1. When a child enters foster care or changes placement while in foster care, the agency which provides child welfare services to the child shall determine whether it is in the best interests of the child for the child to remain in his or her school of origin. In making this determination, there is a rebuttable presumption that it is in the best interests of the child to remain in his or her school of origin.
2. In determining whether it is in the best interests of a child in foster care to remain in his or her school of origin, the agency which provides child welfare services, in consultation with the local education agency and the educational decision maker appointed for the child pursuant to NRS 432B.462, must consider, without limitation:
(a) The wishes of the child;
(b) The educational success, stability and achievement of the child;
(c) Any individualized education program or academic plan developed for the child;
(d) Whether the child has been identified as an English learner;
(e) The health and safety of the child;
(f) The availability of necessary services for the child at the school of origin; and
(g) Whether the child has a sibling enrolled in the school of origin.
The costs of transporting the child to the school of origin must not be considered when determining whether it is in the best interests of the child to remain at his or her school of origin.
3. If the agency which provides child welfare services determines that it is in the best interests of a child in foster care to attend a public school other than the child’s school of origin:
(a) The agency which provides child welfare services must:
(1) Provide written notice of its determination to every interested party as soon as practicable; and
(2) In collaboration with the local education agency, ensure that the child is immediately enrolled in that public school; and
(b) The public school may not refuse to the enroll the child on the basis that the public school does not have:
(1) A certificate stating that the child has been immunized and has received proper boosters for that immunization;
(2) A birth certificate or other document suitable as proof of the child’s identity;
(3) A copy of the child’s records from the school the child most recently attended; or
(4) Any other documentation required by a policy adopted by the public school or the local education agency.
(Added to NRS by 2017, 3109; A 2019, 261)