• School events and school-related groups that would welcome your attendance or
participation;
• Information you may request about your child’s teacher and any instructional
paraprofessional who works with your child in the Title I program,;
• Your child’s grades and progress reports;
• State and local testing and promotion requirements;
• Records pertaining to your child and your right, under certain circumstances,
to consent or deny their release;
• Conferences with your child’s teacher; and
• Procedures to follow if you have a concern that isn’t resolved by a
conference.
YOUR INVOLVEMENT AS A PARENT
Working Together
A child’s education succeeds best when there is a strong partnership between
home and school, a partnership that thrives on communication. Your involvement
in this partnership may include:
• Encourage your child to put a high priority on education and working with your
child on a daily basis to make the most of the educational opportunities the
school provides. Be sure your child comes to school each day prepared, rested,
and ready to learn.
• Becoming familiar with all of your child’s school activities and with the
academic programs, including special programs, offered in the District. Discuss
with the counselor or principal any questions you may have about the options and
opportunities available to your child. Monitor your child’s academic progress
and contact teachers as needed. [See Academic Counseling on page14.]
• Attending schedule conferences and requesting additional conferences as
needed. To schedule a telephone or in-person conference with a teacher,
counselor, or principal, please call the school office. A teacher will usually
return your call or meet with you during his or her conference period or at a
mutually convenient time before or after school. [See Report Cards, Progress
Reports and Conferences on page 35]
• Becoming a volunteer. For further information, see policy GKG and contact
Campus principal.
• Participating in campus parent organizations. Parent organizations include:
PTO’s , Band Booster, Athletic Booster, etc.
• Offering to serve as a parent representative on the District-level or
campus-level planning committees assisting in the development of educational
goals and plans to improve student achievement. For further information, see
policies at BQA and BQB, and contact Assistant Superintendent at 855-3321.
• Attending Board meetings to learn more about District operations. [See
policies BE and BED for more information.]
Obtaining Information and Protecting Student Rights
Your child will not be required to participate without parental consent in any
survey, analysis, or evaluation-funded in whole or in part by the U.S.
Department of Education – that concerns:
• Political affiliations or beliefs of the student’s parent.
• Mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family.
• Sexual behavior or attitudes.
• Illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior.
• Critical appraisals of individuals with whom the student has a close family
relationship.
• Relationships privileged under law, such as relationships with lawyers,
physicians, and ministers.
• Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or parents.
• Income, except when the information is required by law and will be used to
determine the student’s eligibility to participate in a special program or to
receive financial assistance under such as program.
You will be able to inspect the survey or other instrument and any instructional
materials used in connection with such a survey, analysis, or evaluation. [For
further information, see policy EF.]
“Opting Out” of Surveys and Activities
As a parent, you also have a right to receive notice and opt your child out of
participating in:
• Any survey concerning the private information listed above.
• School activities involving the collection, disclosure, or use of personal
information collected from your child for the purpose of marketing of selling
that information.
• Any non emergency, invasive physical examination or screening required as a
condition of attendance, administered and scheduled by the school in advance and
not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of the student.
Exceptions are hearing, vision, or scoliosis screenings, or any physical exam or
screening permitted or required under state law. See policies EF and FFAA.
Parents also have a right:
• To request information regarding the professional qualifications of your
child’s teachers, including whether the teacher has met state qualification and
licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher
provides instruction; whether the teacher has an emergency permit or other
provisional status for which state requirements have been waived; and
undergraduate and graduate degree majors, graduate certifications, and the field
of study of the certification or degree. You also have the right to request
information about the qualifications of any paraprofessional who may provide
services to your child.
• To review teaching materials, textbooks, and other teaching aids and
instructional materials used in the curriculum, and to examine tests that have
been administered to your child.
• To inspect a survey created by a third party before the survey is administered
or distributed to your child.
• To review your child’s student records when needed. These records include:
* Attendance records,
* Test scores,
* Grades,
* Disciplinary records,
* Counseling records,
* Psychological records,
* Applications for admission,
* Health and immunization information,
* Other medical records,
* Teacher and counselor evaluations,
* Reports of behavioral patterns, and
* State assessment instruments that have been administered to your child.
(See Student Records on page 42).
• To grant or deny any written request from the District to make a videotape or
voice recording of your child. State law, however, permits the school to make a
videotape or voice recording without parental permission for the following
circumstances:
* When it is to be used for school safety;
* When it relates to classroom instruction or a co-curricular or
activity; or
* When it relates to media coverage of the school.
• To remove your child temporarily from the classroom, if an instructional
activity in which your child is scheduled to participate conflicts with your
religious or moral beliefs. The removal cannot be for the purpose of avoiding a
test and may not extend for an entire semester. Further, your child must satisfy
grade-level and graduation requirements as determined by the school and by the
Texas Education Agency.
• To request that your child be excused from participation in the daily
recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag and the Pledge
of Allegiance to the state flag. The request must be in writing. State law does
not allow your child to be excused from participation in the required moment of
silence or silent activity that follows. See Pledges of Allegiance and a Minute
of Silence on page 33.
• To request that your child be excused from reciting a portion of the text of
the Declaration of Independence during Celebrate Freedom Week. The request must
be in writing. State law requires the recitation as part of social studies
classes in grades
3-12 unless (1) you provide a written statement requesting that your child be
excused, (2) the District determines that your achievement. For further
information, see policies at BQA and BQB, and contact the Assistant
Superintendent at 855.-3321.
• Attending Board meetings to learn more about District operations. (See
policies BE and BED for more information).
