SECTIONS 51120-51124 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 51120-51124

51120. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that a critical
dimension of effective schooling is parental involvement. Research
indicates that parental involvement in a child's education improves
pupil achievement. The Legislature further finds and declares that
school districts and schools, in collaboration with parents,
teachers, pupils, and administrators, by establishing and developing
proper efforts that enhance parental involvement, are taking a
pivotal step in encouraging pupil success.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article
to encourage and enhance pupil achievement through parental
involvement in education.

51121. (a) The Nell Soto Parent/Teacher Involvement Program is
hereby established for the purpose of providing grant awards to
schools in which a majority of teachers and parents agree to
strengthen the communication between schools and parents as a means
of improving pupil academic achievement.
(b) Any school district or charter school that maintains
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, the California
School for the Deaf, or the California School for the Blind may
operate a parent/teacher involvement program at any schoolsite that
meets each of the requirements set forth in subdivision (c).
(c) The program shall include all of the following elements:
(1) At least 50 percent of the teachers employed at the schoolsite
voluntarily agree to participate in either periodic visits to the
homes of their pupils or in community meetings that are held at times
and locations that are convenient to parents.
(2) At least 50 percent of the parents or guardians of pupils
enrolled at the schoolsite have voluntarily signed a
parent/teacher/pupil compact in which parents agree to participate in
periodic home visits or community meetings. The compact shall also
encompass the elements of the parent involvement policy adopted by
the State Board of Education on September 9, 1994.
(3) A teacher or teaching paraprofessional who participates in the
program shall receive training in strategies for communicating
effectively with parents and in conducting periodic home visits or
community meetings. These strategies may include providing parents
with guidance in how to reinforce educational objectives with their
children at home.
(4) Teachers and teaching paraprofessionals shall be compensated
for their participation in home visits or community meetings at an
hourly rate comparable to their regular base salary.
(5) A certification that participating teachers or participating
teachers paired with teaching paraprofessionals will conduct home
visits to a substantial percentage of the enrolled pupils whose
parents or guardians have voluntarily signed a parent/teacher/pupil
compact at least once annually or that, in the case of high schools
or middle schools that participate in the program, will hold at least
monthly community-based meetings at various sites located throughout
the attendance area of the high school or middle school.
(d) For purposes of this article, "teaching paraprofessional" has
the same meaning as in Section 44392.
(e) For purposes of this section, "community meetings" are
periodic public meetings held by participating schools for the
purpose of strengthening communication between the schools and
parents for the improvement of pupil academic achievement.

51122. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allocate
funds to school districts and charter schools that have certified to
the superintendent that they satisfy the conditions of subdivision
(c) of Section 51121. A qualifying school with a pupil enrollment of
fewer than 500 pupils shall receive a grant of up to fifteen thousand
dollars ($15,000). A qualifying school with a pupil enrollment of
500 to 799 pupils, inclusive, shall receive a grant of twenty
thousand dollars ($20,000). A qualifying school with a pupil
enrollment of 800 to 1,499 pupils, inclusive, shall receive a grant
of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000). A qualifying school with a
pupil enrollment of 1,500 or more pupils shall receive a grant of
thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000).
(b) The funds received pursuant to this article may be used to
compensate teachers and teaching paraprofessionals, to provide
training to teachers and teaching paraprofessionals, and to defray
other costs associated with the implementation of the Nell Soto
Parent/Teacher Involvement Program. A qualifying school shall be
funded in the order of receipt of an approval certification until all
funds available for the program have been apportioned.
(c) The total amount of the grants allocated pursuant to this
section may not exceed the total amount appropriated for the purposes
of this section.
(d) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allocate
funding appropriated for this program to the California School for
the Deaf, the California School for the Blind, and schools ranked in
the bottom five deciles on the Academic Performance Index and shall
give funding priority to the California School for the Deaf, the
California School for the Blind, and schools ranked in the lowest two
deciles.
(1) For the first year of participation in the program, a school
is eligible to receive a full grant award as listed in subdivision
(a).
(2) For the second year of participation in the program, a school
is eligible to receive a grant award not greater than three-fourths
of the appropriate amount listed in subdivision (a) and shall
provide, from local funds, one-fourth of the appropriate amount
listed in subdivision (a).
(3) For the third year of participation in the program, a school
is eligible to receive a grant award not greater than one-half of the
appropriate amount listed in subdivision (a) and shall match state
funding with the same amount of local funds.
(4) A school is eligible for no more than three grant awards. A
school that received a grant during the 2000-01 school year shall be
considered to have completed a first year of participation in the
program and is eligible to apply as a second year school.
(e) Priority for home visits shall be given to low-performing
pupils.
(f) Schools may be eligible for funding pursuant to this article
for each year from funds appropriated therefor in the annual Budget
Act or in another enactment.
(g) The Superintendent of Public Instruction may use up to
seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000), to the extent funds are
appropriated in the annual Budget Act or other enactment for purposes
of the Nell Soto Parent/Teacher Involvement Program, to administer
the program.

51123. Nothing in this article shall be construed to supersede any
valid restraining order, protective order, or order for custody or
visitation issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

51124. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall evaluate the
program established pursuant to this article regarding the impact of
the program on improving academic achievement and increasing the
involvement of parents in their children's education. The sum of
seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) from the appropriation made
for the program established pursuant to this article for the 2001-02
fiscal year may be used by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
for this evaluation. This evaluation shall be completed on or before
January 1, 2003.