School Boards 
Why Adopt This Policy?
School boards should consider adopting a policy focused on engagement to highlight collaboration and support from families and the community within the school environment. This policy sets clear expectations and promotes initiatives that encourage involvement and partnership between the school, families, and the community.
Policy
Relations with Parents and Families
The School Board believes that the education of children is a joint responsibility, one it shares with the parents of the school community. To ensure that the best interests of the child are served in this process, robust communication between home and school must be maintained.
The Board believes that it is the parents and legal guardians who have the ultimate responsibility for their children's in-school behavior, including the behavior of students who have reached the legal age of majority or have been recognized as emancipated by a court of law, but may be, for all practical purposes, still under parental or guardian authority.
For purposes of this policy, the term "parent" includes a legal guardian or other person who is legally responsible for the welfare of the child (such as grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives).
The Board recommends that the following activities be implemented to encourage parent/guardian school cooperation:
- Regular and frequent parent-teacher interaction to facilitate, promote, and encourage two-way communication between home and school;
- Meetings of staff members and groups of parents/guardians of those students having special abilities, disabilities, needs, or problems;
- Availability of student educational records for parent/guardian review upon request;
- Open houses in District schools to provide parents/guardians with the opportunity to see the school facilities and meet faculty.
For the benefit of children, the Board believes that it is appropriate for the District to encourage parents/guardians to cooperate with the school to improve their child's career in school by:
- Supporting schools by encouraging children to observe all school rules and regulations;
- Maintaining an active interest in the student's daily work and helping to make sure that students complete assigned homework;
- Reading all communications from the school, signing, and returning them promptly when required;
- Cooperating with the school in attending conferences set up for the exchange of information of the child's progress in school;
- Communicate with the school administration with any comments or concerns regarding their childrens' education.
To achieve the above goals, the Board directs the Administration of the District to do the following:
- Ensure proper protocols are followed in order to evaluate family engagement;
- Confirm teachers and staff are knowledgeable and trained in what the expectations are for the District with respect to school rules.
Relations with Community
The Board believes community engagement can benefit student academic and extracurricular achievement. The Board has identified three main goals related to community engagement:
- Broaden students' education opportunities by bringing community members in to talk to students about government, business, community activities, etc.
- Engaging with community members to address, if possible, social and health conditions present in the community that can interfere with learning, including but not limited to crime, drug abuse, nutrition, and health care.
- Improving representative and participatory government by engaging with citizens on their concerns about education governance.
The Administration shall make every effort to maximize opportunities to meet the above goals. It shall conduct annual meetings involving school leadership personnel to discuss opportunities to engage with the community.
Legal Analysis
In accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), school districts are required to maintain parent and family engagement. This policy furthers that directive by providing additional guidance. See 20 U.S.C. § 6318; 20 U.S.C. § 6312. Additionally, the district must follow FERPA to protect student privacy. Every effort to comply with policy should be mindful of that requirement. See 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99.