Memorandum of Understanding

I. PARTIES TO MEMORANDUM

The parties to this Memorandum of Understanding are: The Utah State Board of Education (the Board) and the Department of Human Services (The Department).

II. DATE OF MEMORANDUM:

September 1, 2006

III. GENERAL STATEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING

The undersigned understand the following general principles:

1. Various agencies within the Department of Human Services have custody and/or guardianship of school aged children;
2. For the purposes of this MOU, “custody of the Department of Human Services” means a judicial or court order placing custody and/or guardianship of a child with the Department of Human Services, the Division of Juvenile Justice Services or the Division of Child and Family Services.
3. While the Department of Human Services (or any of its divisions) serves as the legal custodian and/or guardian of a child who is a student, the Department, through a caseworker, case manager or foster parent may inspect and review the child’s education record and has the same standing as a parent would have under FERPA (34 C.F.R. Part 99); 
4. A DHS employee providing appropriate identification (such as a DHS employee ID photo ID card) may be presumed to act as the designee for the department. For telephonic or digital communications, the DHS employee shall inform the school system of the employee’s name, what Division the employee represents and in what capacity the DHS employee makes the record request.
5. In order to provide for the child’s educational needs with as little disruption as possible, the caseworker should be allowed to review to the child’s education record as soon as possible, and requests for access should be processed as quickly as possible;
6. For the purposes of this MOU, education record means the same as it does in 20 U.S.C. §1232g(a)(4);
7. For the purposes of this MOU, the term “school system” refers to any arm of the public education system-individual schools, school districts, and/or personnel acting on behalf of the Board. 

IV. ACCESS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO INFORMATION CONTROLLED BY THE BOARD

1. The parties to this MOU understand that the Board currently keeps aggregate data and criteria reference scores (CRTS).
2. If the information concerns a child in the custody of DHS, the DHS worker is entitled to personalized information for the child when the caseworker demonstrates a compelling need to receive specific and individualized child assessment information

V. ACCESS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO INFORMATION AT THE DISTRICT OR SCHOOL LEVEL

1. Pursuant to this MOU, when a child is in the custody of the Department, each school shall provide a DHS caseworker or designee with the same education record that would be provided to a parent. This includes those records, files, documents and other materials which contain information directly related to a child and are maintained in an educational agency or institution or by a person acting for such agency or institution. (20 USC 1232g (a)(4)(A)). Information about other children that is contained in the school record may be redacted as required by law.
2. Pursuant to this MOU, each school shall provide copies of a student’s education record to the DHS designee upon written or electronic request accompanied by appropriate identification of the person requesting the information. To the extent that records can be shared electronically, this MOU contemplates electronic record sharing;
3. Pursuant to this MOU, an education record shall be provided to a DHS caseworker or designee as soon as possible, upon receipt of an appropriate request and the provision of appropriate identification.

VI. YOUTH IN CUSTODY COORDINATION

1. The Youth in Custody program administered through the Utah State Office of Education shall have access to identifying information from both the Board and the Department that will inform the YIC program about which students are in or have been in the custody of DHS.
2. Schools or school districts participating in the Youth in Custody program shall receive timely and adequate information from the Department regarding youth in custody to adequately prepare the teachers to respond to the needs of the school population and to provide interventions to keep all students safe.

VII. SIGNATURE PAGE