PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN THE SCHOOLS
It is the policy of the district to provide full access to the parent of any student of the district to review textbooks, tests, curriculum and instructional materials, records of a student of any such parent, unless otherwise prohibited by law, and to any surveys of students done by the school district. Summary information regarding the district's curriculum, testing, and surveys will be provided at the beginning of each school year. Requests for access to specific instructional materials should be addressed to the teacher or building principal.
Requests by parents to attend and monitor courses, assemblies, counseling sessions and other instructional activities shall also be made to the building principal or teacher. While requests to monitor are usually granted, if the request is denied, reasons for the denial will be provided.
It is the policy of the district to provide as consistent an experience as possible in all classroom instruction, testing, surveys, and other school experiences. It is the policy of the district not to excuse students from classroom instruction, testing, and other school experiences unless an objection is submitted to the building principal or teacher outlining the specific experience, the basis for the objection and a proposed solution for dealing with the objection that would be satisfactory to the parent.
The request for the student to be excused will be reviewed by the building principal and a decision provided to the parents. While verbal objections and decisions are valid, written follow-up to verbal communications is required from the parent and the principal. If a student is excused from the requested activity no penalty will be assessed but an agreed upon alternative activity must be performed to the satisfaction of the teacher and principal.
It is the policy of the district to use only testing methods and testing instruments that are not of an experimental nature and to avoid using any testing materials or testing techniques that are not generally recognized by educational professionals to be within sound educational standards and both educationally and academically appropriate. It is the policy of the district to notify parents of any standardized testing that may be scheduled within the school district.
It is the policy of the district to notify parents of any survey which may be scheduled and to conduct student surveys judiciously, with full consideration of the fact that parents may find items of the survey objectionable.
The following activities will also be included in the board’s plan for parental involvement:
1. The board will involve parents in the development of the Title I plan, the process for school review of the plan and the process for improvement
2. The board will 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;
3. The board will build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement;
4. The board will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under Title I with other programs such as Head Start, Reading First, etc.;
5. The board will 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 school served including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in Title I activities (with particular attention to lowincome parents, Limited English Proficient (LEP) parents, minorities, parents with disabilities and parents with low literacy) and use the findings of the evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement and to revise, as necessary, the parental involvement policies; and
6. The board will involve parents in Title I activities.
The parent or guardian of a student may have access to that student's records during normal business hours of the district according to Policy 507.01 Student Records Access.
This policy is adopted following a public hearing to receive public comments and suggestions.
Legal Reference:
Neb. Statute 79-530 to 533
No Child Left Behind, Title I, Sec. 1118, P.L. 107-110
Cross Reference:
507.01 Student Records Access
606.03 Objection to Instructional Materials
610.02 Test or Assessment Administration
611.01 Student Progress Reports
611.04 Parent Conferences
1002. District Annual Report
1005.01Public Complaints
