This toolkit is designed to help school personnel facilitate family and community engagement through the continuous improvement process and implementation of a family and community engagement plan.

The Legislature finds and declares: (1) That parental involvement is a key factor in the education of children; (2) That parents need to be informed of the educational practices affecting their children; and (3) That public schools should foster and facilitate parental information about and involvement in educational practices affecting their children. It is the intent of the Legislature, through the enactment of sections 79-531 to 79-533, to strengthen the level of parental involvement and participation in the public school system of the state.

On or before July 1, 1995, each public school district in the state shall develop and adopt a policy stating how the district will seek to involve parents in the schools and what parents’ rights shall be relating to access to the schools, testing information, and curriculum matters.

The policy required by section 79-531 shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) How the school district will provide access to parents concerning textbooks, tests, and other curriculum materials used in the school district; (2) How the school district will handle requests by parents to attend and monitor courses, assemblies, counseling sessions, and other instructional activities; (3) Under what circumstances parents may ask that their children be excused from testing, classroom instruction, and other school experiences the parents may find objectionable; (4) How the school district will provide access to records of students; (5) What the school district’s testing policy will be; and (6) How the school district participates in surveys of students and the right of parents to remove their children from such surveys.

The policy required by section 79-531 shall be developed with parental input and shall be the subject of a public hearing before the school board or board of education of the school district before adoption by the board. The policy shall be reviewed annually and either altered and adopted as altered or reaffirmed by the board following a public hearing.