The State Superintendent of Education shall:

(1) promote parental involvement as a priority for all levels from pre-K through grade 12, with particular emphasis at the middle and high school levels where parental involvement is currently least visible;

(2) designate a Department of Education staff position whose specific role is to coordinate statewide initiatives to support school and district parental involvement;

(3) collect and disseminate to districts and schools practices shown by research to be effective in increasing parental involvement at all grade levels;

(4) provide parental involvement staff development training for district and school liaisons, as needed;

(5) provide technical assistance relating to parental involvement training to districts and schools;

(6) sponsor statewide conferences on best practices;

(7) identify, recommend, and implement ways to integrate programs and funding for maximum benefit to enhance parental involvement;

(8) enroll the Department of Education as a state member of national organizations which promote proven parental involvement frameworks, models, and practices and provide related services to state and local members;

(9) promote and encourage local school districts to join national parental involvement organizations; and

(10) monitor and evaluate parental involvement programs statewide by designing a statewide system which will determine program effectiveness and identify best practices and report evaluation findings and implications to the General Assembly, State Board of Education, and Education Oversight Committee.

HISTORY: 2000 Act No. 402, Section 1.