Article 2. Nell Soto Parent/teacher Involvement Program of California Education Code >> Division 4. >> Title 2. >> Part 28. >> Chapter 1.5. >> Article 2.

(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.

(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.

(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.

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.

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.