House Bill 4

AN ACT TO ENCOURAGE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS; TO PROVIDE THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH INFORMATION AND TOOLS SHALL BE PROVIDED TO PARENTS OF STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 12; TO SET STANDARDS FOR PARENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SPECIFYING CAUSES FOR STUDENT UNDERACHIEVEMENT; PROVIDING PRINCIPLES ON WHICH PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IS BASED; TO PROVIDE STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH REQUIRED SHARED INFORMATION BETWEEN TEACHERS, SCHOOLS AND PARENTS; TO REQUIRE TEACHERS TO ASSIGN A PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT GRADE ON STUDENT REPORT CARDS; TO REQUIRING THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO ADOPT AN APPEALS PROCESS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

WHEREAS, parent accountability has decreased, and efforts undertaken to increase parental involvement is critical to improving student academic performance, addressing student misbehavior and monitoring daily attendance; and

WHEREAS, it has been determined that legislative policies are enacted which specify: purposes to provide information and tools to parents of K-12 students and to set standards for parental accountability; causes for student underachievement; principles on which parental involvement is based and strategies to improve student achievement; requirements for shared information between teachers, schools and parents; requirements for K-3 teachers to assign parental involvement grade on student report cards; and requirements for an appeals process; and

WHEREAS, although the school environment has a great impact on a child's well-being and academic success, parents and the home environment form the foundation of a child's present and future life; and

WHEREAS, parental involvement is most effective when it is comprehensive, well planned, and continues throughout the school year, and without proper parental involvement in all aspects of a child's life, the child's prospects to be a well-equipped and useful member of society are greatly diminished; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The purpose of this act is to provide information and tools to parents of students enrolled in kindergarten through Grade 12 to enable them to have a positive impact on their child's educational success and to set standards for parental accountability.

SECTION 2. (1) (a) Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, each local school district having an accreditation rating of "C," "D," or "F" shall develop a policy for use by professional school counselors to recognize and address the following behaviors with respect to the relationship between a child's home and school are identified as possible causes for a student's underachievement:

(i) A child is not physically prepared for the school day due to inadequate rest or improper clothing, lack of necessary school supplies, or frequent tardiness or absence;

(ii) A child is not mentally prepared for the school day due to uncompleted homework or inadequate preparation for tests; and

(iii) Communication between parents and the teacher is often written rather than through personal contact and often occurs only when a problem has arisen rather than on a consistent basis throughout the school year.

(b) School districts that have been designated with an "A" or "B" accreditation rating shall have the discretion to implement parental involvement and accountability practices upon a decision of the local school board to opt in for the use of such practices.

(2) The policy adopted by local school boards opting to implement parental involvement and accountability practices shall:

(a) Be inclusive of measures to be implemented to provide developmental parental involvement with a preventive rather than remedial approach and an integral part of a strategy to improve student achievement;

(b) Not require parents to be formally educated on approaches to provide support and assistance to improve the academic performance of their child; and

(c) Include intensive intervention to address at-risk children of the district, who have the most to gain from parental involvement.

(3) Parents are encouraged to support the learning of their children and improve student achievement through:

(a) Attendance of parent-teacher conferences as requested by district and school during which the student's strengths and weaknesses are discussed and goals for the student are collaboratively set;

(b) Maintaining correspondence with the child's teachers through submission of signed forms and signed homework assignments and respond to formal requests for conferences with teachers;

(c) Contacting the teacher if a problem or issue arises with homework, a situation in the home that may disturb the student's performance, or absences and make-up assignments; and

(d) Providing for the student's on-time attendance, prevent frequent absences and ensuring the student is equipped with necessary school supplies.

SECTION 3. (1) Teachers and schools in districts that have opted to implement parental involvement and accountability practices shall develop information packets, forms or videos for sharing the most current student information with each parent with written acknowledgement of receipt. The shared information may be presented in the parent guide to successful student achievement or in the checklist of parental actions that can strengthen parental involvement in a child's educational progress, and includes:

(a) Expectations of parents with respect to school attendance requirements;

(b) Expectations of parents with respect to a child's physical readiness for school, necessary school supplies, which may be obtained through various organizations if needed, meals, which may be obtained through a school's free or reduced priced meal program if qualified; and immunizations and medical care; and

(c) Expectations of parents with respect to a child's academic work, including time set aside for daily homework and reading, nightly check of homework completion and preparation for tests, early preparation of assigned school projects, signature on required forms, and check of contents of school backpack.

(2) Each report card for students in kindergarten through Grade 12 shall include a section in which the teacher grades parental involvement as satisfactory, in need of improvement or unsatisfactory on each of the following criteria:

(a) Parental response to requests for conferences or communication;

(b) The student's completion of homework and preparation for tests;

(d) The student's overall grade per nine (9) week's assessment.

(3) A parent may appeal the report card parental involvement grade assigned by the teacher under subsection (2) of this section through a process adopted by the local school board in which the principal, the teacher and the parent meet to discuss how the report card grade was determined. The meeting shall also provide information and feedback on the steps needed to improve the parental involvement grade, thereby improving the environment and elements that affect student learning.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.