| 1 | 1 | | 81R11177 CS-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Olivo H.B. No. 3569 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to plans and procedures encouraging parental involvement |
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| 8 | 8 | | in public schools. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding |
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| 11 | 11 | | Section 26.016 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 26.016. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT PLAN. (a) Each public |
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| 13 | 13 | | school district shall establish a parental involvement plan for |
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| 14 | 14 | | each district school that reflects the needs of students and their |
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| 15 | 15 | | families. Parents of children enrolled in the district shall be |
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| 16 | 16 | | consulted as the district develops the plan. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) The parental involvement plan for a school shall: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) involve parents of students at all grade levels in |
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| 19 | 19 | | a variety of roles; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) be comprehensive and coordinated; and |
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| 21 | 21 | | (3) recognize that communication between a student's |
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| 22 | 22 | | home and school should be regular, two-way, and meaningful. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (c) A school shall encourage communication with parents by |
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| 24 | 24 | | preparing and distributing age- and grade-appropriate family kits |
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| 25 | 25 | | describing: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) the school's parental involvement plan; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2) the recommended role of the parent, student, |
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| 28 | 28 | | teacher, and school; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) ways for parents to become involved in school and |
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| 30 | 30 | | in their childrens' education; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (4) activities planned throughout the school year to |
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| 32 | 32 | | encourage parental involvement; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | (5) a system to allow the parent to communicate with |
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| 34 | 34 | | teachers and the principal in a regular, two-way, and meaningful |
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| 35 | 35 | | manner. |
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| 36 | 36 | | (d) A school shall schedule at least two parent-teacher |
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| 37 | 37 | | conferences for each student during a school year. |
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| 38 | 38 | | (e) A school shall create a parent center to: |
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| 39 | 39 | | (1) welcome parents to the school and provide parental |
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| 40 | 40 | | support and assistance; |
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| 41 | 41 | | (2) provide access to community resources to |
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| 42 | 42 | | strengthen school programs, family practices, and student |
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| 43 | 43 | | learning; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (3) provide parents access to teachers and key school |
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| 45 | 45 | | personnel; and |
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| 46 | 46 | | (4) provide students and parents with a space to build |
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| 47 | 47 | | relationships with other students, parents, teachers, and school |
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| 48 | 48 | | personnel. |
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| 49 | 49 | | (f) A school shall aid parents in assisting a student by |
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| 50 | 50 | | scheduling regular "Parents Make the Difference" evenings where |
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| 51 | 51 | | parents are given a report on the state of the school and an |
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| 52 | 52 | | overview of: |
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| 53 | 53 | | (1) the material students will learn; |
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| 54 | 54 | | (2) how students will be assessed; |
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| 55 | 55 | | (3) what parents should expect for their childrens' |
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| 56 | 56 | | education; and |
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| 57 | 57 | | (4) how parents can assist in their childrens' |
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| 58 | 58 | | education. |
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| 59 | 59 | | (g) A school may not adopt policies or procedures that |
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| 60 | 60 | | discourage a parent from visiting the school, including policies: |
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| 61 | 61 | | (1) requiring a parent to pick up a child outside the |
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| 62 | 62 | | school building; |
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| 63 | 63 | | (2) requiring a parent to present personal |
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| 64 | 64 | | identification to gain entrance to the school building; or |
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| 65 | 65 | | (3) prohibiting a parent from visiting a child's |
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| 66 | 66 | | classroom during school events. |
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| 67 | 67 | | (h) A school shall survey parents who want to volunteer in |
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| 68 | 68 | | school and determine: |
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| 69 | 69 | | (1) what types of volunteer work parents want to do; |
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| 70 | 70 | | (2) how frequently a volunteer wants to participate; |
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| 71 | 71 | | and |
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| 72 | 72 | | (3) options for parents who want to volunteer from |
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| 73 | 73 | | home. |
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| 74 | 74 | | (i) After completing the survey under Subsection (h), a |
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| 75 | 75 | | school shall publish a volunteer resource book and distribute the |
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| 76 | 76 | | book to school employees. |
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| 77 | 77 | | (j) A school shall encourage parents to participate in the |
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| 78 | 78 | | decisions that affect their children by: |
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| 79 | 79 | | (1) routinely publishing the school's procedure for |
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| 80 | 80 | | resolving parental concerns, including how to define the problem, |
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| 81 | 81 | | who the parent should approach first, and how to develop solutions; |
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| 82 | 82 | | and |
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| 83 | 83 | | (2) sponsoring seminars to inform the parents of high |
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| 84 | 84 | | school students about how to be involved in the decisions affecting |
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| 85 | 85 | | course selection, career planning, and preparation for |
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| 86 | 86 | | post-secondary opportunities. |
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| 87 | 87 | | (k) A school shall take advantage of community resources by: |
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| 88 | 88 | | (1) contacting alumni from the school and creating an |
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| 89 | 89 | | alumni advisory commission to provide advice and guidance for |
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| 90 | 90 | | school improvement; |
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| 91 | 91 | | (2) developing cards with tips for fostering a child's |
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| 92 | 92 | | success in school and recruiting local employers to include the |
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| 93 | 93 | | cards in employee paycheck envelopes; and |
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| 94 | 94 | | (3) engaging in partnership with institutions of |
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| 95 | 95 | | higher education located in the community. |
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| 96 | 96 | | (l) The principal of each school shall designate one |
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| 97 | 97 | | educator for every 300 students enrolled in the school to serve as a |
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| 98 | 98 | | parent facilitator to organize meaningful training for staff and |
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| 99 | 99 | | parents promoting parental involvement in the school and to promote |
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| 100 | 100 | | parental involvement as an asset to the school. An educator |
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| 101 | 101 | | designated as a parental facilitator is entitled to receive |
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| 102 | 102 | | supplemental pay for the assigned duties. |
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| 103 | 103 | | (m) The State Board for Educator Certification shall |
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| 104 | 104 | | require at least two hours each year of continuing education for |
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| 105 | 105 | | educators other than administrators designed to enhance |
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| 106 | 106 | | understanding of effective parental involvement strategies. |
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| 107 | 107 | | (n) The State Board for Educator Certification shall |
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| 108 | 108 | | require at least three hours each year of continuing education for |
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| 109 | 109 | | administrators to enhance understanding of effective parental |
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| 110 | 110 | | involvement strategies and the importance of administrative |
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| 111 | 111 | | leadership in setting expectations and creating a climate conducive |
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| 112 | 112 | | to parental participation. |
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| 113 | 113 | | (o) Each school district shall review and update the |
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| 114 | 114 | | district's parental involvement plan each school year and file a |
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| 115 | 115 | | copy of the plan with the agency. The agency shall review each |
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| 116 | 116 | | parental involvement plan for compliance with this section. The |
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| 117 | 117 | | agency shall send written notification to a district whose plan is |
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| 118 | 118 | | not in compliance with Subsection (a) and shall allow the district |
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| 119 | 119 | | an opportunity to correct its plan. |
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| 120 | 120 | | SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date |
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| 121 | 121 | | of this Act, a school district shall adopt a parental involvement |
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| 122 | 122 | | plan as required by Section 26.016, Education Code, as added by this |
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| 123 | 123 | | Act. |
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| 124 | 124 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 125 | 125 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 126 | 126 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 127 | 127 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 128 | 128 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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