BOARD POLICY - 6020
The Board of Education promotes active parent/guardian and family engagement to support overall student well-being. Involving parents/guardians and families as partners in supporting the success of our students and the continuous improvement of our schools is a key tenet of the Irvine Unified School District. This policy and accompanying regulations are intended to 1) promote open communication, 2) establish opportunities for active participation and shared leadership, 3) build school and parent capacity for strong family engagement, and 4) ensure the Irvine Unified School District’s (IUSD) adherence to legal requirements for state and federal programs.
The Board of Education believes that active parent and family engagement is vital to student learning and success. Students achieve more if they receive the continued support of parents/guardians, families, and other significant adults.
The Superintendent or designee shall work with parents/guardians and family members to jointly develop and agree upon strategies to involve parents/guardians and family members in advisory, decision-making, and advocacy roles and to participate in District and school activities at all grade levels.
Parents/guardians shall be notified of their rights to participate in their children’s education and of the opportunities available to do so. Within established parameters, families have the right to observe instruction and other school activities that involve their children. Schools will regularly provide information to families to help them understand how to support the learning environment at both home and school.
As outlined in Board Policy 0460: Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) the District shall include goals and strategies for parent/guardian involvement and family engagement, including District efforts to seek parent/guardian input in District and school site decision-making and to prompt parent/guardian participation in programs for English learners, foster youth, students eligible for free and reduced-price meals, and students with disabilities.
The Superintendent or designee shall regularly evaluate and report to the Board of Education on the effectiveness of the District’s parent/guardian and family engagement efforts which shall include input from parents/guardians, family members, and school staff on the adequacy of involvement opportunities and on barriers that may inhibit participation.
Title I Schools
The Superintendent or designee shall involve parents/guardians and family members in establishing District expectations and objectives for parent/guardian and family engagement in schools supported by Title I funding, and develop strategies that describe how the District will carry out each activity listed in 20 USC 6318.
Expenditures of such funds shall be consistent with the activities specified in this policy and shall include at least one of the following:
- Support for schools and nonprofit organizations in providing professional development for District and school staff regarding parent/guardian and family engagement strategies.
- Support for programs that reach parents/guardians and family members at home, in the community, and at school.
- Dissemination of information on best practices focused on parent/guardian and family engagement, especially best practices for increasing the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents/guardians and family members.
- Collaboration, or the provision of subgrants to schools to enable collaboration, with community-based or other organizations or employers with a record of success in improving and increasing parent/guardian and family engagement.
- Any other activities and strategies that the District determines are appropriate and consistent with this policy.
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that each school receiving Title I funds develops a school-level parent/guardian and family engagement policy in accordance with 20 USC 6318.
District and school-level parent/guardian and family engagement policies shall be distributed to parents/guardians of students participating in Title I programs and shall be available to the local community. Parents/guardians shall be notified of the Policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent feasible, provided in a language the parents/guardians can understand.
Non-Title I Schools
The Superintendent or designee shall develop and implement strategies applicable to each school that does not receive federal Title I funds to encourage the involvement and support of parents/guardians in the education of their children. These strategies shall include describing how the District and schools will address the purposes and goals described in Education Code 11502.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
11500-11506 Programs to encourage parent involvement
48985 Notices in languages other than English
51101 Parent rights and responsibilities
52060-52077 Local control and accountability plan
54444.1-54444.2 Parent advisory councils, services to migrant children
56190-56194 Community advisory committee, special education
64001 Single plan for student achievement
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20
6311 State plan
6312 Local educational agency plan
6314 Schoolwide programs
6318 Parent and family engagement
6631 Teacher and school leader incentive program, purposes and definitions
Policy Adopted: June 5, 1991
Policy Revised: October 20, 1992
Policy Revised: August 10, 1999
Policy Revised: November 13, 2018
Policy Revised: September 10, 2024
Parent/Guardian and Family Engagement Administrative Regulation