It is the purpose and goal of this chapter to do all of the following: (a) To engage parents and family members positively in their children’s education by providing assistance and training on topics such as state academic Standard and assessments to develop knowledge and skills to use at home to support their children’s academic efforts at school and their children’s development as responsible future members of our society. (b) To inform parents that they can directly affect the success of their children’s learning, by providing parents with techniques and strategies that they may utilize to improve their children’s academic success and to assist their children in learning at home. (c) To build consistent and effective two-way communication between family members and the school so that parents and family members may know when and how to assist their children in support of classroom learning activities. (d) To train teachers, school administrators, specialized instructional support personnel, and other staff to communicate effectively with parents as equal partners. (e) To integrate and coordinate parent and family engagement activities with the local control and accountability plan adopted pursuant to Section 47606.5, 52060, or 52066, as applicable, with other programs.

The governing board of each school district and county office of education shall establish a written parent and family engagement program for each school in the district that receives funds under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), as amended by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95). That program shall contain at least the following elements: (a) Procedures to ensure that parents and family members are consulted and participate in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of the program. (b) Procedures to involve parents and family members in developing the Local Educational Agency Plan and school support and improvement plans under Section 6312 of Title 20 of the United States Code. (c) Procedures to provide assistance and support necessary to build schools’ capacity to plan and implement effective parent and family engagement activities. (d) Procedures to train teachers, school administrators, and other staff on outreach and effective communication with parents and family members as equal partners. (e) Regular and periodic programs throughout the school year that provide for training, instruction, and information on all of the following: (1) Parental and family member ability to directly affect the success of their children’s learning through the support they give their children at home and at school. (2) Explanation of curriculum, state academic achievement Standard, and state and local assessments. (3) Home activities, strategies, and materials that can be used to assist and enhance the learning of children both at home and at school. (4) Skills to assist parents and family members in understanding the development needs of their children and in understanding how to provide positive discipline for, and build healthy relationships with, their children. (5) Developing consistent and effective communications between the school and the parents and family members concerning the progress of the children in school and concerning school programs. (f) An annual statement identifying specific objectives of the program consistent with the requirements of this section. (g) An annual review and assessment of the program’s progress in meeting those objectives. Parents shall be made aware of the existence of this review and assessment through regular school communications mechanisms and shall be given a copy upon the parent’s request.

The superintendent shall award grants to a local educational agency or consortium to pay the costs of planning and operating, on behalf of one or more qualifying schools within the local educational agency or consortium, programs that provide support services to pupils and their families at or near the school, as follows: (g) For purposes of this chapter, support services shall include case–managed health, mental health, social, and academic support services benefiting children and their families, and may include, but are not limited to: (4) Family support and parenting education, including child abuse prevention and schoolage parenting programs.

(a) The governing board of any school district may establish an early primary program consisting of same–age pupils or any combination of state preschool or child development program, kindergarten, first, second, or third grade pupils, based on an integrated, experiential, and developmentally appropriate educational program. Parent education and parent involvement shall be an integral part of the program. (b) Observation of a child over time and the use of portfolio material shall be the primary sources of assessment information for making curricular decisions in early primary programs. (c) Standardized assessment tests may be used for diagnostic purposes only, provided those tests have been demonstrated to be nonbiased, valid, and reliable. These tests shall not be used to deny admission.