Parent and Family Engagement Policies

Title I, Part A, Section 1116 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that each district and school receiving Title I, Part A funds conducts outreach to all parents and family members and implement programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents and family members in programs assisted under Title I, Section 1116. Such programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.

Each district and school must have a written parent and family engagement policy developed jointly with, agreed on with, and distributed to parents and family members of participating children. This policy will be incorporated into the district’s plan establishing the expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family involvement.

District Parent and Family Engagement Policy Template (docx)(05-17-056)

School Parent and Family Engagement Policy Template (docx)(05-17-057)

Sample Annual Title I Parent Meeting Agenda (docx)

Parent Notification Requirements

Section 1112 of ESSA requires that districts receiving Title I, Part A funds must notify the parents of each student attending any school receiving these funds of the following:

Teacher Qualifications

At the beginning of each school year, a district that receives funds under Title I, Part A, must notify the parents of each student attending any school receiving these funds, that the parents may request, and if the agency will provide the parents on request (and in a timely manner), information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers, including at a minimum:

• Whether the student’s teacher
  • Has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction;
  • Is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived; and
  • Is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher.
    • Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

Additional Information

A school that receives Title I, Part A funds must provide to each individual parent of a child who is a student in such school, with respect to each student

• Information on the level of achievement and academic growth of the student, if applicable and available on each of the state academic assessments required; and
• Timely notice that the student has been assigned, or has been taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who does not meet applicable state certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.

Testing Transparency

Opting out of Assessments

At the beginning of each school year, a district that receives Title I, Part A funds must notify the parents of each student attending any school receiving these funds that the parents may request, and the district will provide the parents on request (and in a timely manner), information regarding any State or district policy regarding student participation in any required assessments, which shall include a policy, procedure, or parental right to opt the child out of such assessment, where applicable.

Additional Information

Each district must make widely available through public means (including by posting in a clear and easily accessible manner on the district’s website and, where practicable on the website of each school served by the district) for each grade served, information on each assessment required by the state, including

• The subject matter assessed;
• The purpose for which the assessment is designed and used;
• The source of the requirement for the assessment; and
• Where such information is available
  • The amount of time students will spend taking the assessment, and the schedule for the assessment; and
  • The time and format for disseminating results.

Language Instruction

Each district using funds under Title I, Part A or under Title III to provide a language instructional program must, not later than 30 days after the beginning of the school year, or within two weeks of identification as an English learner, inform parents of an English learner (EL) identified for participation or participating in such a program, of

• The reasons for the identification of their child as an EL and in need of placement in a language instruction education program;
• The child’s level of English proficiency, how such level was assessed, and the status of the child’s academic achievement;
• The methods of instruction used in the program in which their child is, or will be, participating and the methods of instruction used in other available programs, including how such programs differ in content, instructional goals, and the use of English and a native language in instruction;
• How the program in which their child is, or will be, participating will meet the education strengths and needs of their child;
• How such program will specifically help their child learn English and meet age-appropriate academic achievement standards for grade promotion and graduation;
• The specific exit requirements for the program, including the expected rate of transition from such program into classrooms that are not tailored for ELs, and the expected rate of graduation from high school if funds are used for children in high schools;
• In the case of a child with a disability, how such program meets the objectives of the individualized education program of the child; and
• Information pertaining to parental rights that includes written guidance
  • Detailing the right that parents have to have their child immediately removed from such a program upon their request;
  • Detailing the options that parents have to decline to enroll their child in such a program or to choose another program or method of instruction, if available; and
  • Assisting parents in selecting among various programs and methods of instruction, if more than 1 program or method is offered by the eligible entity.

Title I Parent Notification Requirements

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 district receiving Title I funds shall —

Build Capacity of Parents

• Provide assistance to parents of children served by the school or district, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the challenging State academic standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of Title I, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children.
• 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 (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parental involvement.
• To the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool 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.
• 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; and
• Provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request.

Build Capacity of Educators

• Educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school leaders, 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.

Fiscal Requirements

Each district with a Title I allocation of $500,000 or more must reserve at least 1% of Title I funds to carry out parent and family engagement activities. No less than 90% of those funds must be distributed to Title I schools New, under ESSA, parent and family engagement funds must be used to carry out activities and strategies including not less than 1 of the following:

• Supporting schools and nonprofit organizations in providing professional development for district and school personnel regarding parent and family engagement strategies, which may be provided jointly to teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, early childhood educators, and parents and family members.
• Supporting programs that reach parents and family members at home, in the community and at school.

• Disseminating information on best practices focused on parent and family engagement, especially best practices for increasing the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents and family members.
• Collaborating, or providing sub grants to schools to enable such schools to collaborate, with community-based or other organizations or employers with a record of success in improving and increasing parent and family engagements.
• Engaging in any other activities and strategies that the district determines are appropriate and consistent with the district’s parent and family engagement policy.

School-Parent Compacts

As a component of the school-level parent and family engagement policy, each Title I school must jointly develop with parents for all participating children 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.

School-Parent Compact Template (docx) (05-19-012)

Resources

• District Parent and Family Engagement Policy Template (docx)(05-17-056)
• School Parent and Family Engagement Policy Template (docx)(05-17-057)
• School-Parent Compact Template (docx) (05-19-012)
• Title I Brochure Template
  • Customize this brochure template to your individual Title I schools. The template contains several key pieces of information for parents that are required under Title I-A.
• Title I Parent Notification Requirements