2014-2015  MANDATED NCLB TITLE I, PART A, PARENT NOTIFICATIONS   

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires all Title I schools to notify parents at the beginning of each new school year of critical information regarding its Title I status, the professional qualifications of its classroom teachers and paraprofessionals, and the school-parent compact.

To ensure uniformity of the notifications, staff in the Department of External Funding has developed templates for schools to use when notifying parents of the campus’ Title I status and its teachers’ and paraprofessionals’ qualifications. Please use the templates provided, since they contain the components necessary to meet federal and state regulations.  Note that a template is not included for the school-parent compact notification. Each school, with the involvement of parents, must develop its own compact based on the needs of the campus.

The required notifications are as follows:

1. Title I Program Status (template provided) – Notification must inform parents of the school’s participation in the Title I, Part A, program and the parents’ right to be involved in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s Title I program. [NCLB Section 1118(c)(1)(A)]
2. Teacher and Paraprofessional Qualifications (template provided) – Notification must explain parents’ right to request information regarding their children’s classroom teachers’ professional qualifications, including: 

• Whether the teacher has met state qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
• Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.
• The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.
• Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.  [NCLB Section 1111(h)(6)(A)]

1. School-Parent Compact – Notification must describe the school-parent compact which outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share responsibility for improving student academic achievement. The school-parent compact must include a description of:

• The school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment.
• Parents’ responsibility for supporting their students learning including attendance, homework, and positive use of extracurricular time.
• School and parent communication, including parent-teacher conferences and frequent reports to parents on their children’s academic progress.
• How parents can volunteer and participate in the school and how they can request classroom observations. [NCLB Section 1118(d)]

All parent notifications are required to be disseminated in an understandable and uniform format and in a language that parents can understand. Attached are templates—in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese—that have been developed for the Title I Status notification and the Teacher/Paraprofessional Qualifications notification. Each attachment includes all three languages. 

If you have questions or need additional information, contact Tiffany A. Green, Grants Administrator, at 713-556-6928 or tgreen9@houstonisd.org. 

AHT/PE:dp

Attachment

c: Pamela Evans 

Title I Program Specialists