Parent rights promised by NCLB often not exercised

by Keith Weissglass

Photo: Harvey Finkle

Organizations are trying to publicize parents' new options and roles under the No Child Left Behind law, particularly in schools identified as not making adequate yearly progress.

The No Child Left Behind law (NCLB) guarantees parents a number of new rights designed to improve their children's educational opportunities. However, local parent involvement advocates report that few parents are exercising these rights.

Inaccessible information, poor communication, and daily life demands are among the factors cited in explaining why many parents fail to take advantage of their rights under the federal education law.

But advocates also point out another factor: if more parents pursued their options, such as free tutoring or transferring their child to a better school, the demand would quickly overwhelm the system.

"I just don't think the message is getting out," said parent Patricia Raymond, president of the Philadelphia Home and School Council. "If I could sit and talk to every parent on an individual basis, the system would be flooded with applications."

An even lesser-known component of the law than school choice or tutoring options is a set of provisions requiring parental involvement in school planning and restructuring at persistently underperforming schools.

Germaine Edwards of Temple University's Laboratory for Student Success observes that while some parents understand No Child Left Behind and the rights it provides them, many "have a general knowledge that it is out there, but they haven't really gotten the information to put it into practice."

Stephanie D. Robinson, director of the Pennsylvania Parent Information & Resource Center (PA PIRC), adds, "When I ask parents about this, they don't believe they have any options. They do not believe school choice exists. In terms of the free tutoring, they're not clear how to go about that."

"We know that a lot of information is not explained to parents in terms they can understand," Robinson continues. "It's not enough just to disseminate information. Parents need to know how to use information . . . . It is not fair to jump into 'AYP' without explaining what it is."

Community and parent involvement organizations, such as Temple's Laboratory for Student Success, which is supporting the implementation of the District's new Parent Help Desks at many schools, say they are working with the District to inform and empower parents.

All parties agree greater parent involvement is a laudable objective. But funding limitations make widespread participation in school choice and in tutoring - referred to under NCLB as "supplemental educational services" or SES - problematic goals.

"In reality, if every parent stepped up to the plate and wanted SES from an outside provider, it would probably bankrupt the District because there are so many children eligible for it," says Raymond. Reiterating a common criticism of the act, she adds, "Even though we know No Child Left Behind is a phenomenal law... it could use some more funding."

The District, in its own letter sent out with SES application forms, warns, "The School District anticipates that it may not have sufficient funds to serve all students eligible for SES, and the School District reserves the right, if available funds are insufficient, to set priorities, such as cut-off scores based on the TerraNova test, in order to determine which eligible students may receive these services."