Section 51121 Of Article 2. Nell Soto Parent/teacher Involvement Program From California Education Code >> Division 4. >> Title 2. >> Part 28. >> Chapter 1.5. >> Article 2.
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.