Office of Sen.

Mike Johnston
Colorado General Assembly | 200 E. Colfax Avenue | Denver, CO 80203 | 303.866.4864

SB 13-193 CONCERNING INCREASING PARENT ENGAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Staff Name: Trey Arbuckle What the Bill Does: SB 13-193 requires the holding of public meetings prior to plans being written for school improvement or turnaround plans. Additionally, several measures are implemented to increase parent engagement in the school. These measures include: publicizing openings on district and school accountability committees, soliciting parents to serve on these committees, and improving communications between schools and parents. The state advisory council for parent involvement in education will work with district and school accountability committees as well as the department of education to increase parental engagement, and it will use key indicators to develop metrics for measuring parental engagement. This council will report its findings on parent engagement annually. Finally, each school district and the state charter school institute shall identify and submit to the department of education the name of an employee who is responsible for parental engagement. Colorado Context: Currently school accountability committees are charged with various oversight responsibilities and are empowered to provide input on a range of school matters, including: the evaluation of principals, the development of school discipline and conduct codes, budget decisions, and the preparation of school performance and improvement plans. These committees do not have any responsibility or authority for cultivating parental engagement with schools and school districts under current law. Many voices in Colorado have been encouraging further parental engagement in schools because of the conventional wisdom, backed up by various studies,1 that students perform better academically when their parents are engaged.2 The sense
1

FACT SHEET MEMORANDUM

See, e.g., Parental Involvement in Schools, National Center for School Engagement, http://www.schoolengagement.org/index.cfm/index.cfm/Parental%20Involvement%20in %20Schools. 2 A Google search for parent engagement in schools Colorado brings up hits from Colorado school districts, the Colorado Department of Education, and education-focused non-profit organizations in Colorado providing tools and information on how parents can get more involved in the education of their children. See, e.g., Why Parental Involvement is Crucial to Your Childs Success, Colorado Education, http://www.ourcoloradonews.com/education/academic/why-parental-involvement-is-crucialto-your-child-s-success/article_cc9e940a-648b-11e1-af15-0019bb2963f4.html.

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For a complete list of fact sheets, visit www.mikejohnston.org/in-the-legislature.

is that while schools value parent involvement, they have not always known how best to encourage further parent involvement.3 National Context: In New York, home of the largest school system in the country, there has been widespread discontent with the current level of parent involvement,4 and while many practical solutions have been promised and implemented, at least in part, there does not seem to be a statutory mandate comparable to the bill proposed here. There are several states in different parts of the country with comparable statutes, for example: Nevada,5 Rhode Island,6 Arkansas,7 and California.8 There seems to be a growing recognition across the country that parent involvement is critical to the academic success of children. Each of the state statutes mentioned above are attempts at improving the partnerships between parents and schools. Bill Provisions: Each school district accountability committee has the following powers and duties: o increase the level of parent engagement in the school district and in the public schools of the school district. Each school accountability committee has the following powers and duties: o publicize and hold a public meeting to discuss strategies to include in a public school priority improvement or turnaround plan; o publicize and participate in a public hearing held to review a written public school priority improvement or turnaround plan; o increase the level of parent engagement in the school district and in the public schools of the school district. The school accountability committee for the institute charter school shall hold a public meeting to receive input concerning possible strategies to be included in school priority improvement plans as well as school turnaround plans.
3

Jennifer Kelly, Voices: Parent Engagement in Schools, EdNews Colorado, March 7, 2013, http://www.ednewscolorado.org/voices/voices-parent-engagement-in-schools.
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Lisa Fleisher, Parents Seen Less Involved in Schools, WALL ST. J., Sept. 20, 2012, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444620104578008643997428504.html. 5 Nev. Rev. Stat. 392.457 (The State Board shall . . . adopt a policy to encourage effective involvement and engagement by parents and families in support of their children and the education of their children.) 6 R.I. Gen. Laws 16-94-5 (establishing a family engagement advisory council and defining its duties in the pursuit of better family-school partnerships). 7 Ark. Code 6-15-1702 (Each public school district and each public school within its boundaries, in collaboration with parents, shall establish a parental involvement plan, including programs and practices that enhance parental involvement and reflect the specific needs of students and their families.) 8 Cal. Educ. Code 11502 (stating the purpose and goal of The Programs to Encourage Parental Involvement: assisting parents develop skills to use at home, improving lines of communication between parents and schools, and developing parent involvement programs as part of schools master plan).

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For a complete list of fact sheets, visit www.mikejohnston.org/in-the-legislature.

School priority improvement plans and school turnaround plans must incorporate strategies to increase parent engagement in the public schools. Members of the Colorado state advisory council (council) for parent involvement in education may receive reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in performing their duties. The council shall work with the school district accountability committees and school accountability committees to increase the level of parent engagement with the public schools and with school districts. The council shall work with the department to provide regional training programs for school district accountability committees and school accountability committees to increase parent engagement with schools and school districts. The council shall develop a metric for measuring parent engagement and make an annual report of its findings. Each school district and state charter school institute board shall identify an employee whose responsibilities include increasing parent engagement with the school district, the public schools of the school district, and the charter schools, respectively. The school accountability committee shall hold a public meeting to solicit input from parents concerning the contents of a school priority improvement plan or school turnaround plan before the plan is written. The school district board of education shall hold and attend a public hearing after the plan is written to review the required plan prior to final adoption. The state charter school institute board shall do the same for charter schools that are adopting a school priority improvement plan or school turnaround plan.

Fiscal Impact: Although SB13-193 will have some sort of fiscal impact, as of March 7, 2013, no fiscal note has yet been published.

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For a complete list of fact sheets, visit www.mikejohnston.org/in-the-legislature.