NRS392B.110. Eligibility for participation; exemption; contents of application; notice of approval or denial; consideration of best interests of child; no duty to provide transportation.

      1.  The legal guardian or custodian of a child may submit to the Department an application to participate in the Program if:

      (a) The child has been placed in a foster home; and

      (b) The child is enrolled in a public school or is not enrolled in a school because the child has not attained the age required for enrollment.

      2.  A legal guardian or custodian of a child, as applicable:

      (a) Must include in the application the name of the public school in which the child is enrolled, if applicable, and the name of the school in which the legal guardian or custodian of the child wishes to enroll the child. The public school in which the child wishes to enroll does not have to be located in the school district in which the child resides.

      (b) May include in the application a statement describing the reason for requesting that the child participate in the Program.

      3.  Upon receipt of an application pursuant to subsection 1, the Department shall notify the school district in which the child resides and the school district in which the child wishes to enroll, if applicable, that an application to participate in the Program has been submitted on behalf of the child.

      4.  The Department shall approve an application if the application satisfies the requirements of subsections 1 and 2.

      5.  Upon approval of an application, the Department shall provide a written statement of approval to the legal guardian or custodian of the child, as applicable, and the public school in which the child will be enrolled. Upon denial of an application, the Department shall provide a written statement of denial to the legal guardian or custodian of the child indicating the reason for the denial.

      6.  In determining whether to accept or deny an application submitted pursuant to subsection 1, the Department, in coordination with the board of trustees of the school district in which the child resides and the board of trustees of the school district in which the child wishes to attend school, if applicable, shall consider the best interests of the child in continuing the child’s education in the public school in which the child was enrolled before the child was placed in a foster home or in transferring to another public school within this State. Every effort must be made to enroll the child in the public school requested by the legal guardian or custodian of the child pursuant to subsection 2.

      7.  Neither the board of trustees of the school district in which the child resides nor the board of trustees of the school district in which the child attends school, if applicable, is required to provide transportation for the child to attend a public school which the child is not zoned to attend.

      8.  A child who is under the care, or in the legal or physical custody, of an agency which provides child welfare services, as defined in NRS 432B.030, is exempt from the provisions of this section and shall attend school in accordance with the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, 42 U.S.C. § 11301 et seq., and any regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

      (Added to NRS by 2007, 800; A 2013, 522)