Parent Empowerment
Parent Empowerment provisions provide parents of pupils who are, or will be, enrolled in a low-achieving school that meets certain eligibility requirements the option to petition the Local Educational Agency (LEA) to implement reform in the school.The Parent Empowerment Act enables parents and legal guardians who are dissatisfied with their children’s struggling schools to voice their discontent and overhaul the structure and operations of their schools. The law creates a process which allows parents of students in low-performing schools to sign a petition to implement one of the intervention models – replacing all or some of the staff, turning the school over to a charter operator, transforming it through some programs, or closing the school altogether. This Web page highlights the topics and links to other sections which are of particular interest and provides information, resources and support to parents and guardians.
An Overview of Parent Empowerment
California Education Code (EC) sections 53300-53303
established the Parent Empowerment Act which was signed
into law on January 7, 2010 and made effective on April 12, 2010.
The Parent Empowerment provisions (California Code of Regulations [5 CCR] sections 4800–4808) provide a parent of pupils who are, or will
be, enrolled in a school that is not identified as a "persistently
lowest-achieving school" pursuant to EC Section 53201
, but is subject to corrective action pursuant to
paragraph (7) of Section 1116(b) of the federal Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.), continues to fail to make
adequate yearly progress (AYP), and has an academic
performance index (API) score of less than 800, the option
to petition the LEA to implement a particular reform in the school.
The options to reform include, and are limited to, the four interventions
identified in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of EC Section 53202(a)
and the federally mandated alternative governance
arrangement pursuant to Section 1116(b)(8)(B)(v) of the federal ESEA.
Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ's)
FAQ's about Parent Empowerment provisions
providing parents the option to petition reform in the school for pupils who
are, or will be, enrolled in a low-achieving school.
Definition of
a Subject School
A brief definition of a subject school for Parent Empowerment purposes.
Rights of Parents and
Guardians
A brief description of the rights of parents and guardians.
Descriptions of Interventions
A Parent
Empowerment petition requests the Local educational Agency (LEA) to implement
one or more of four interventions.
Contents of a Parent Empowerment
Petition
California Code of Regulations, Title 5 (5 CCR) Section 4801 specifically addresses petition signatures for a
Parent Empowerment petition.
Petitions Requesting a Charter
Restart
There are additional provisions for dealing with a petition that
requests a charter restart.