Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1680 By Senator Storms 10-01565A-11 20111680__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to parental or guardian involvement 3 and accountability in public schools; creating s. 4 1008.347, F.S.; providing a purpose and principles 5 concerning parental or guardian involvement; providing 6 strategies that a parent or guardian may use to 7 support and improve student achievement; requiring 8 that teachers and schools develop information or use 9 existing information to share with parents or 10 guardians; specifying the type of information to be 11 shared; requiring that prekindergarten through grade 3 12 teachers monitor and assess the quality of parent or 13 guardian involvement for each student; requiring that 14 the teacher mail an evaluation of parental or guardian 15 involvement under certain circumstances; requiring 16 that the State Board of Education adopt rules 17 establishing an appeals process; requiring 18 implementation beginning with the 2012-2013 school 19 year; providing an effective date. 20 21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22 23 Section 1. Section 1008.347, Florida Statutes, is created 24 to read: 25 1008.347 Parental or guardian involvement and 26 accountability in public schools.— 27 (1) PURPOSE.—Although the school environment has a great 28 impact on a child’s well-being and academic success, parents or 29 guardians and the home environment form the foundation of a 30 child’s present and future life. Without proper parental or 31 guardian involvement in all aspects of a child’s life, the 32 child’s prospects for becoming a well-equipped and useful member 33 of society are greatly diminished. The purpose of this section 34 is to facilitate the provision of information and tools to 35 parents or guardians of prekindergarten through grade 12 36 students which enable them to have a positive impact on their 37 child’s educational success and to set standards for parental or 38 guardian accountability. 39 (2) PRINCIPLES.— 40 (a) Parental or guardian involvement is most effective when 41 it is comprehensive, well planned, and continues throughout the 42 school year. 43 (b) Parental or guardian involvement should be 44 developmental, with a preventive rather than remedial approach, 45 and should be an integral part of a strategy to improve student 46 achievement. 47 (c) Parents or guardians do not need to be formally 48 educated in order to provide the support and assistance 49 necessary to improve the academic performance of their child. 50 (d) At-risk children have the most to gain from parental or 51 guardian involvement. 52 (3) STRATEGIES.—Strategies that parents or guardians may 53 employ to support the learning of their children and improve 54 student achievement include, but are not limited to: 55 (a) Attending parent-teacher or guardian-teacher 56 conferences during which the student’s strengths and weaknesses 57 are discussed and goals for the student are collaboratively set. 58 (b) Maintaining correspondence with the child’s teachers 59 through submission of signed forms and signed homework 60 assignment sheets and responding to formal requests for 61 conferences. 62 (c) Establishing a home environment that supports the child 63 as a student. 64 (d) Contacting the teacher if a problem or issue arises 65 regarding homework, absences or makeup assignments, or a 66 situation in the home that may disturb the student’s 67 performance. 68 (e) Facilitating the student’s performance in school by 69 monitoring homework completion and test preparation and helping 70 with curriculum-related activities. 71 (f) Providing for the student’s on-time attendance at 72 school, preventing frequent absences from school, and providing 73 needed school supplies. 74 (4) SHARED INFORMATION.—Teachers and schools shall develop 75 information packets, forms, or videos, or shall use existing 76 information packets, forms, or videos, in order to share 77 information with each parent or guardian, and the parent or 78 guarding shall provide written acknowledgement of receiving the 79 information. The shared information may be presented in the 80 parent or guardian guide to successful student achievement or in 81 the checklist of parental or guardian actions, as required under 82 s. 1002.23, both of which provide expectations of parents or 83 guardians with respect to: 84 (a) Requirements for school attendance. 85 (b) A child’s physical readiness for school, which 86 includes, but is not limited to: necessary school supplies, 87 which may be obtained through various organizations if needed; 88 meals, which may be obtained through a school’s free or reduced 89 priced meal program if qualified; and immunizations and medical 90 care. 91 (c) A child’s academic work, including time set aside for 92 daily homework and reading, nightly check of homework completion 93 and preparation for tests, early preparation of assigned school 94 projects, signatures on required forms, and check of contents of 95 the school backpack. 96 (5) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 97 (a) In order to help parents or guardians establish a home 98 environment that supports the child as a student, each teacher 99 shall monitor and assess the quality of the involvement of the 100 parent or guardian of each student in his or her class. A report 101 shall be sent by mail to each parent or guardian of a 102 prekindergarten through grade 3 student which contains the 103 teacher’s evaluation of parental or guardian involvement as 104 “satisfactory,” “needs improvement,” or “unsatisfactory” on each 105 of the following criteria: 106 1. Parental or guardian response to requests for 107 conferences or communication. 108 2. The student’s completion of homework and preparation for 109 tests. 110 3. The student’s physical preparation for school, which has 111 an effect on mental preparation. 112 4. The frequency of the student’s absence and tardiness. 113 (b) The report shall be mailed to a student’s parent or 114 guardian only if one of the following occurs during any academic 115 quarter: 116 1. Five unexcused absences or 10 unexcused tardy 117 attendances for the student; or 118 2. Five requests for communication between the student’s 119 teacher and the parent or guardian have passed without any 120 communication occurring. 121 (6) APPEALS PROCESS; RULES.—The State Board of Education 122 shall adopt rules establishing an appeals process by which the 123 principal, the teacher, and the parent or guardian meet and 124 discuss how the involvement grade was determined. The meeting 125 must also include a discussion on the steps needed to improve 126 the involvement grade and improve the environment and elements 127 that affect student learning and achievement. 128 (7) IMPLEMENTATION.—This section shall be implemented 129 beginning with the 2012-2013 school year. 130 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.