Parental Involvement Requirements

A Focused Look at Compliance

Spring 2009

September 2008 USDE Findings1. School-Parent Compacts

2. Eliminating Barriers to Parent Involvement

3. Annual Evaluation of LEA Parental Involvement Plan

4. Parent Involvement in Decisions regarding 1% Set-Aside Funds

5. Annual Meeting of Title I Parents

Layout of Presentation

1. State the USDE Concern

2. Provide SDE Guidance

3. Expectations for Compliance

1. School-Parent Compacts

The Concern: School-Parent Compacts do not contain all the components required by law.

SDE Guidance on School-Parent Compacts

• Compacts must include all components required by NCLB.

• The SDE template for compacts is available in the e-GAP Document Library and contains all required components.

• LEAs must give all Title I parents the opportunity for involvement in decisions regarding the development/revision of the School-Parent Compact.

School-Parent Compact Template

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School-Parent Compact Template

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Note: All components (1-5) highlighted in yellow under “School Responsibilities” are required.”

School-Parent Compact Template

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Compliance with School-Parent Compacts is evident when…

• All Title I schools have their own School-Parent Compact that contains all required components.

• Interviews with LEA staff and principals reflect that a clear process is in place for all Title I parents to have the opportunity to be involved in the develop-ment or revision of the school-parent compact.

• Interviews with parents reflect they understand the process of how they can be involved in the develop-ment and/or revision of the school-parent compact.

Note! Compacts will be monitored in all LEAs through the Summer 2009 Desk Audit.

2. Eliminating Barriers to Parental Involvement

The Concern: Some LEAs engage their parent-teacher associations in carrying out responsibilities for activities required by the Title I program.

SDE Guidance on Eliminating Barriers

• Title I activities must not be advertised as PTA activities, as Title I activities must not cost parents money to participate.

• Meetings that involve Title I funds and information must be open and available to all Title I parents and no fee is to be charged.

• This guidance does not prevent Title I parents from being a part of PTA, as the law allows for appropriate roles for community-based organizations.

Note: Title I meetings must stand alone.

Compliance with Eliminating Barriers to Parental Involvement…

• Examples of announcements, agendas identifying meetings of Title I parents.

• Title I meetings are conducted by school or LEA staff knowledgeable about Title I.

• Interviews with principals reflect a clear understanding of the difference between Title I parent meetings and PTA meetings.

• Interviews with parents reflect a clear understanding that they have opportunities to participate in Title I parent meetings, and there is no cost for the parent.

3. Annual Evaluation of the LEA Parental Involvement Plan

The Concern: All LEAs are not conducting, with Title I parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the LEA parental involvement plan and revising the plan as appropriate based on the results of the evaluation.

SDE Guidance on Required Annual Evaluation

• Each LEA must conduct, with its Title I parents, the required annual evaluation.

• A parent survey is not in itself an evaluation but merely a component of the evaluation.

• Other components… Focus Groups A review of data such as test scores and

demographic changes Identifying barriers to parental involvement (note

that this component is required)

SDE Guidance on Required Annual Evaluation

• The LEA, with Title I parents, must analyze the results of the evaluation.

• The findings must be used to revise the LEA parental involvement plan.

• The SDE is providing LEAs the following tools to assist with the annual evaluation… A Parent Survey An Evaluation Template

Sample Parent Survey

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Sample Parent Survey

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Annual Evaluation Template

Compliance with the Annual Evaluation is evident when…

• LEAs post their survey results & completed annual evaluation to the e-GAP Document Library.

• Interviews with LEA staff reflect a clear process for evaluating, with all Title I parents, its parental involvement plan.

• Interviews with parents reflect they understand the process of how they can be involved in the evaluation of the LEA parental involvement plan.

Note! The Annual Evaluation will be monitored in all LEAs through the Summer 2009 Desk Audit.

4. Parent Involvement in Decisions Regarding 1% Set-Aside Funds

The Concern: All LEAs are not informing Title I parents of the 1% set-aside funds for parental involvement and allowing them to be involved in the decisions regarding how these funds are allotted for parental involvement activities.

SDE Guidance on Involvement in Decisions regarding the 1% Set-Aside• LEAs must give all Title I parents the opportunity

for involvement in decisions regarding how the 1% Set-Aside funds are allotted for parent involve- ment activities. This is applicable to decisions regarding…

Any portion of the 5% of the 1% that may be retained at the LEA (The LEA Parental Involvement Plan/Initiatives)

The school’s portion of the 95% of the 1% (The Parental Involvement Section of the school’s CIP)

Compliance with parent involvement in decisions regarding the 1% Set-Aside is evident when…

• Interviews with LEA staff and principals reflect that a clear process is in place for all Title I parents to have the opportunity to be involved in decisions regarding the 1% set-aside funds.

• Interviews with parents reflect they understand the process of how they can be involved in decisions made regarding the 1% set-aside funds. Parents understand they are making decisions about funding as well as parental involvement activities.

5. Required Annual Meeting of Title I Parents

The Concern: All LEAs are not ensuring that each of their Title I schools holds its required annual meeting of Title I parents to explain the require-ments of the law and the rights of parents to be involved.

• Each Title I school is required to hold its own meeting with its Title I parents.

• The person conducting the meeting must be knowledgeable about Title I, Part A.

• The meeting must be advertised and conducted as the School’s Annual Meeting of Title I Parents.

• The annual meeting is for the sole purpose of informing parents of the Title I law, including the 1% set-aside for parental involvement and their right to be involved in how funds will be spent.

SDE Guidance on the Required Annual Meeting of Title I Parents

Each Title I school is required to hold its own meeting

• An LEA meeting cannot replace each school’s required Title I meeting.

• Individual conferences with parents about Title I cannot replace the required Title I Meeting.

SDE Guidance on Required Annual Meeting of Title I Parents(Continued)

The person conducting the meeting must be knowledgeable about Title I, Part A--persons such as… • Principals

• Assistant Principals

• Title I Teachers

• Title I Facilitators

• Federal Programs Coordinators

• Parental Involvement Coordinators/Facilitators (In partnership with one of the above)

SDE Guidance on Required Annual Meeting of Title I Parents(Continued)

The meeting must be advertised and conducted as the Annual Meeting of Title I Parents

• The Annual Title I Meeting cannot be combined with another meeting.

• Having Title I as an agenda item during another meeting does not meet compliance requirements for the required annual meeting.

• An Open House does not meet compliance requirements for the required annual meeting.

• A PTA meeting does not meet compliance requirements for the required annual meeting.

SDE Guidance on Required Annual Meeting of Title I Parents(Continued)

The annual meeting is for the sole purpose of informing parents of…• Their school’s participation in Title I

• The requirements of Title I and parents’ right to be involved

• The 1% set-aside for Parental Involvement and their right to be involved in how funds will be spent

• Note: Parents should leave the meeting with a clear understanding of being informed about the Title I Program and their rights as Title I parents.

SDE Guidance on Required Annual Meeting of Title I Parents(Continued)

Important to Remember…

• At the annual meeting of Title I parents, clearly communicate the process for various involvement—how they may have input on LEA plans, the school’s plan, the 1% set-aside, the annual evaluation, the school-parent compact, etc. Then throughout the year, provide additional

communication about involvement opportunities as applicable—Notices sent home, Web sites, parent leaders, newsletters.

SDE Guidance on Required Annual Meeting of Title I Parents(Continued)

SDE Template for Conducting the Annual Meeting of Title I Parents• To assist schools in focusing their Annual

Meeting of Title I parents on required topics, the SDE has developed a PowerPoint template, which is available in the e-GAP Document Library.

• Schools will need to customize the PowerPoint to reflect local information, processes, procedures, etc.

SDE Guidance on Required Annual Meeting of Title I Parents(Continued)

Compliance with the required annual meeting of Title I parents is evident when…• Parent interviews reflect attendance at their

school’s annual meeting where they learned about the requirements of Title I law and multiple opportunities for involvement. They know about the 1% set-aside for parental involvement, and their right to be involved in how funds will be spent. Parents understand the processes of how decisions are made and their opportunity for input.

• Sign-In sheets for school annual meetings are available with name, position, and signatures.

• An agenda of the school annual meeting is available with appropriate Title I topics addressed.

Recommended Approach to Compliance…• Identify Parent Leaders Who…

Become knowledgeable about Title I, Part A, Parental Involvement and parents’ right to be involved

Serve as parent representatives on decision-making committees and keep parents informed of the work of the committees

Serve as contact persons for other parents to answer questions about parental involvement and receive input for committee decisions

Assist in evaluating the parental involvement plan Assist in training other parents to be parent

leaders

Need Help in Training Parent Leaders?

Contact Alabama’s Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC)

Sherri Wilson

Alabama PIRC Director

swilson@alabamaparentcenter.com

Recommended Approach to Compliance (Continued)…• LEA Compliance Assistance Plan

How will you as the LEA oversee your schools’ implementation of parental involvement requirements to ensure compliance?

• Training for Principals and Staff• Continuous Dialogue for Improvement• Ensuring activities are linked to the CIP and

Annual Evaluation• Attendance at Title I Meetings• Review of Documentation• Parent Interviews/Focus Groups• Principal and teacher interviews

Thank you for participating! If you have questions about this presentation, contact:

Judy BohannonFederal Programs Specialist

Alabama Department of EducationFederal Programs Section

judybo@alsde.edu(334) 242-9967