BILL REQ. #:  H-3929.1 

Read first time 01/10/2006.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to increasing parent and community involvement efforts within diverse communities; adding a new section to chapter 28A.300 RCW; creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that language and cultural differences, as well as economic hardship, can create barriers to effective parental involvement in the schools for some families. Some schools and school districts are taking innovative steps to successfully reach out and include the parents of immigrant students, students of color, and low-income students in the life of the school. Some schools and school districts are also working hard to involve community organizations that are reflective of their diverse student bodies in the life of the school as a way to create an educational environment that maximizes student learning. It is the legislature's intent to dedicate new funding to support and replicate successful parent and community involvement models within diverse student populations.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall administer a competitive grant program designed to increase parent and community involvement efforts within diverse communities.
     (2) Schools or school districts may submit an application to the office of the superintendent of public instruction to receive a grant under this section. No more than three proposals may be submitted from a single school district.
     (3) The superintendent shall convene an application review committee that includes school personnel, parents, community-based organizations, refugees and immigrants, persons representing different regions of the state, and persons with expertise in cultural competency. The review committee shall consider such factors as need as indicated by student poverty and test scores, demonstration of previous strengths in parent and community involvement, parent involvement in decision making, cultural relevancy, and program outcomes based on quantitative and qualitative evidence.
     (4) Grants shall be awarded for a one-year period, but recipients may apply for a renewal of the grant for a second year. The superintendent shall award no more than ten grants per year. The amount of a grant may range from twenty-five to fifty thousand dollars.
     (5) The objectives of a program funded under this section are to increase school or school district capacity to work with diverse families and increase parent leadership and parenting skills. Grant recipients shall allocate their grant funds evenly between these two objectives.
     (a) To increase capacity, grant recipients should collaborate with community organizations to develop cultural competency skills through professional development training; establish a welcoming, reflective, and accessible school climate; create plans for community conversations between school administration and the target population; and assess current parent and community involvement efforts for relevancy, success, and sustainability.
     (b) To increase parent leadership and parenting skills, grant recipients should collaborate with community organizations to provide nontraditional pathways for engagement in schools; develop parent leadership and parenting skills in culturally appropriate and respectful ways; and recognize and use the inherent strengths of parents.
     (6) Grant recipients shall submit a report at the end of the year to the office of the superintendent of public instruction with quantitative and qualitative data that demonstrate increased participation of families in schools and institutional change in the schools as a result of the program. The report shall also include a summary of the program, best practices, challenges, and benefits. The superintendent shall make the reports available to other interested schools and districts.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The sum of five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of this act.