The San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education is set to discuss and potentially vote on a new policy that would articulate guidelines for parental and family involvement and information about students' participation in programs, activities and organizations offered by their schools.

The California Department of Education requires a "Family and Parental Engagement Policy" with board approval from school districts receiving state funding aimed at addressing equity gaps in education under Title 1.

District administrators and staff have developed a recommended policy in line with the state requirements, which is on the table for the board's review and consideration at their next meeting.

"The policy outlines how we will conduct outreach to parents and caregivers to solicit their input on how to implement programs, activities, and procedures that impact participating children," assistant superintendent Christine Huajardo and Superintendent John Malloy wrote in a staff report.

"Input on family and parent engagement strategies will be gathered through family surveys, discussion forums, and steering committee meetings," they continued. "The district will distribute the policy to parents and families of children served under Title 1 Part A. The policy is distributed to families through a variety of sources including email, site newsletters, and our website once approved."

The new policy will include regular meetings and a written agreement with parents and caregivers of students receiving Title 1 services, as well as an annual review of the effectiveness of the outreach efforts and an annual meeting with parents and staff at all schools receiving Title 1 funding.

"Once we obtain information on how to make our meetings, sites, etc. more accessible to parents, we will utilize evidence-based strategies in attempts to improve parent/caregiver engagement," district staff wrote in the proposed policy. "This could include, but is not limited to, providing meetings during various times of the day, allowing parents to access meetings from home through an interface such as Zoom, or providing childcare to families with small children."

The SRVUSD board's next regular meeting is set for Tuesday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m. The agenda is available here.

In other business

* The board is set to vote on revisions to its transitional kindergarten policies in alignment with new state requirements that mean all public schools must incrementally expand these programs to be available to all children four-years-old or more by the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.

* The board is set to vote on revisions to its policy on school-connected organizations, including parent-teacher associations and booster clubs.