SEC. 1118. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.
(a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY
POLICY-
(1) IN GENERAL- A local
educational agency may receive funds under this part only if such agency
implements programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents
in programs assisted under this part consistent with this section. Such
programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with
meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
(2) WRITTEN POLICY- Each
local educational agency that receives funds under this part shall develop
jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents of participating
children a written parent involvement policy. The policy shall be incorporated
into the local educational agency's plan developed under section 1112,
establish the agency's expectations for parent involvement, and describe how
the agency will —
(A) involve parents in the
joint development of the plan under section 1112, and the process of school
review and improvement under section 1116;
(B) provide the coordination,
technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating
schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to
improve student academic achievement and school performance;
(C) build the schools' and
parents' capacity for strong parental involvement as described in subsection
(e);
(D) coordinate and integrate
parental involvement strategies under this part with parental involvement
strategies under other programs, such as the Head Start program, Reading First
program, Early Reading First program, Even Start program, Parents as Teachers
program, and Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, and State-run
preschool programs;
(E) conduct, with the
involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness
of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the
schools served under this part, including identifying barriers to greater
participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (with
particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are
disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of
any racial or ethnic minority background), and use the findings of such
evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to
revise, if necessary, the parental involvement policies described in this
section; and
(F) involve parents in the
activities of the schools served under this part.
(3) RESERVATION-
(A) IN GENERAL- Each local
educational agency shall reserve not less than 1 percent of such agency's
allocation under subpart 2 of this part to carry out this section, including
promoting family literacy and parenting skills, except that this paragraph
shall not apply if 1 percent of such agency's allocation under subpart 2 of
this part for the fiscal year for which the determination is made is $5,000 or
less.
(B) PARENTAL INPUT- Parents
of children receiving services under this part shall be involved in the
decisions regarding how funds reserved under subparagraph (A) are allotted for
parental involvement activities.
(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS-
Not less than 95 percent of the funds reserved under subparagraph (A) shall be
distributed to schools served under this part.
(b) SCHOOL PARENTAL
INVOLVEMENT POLICY-
(1) IN GENERAL- Each school
served under this part shall jointly develop with, and distribute to, parents
of participating children a written parental involvement policy, agreed on by
such parents, that shall describe the means for carrying out the requirements
of subsections (c) through (f). Parents shall be notified of the policy in an
understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a
language the parents can understand. Such policy shall be made available to the
local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents
and the school.
(2) SPECIAL RULE- If the
school has a parental involvement policy that applies to all parents, such
school may amend that policy, if necessary, to meet the requirements of this
subsection.
(3) AMENDMENT- If the local
educational agency involved has a school district-level parental involvement
policy that applies to all parents, such agency may amend that policy, if
necessary, to meet the requirements of this subsection.
(4) PARENTAL COMMENTS- If the
plan under section 1112 is not satisfactory to the parents of participating
children, the local educational agency shall submit any parent comments with
such plan when such local educational agency submits the plan to the State.
(c) POLICY INVOLVEMENT- Each
school served under this part shall —
(1) convene an annual
meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children
shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school's
participation under this part and to explain the requirements of this part, and
the right of the parents to be involved;
(2) offer a flexible number
of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with
funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as
such services relate to parental involvement;
(3) involve parents, in an
organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of
programs under this part, including the planning, review, and improvement of
the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of the
schoolwide program plan under section 1114(b)(2), except that if a school has
in place a process for involving parents in the joint planning and design of
the school's programs, the school may use that process, if such process
includes an adequate representation of parents of participating children;
(4) provide parents of
participating children —
(A) timely information about
programs under this part;
(B) a description and
explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic
assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels
students are expected to meet; and
(C) if requested by parents,
opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate,
as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and
respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible; and
(5) if the schoolwide program
plan under section 1114(b)(2) is not satisfactory to the parents of
participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school
makes the plan available to the local educational agency.
(d) SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES
FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT- As a component of the school-level
parental involvement policy developed under subsection (b), each school served
under this part shall jointly develop with parents for all children served
under this part a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire
school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student
academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build
and develop a partnership to help children achieve the State's high standards.
Such compact shall —
(1) describe the school's
responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a
supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served
under this part to meet the State's student academic achievement standards, and
the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their
children's learning, such as monitoring attendance, homework completion, and
television watching; volunteering in their child's classroom; and
participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their
children and positive use of extracurricular time; and
(2) address the importance of
communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a
minimum —
(A) parent-teacher
conferences in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact
shall be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child's
achievement;
(B) frequent reports to
parents on their children's progress; and
(C) reasonable access to
staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child's class, and
observation of classroom activities.
(e) BUILDING CAPACITY FOR
INVOLVEMENT- To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a
partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve
student academic achievement, each school and local educational agency assisted
under this part —
(1) shall provide assistance
to parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as
appropriate, in understanding such topics as the State's academic content
standards and State student academic achievement standards, State and local
academic assessments, the requirements of this part, and how to monitor a
child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their
children;
(2) shall provide materials
and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their
children's achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as
appropriate, to foster parental involvement;
(3) shall educate teachers,
pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of
parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to
reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners,
implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and
the school;
(4) shall, to the extent
feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs
and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start,
the Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers
Program, and public preschool and other programs, and conduct other activities,
such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more
fully participating in the education of their children;
(5) shall ensure that
information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other
activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to
the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand;
(6) may involve parents in
the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to
improve the effectiveness of such training;
(7) may provide necessary
literacy training from funds received under this part if the local educational
agency has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such
training;
(8) may pay reasonable and
necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities,
including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate
in school-related meetings and training sessions;
(9) may train parents to
enhance the involvement of other parents;
(10) may arrange school
meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers
or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents
who are unable to attend such conferences at school, in order to maximize
parental involvement and participation;
(11) may adopt and implement
model approaches to improving parental involvement;
(12) may establish a
districtwide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related
to parental involvement in programs supported under this section;
(13) may develop appropriate
roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement
activities; and
(14) shall provide such other
reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as
parents may request.
(f) ACCESSIBILITY– In
carrying out the parental involvement requirements of this part, local
educational agencies and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide full
opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English
proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children,
including providing information and school reports required under section 1111
in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents
understand.
(g) INFORMATION FROM PARENTAL
INFORMATION AND RESOURCE CENTERS- In a State where a parental information and
resource center is established to provide training, information, and support to
parents and individuals who work with local parents, local educational
agencies, and schools receiving assistance under this part, each local
educational agency or school that receives assistance under this part and is
located in the State shall assist parents and parental organizations by
informing such parents and organizations of the existence and purpose of such
centers.
(h) REVIEW- The State
educational agency shall review the local educational agency's parental
involvement policies and practices to determine if the policies and practices
meet the requirements of this section.