Under the federal law (the IDEA), the child’s parents are important and integral members of the IEP process who are afforded the right to make decisions on behalf of their child. However, the term “parent” has a broad meaning under the IDEA and may include one of the several categories of persons as:

1. The child’s biological or adoptive parent; 
2. A foster parent, unless State law, regulations, or contractual obligations with a State or local entity prohibit a foster parent from acting as a parent;
3. A guardian generally authorized to act as the child’s parent, or authorized to make educational decisions for the child (but not the State if the child is a ward of the State);
4. An individual acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, stepparent, or other relative) with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare; or 
5. A surrogate parent.

The child’s biological or adoptive parents who retain their educational rights and are acting on behalf of their child in the IEP process, are always the child’s parent even when there is more than one party who qualifies as a parent. However, if there is a judicial decree granting the parent’s educational rights to a specific person, then that person is the child’s parent for the purpose of educational decisions.^[1]

1. 34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.30.[↩]