14 Del. Admin. Code § 903
Under14 Del.C. §202A, a student in the custody of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) who is in foster care must remain in the student's school of origin unless a determination is made that it is not in the student's best interest to attend such school. The purpose of this regulation is to provide the process for the determination of best interest in school placement decisions for students in foster care.
The following words and terms, when used in this regulation, shall have the following meaning:
"Best Interest Meeting" means the convening of certain individuals as noted within this regulation to determine if the student should remain in the school of origin.
"Best Interest Meeting Determination Form (Foster Care)" means the document, which may be amended from time to time, approved by the Delaware Department of Education for use in the determination of best interest in school placement decisions for students in foster care.
"Charter School" means a charter school board established pursuant to Chapter 5 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code.
"Court Appointed Special Advocate" or "CASA" means a volunteer authorized and appointed under 14 Del.C. §9010A, who is supervised by a coordinator and who works in conjunction with the child's attorney to accomplish the duties set forth in29 Del.C. § 9007A(c).
"Department" means the Delaware Department of Education.
"DFS" means the Division of Family Services, a unit of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
"DFS Caseworker" means the caseworker assigned to the student in foster care.
"DSCYF" means the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
"LEA Foster Care Liaison" means the local education agency liaison for students in foster care.
"Local School District" shall mean a reorganized school district or vocational technical school district established by 14 Del.C. Ch. 10.
"School of Origin" means the following:
• The school in which the student is enrolled at the time of entry into foster care;
• The school in which the student is enrolled at the time of change of placement while in foster care; or
• The school identified for the next grade level in the same local school district where the child in foster care is enrolled.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education.
"State Coordinator" means the Delaware Coordinator for Education of Students in Foster Care.
"Student in Foster Care" means a student in the custody of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) pursuant to Chapter 25 of Title 13 of the Delaware Code.
3.1 A Best Interest Meeting must occur within 5 school days based on the School of Origin's schoolinstructional calendar or 7 business days in the event of the summer recess:
4.1 The DFS Caseworker and LEA Foster Care Liaison shall be responsible for the coordination of the date, time, and method for the Best Interest Meeting using available technology; however, in person attendance is preferred.
4.1.1 The LEA Foster Care Liaison shall:
4.1.2 The DFS Caseworker shall:
4.3 The Best Interest determination shall be made by the following individuals:
4.4 If no agreement is reached by all of the representatives specified in subsection 4.3 for changing the school placement from the school of origin to the student's school of residence, based on the address of the DSCYF custody placement at the time of the meeting, then the student shall remain in the school of origin pending finalization of any applicable dispute resolution process.