C-3. What specific information must an LEA's written parental involvement policy contain?

An LEA's written parental involvement policy must establish the LEA's expectations for parental involvement, and describe how the LEA will-

• Involve parents in jointly developing the LEA's local plan under section 1112 and in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116;

• Provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance;

• Build the schools' and parents' capacity for strong parental involvement;

• Coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under Title I, Part A with parental involvement strategies under other programs, such as Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Parents as Teachers, Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), State-run preschool programs, and Title III language instructional programs;

• 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 with Title I, Part A funds, including-

  o Identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parental involvement activities, 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;
  o Using the findings of the evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement;
  o Revising, if necessary, the LEA's parental involvement policies; and

• Involve parents in the activities of schools served under Title I, Part A.

[Section 1118(a)(2), ESEA.]

[For more detailed information see Appendix D for a sample template of a District wide Parental Involvement Policy.]