1. Print your full name and address, including city, state and zip code. To determine which school district you live in, call the district your neighborhood children attend. You can find the phone number in the blue pages of your telephone book under Schools.
2. Be prepared to show documentation for your age, such as a valid
Delaware license or birth certificate.
3. Print the child’s name and date of birth. The last line of this question allows the school district to list your reason for the child living with you, if the circumstances are not covered in the five reasons listed. You may check more than one reason.
4. In this statement you are swearing that you are not using this affidavit for any of the reasons listed.
5. In this statement you are swearing that the child is not about to be expelled or suspended from school.
6. Signing this affidavit means you are the person the school will contact for school-related decisions. If you cannot or will not fulfill these obligations,
DO NOT complete the affidavit.
7.
Print the name or names of the child’s mother, father, legal custodian or guardian.
8. If the child is under the care of a custodian or guardian, have a xerox copy of that portion of the court order giving that person authority if these documents are available to you. You do not need the entire document.
9. This section is to be completed if the parent(s), custodian or guardian gives their permission for the caregiver to assume the school related responsibilities listed in question 6.
10. The following are the ways you can prove your attempts to locate the child’s parents, guardian or custodian. All applicants are required to complete Letter A. and choose one other proof.
A. Certified mail receipt of a written notice that you intend to take educational responsibility of the child. The notice should be sent to the last known address of the parent(s), custodian, or guardian.
Your proof of effort to contact will be the notice and the return receipt saying that the letter was not deliverable because no one by that name lives at this address.
B. The caregiver or someone acting in his or her place makes an actual visit to the last known address of the parent(s), custodian, or guardian. The individual making this visit describes what was found at this address and to whom he or she spoke regarding the missing parent(s), custodian, or guardian.
C. The caregiver or someone acting in his or her place contacts the parent(s), custodian, or guardian’s last known employer, health care provider(s), or friends. The individual making this visit
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describes what was found and to whom he or she spoke regarding the missing parent(s), custodian, or guardian.
D. A notice is placed in the News Journal and the Delaware State
News saying that you are looking for the parent(s), custodian, or guardian of (child’s name) because you intend to take educational responsibility of the child. If the parents do not respond within 8 days, you would write about the notice and lack of response where requested on the affidavit. Include a copy of the newspaper notice in your application. The notice in the News Journal and the
Delaware State News should be placed in the Legal Notices section and could read: NOTICE OF RELATIVE CAREGIVER FOR
REGISTERING CHILD FOR SCHOOL To: (parent(s) name, custodian, or guardian) From: (caregiver’s name) I, the caregiver of this (male) or (female) child, (date of birth) am seeking a
Caregivers’ School Authorization to register this child for school and to take educational responsibilities for this child. Parent(s), custodian, or guardian may deny this application by notifying the
(school district) by (date)
– eight days after the notice is published.
11. A relative caregiver is an adult who, by blood, marriage or adoption, is the child’s great grandparent, grandparent, step grandparent, great aunt, aunt, step aunt, great uncle, uncle, step uncle, step parent, brother, sister, step brother, step sister, half brother, half sister, niece, nephew, first cousin or first cousin once removed but who does not have legal custody or legal guardianship of the student.
12. You must provide one proof of your relationship to the child and one proof that you are truly caring for this child 24 hours a day. You may use a type of proof only once. For example, a medical record where you have approved immunizations and which shows your relationship to the child can be used for proof of relationship or proof of caregiving. o The first proof under proof of relationship applies only to grandparents who are raising their children's; children.
13. Additional information: o If the documentation required to verify the information in the
Caregivers' School Authorization cannot be obtained by the o caregiver, then the schools shall permit the child to be enrolled provided that the caregivers' date stamped custody or guardianship petition showing that it has been filed with Family Court is provided within ten business days of enrollment. Individual school districts may allow additional time. The student will be enrolled until the end of the school year or until the court enters a decision regarding the custody or guardianship petition.
A School District shall determine whether a particular Caregivers'
School Authorization Affidavit is acceptable. A caregiver may appeal the decision to the local school board of education of the school district.
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o o o o
A Caregivers' School Authorization Affidavit filed before January 1 shall be honored for the balance of the current school year and for the next school year. Affidavits filed on January 1 or after shall be honored for the balance of the current school year and for the next two years.
In either case, the Authorization will expire on August 1 of the school year in which it was used unless the caregiver receives permission from the school district to extend the length of time that the Authorization shall be honored.
Caregivers are expected to obtain custody or guardianship during the time the child is attending school under the Caregivers' School
Authorization Affidavit.
The Authorization may be cancelled at any time if the minor stops living with the relative caregiver or upon written revocation of the
Authorization by the child's caregiver, parent, legal custodian, or guardian.
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