Major state and federal education reform efforts emphasize the importance of family and community involvement to increase student achievement and strengthen public schools. State law requires parental involvement programs for schools that receive Title I funds (EC Section 11503) and parental involvement policies for non-Title I schools (EC Section 11504) (Outside Sources).
The federal Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) Act of 2001, Section 1118, requires the adoption of (1) district- and school-level Title I parental involvement policies to support students in attaining high academic standards and (2) family-school compacts that express the shared responsibilities of schools and parents as partners in students’ success. An archived Webinar and PowerPoint presentation, Title I Parental Involvement Policies and Compacts, is available on the California Comprehensive Center Web page Title I Parental Involvement Information and Resources (Outside Sources).
Samples of family–school compacts are available on the CDE Parent/Family Involvement Web page. The compacts are intended to assist school districts and schools in developing a closer working partnership between home and school. Also available is a document by Anne Henderson titled Tip Sheet: Linking a School-Family Compact to Learning (Outside Source).
Additional information is available on the CDE Title I, Part A Parent/Family Involvement Web page.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires a variety of parental notifications that cover topics such as the professional qualifications of the child’s teacher; services provided by and qualifications of paraprofessional staff; notification when the child has been taught for four or more weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified; the level of achievement of the child in required state academic assessments; English learner program requirements; the parental involvement policy; and Program Improvement status and related options, such as choice and supplemental educational services. The brochure Parental Involvement in Title I Schools is available in multiple languages from the Title I Programs and Partnerships Office (916-319-0854) and on the CDE Title I, Part A Parent/Family Involvement Web page.
The Family-School Partnership Act of 1994 permits parents, grandparents, and guardians to take up to 40 hours of leave time from work to participate in their child’s licensed day-care-through-grade-twelve educational activities. Additional information is available on the CDE Parent Involvement Web page. A series of “parents’ rights” are defined in Education Code (EC 51100–51102) (Outside Source).
An e-mail distribution list, FANmail, is maintained to disseminate information to interested parties who sign up on the CDE Parent/Family Web page and resources for parental/family involvement are available on the CDE Resources Web page.
The CDE continues to strengthen its leadership of school, family, and community partnerships to help districts and school develop effective programs, close the achievement gap and increase graduation rates. The CDE has created a Regional Partnerships Network to provide leadership and disseminate information on school, family, and community partnerships and their potential to close the achievement gap and increase graduation rates. The Regional Partnerships Network also assists educators, families, community-based organizations, and governmental agencies to identify and develop partnership strategies and identify best practices for involving families in the education of their children. For more information about California’s partnership program, contact Jeff Breshears, Administrator, Title I Accountability and Partnerships Office, by phone at 916-319-0745 or by e-mail at jbreshears@cde.ca.gov.
Parent Information and Resource Centers
Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs) are funded by the U.S. Department of Education. They provide both local and statewide services. California has two PIRCs: PIRC1 (Project Inspire) at the California Association of Bilingual Education, Covina, and PIRC2 (Cal-PIRC) at Cambridge Academies, Modesto. Additional information is available on the National PIRC Coordination Center Web page (Outside Sources).
