Complaint Summary
Date:
April 23, 2024
Case Number:
24-0388
Grade Level:
High school
Person filing complaint:
Surrogate Parent
School District:
Groton Public Schools (single student)
Allegation(s):
- Failing to ensure that all required members of the Student’s PPT were present (34 CFR § 300.321)
- Failing to ensure that a parent is present at the PPT (34 CFR § 300.322(d))
- Failure to obtain parental written consent prior to disclosing personally identifiable information from a student’s educational record (34 CFR § 99.30)
Conclusion(s):
- District was not in violation of 34 CFR § 300.321 or 34 CFR § 300.322(d) as it was demonstrating a good faith effort, but struggling to meet two regulatory requirements that, in this case, were in opposition to each other; one requirement to convene a PPT meeting to conduct a manifestation determination within ten days of the Student’s change in placement, and another requirement to conduct PPT meetings that included all required members of the team, including a parent, when a surrogate parent had not yet been assigned to the Student. This made it impossible for the District to include or invite the surrogate parent to the meeting.
- District was in violation of 34 CFR § 99.30 as records were released based on the consent of the foster parent, who did not have the authority to consent to the release of records and, therefore, the District released the records without parental consent. Though we have established that no parent existed at that time, the District could have delayed this activity until such time as a Surrogate Parent was assigned in order to gain consent since the forwarding of records was not under a timeline in the same way that the manifestation determination PPT meetings were. As a matter of note, the newly-assigned Surrogate Parent has now given consent for the records release.
Corrective Action(s):
- On or before May 31, 2024, the District shall conduct training for all appropriate staff related to the procedures regarding the release of records, including the criteria that must be met in gaining parental consent. The form of the training and choosing of which District staff to participate is left to the discretion of the District.