It is also a time when districts and county offices of education are required to provide various notifications to students and their parents. Making sure notifications reach students’ homes keeps parents and guardians informed regarding educational programs, school operations and their children’s legal rights. “Reminding everyone of the rules and of their rights at the outset is a great way to ensure a smooth and successful school year,” said CSBA Senior Policy Consultant Diane Greene.
According to Greene, there are some 25–35 annual notifications that need to be sent out at the start of each academic year. The information can be provided by regular mail, in electronic form when requested by the parent or by any other method that the district /COE normally uses for written communication with parents. As a reminder, if 15 percent or more of the students enrolled in a school speak a single primary language other than English, notices sent to the parent of those students must be provided in both English and the primary language of the student.
While some notifications are familiar to districts and parents, several new notification requirements go into effect this school year:
- 25-35 annual notifications are required to be sent to parent and guardians at the start of the school year
- Three brand new notifications are required for the 2018–19 school year
- Assembly Bill 699 (O’Donnell, D-Long Beach), Educational equity –Requires annual notifications to inform parents of their child’s right to a free public education regardless of immigration status or religious beliefs and to include a statement that a student’s citizenship, place of birth or national origin will not be released without parental consent or a court order.
- AB 500 (Bloom, D-Santa Monica), Employee codes of conduct – If the district has an employee code of conduct that addresses employee interactions with students, parents must be provided those sections of the code of conduct. The applicable language might be found in district policy, employee handbooks and/or the codes of conduct adopted by the district based on recommendations of the professional associations for certificated, classified or administrative personnel. These sections of the code of conduct must also be posted on school and district websites.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Memorandum SP-23-2017 – The district’s policy on delinquent meal payments must be communicated in writing to all households at the start of each school year and whenever a student transfers into the district during the school year. In order to ensure that the information reaches all parents, the California Department of Education states that districts should include the policy in registration materials distributed at the beginning of the school year, in student handbooks, with applications for free and reduced-price meals, on the district’s website and when notifying parents that their child’s meal account has a low or negative balance.
Even when annual notifications are not required to be sent at the beginning of the school year, they are commonly circulated with back-to-school materials for the convenience of parents and schools. CSBA has put together a comprehensive list of these annual notifications in the exhibit to Board Policy 5145.6 – Parental Notifications to help districts and COEs make sure they are meeting all of their notification requirements.
Parents, guardians and students are not the only ones to receive notifications this time of year. Several of the required annual staff notifications, including those regarding policies on sexual harassment, legal remedies, and complaints, are also distributed at the start of employment or the beginning of the school year. “As with students, back to school is also a great opportunity to remind staff of their rights and responsibilities.” Greene said. A complete list of employee notifications and the time of year that they must be sent out is available in the exhibit to CSBA sample Board Policy 4112.9/4212.9/4312.9 – Employee Notifications.