When parents of a Montgomery County public school student are estranged, separated, or divorced, building personnel will uphold the parental rights of both parents to participate in their child’s education. Unless there is a court order to the contrary, both parents have the right to:
1. view the child’s school records, in accordance with School Board policies;
2. receive school progress reports, the school calendar, and notices of major school events;
3. visit the school in accordance with School Board policies;
4. participate in parent-teacher conferences in the case of the non-custodial parent, after a timely request is made;
5. receive all notifications in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and
6. receive notice of the student’s extended absence, as defined in and pursuant to School Board policy, if both parents have joint physical custody.
The custodial parent has the responsibility to:
1. keep the school office informed as to the address of residence and how he or she may be contacted at all times;
2. list on the Montgomery County Public Schools registration form the current address and phone number of the non-custodial parent, unless such address is unknown and the parent signs a statement to that effect, or unless a court order restricts the educational or contact rights of the non-custodial parent;
3. provide a copy of any legal document which restricts the educational and/or contact rights of the non-custodial parent; and
4. assist the school in enforcing the standards of student conduct and attendance in order that education may be conducted in an atmosphere free of disruption and threat to persons or property, and supportive of individual rights.
In addition, the principal may request a student’s parent or parents, if both parents have legal and physical custody of such student, to meet with the principal or his/her designee to review the School Board’s standards of student conduct and the parent’s or parents’ responsibility to participate with the school in disciplining the student and maintaining order and to discuss improvement of the child’s behavior and educational process.
The non-custodial parent has the responsibility to
keep the school office apprised of changes in his/her current phone number and
address. Further, the non-custodial
parent may make timely requests to participate in parent-teacher conferences. Additionally, at the request of the non-custodial parent, such
parent will be included as an emergency contact for the student’s activities unless a court
order has been issued to the contrary.
Parental Rights
Any parent, custodian, or legal guardian of a Montgomery County Public Schools student who is aggrieved by an action of the School Board may, within thirty days after such action, petition the Montgomery County Circuit Court to review the action of the School Board. The review of the School Board’s action shall proceed upon the petition, the minutes of the meeting at which the School Board’s action was taken, the orders, if any, of the School Board, an attested copy of the transcript, if any, of any hearing before the School Board, and any other evidence found relevant to the issues on appeal by the court. The action of the School Board shall be sustained unless the School Board exceeded its authority, acted arbitrarily or capriciously, or abused its discretion.
Parental Involvement Under the No Child
Left Behind Act
Generally
The Montgomery County School Board recognizes that the education of each student is a responsibility shared by the school and the student’s family. The School Board endorses the parental involvement goals of Title I (20 U.S.C. § 6318) and Title III (20 U.S.C. § 7012(e)) of the No Child Left Behind Act and encourages the regular participation by parents of all children including those eligible for Title I and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) programs in all aspects of those programs.
In keeping with these beliefs, it is the intention of the School Board to cultivate and support active parental involvement in student learning. The School Board will:
1. provide activities that will educate parents regarding the intellectual and developmental needs of their children. These activities will promote cooperation between the division and other agencies or school/community groups to furnish learning opportunities and disseminate information regarding parenting skills and child/adolescent development;
2. implement strategies to involve parents in the educational process, including:
a. keeping families informed of opportunities for involvement and encouraging participation in various programs;
b. providing access to educational resources for parents and families to use with their children; and
c. keeping families informed of the objectives of district educational programs as well as of their children’s participation and progress with these programs.
3. enable families to participate in the education of their children through a variety of roles. For example, family members may:
a. provide input into School Board policies; and
b. volunteer time within the classroom and school
programs.
4. provide professional development opportunities for teachers and staff to enhance their understanding of effective parent involvement strategies;
5. perform regular evaluations of parent involvement at each school and in the school division;
6. provide access, upon request, to any instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum; and
7. if practicable, provide information in a language understandable to parents.
In addition, for parents of students eligible for LEP programs, the School Board will inform
such parents of how they can be active participants in assisting their children:
a. to learn English;
b. to achieve at high levels in core academic subjects; and
c. to meet the same challenging academic content and student academic achievement standards as all children.
Parental
Involvement in Title I Plan
The School Board encourages parents of children eligible to participate in Title I, Part A, programs to participate in the development of the District’s Title I plan.
Parental
Involvement in School Review and Improvement
The School Board encourages parents of children eligible to participate in Title I, Part A, and LEP programs to participate in the process of school review and, if applicable, school improvement as implemented by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. § 2316.
Division
Responsibilities
The School Board and each Montgomery County public school that receives Title I, Part A, funds, will:
1. provide assistance to parents of children served by the school or division, as applicable, in understanding topics such as Virginia’s academic content standards and student academic achievement standards, state and local academic assessments, and how to monitor a child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;
2. provide materials and training to help parents
work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as
literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental
involvement;
3. educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the
assistance of parents, in the value and utilization 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;
4. to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with public preschool and other 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;
5. 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
6. provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request (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).
The School Board and each Montgomery County public school that receives Title I, Part A, funds, may:
1. involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training;
2. provide necessary literacy training from Title I funds if the division has exhausted all other reasonable available sources of funding for such training;
3. pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities, including transportation and childcare costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions;
4. train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents;
5. arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers or other educators who work directly with participating children and parents who are unable to attend such conferences at school, in order to maximize parental involvement and participation;
6. adopt and
implement model approaches to improving parental involvement;
7. establish a division-wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in programs supported under No Child Left Behind; and,
8. develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parental involvement activities.
School Parental Involvement Policies
Each Montgomery County public school served under Title I, Part A, shall jointly develop with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parental involvement policy, agreed on by such parents, that shall describe the means for carrying out the following:
1. convening an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school’s participation in Title I, Part A, and to explain the requirements of Title I, Part A, and the rights of parents to be involved;
2. offering a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under No Child Left Behind, transportation, childcare, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement;
3. involving parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I, Part A, programs including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of the school-wide program plan under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. § 6312(b)(2), except that if a school has in place a process for involving parents in the joint planning and design of the school’s programs, the school may use that process, if such process includes an adequate representation of parents of participating children;
4. providing parents of participating children:
a. timely information about Title I, Part A, programs;
b. a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the academic assessments used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet;
c. if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible; and
d. if the school-wide program plan under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. § 6312(b)(2) is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submitting any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the division.
Parental Involvement in Allocation of Funding
Parents of children receiving services under Title I, Part A, shall be involved in the decisions regarding how funds provided under Title I, Part A, are allotted for parental involvement activities.
Policy Review
The content and effectiveness of this policy will be evaluated annually with regard to improving the academic quality of the schools receiving Title I, Part A, or LEP funds. These annual evaluations will identify barriers to greater participation by parents (particularly by parents who are economically disadvantaged, have disabilities, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background). The School Board will use the findings of these annual evaluations to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, this policy.
LEGAL REFERENCE: Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, §§ 20-124.6, 22.1-4.3, 22.1-78, 22.1-87, 22.1-253.13:7(B)(6), 22.1-287, et seq.; Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232(g); 34 C.F.R. § 99.1, et seq.; No Child Left Behind Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 6312, 6316, 6318.
Adopted: April 2004
Revised: September August 2005