National PTA developed this publication as a tool for State PTAs and other family and child advocates to increase systemic, effective family engagement in all of our nation’s public schools. Family engagement in education is a critical strategy for ensuring students’ academic achievement, graduation from high school, and overall success in life. Low levels of family engagement in schools must be addressed at the federal, state, and local levels through the development of sound public policy and implementation, evaluation, and replication of best practices.
Implementation of state policies at the local school level is among the most critical components of achieving greater family engagement in education by requiring State Education Agencies (SEAs) to develop effective policy that, in turn, governs activities of the Local Education Agencies (LEAs), or school districts.
The purpose of this reference guide is two-fold:
It provides families and advocates with information on family engagement provisions within state education laws so that they can better advocate for their children’s education on the school and district levels.
It guides policymakers’ and advocates’ development of their legislative reform initiatives as well as their efforts to monitor the implementation of laws already in place.
The reference guide provides key facts, background, analysis, noteworthy statutes, and policy recommendations for crafting successful family engagement legislation at the state level. Finally, the reference guide contains a survey of laws including legal citations pertaining to family engagement in education in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
State Laws on Family Engagement in Education