New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 6A - EDUCATION
Chapter 14 - SPECIAL EDUCATION
Subchapter 2 - PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS
Section 6A:14-2.2 - Surrogate parents, wards of the State, and resource family parents

Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 6A:14-2.2

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024

(a) Each district board of education or responsible State agency shall ensure that the rights of a student are protected through the provision of an individual to act as surrogate for the parent and assume all parental rights under this chapter when:

1. The parent cannot be identified;

2. The parent cannot be located after reasonable efforts;

3. An agency of the State of New Jersey has guardianship of the student or the student is determined a ward of the State and, if the student is placed with a resource family parent, the resource family parent declines to serve as the student's parent; or

4. The student is an unaccompanied youth as that term is defined in section 725(6) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. § 11434(a)6) and N.J.A.C. 6A:17-1.2.

(b) A district board of education shall make reasonable efforts to appoint a surrogate parent within 30 days of the determination that a surrogate parent is needed for a student.

(c) If the district board of education fails to appoint a surrogate parent for a ward of the State, a judge may appoint a surrogate parent if the judge determines a surrogate parent is necessary for such student.

(d) Each district board of education or responsible State agency shall establish a method for selecting and training surrogate parents.

(e) The person serving as a surrogate parent shall:

1. Have no interest that conflicts with the interest of the student he or she represents;

2. Possess knowledge and skills that ensure adequate representation of the student;

3. Not be replaced without cause;

4. Be at least 18 years of age; and

5. Complete a criminal history review, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.1, if the person serving as the surrogate parent is compensated.

(f) The person(s) serving as a surrogate parent may not be an employee of the Department of Education, the district board of education, or a public or nonpublic agency that is involved in the education or care of the child. A surrogate parent may be paid solely to act in that capacity.

(g) When a student who is or may be a student with a disability is in the care of a resource family parent, and the resource family parent is not the parent of the student, the district board of education where the resource family parent resides shall contact the student's case manager at the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P) in the Department of Children and Families to:

1. Determine whether the parent retains the right to make educational decisions; and

2. Determine the whereabouts of the parent.

(h) If the parent retains the right to make educational decisions and the parent's whereabouts are known to the district board of education, the district board of education shall obtain all required consent from, and provide written notices to, the parent.

(i) If the district board of education cannot ascertain the whereabouts of the parent, the resource family parent shall serve as the parent, unless that person is unwilling to do so. If there is no resource family parent, or the resource family parent is unwilling to serve as the student's parent, the district board of education shall consult with the student's case manager at DCP&P to assist in identifying an individual to serve as a surrogate parent, appointing a surrogate parent, and obtaining all required consent from, and providing written notices to, the surrogate parent.

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