State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > California > Edc > 11500-11506EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 11500-11506
11500. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) Despite a substantial increase in school funding over the last five years, a significant percentage of the school-aged population, particularly in large urban areas, is learning well below the statewide average and is making only marginal progress at best. (b) Parental involvement and support in the education of children is an integral part of improving academic achievement. Educational research has established that properly constructed parent involvement programs can play an important and effective role in the participation of parents in their children's schools and in raising pupil achievement levels. (c) The federal government has recognized the critical role of parents in the educational process and now mandates parental involvement programs as a condition of eligibility for funds under the Augustus F. Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 (P.L. 100-297). (d) The State Board of Education has also adopted a policy urging the creation of parent involvement programs in all schools. (e) California's School Improvement Program has historically maintained parent involvement as one of its component parts. (f) Research and experience have demonstrated that these programs succeed only when certain components are made part of the program. 11501. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to ensure that parent involvement programs are properly designed and implemented and to provide a focus and structure for these programs based on prior experience and research while maintaining sufficient local flexibility to design a program that best meets the needs of the local community. 11502. It is the purpose and goal of this chapter to do all of the following: (a) To engage parents positively in their children's education by helping parents to develop skills to use at home that support their children's academic efforts at school and their children's development as responsible future members of our society. (b) To inform parents that they can directly affect the success of their children's learning, by providing parents with techniques and strategies that they may utilize to improve their children's academic success and to assist their children in learning at home. (c) To build consistent and effective communication between the home and the school so that parents may know when and how to assist their children in support of classroom learning activities. (d) To train teachers and administrators to communicate effectively with parents. (e) To integrate parent involvement programs, including compliance with this chapter, into the school's master plan for academic accountability. 11503. The governing board of each school district shall establish a parent involvement program for each school in the district that receives funds under Chapter 1 of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Augustus F. Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 (P.L. 100-290). That program shall contain at least the following elements: (a) Procedures to ensure that parents are consulted and participate in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of the program. (b) Regular and periodic programs throughout the school year that provide for training, instruction, and information on all of the following: (1) Parental ability to directly affect the success of their children's learning through the support they give their children at home and at school. (2) Home activities, strategies, and materials that can be used to assist and enhance the learning of children both at home and at school. (3) Parenting skills that assist parents in understanding the development needs of their children and in understanding how to provide positive discipline for, and build healthy relationships with, their children. (4) Parental ability to develop consistent and effective communications between the school and the parents concerning the progress of the children in school and concerning school programs. (c) An annual statement identifying specific objectives of the program. (d) An annual review and assessment of the program's progress in meeting those objectives. Parents shall be made aware of the existence of this review and assessment through regular school communications mechanisms and shall be given a copy upon the parent's request. 11504. The governing board of each school district shall adopt a policy on parent involvement, consistent with the purposes and goals set forth in Section 11502, for each school not governed by Section 11503. 11505. To the extent permitted by federal law, a school district may contract with nonprofit organizations and agencies experienced in administering parent involvement programs to design or implement, or design and implement, a school's parent involvement program. 11506. Schools that receive federal funds under Chapter 1 of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Augustus F. Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 (P. L. 100-297), and receive funds for school improvement plans pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 52000) of Part 28 or economic impact aid pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 54020) of Chapter 1 of Part 29, may receive funds for school improvement plans pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 52000) of Part 28 or economic impact aid pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 54020) of Chapter 1 of Part 29 only if they comply with this chapter.
