Library: Policy
340:75-6-50. Education
Revised 9-16-19
(a) Education assurance. A child in the custody or care of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) is provided access to an education including teaching, educational materials, and books, per Section 1-7-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-7-105).
(b) Education assurance required for the Title IV-E eligible child. Per 10A O.S. § 1-7-103, DHS is required to ensure that a child who attains the minimum age for compulsory school attendance and is eligible for a Title IV-E foster care payment is:
(1) enrolled in an institution that provides elementary or secondary education;
(2) instructed in elementary or secondary education in any legally authorized education program;
(3) in an independent-study elementary or secondary education program; or
(c) Health and education records provided to court. • 2 & 3 Per 10A O.S. § 1-4-704, the child's most recent available health and educational records are provided to the court at the court's request including, but not limited to:
(1) the names and addresses of the child's health and educational providers;
(2) the child's grade-level performance;
(3) the child's school record;
(4) the child's immunization record;
(5) the child's known medical problems including communicable diseases;
(6) the child's medications; and
(7) any other relevant health and education information.
(d) Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The child with disabilities in Oklahoma, including the child in DHS custody, has the statutory right to receive special education and related services from birth through 21 years of age as mandated by Title 70 O.S. Oklahoma School Code and the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, codified at Sections 1400-1461 of Title 20 of the United States Code (20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1461). IDEA specifies that each child with a disability 3 to 22 years of age receives specialized services to meet the child's needs. The child with disabilities has the basic rights to:
(1) a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE);
(2) an education in the least restrictive setting possible; and
(3) an Individualized Education Program (IEP). • 4
(e) Parents' rights regarding educational requests. Parents and surrogate parents, including foster parents acting in place of the parents, have the right to examine the child's complete school records. In addition, the school system is obligated to provide notice to the parent when the school system refuses to take actions requested by the parent. The notice informs the parent of each procedure available to the parent under IDEA and must be written in the parent's native language.
(f) Foster or surrogate parents acting in place of the parents. When the parent is unable, unavailable, or unwilling to participate in the child's school arrangements, foster parents may act in place of the parent to represent the child's educational interests. DHS employees and other public agency employees may not act in place of a parent or sign an IEP. Volunteers, who serve as surrogate parents for children in placements other than foster care, are required to complete training through the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
(g) Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) child welfare (CW) point of contact. Per 20 U.S.C. § 6312, each CW district must:
(1) designate a point of contact;
(2) notify each local educational agency in that CW district, in writing, of the designee; and
(3) create a local educational agency plan to support ESSA guidelines for students in foster care. • 13
(h) Oklahoma's Promise. DHS provides parents, foster parents, and legal guardians of foster youth with information on Oklahoma's Promise, formerly known as the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP) including, but not limited to, eligibility, application guidelines, academic requirements, and any other information required by Oklahoma's Promise for participation in the program. • 11
(i) Corporal punishment by school. DHS and the foster parent do not authorize school personnel to administer corporal punishment to a child in DHS custody. The foster parent does not authorize corporal punishment by school personnel, but refers school personnel to the CW specialist to establish alternative discipline methods, per Oklahoma Administrative Code 340:75-7-38. • 12
INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:75-6-50
Revised 9-16-19
1. Parental participation in the child's education. The parent of the child in Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) emergency or temporary custody who is in out-of-home placement has the right, is encouraged to make, and is provided assistance with, school-related decisions regarding the child. DHS must provide parent contact information to the school.
2. Reasonable and prudent parent standard. When a parent is unavailable, this standard, is used by the child's caregiver to allow a child to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:75-6-4. A caregiver means a foster parent, a representative of a group home, or a designated official for a residential child care facility where a child in foster care is placed.
3. Developmental delays and behavioral problems. The child who is removed from the home due to abuse or neglect may experience difficulties with developmental delays and educational, behavioral, or emotional problems.
(1) Child Welfare Services (CWS) coordinates with the local education agency (LEA), parent, foster parent, surrogate, and placement provider, when applicable, to assess the need for a request for specialized educational services, such as a 504 plan or Individualized Education Program (IEP).
(2) CWS ensures an immediate request for IEP services is made when a child has, or is suspected of having, a diagnosis of: autism, deaf-blindness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment, or developmental delay.
(3) All requests must be made in writing by one of the following: parent, foster parent, state education agency (SEA), LEA, CWS, surrogate, or other state agency.
4. IEP. The child welfare (CW) specialist:
(1) using form 04MP070E, Request for Non-directory Educational Records, requests the confidential file from the child's current school and provides a current copy of the IEP to the placement provider no later than five-calendar days after the child's placement or documents the efforts to obtain a current copy of the IEP. Non-directory education records are any records maintained by a public or private school about a student who is or was a student that are categorized as private or confidential by federal or state law, per Section 1-6-101 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes;
(2) requests that the parent, surrogate parent, or foster parent acting in place of the parent, attend each IEP meeting held for the child;
(3) participates in the IEP meetings; and
(4) does not sign the IEP in place of the parent or surrogate parent. The placement provider signs the signature line for the parent only when acting in place of the parent.
5. Educational services for the child in DHS custody. The CW specialist:
(1) in conjunction with the child's placement provider, ensures appropriate educational services are provided to meet the child's educational needs;
(2) provides the foster parent or placement provider with the child's most recent health and educational records, including present grade placement, schools attended for the past three years, and information regarding the child's school strengths and weaknesses within five-calendar days of placement;
(3) assists the foster parent or placement provider with immediate school admission;
(4) no later than 14-calendar days after the child's placement, scans the educational records into the KIDS File Cabinet and files the documents in the paper case record;
(5) on a quarterly basis, updates educational records in KIDS, scans the updated documents into the KIDS File Cabinet, and files the documents in the paper case record;
(6) helps collect former school records, including cumulative, confidential, and health files upon withdrawal, and provides them to the current school;
(7) ensures the child is enrolled in the appropriate grade;
(8) ensures the child attends school regularly in conjunction with the child's placement provider;
(9) encourages the child to participate in extracurricular activities in conjunction with the child's placement provider;
(10) advocates for educational testing and placement, when indicated;
(11) continually assesses the appropriateness and effectiveness of the services; and
(12) updates the Client Education screen in KIDS regarding the child's education status no later than 30-calendar days after any change.
6. School enrollment. School of origin means the school in which a child is enrolled at the time of placement in foster care. When a child's foster care placement changes, the school of origin is considered the school where the child is enrolled at the time of the placement change.
(1) The child in DHS custody remains in his or her school of origin when it is in his or her best interest including consideration of the current educational setting and the proximity to placement.
(2) The CW specialist uses Form 04MP072E, The Best Interest Determination, to obtain information from the parent, foster parent, surrogate, and LEA, and provides copies of Form 04MP072E to the parent, foster parent, placement provider, school of origin, and receiving school when it is different from the school of origin.
(3) The CW specialist works with the school and placement provider to coordinate enrollment and transportation.
(4) When a child in DHS custody must transfer from his or her school of origin, the CW specialist obtains all non-directory education records, including withdrawal grades, from the school of origin using Form 04MP070E.
7. School requirements. When a child in DHS custody attends school, whether public or private, the school must be accredited. Form 04MP072E must be completed when considering placement outside of a public school setting.
(1) Private schools. The child in DHS custody may attend a private school when the school's philosophy is not contrary to the child or the parent's beliefs, customs, values, practices, and culture. The parent's permission is required for the child in emergency or temporary DHS custody to attend private school. Costs associated with private schooling are not paid by DHS. When a request is made for the child in emergency or temporary DHS custody to attend a private school, the CW specialist:
(A) assesses the option's feasibility;
(B) discusses transportation, financial payment, and the child's needs with the person making the request;
(C) provides foster parent with information regarding the Lindsey Nichole Henry Scholarship;
(D) verifies the placement provider agrees to, and is able to support the plan, when the person making the request is not the placement provider;
(E) obtains the parent's permission when the person making the request is not the parent;
(F) discusses private schooling and has the parent sign a written document granting permission. The document is scanned into the KIDS File Cabinet, the original is filed in the paper case record, and a copy is provided to the parent and placement provider;
(G) documents discussions and decision on the KIDS Contacts screen; and
(H) updates the child's Education screen in KIDS, as applicable.
(2) Homeschooling. Homeschooling is an educational option for the child in DHS custody. Permission to allow homeschooling is made on a case-by-case basis after assessment of the request and consultation with the district director. The consultation and the decision are documented in the KIDS Contacts screen by the CW specialist and the child's Education screen is updated.
(A) When the child is in emergency or temporary DHS custody, written approval is required from the child's parent for homeschooling.
(B) When the child is in permanent DHS custody, written approval is obtained from the district director in the child's county of court jurisdiction. Prior to requesting permission for homeschooling, the CW specialist:
(i) assesses if the child's overall needs can be met in the homeschool setting;
(ii) evaluates the placement provider's experience with and knowledge of homeschooling;
(iii) ensures services can be coordinated between the previous public or private school with the homeschool to address the child's strengths and needs;
(iv) reviews the curricula to be used by the placement provider and evaluates if the curricula meets the child's educational needs;
(v) assesses the child's commitment to participate in homeschooling; and
(vi) evaluates the child's socialization activity opportunities, when homeschooled.
(3) Homebound schooling. Homebound schooling is education provided in the child's home or outside of a traditional classroom setting. Homebound schooling can be provided through the LEA's web-based curriculum or an online charter school. It can also be provided through IDEA when an IEP team made a determination that schooling at home is the least restrictive environment (LRE).
8. Adjudication due to educational neglect. When the child is adjudicated deprived and under DHS supervision based upon noncompliance with the mandatory school attendance law, the CW specialist prior to case closure, assists the parent working with the appropriate school district to request, in writing, and obtain evaluations for:
(1) literacy;
(2) learning disabilities;
(3) developmental disabilities;
(4) hearing and visual impairment; and
(5) other impediments that may constitute an educational handicap.
9. Surrogate parent.
(1) The CW specialist contacts the principal of the child's school to arrange surrogate parent training required through the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) for the placement provider, court-appointed special advocate (CASA), or other eligible person as required through OSDE.
(2) Surrogate parent training verification. The CW specialist:
(A) requests a copy of OSDE Form 14, Verification of Training, for each surrogate parent assigned to the child in DHS custody;
(B) scans a copy of the surrogate parent verification into the KIDS File Cabinet and files the copy in the case record;
(C) updates the child's Education screen in KIDS with the information regarding the surrogate parent; and
(D) adds the surrogate parent as a collateral in the permanency planning case.
10. Release of court order to school. When a copy of the court order verifying the child is in DHS custody is requested, the following statement is attached: "This information is confidential pursuant to state law and provided solely for the purpose of enrolling the minor child in school. Any further dissemination or disclosure of the information or record is prohibited."
11. Oklahoma's Promise (OK Promise), formerly known as the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access program (OHLAP).
(1) Section 2601 et seq. of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes sets forth a scholarship program for students to enroll during the eighth, ninth, or tenth grades that pays for tuition at an Oklahoma public two- or four-year college, university, or career technology center.
(2) OK Promise enrollment for youth in DHS custody is initiated by the CW specialist.
(3) The CW specialist submits a completed enrollment form to CWS.OHLAP.OklahomasPromise@okdhs.org. CWS education programs staff submits the eligible enrollment forms to the Regents for Higher Education and documents enrollment in KIDS.
(4) The CW specialist provides information about the scholarship to parents, foster parents, and/or placement provider, and in conjunction with the parent, foster parents, and/or placement provider, monitors the student's progress towards obtaining the scholarship.
12. Corporal punishment in schools. Schools may not use corporal punishment on children in DHS custody. When a school-aged child in DHS custody is placed in an out-of-home placement, the CW specialist must ask the placement provider about the school district's policy on corporal punishment at time of placement and, at least, annually thereafter. The information is documented in the child's case. Form 04MP022E, Notification to School Regarding Use of Corporal Punishment, is used to notify schools that they cannot use corporal punishment on children in DHS custody and Form 04MP022E is scanned into KIDS.
13.School points of contact. All local public school districts and local CWS districts are required to have an Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) point of contact. ESSA points of contact streamline communication between the schools and the CW specialists or others acting on behalf of a child in DHS custody. The CW specialist contacts the school district's ESSA point of contact to ensure:
(1) a student's immediate enrollment occurs regardless of a lack of required records or documentation;
(2) transportation to and from school is coordinated;
(3) a student's enrollment history and records are up-to-date and CWS has copies of the student's records; and
(4) that any needed clarification of rules and regulations regarding education and students in care takes place.
