Parent Involvement and the Law
Studies have documented that regardless of the economic, ethnic, or cultural background of the family, parent involvement in a child’s education is a major factor in determining success in school. Recognizing that parents are a child’s first teacher, National PTA has worked with federal legislators to include parent involvement requirements in education laws. Now, numerous laws require meaningful parent involvement, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).National PTA worked with Congress to initiate the PARENT Act, which sought to strengthen the parent participation policies in the ESEA.
In January 2002, the ESEA was signed into law as the No Child Left Behind Act. It authorizes more than 40 programs that provide federal funds to nearly every school district in the nation. This law now includes many of the provisions of the PARENT Act and, for the first time, bases the definition of parent involvement on National PTA’s National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs.
