(1) Each school district accountability committee has the following powers and duties: …

• (g) To increase the level of parent engagement in the school district and in the public schools of the school district, especially the engagement of parents of students in the populations described in section 22-11-301 (3). The committee's activities to increase parent engagement must include, but need not be limited to:

• (I) Publicizing opportunities to serve and soliciting parents to serve on the school district accountability committee and school accountability committees. In soliciting parents to serve on the school district and school accountability committees, the school district accountability committee shall direct the outreach efforts to help ensure that the parents who serve on the district and school accountability committees reflect the student populations that are significantly represented within the school district and the school, as provided in section 22-11-301 (3).

• (II) Assisting the school district in implementing the parent engagement policy adopted by the local school board pursuant to section 22-32-142; and

• (III) Assisting school personnel to increase parents' engagement with educators, including but not limited to parents' engagement in creating students' READ plans pursuant to part 12 of article 7 of this title, in creating individual career and academic plans pursuant to section 22-32-109 (1)(oo), and in creating plans to address habitual truancy pursuant to section 22-33-107 (3).

(1) Each school accountability committee has the following powers and duties:

• (a) To recommend to the principal of its school priorities for spending school moneys. The principal shall consider the school accountability committee's recommendations regarding spending state, federal, local, or private grants and any other discretionary moneys and take them into account in formulating budget requests for presentation to the local school board, if the school is a district public school, other than a charter school, or in creating the school budget if the school is a district or institute charter school. The school accountability committee for a district public school shall send a copy of its recommended spending priorities to the school district accountability committee and to the local school board.

• (b) To advise the principal of the public school and, in the case of a district public school, the superintendent of the school district concerning the preparation of a school performance or improvement plan, if either is required pursuant to section 22-11-210, and to submit recommendations to the principal, and superintendent if applicable, concerning the contents of the performance or improvement plan;

• (c) To advise the local school board or the institute concerning the preparation of a school priority improvement or turnaround plan, if either is required pursuant to section 22-11-210, and to submit recommendations to the local school board or the institute concerning the contents of the priority improvement or turnaround plan;

• (d) To meet at least quarterly to discuss whether school leadership, personnel, and infrastructure are advancing or impeding implementation of the public school's performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan, whichever is applicable, or other progress pertinent to the public school's accreditation contract with the local school board or the institute;

• (e) To provide input and recommendations on an advisory basis to district accountability committees and district administration concerning:

• (I) Principal development plans for their principal pursuant to section 22-9-106; and

• (II) Principal evaluations conducted pursuant to section 22-9-106.

• (f) To publicize and hold a public school accountability committee meeting pursuant to section 22-32-142 (2) or 22-30.5-520 (2) to discuss strategies to include in a public school priority improvement or turnaround plan;

• (g) To publicize a public hearing held pursuant to section 22-32-142 (2), or, if the school is an institute charter school, to publicize and hold a public hearing pursuant to section 22-30.5-520 (2), to review a written public school priority improvement or turnaround plan. A member of the school accountability committee is encouraged to attend the public hearing.

• (h) To increase the level of parent engagement in the school, especially the engagement of parents of students in the populations described in section 22-11-401 (1)(d). The committee's activities to increase parent engagement must include, but need not be limited to:

• (I) Publicizing opportunities to serve and soliciting parents to serve on the school accountability committee. In soliciting parents to serve on the school accountability committee, the school accountability committee shall direct the outreach efforts to help ensure that the parents who serve on the school accountability committee reflect the student populations that are significantly represented within the school, as provided in section 22-11-401 (1)(d).

• (II) Assisting the school district in implementing at the school the parent engagement policy adopted by the local school board pursuant to section 22-32-142; and

• (III) Assisting school personnel to increase parents' engagement with teachers, including but not limited to parents' engagement in creating students' READ plans pursuant to part 12 of article 7 of this title, in creating individual career and academic plans pursuant to section 22-32-109 (1)(oo) or 22-30.5-525, and in creating plans to address habitual truancy pursuant to section 22-33-107 (3).

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (1) of this section to the contrary, the school accountability committee for a public school is not required to implement the requirements specified in paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of this section if the department determines that the public school's school district is rural, based on the geographic size of the school district and the distance of the school district from the nearest large, urbanized area, and the school district enrolls fewer than one thousand students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

(1) (a) Each school district board of education shall adopt a district policy for increasing and supporting parent engagement in the public schools, including charter schools, of the school district. In adopting the policy, the board of education may take into account, but need not be limited to, the best practices and strategies identified pursuant to section 22-7-304 by the Colorado state advisory council for parent involvement in education and the national Standard for family-school partnerships, as defined in section 22-7-302 (5). The board of education shall work with the parent members of the district accountability committee in creating, adopting, and implementing the policy.

(1) (a) There is hereby created in the department the parent involvement in education grant program to provide moneys to assist public schools in creating and implementing programs to support greater parent involvement in the schools. The council shall assist the department in implementing the parent involvement grant program as provided in this section and shall provide advice to recipient schools to assist them in creating and implementing programs to ensure that the programs reflect the best practices identified by the council pursuant to section 22-7-304. (b) The school district of a public school, or a board of cooperative services or regional service council that operates a public school, that seeks a grant through the parent involvement grant program shall apply on behalf of the public school; except that, if the public school is a charter school, the public school may apply on its own behalf. To be eligible to receive a grant, a public school shall meet one or more of the following criteria: (I) A significant percentage, as defined by rule of the state board, of the students enrolled in the public school for the three academic years immediately preceding application were: (A) Eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch pursuant to the provisions of the federal "Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act", 42 U.S.C. sec. 1751 et seq.; or (B) English language learners, as defined in section 22-24-103 (4); (II) The dropout rate for the public school for each of the three academic years immediately preceding application exceeded the state average dropout rate for each respective year by a percentage established by rule of the state board; (III) For each of the three academic years immediately preceding application, the statewide assessment scores of students enrolled in the public school demonstrated that: (A) A significant achievement or growth gap, as defined by rule of the state board, existed among identified groups of students; or (B) The school was an academically underperforming school, as defined by rule of the state board. (c) The programs that a recipient school may fund with grant moneys received through the parent involvement grant program shall include, but need not be limited to, programs to establish: (I) Family-to-school liaison positions; (II) Parent leadership training opportunities; (III) Centers to provide parent education programs; and (IV) School-based parent information resource centers. (2) The state board shall promulgate rules pursuant to the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., as necessary for implementation of the parent involvement grant program, including but not limited to: (a) Rules as specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section and subsection (5) of this section; (b) Rules establishing the time frames for submission and review of applications and selection of recipient schools; (c) Rules specifying the information to be included in grant applications; and (d) Rules identifying any criteria for selection of recipient schools in addition to the criteria specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section. (3) The council shall review the grant applications received pursuant to this section and shall recommend recipient schools and the grant amounts to the state board. Subject to available appropriations, the state board shall annually award grants through the parent involvement grant program, which grants shall be paid from the parent involvement grant program fund created in subsection (4) of this section. (4) (a) There is hereby created in the state treasury the parent involvement grant program fund, referred to in this subsection (4) as the "fund", that shall consist of such moneys as may be credited to the fund pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (4). The moneys in the fund shall be subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly for the direct and indirect costs associated with the implementation of the parent involvement grant program. Any moneys in the fund not expended for the purpose of this section may be invested by the state treasurer as provided by law. All interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund; except that any unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund as of June 30, 2019, shall be transferred to the general fund. (b) The council shall seek and may accept gifts, grants, and donations from private or public sources for the purposes of the parent involvement grant program; except that the council shall not accept a gift, grant, or donation if it is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with this part 3 or any other law of the state. The council shall transmit all private and public moneys received through gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the fund. (c) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the state board and the department shall not implement the parent involvement grant program until such time as there is at least twenty thousand dollars credited to the fund. (d) In any fiscal year in which there is at least twenty thousand dollars credited to the fund, the department may use up to one percent of the moneys credited to the fund to offset the costs incurred in implementing the parent involvement grant program. (5) (a) Beginning in the budget year following the first budget year in which the state board awards grants pursuant to this section, each recipient school shall annually submit to the council and the department, in accordance with timelines specified by rule of the state board, a report summarizing the amount of moneys received in the preceding fiscal year from the parent involvement grant program, the manner in which the moneys were used, and the results achieved through the use of the moneys. The report shall include such additional information as may be required by rule of the state board. (b) On or before March 15 of the first year in which the council receives reports pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (5), and on or before March 15 each year thereafter, the council shall summarize the reports received pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (5) and submit the summary, with any additional pertinent information, to the state board and the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees.

Summarizes requirements for how schools should engage parents

Outlines how schools should be engaging families to support children