in group or individual training session
- Ongoing communication, verbally or in writing, to the teacher and the student as necessary
- Attend IEP meetings (by phone, virtual or in person)
- Request IEP meetings when the student needs a change in services and approval or disapproval of the IEP
- Assert student’s rights to due process and to compliance with the IEP, when appropriate
- Contact the surrogate parent coordinator if the surrogate needs further assistance or no longer wishes to assume the educational responsibilities for the child
