While administrators and teachers are busy trying to figure out
what the No Child Left Behind Act means for them, parents should be
doing the same.
Various organizations have online resources explaining what
parents, under the federal law, have a right to know about,
including military recruitment, bilingual education, teacher
quality, report cards on school performance and school safety.
The National Parent Teacher Association and the U.S. Department
of Education are just a few of the organizations. The parent
involvement and parent’s guide sections of each Web site details
five areas.
While administrators and teachers are busy trying to figure out what the No Child Left Behind Act means for them, parents should be doing the same.
Various organizations have online resources explaining what parents, under the federal law, have a right to know about, including military recruitment, bilingual education, teacher quality, report cards on school performance and school safety.
The National Parent Teacher Association and the U.S. Department of Education are just a few of the organizations. The parent involvement and parent’s guide sections of each Web site details five areas.
– Military recruitment – The school district must notify parents of high school students that military recruiters have access to each student’s name, address, telephone number and other information.
Under the law, military recruiters are entitled to this information unless the parent says no.
– Bilingual education – Parents of children identified as needing English language assistance must be notified within 30 days of the start of the school year that they have the right to remove their child from the bilingual education program.
If a child is placed mid-year, schools are required to notify parents within two weeks of their right to decline.
– Teacher quality – If a child is attending a Title I school (schools that receive money for improving the academic achievement of the disadvantaged), the school district must notify parents of their right to request information about the professional qualifications of the child’s classroom teachers. This includes whether the teachers have met state criteria and information about their college degrees and majors.
If a child is instructed by a paraprofessional (teacher’s aide), parents have the right to request their qualifications.
Also under the law, the school must notify parents if a non-highly qualified teacher teaches their children for more than four consecutive weeks.
– Report cards – Under No Child Left Behind, parents must be informed about the academic achievement and progress of their school in comparison with other schools in their district and state.
– Safety of schools – School districts must allow students who attend a “persistently dangerous” public school to transfer to a safe public school within the district. Persistently dangerous is defined by each state.
For more information on parent rights, contact your child’s teacher or principal. Visit the National PTA at www.pta.org or the No Child Left Behind Web site at www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml.
