{"data":{"id":"us-mo/mo.-rev.-stat.-162.997","jurisdiction":"us-mo","citation":"Mo. Rev. Stat. § 162.997","heading":"Surrogates appointed, when — state board of education, duties — definitions.","body":"1. The state board of education shall:\n(1) Establish and maintain procedures to appoint a person to act as a surrogate for the parent or guardian of a handicapped or severely handicapped child when:\n(a) The parents or guardian of the child are not known;\n(b) The parents or guardian of the child are unavailable; or\n(c) The child has been committed to the custody of a public agency or institution in accordance with section 211.181;\n(2) Establish and maintain procedures to recruit persons to act as surrogate parents for handicapped or severely handicapped children;\n(3) Establish and maintain a list of names of persons who will undertake appointments to act as surrogates for the parents or guardians of handicapped or severely handicapped children;\n(4) Provide the education and training necessary to ensure that a surrogate parent appointee has the knowledge and skills to act as an effective representative of a handicapped or severely handicapped child in all decisions relating to the child's education;\n(5) Establish standards and procedures by which a surrogate parent may be removed from his appointment if:\n(a) He is not effectively representing the child; or\n(b) The parents or guardian of a child subsequently become known or available.\n2. For purposes of sections 162.997 to 162.999, the following terms mean:\n(1) \"Handicapped child\" or \"severely handicapped child\" , as defined in section 162.675;\n(2) \"Parent\" , a biological parent, a guardian or a person acting as a parent of a child, including but not limited to a grandparent or stepparent with whom a child lives. The term does not include the state if the child is a ward of the state. The term does not include a person whose parental rights have been terminated;\n(3) \"Unavailable\" , a person is unavailable if his whereabouts are unknown after reasonable inquiry.","path":["Title XI - EDUCATION AND LIBRARIES","Chapter 162 - School Districts"],"source_url":"https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=162.997","current_through":"2026 legislative session (floor)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T22:23:25Z","sha256":"8390c2aa0ac138ac07951f5e1362194152a939bffb8b145a8365571990f204ab","source_id":"us-mo","stale":false,"prev":"us-mo/mo.-rev.-stat.-162.996","next":"us-mo/mo.-rev.-stat.-162.998"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}