No Child Left Behind and Title I:
The Written Parent Involvement Policy
In Short
According to Title I, Section 1118, schools receiving Title I funds are REQUIRED to:
- Jointly develop with, agree upon, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parental involvement policy.
- Notify parents of the policy in an understandable and uniform format, and to the extent practicable, in a language that the parents can understand.
- Hold an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents shall be invited and encouraged to attend.
What the Law Says....
Both School Disctricts AND Schools, if they are receiving Title I funds, are required to have a written parent involvement policy. Following are the relevant sections of Section 1118 of Title I:
For the District
The law states that the School District....
...shall develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parent involvement policy. The policy shall be incorporated into the local educational agency’s plan developed under section 1112, establish the agency’s expectations for parent
involvement, and describe how the agency will —
(A) involve parents in the joint development of the plan under section 1112, and the process of school review and improvement under section 1116;
(B) provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance;
(C) build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement as described in subsection (e);
(D) coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under this part with parental involvement strategies under other programs, such as the Head Start program, Reading First program, Early Reading First program, Even Start program, Parents as Teachers program, and Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, and State-run preschool programs;
(E) conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under this part, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or
are of any racial or ethnic minority background), and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parental
involvement policies described in this section; and
(F) involve parents in the activities of the schools served under this part.
For the School
The law states that the school....(b)...shall jointly develop with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parental
involvement policy, agreed on by such parents, that shall describe the means for carrying out the requirements of subsections (c) through (f ). Parents shall be notified of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language the parents can understand. Such policy shall be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school....(4) PARENTAL COMMENTS- If the plan under section 1112 is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the local educational agency shall submit any parent comments with such plan when such local educational agency submits the plan to the State....
(c) POLICY INVOLVEMENT- Each school served under this part shall —
(1) convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school’s participation under this part and to explain the requirements of this part, and the right of the parents to be involved;
(2) offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation,
child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement;
(3) involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning,
review, and improvement of programs under this part, including the planning,
review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan under section 1114(b)(2), except that if a school has in place a process for involving parents in the joint planning and design of the school’s programs, the school may use that process, if such process includes an adequate representation of parents of participating children;
(4) provide parents of participating children —
(A) timely information about programs under this part;
(B) a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the
school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet; and
(C) if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible; and
(5) if the schoolwide program plan under section 1114(b)(2) is not satisfactory
to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the
plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational
agency.
(d) SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT- As a component of the school-level parental involvement policy
developed under subsection (b), each school served under this part shall jointly
develop with parents for all children served under this part a school-parent compact
that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility
for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the
school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the
State’s high standards. Such compact shall —
(1) describe the school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum
and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that
enables the children served under this part to meet the State’s student
academic achievement standards, and the ways in which each parent will be
responsible for supporting their children’s learning, such as monitoring
attendance, homework completion, and television watching; volunteering in
their child’s classroom; and participating, as appropriate, in decisions
relating to the education of their children and positive use of extracurricular
time; and
(2) address the importance of communication between teachers and parents
on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum —
(A) parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least
annually, during which the compact shall be discussed as the
compact relates to the individual child’s achievement;
(B) frequent reports to parents on their children’s progress; and
(C) reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and
participate in their child’s class, and observation of classroom
activities.
Additional Resources
Download full text of Title I, Section 1118 (PDF) or 
Read on the Internet
Most Recent List of NH Schools Designated as In Need of Improvement under NCLB
Federal Information on School Accountability
