This brochure provides guidance to schools and educators on effective family engagement practices based on the State Board of Education's policy's six Standard of family engagement.

This policy of parental involvement and family engagement, adopted by the Nevada State Board of Education and pursuant to NRS 385.620, addresses six Standard to promote family engagement and involvement.

1. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish an Advisory Council for Family Engagement. The Advisory Council is composed of 11 members.
2. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall appoint the following members to the Advisory Council: (a) Two parents or legal guardians of pupils enrolled in public schools; (b) Two teachers in public schools; (c) One administrator of a public school; (d) One representative of a private business or industry; (e) One member of the board of trustees of a school district in a county whose population is 100,000 or more; (f) One member of the board of trustees of a school district in a county whose population is less than 100,000; and (g) One member who is the President of the Board of Managers of the Nevada Parent Teacher Association or its successor organization, or a designee nominated by the President. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that the members the Superintendent appoints to the Advisory Council reflect the ethnic, economic and geographic diversity of this State.
3. The Speaker of the Assembly shall appoint one member of the Assembly to the Advisory Council.
4. The Majority Leader of the Senate shall appoint one member of the Senate to the Advisory Council.
5. The Advisory Council shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. The Chair and Vice Chair serve a term of 1 year.
6. After the initial terms: (a) The term of each member of the Advisory Council who is appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction is 3 years. (b) The term of each member of the Advisory Council who is appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and the Majority Leader of the Senate is 2 years.
7. The Department shall provide: (a) Administrative support to the Advisory Council; and (b) All information that is necessary for the Advisory Council to carry out its duties.
8. For each day or portion of a day during which a member of the Advisory Council who is a Legislator attends a meeting of the Advisory Council or is otherwise engaged in the business of the Advisory Council, except during a regular or special session of the Legislature, the member is entitled to receive the: (a) Compensation provided for a majority of the members of the Legislature during the first 60 days of the preceding regular session; (b) Per diem allowance provided for state officers generally; and (c) Travel expenses provided pursuant to NRS 218A.655. The compensation, per diem allowances and travel expenses of the legislative members of the Advisory Council must be paid from the Legislative Fund.
9. A member of the Advisory Council who is not a Legislator is entitled to receive the per diem allowance and travel expenses provided for state officers and employees generally for each day or portion of a day during which the member attends a meeting of the Advisory Council or is otherwise engaged in the business of the Advisory Council. The per diem allowance and travel expenses for the members of the Advisory Council who are not Legislators must be paid by the Department.
10. Any costs associated with employing a substitute teacher while a member of the Advisory Council who is a teacher attends a meeting of the Advisory Council must be paid by the school district or charter school that employs the member.

The Advisory Council shall:

1. Review the policy of parental involvement adopted by the State Board and the policy of parental involvement and family engagement adopted by the board of trustees of each school district pursuant to NRS 392.457;
2. Review the information relating to communication with and participation, involvement and engagement of parents and families that is included in the annual report of accountability for each school district pursuant to NRS 385A.320 and similar information in the annual report of accountability prepared by the State Public Charter School Authority and a college or university within the Nevada System of Higher Education that sponsors a charter school pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS 385A.070;
3. Review any effective practices carried out in individual school districts to increase parental involvement and family engagement and determine the feasibility of carrying out those practices on a statewide basis;
4. Review any effective practices carried out in other states to increase parental involvement and family engagement and determine the feasibility of carrying out those practices in this State;
5. Identify methods to communicate effectively and provide outreach to parents, legal guardians and families of pupils who have limited time to become involved in the education of their children for various reasons, including, without limitation, work schedules, single-parent homes and other family obligations;
6. Identify the manner in which the level of parental involvement and family engagement affects the performance, attendance and discipline of pupils;
7. Identify methods to communicate effectively with and provide outreach to parents, legal guardians and families of pupils who are English learners;
8. Determine the necessity for the appointment of a statewide parental involvement and family engagement coordinator or a parental involvement and family engagement coordinator in each school district, or both;
9. Work in collaboration with the Office of Parental Involvement and Family Engagement created by NRS 385.630 to carry out the duties prescribed in NRS 385.635; and
10. On or before February 1 of each year, submit a report to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmission to the Legislature in odd-numbered years and to the Legislative Commission in even-numbered years, describing the activities of the Advisory Council and any recommendations for legislation.

The board of trustees of a school district may establish an advisory council on parental involvement and family engagement to work in conjunction with the Advisory Council.

1. The Office of Parental Involvement and Family Engagement is hereby created within the Department.
2. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall: (a) Appoint an employee of the Department to serve as the Director of the Office of Parental Involvement and Family Engagement; and (b) Ensure that the Office of Parental Involvement and Family Engagement has a sufficient number of personnel for the Office to carry out the duties prescribed in NRS 385.635.

1. The Office of Parental Involvement and Family Engagement created by NRS 385.630 shall: (a) Review and evaluate the programs implemented by the school districts and public schools, including, without limitation, programs which are supported in part with money received from the Federal Government, for carrying out and increasing parental involvement and family engagement in the public schools. The review and evaluation must include an identification of current strategies and practices for effective parental involvement and family engagement. (b) Develop a list of practices which have been proven effective in increasing the involvement of parents and the engagement of families in the education of their children, including, without limitation, practices that increase the ability of school districts and public schools to effectively reengage parents and families and provide those parents and families with the skills and resources necessary to support the academic achievement of their children. (c) Work in cooperation with the Statewide Council for the Coordination of the Regional Training Programs in carrying out the duties of the Office, including, without limitation, the establishment of a statewide training program concerning parental involvement and family engagement required pursuant to NRS 391A.135. (d) Provide information to the school districts and public schools on the availability of competitive grants for programs which offer: (1) Professional development for educational personnel on practices to reengage disengaged parents and families in the education of their children; (2) Training for parents and families in skills of leadership and volunteerism; (3) Family literacy training; (4) Home visitation programs to encourage the involvement of parents and the engagement of families in the education of their children; and (5) Other innovative programs that are designed to increase the involvement of parents and the engagement of families in the academic achievement of their children. (e) Provide support to those school districts which have established an advisory council on parental involvement and family engagement pursuant to NRS 385.625 and encourage those school districts which have not established such an advisory council to consider creating an advisory council for the school district. (f) Build the capacity of public schools to work in collaboration with parents to establish policies for the involvement of parents and the engagement of families, including, without limitation, policies that focus on partnerships between public schools and the parents and families of children enrolled in public schools and the empowerment of parents and families in support of the education of their children. (g) Work in cooperation with the Commission on Professional Standard in Education in developing the regulations required by paragraph (g) of subsection 1 of NRS 391.019 and monitoring the implementation of those regulations. (h) Establish, in collaboration with the State Board, guidelines to assist parents and families in helping their children achieve the Standard of content and performance adopted by the State Board pursuant to NRS 389.520. (i) Collaborate with the Nevada State Parent Information and Resource Center, the Parent Training and Information Centers, the Nevada Parent Teacher Association, the Advisory Council and the teachers who are trained to serve as liaisons to parents and legal guardians of pupils enrolled in public schools to plan and implement a statewide summit on parental involvement and family engagement, which must be held at least biennially. After each summit, the Office of Parental Involvement and Family Engagement shall evaluate the success of the summit in consultation with the entities identified in this paragraph. (j) Assist each school district and the public schools within the school district with incorporating strategies and practices for effective parental involvement and family engagement into the plans to improve the achievement of pupils prepared by the public schools pursuant to NRS 385A.650. (k) Work in partnership with the Advisory Council to: (1) Review and evaluate the annual reports of accountability prepared by the board of trustees of each school district pursuant to NRS 385A.070 relating to parental involvement and family engagement in the school districts and public schools; (2) Review and evaluate the plans to improve the achievement of pupils prepared by each public school pursuant to NRS 385A.650 relating to the strategies and practices for effective parental involvement and family engagement incorporated into the plans; and (3) Review the status of the implementation of the provisions of this section and the effectiveness of the Office in carrying out the duties prescribed in this section.
2. On or before August 1 of each year, the Office of Parental Involvement and Family Engagement shall prepare a report which includes a summary of the: (a) Status of the progress made by the school districts and public schools in effectively involving parents and engaging families in the education of their children and an identification of any areas where further improvement is needed; and (b) Activities of the Office during the immediately preceding school year, including the progress made by the Office, in consultation with the Advisory Council, in assisting the school districts and public schools with increasing the effectiveness of involving parents and engaging families in the education of their children.
3. The Department shall post on its Internet website: (a) The list of practices developed by the Office of Parental Involvement and Family Engagement pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1; (b) The report prepared by the Office pursuant to subsection 2; and (c) Any other information that the Office finds useful for the school districts, public schools, parents, families and general public relating to effective parental involvement and family engagement.

1. The State Board shall, based upon the recommendations of the Teachers and Leaders Council of Nevada submitted pursuant to NRS 391.460, adopt regulations establishing a statewide performance evaluation system which incorporates multiple measures of an employee’s performance. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, the State Board shall prescribe the tools to be used by a school district for obtaining such measures. (d) Include an evaluation of whether the teacher, or administrator who provides primarily administrative services at the school level or administrator at the district level who provides direct supervision of the principal of a school, and who does not provide primarily direct instructional services to pupils, regardless of whether the probationary administrator is licensed as a teacher or administrator, including, without limitation, a principal and vice principal or licensed educational employee, other than a teacher or administrator, employs practices and strategies to involve and engage the parents and families of pupils.

1. The evaluation of an administrator pursuant to NRS 391.705 or 391.710 must comply with the regulations of the State Board adopted pursuant to NRS 391.465, which must include, without limitation: (d) An evaluation of whether the administrator employs practices and strategies to involve and engage the parents and families of pupils enrolled in the school;

1. The State Board shall, in consultation with the boards of trustees of school districts, educational personnel, local associations and organizations of parents whose children are enrolled in public schools throughout this State and individual parents and legal guardians whose children are enrolled in public schools throughout this State, adopt a policy to encourage effective involvement and engagement by parents and families in support of their children and the education of their children. The policy adopted by the State Board must be considered when the Board:

   • (a) Consults with the boards of trustees of school districts in the adoption of policies pursuant to subsection 3; and
   • (b) Interacts with school districts, public schools, educational personnel, parents, legal guardians and families of pupils, and members of the general public in carrying out its duties pursuant to this title.

2. The policy adopted by the State Board pursuant to subsection 1 must include the following elements and goals:

   • (a) Promotion of an atmosphere for parents and families to visit the school that their children attend and feel welcome, valued and connected to the staff of the school, other parents and families and to the education of their children.
   • (b) Promotion of regular, two-way, meaningful communication between parents, families and schools relating to learning by pupils.
   • (c) Collaboration among parents, families and schools to support learning by pupils and healthy development of pupils at home and school.
   • (d) Empowerment of parents and families to advocate for their children and the children of other parents and families to ensure that all pupils are treated fairly and have access to learning opportunities that support pupil achievement.
   • (e) Promotion of an equal partnership between parents, families and schools in making decisions that affect children, parents and families and in informing, influencing and creating school policies, practices and programs.
   • (f) Collaboration of parents, families and schools with the community to connect pupils, parents, families and schools with learning opportunities, community services and civic participation.

The teacher professional responsibilities Standard address family engagement as a key standard.