This Family Engagement Toolkit is designed for facility and school administrators. It provides tools that can be adapted to promote family involvement in a facility school. The tools are intended to be used by program staff to help encourage families--including those who are reluctant, have been affected by trauma, or are unsure of how to become…

This guidebook is designed for institutional leaders and student success teams who are ready to talk openly about the students they serve and who are eager to learn practical strategies from national experts and peer institutions. We cannot design an experience that meets our students where they are unless we holistically understand who they are.…

In early August 2020, as educators prepared for an uncertain school year, there was a worrying theme from school district homeless liaisons: numbers of identified homeless students were down--in some cases, significantly down--despite evidence of increased need. In September and October of 2020, a survey was conducted of local educational agency…

A core responsibility of the local education agencies (LEAs) that operate kindergarten-through-12th grade (K-12) schools across the United States is creating safe and secure environments that support effective teaching and learning. To help them meet this obligation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Cybersecurity and…

Parents expect school districts and schools to keep their children safe while they are in school. That expectation of safety and security also extends to the protection of their children's learning data. Therefore, it is critical that school districts and schools are open and transparent about their student data privacy practices, and that those…

In response to the February 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, President Donald Trump established the Federal Commission on School Safety to review safety practices and make meaningful and actionable recommendations of best practices to keep students safe. The Commission conducted field visits,…

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was passed in 1974 and revised in 1996. This act, also known as the Buckley Amendment, guarantees parents access to their children's education records and limits the disclosure of those records. The revised law regards most information that teachers, school administrators, and education…

Summarizes Meira Levinson's argument that parental choice by and large reduces autonomy and, therefore, ultimately reduces the liberty of each succeeding generation. Recommends that all public educators read this book to grasp the magnitude of the potential effects that privatization of education may have on liberty and choice of future…

Considers what rights children should have in their education. Argues that international tribunals should consider whether children have the right to participate in decisions about the type of education they receive and what rights they have under international law if they disagree with their parents' choices. Describes the convention and urges…

Chapter 1 is the largest federal education program in existence. It provides extra services to help low-achieving students and is targeted primarily at areas where low-income families reside. Parent involvement in designing and implementing the program is an essential part of Chapter 1. However, the parent involvement component is often not as…

Parental rights and state compulsory school attendance requirements are limited by constitutional constraints, as shown in three benchmark cases. The article also cites cases to show the impact of compulsory education laws on home schooling, which is increasing. The state retains the power to impose minimum curriculum requirements. Cites…

This resource manual presents information on mediation practices in special education disagreements between the school and parents. The manual provides an overview of requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and gives definitions for alternative dispute resolution processes, such as arbitration and litigation. A chart…

Discusses the debate over proper balance between a school board's authority to prescribe a uniform curriculum and parent's First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, citing a recent Tennessee case which determined that uniform use of objectionable texts is not crucial for a sound education. (WTH)

This report discusses the use of mediation and alternative dispute resolution approaches in special education disagreements between the school and the parents of a child with a disability. The procedural safeguards and due process provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are explained. The report notes alternative…

Legal challenges to state compulsory attendance laws have emphasized four interrelated constitutional claims. Under provisions of the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, parents have challenged the state's authority to require public school attendance in lieu of home instruction and private, religious organizations have refused to comply…