(a)    (1)    In this section, “residential child care program” means a program that:

(i)    Provides care for children 24 hours a day within a structured set of services and activities designed to achieve objectives related to the needs of the children served; and

(ii)    Is licensed by the Maryland Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, or the Department of Juvenile Services.

(2)    A “residential child care program” includes:

(i)    Group homes;

(ii)    Alternative living units; and

(iii)    Emergency shelter care.

(b)    Each licensed operator of a residential child care program who has legal custody or care and control of a child who is at least 5 years old and under the age of 16 years and receives State funding as provided in § 5–526 of the Family Law Article:

(1)    Shall enroll the child in the local school system where the residential child care program is located unless the residential child care program operates an approved educational program in accordance with the licensing regulations that govern the residential child care program;

(2)    Shall expeditiously initiate and monitor the transfer of the academic records of a child in the operator’s care from the transferring school to insure that the academic records are transferred to the school that the child will be attending while living in the operator’s care;

(3)    (i)    May request a meeting with the child’s teachers; and

(ii)    Shall meet the child’s teachers at the time of enrollment and at any other time the school or a teacher requests; and

(4)    Shall sign the child’s report card, insure that the report card is returned to school, and include a copy of the report card in the child’s case record.