B. Each local public school board shall conduct a parent orientation course according to the following guidelines: (1) The program shall be scheduled to accommodate the attendance of the parents or guardians without the loss of work. (2) All parents or guardians shall be encouraged to attend as many times as they wish. (3) The school board shall provide every parent or guardian who attends the program a certificate verifying completion of the course. (4) At the parent orientation meeting, the school board or its representative shall provide each parent or guardian a copy of and shall explain school board policies which: (a) Govern the discipline of students, including but not limited to corporal punishment, detention, suspension, and expulsion of students. (b) Govern the attendance of students and truancy sanctions. (c) Govern the behavior and decorum expected of students at all times. (d) Govern dress codes for students for all school functions, including but not limited to in-school and out-of-school functions, including but not limited to dances. (e) Address parental access to instructional materials as provided in R.S. 17:355. (f) Address any other such matters as the school board may deem appropriate. (5) At the parent orientation meeting, the school board or its representative shall explain: (a) Existing school board grading systems. (b) Standardized test procedures in effect, including but not limited to preparation for tests, procedures to be followed on the testing days, and an explanation of the assessment of the test results. (c) Policies governing promotion of students from grade to grade and procedures implemented when a student fails to attain sufficient Standard for promotion. (d) Other such matters as the school board may deem appropriate. C. Repealed by Acts 2014, No. 436, § 2(B), effective June 4, 2014. D. A local public school board shall schedule not less than three orientation meetings during a school year, and at various times during the day, in order to facilitate attendance with as little inconvenience to the parents or guardians as possible. In order to carry out the intent and purpose of this Section, a school board shall schedule not less than three orientation meetings between March and September of each year, and shall publish notice and otherwise seek to notify parents or guardians whose children may enter a school in the system about the availability of and schedule for orientation meetings.

A. It is hereby found and declared that: (1) It has been clearly demonstrated that parental involvement in the schools is directly related to better student achievement, attitudes, and performance in school. (2) Demographics of the American family are changing to the degree that significant numbers of children attending school come from families with single parents, families in which both parents are employed outside the home, families in which one or more of the parents lack the education and skill to assist their children in learning, and from environments in which the primary caregiver is not the biological parent. (3) These demographics mean that current approaches to developing and maintaining partnerships between families and educators require review and modification to make them more responsive to the needs of both families and schools. (4) The division of state agencies and functions often inhibits the development of coordinated policies to improve family involvement in the learning achievement of children and in the management of the schools. (5) Effective approaches to involving families more fully as partners in the process of their children’s learning require the participation and coordination of numerous state and local, public and private agencies and should be encouraged as a matter of state policy. B. The purpose of this Part is to encourage state and local agencies to increase the involvement of parents and families in the improvement of the learning achievement of children and in the life of the schools.

The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall develop and issue necessary and appropriate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Part. Such rules and regulations shall include but need not be limited to a requirement that the state Department of Education, each city and parish school board, and each public elementary and secondary school identify a person or persons who shall serve as a parental advocate for the respective school, school board, or state agency. It shall be the function of each such parental advocate to develop and encourage positive means for increasing parental and family involvement and participation in the process of learning by children and in the life of the schools, to listen to and seek to resolve complaints made by parents and families against the respective school, school board, or state agency, and to assist the administrators and other employees of the respective school, school board, and state agency to improve communication and coordination with parents and families.

A. (1) The purpose of this Section is to provide a family-school partnership to increase parental involvement in schools, to involve individuals and organizations that work with parents, and implement parental strategies that lead to improvements in student academic achievement as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

• (2) It is further the purpose of this Section to authorize experimentation in strategies to increase parental involvement in schools and to establish a mechanism by which the results of such strategies can be evaluated and positive results identified and replicated in city, parish, and other local public school systems throughout the state.

B. (1) A demonstration program is hereby established for two school years, beginning with the 2003-2004 school year.

A. The governing authority of each public elementary and secondary school is authorized and encouraged to partner with individuals, community and faith-based groups and organizations, and nonprofit and for-profit entities to design and implement programs to increase parental involvement in children’s education and schools. B. The governing authority of each public elementary and secondary school may: (1) Identify and encourage participation in parenting classes that are designed to increase parental involvement, are provided at low or no cost to parents, and that provide parents with information and skills related to improving student performance, including but not limited to the following: (a) How to be a positive role model for children and motivate them to do well in school. (b) How to maximize the benefits of parent-teacher conferences. (c) The importance of sleep and good nutrition in school performance. (d) How to help with homework assignments and to establish an environment conducive to their completion. (e) Techniques for students to improve study habits and classroom performance. (f) How to access and use any technology provided by the school or school governing authority that furnishes information about school assignments, activities, and events and about student attendance and performance. (g) The importance of school attendance and the consequences of truancy. (h) How to help students prepare for entrance into postsecondary education or the workforce. (i) Ways of becoming involved in a child’s school, including volunteer opportunities. (2) Provide recognition in the following ways to schools and classes in which a high percentage of parents participate in at least two parenting classes: (a) Solicit donations from individuals, community and faith-based groups and organizations, and nonprofit and for-profit entities to fund rewards such as equipment, supplies, field trips, and other educational activities. (b) Devise other ways of providing recognition to schools and classes as well as to participating parents. C. (1) The governing authority of each public elementary and secondary school shall encourage and provide opportunities for parents who participate in parenting classes to encourage participation by other parents, including those whose children are entering a school for the first time. (2) The governing authority of each public elementary and secondary school and the state Department of Education may identify available funding sources that may be used to provide for such parenting classes.

Template on implementing family engagement policies.