Power of Attorney for Education?

[Persistently Persistent]

Does anyone have a boilerplate POA-Education they'd be willing to share?

Asking for a limited education/limited English proficient parent about to go to her first IEP, who is intimidated by school folks.  A special ed attorney advised her to get/sign a POA for education so that her advocate can be recognized as a member of the IEP committee. The attorney said that without a POA the district can ignore the advocate's input, (the family trusts her completely to represent their interests) or even ask the advocate to leave the meeting if they want.

Someone asked if she means an "Educational Surrogate" She said the lawyer didn't use this term. What is an educational surrogate and how is it different from a POA-E?

 

 

 

 

[Carolyn Rowlett]

I don't believe POA is addressed in the IDEA, so you would need to check your state's laws on this.  Some states might require the POE come from a judge, others will not.  So check your department of education's website.  Your DOE might even have a boilerplate POA for education.  If you can't find anything on the website, give them a call about this issue.

Below is a great post on Lisa's website explaining educational surrogates.

https://adayinourshoes.com/become-iep-educational-surrogatea-disabled-child-needs/

[JSD24]

I believe the difference is with a POA, the parent still controls the IEP process.  With an educational surrogate, the surrogate has full control of the process - the surrogate replaces the parent.

I did find one for VA.  POA wording tends to be state specific:  https://www.dlcv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Educational-Power-of-Attorney.pdf

I do have a POA for education but this was done as part of a more comprehensive POA when they turned 18 so I could advocate.  This was written by a lawyer.

[Persistently Persistent]

I found a POA for education. It gives the family’s chosen advocate all of the powers that a parent has, and the school has to treat them like they would the parent (send them meeting notices, get their sign-off, etc.) but it doesn’t reduce the parents’ powers in any way.

I’m happy to share it if anyone needs one.

[Tiffany Johnson]

I'm an educational surrogate for students in foster care at different local school districts in Texas. I represent as the parent because group homes and some foster homes can't represent the children as their parent(s) at the IEP meeting. It's a conflict of interest. 

I have an durable POA for my foster adult daughter because she can't make decisions on her own without guidance.