The McKinney ISD Special Populations Department believes that all individuals are born with inherent value and that all individuals need to feel safe and secure in their learning environment. Further, we believe that all individuals deserve an environment that is conducive to mental, physical and spiritual growth. We also believe that education is a shared responsibility and that personal relationships, especially with parents and adult students are vital to learning.

The Special Populations Department seeks to develop educational programs for students with disabilities which are relevant and adaptable to the student’s needs. This department is also responsible for supervising and coordinating activities for the Office of Special Populations including Special Education Services, 504, and Dyslexia.

For general questions about any of our services, including 504 and Dyslexia, please email us here.

When a child receives special education, it means that a public school provides custom services and instruction specific to the needs of that student. Special education is available because of a federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides students with disabilities and their parents special legal rights to receive these individualized learning opportunities.

Overview of Special Education for Parents

SPEDTex provides information and resources that can help you understand your child’s disability, your rights, and responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and facilitate collaboration that supports the development and delivery of services to children with disabilities in our state.

• SPEDTex Website

Surrogate Parent

In cases where the child has no parent(s), none can be located, or the child is a ward of the state, a surrogate parent must be appointed to make educational decisions on behalf of the child and to protect the child’s rights in matters relating to identification, evaluation, and placement in special education. For educational purposes, a surrogate parent is a person who is legally entitled to take the place of a parent under certain conditions. This may occur when:

• a parent cannot be identified

• parent cannot be located after reasonable efforts by the school district

• the child is a ward of the State

• the child is an unaccompanied homeless youth

An individual who has no personal or professional interest that conflicts with the interest of the child he or she represents, and who has knowledge and skills that ensure adequate representation of the child can be a surrogate parent. The school district shall give preferential consideration to a foster parent of a child with a disability when assigning Surrogate Parent for the child. Contact Marcie Waligura if a Surrogate Parent is needed to make educational decisions on behalf of a child.

Foster Parent

Foster parents for a child with a disability may serve as the parent if they agree to participate in making special education decisions and if they complete the required training program before the child’s next ARD committee meeting, but not later than the 90th day after they begin acting as the parent for the purpose of making special education decisions for the child. Once an approved training program has been completed, the foster parent does not have to retake a training program to act as a parent for the same child or to serve as a parent or as a surrogate parent for another child. Contact your campus Special Populations Coordinator regarding the training program for Foster Parents.

Surrogate and Foster parent online training modules:

• Surrogate and Foster Parent Resources