Language Access in Education: Parent Participation
The National PTA’s publication, “State Laws on Family Engagement in Education,” notes that thirty-nine U.S. states have laws directing Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to craft policies regarding family engagement. Legislatures should require those policies to explicitly address the unique needs and considerations of newcomer and Limited English Proficient (LEP) parents—or first, require policies on family engagement.
REFUGEE PARENT ENGAGEMENT
Research cited by the National PTA notes that family engagement in the public school system “helps close educational gaps between children from different racial groups and socioeconomic backgrounds.” Studies of refugee parental participation programs in both Colorado and Wisconsin echo these findings, highlighting the importance of ensuring opportunities and resources for involvement.
COMMON OBSTACLES
• Lack of qualified interpreter or translator availability • Scheduling flexibility outside of work hours • Lack of reliable or timely transportation to school functions • Lack of culturally-competent and affordable childcare • Lack of knowledge necessary to navigate U.S. school systems
SOLUTIONS
Statutory change mandating inclusion of newcomer and LEP parents in LEA policies should be partnered with programmatic innovations. Programmatic innovations include parent learning centers, requiring LEP parent participation in policy-making, home-school communications requirements, parental involvement components of accreditation processes, the use of school navigators, and community/PTA partnerships.
PARAEDUCATORS
One example of the use of a school navigator program to increase LEP parent participation is increasing the role of paraeducators.
Paraeducators can be assigned to schools with high-populations of LEP or newcomer parents. In Idaho and Wisconsin, school districts employ refugee paraeducators to assist refugee families.
The qualifications required, funding mechanisms (state or local allocations), and ecosystem of caseworker support should be examined when exploring this solution.
FAMILY MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS
One example of a community or PTA partnership that may increase LEP parent participation is a family mentorship program. TESOL Press’s “Community and Family Toolkit” describes the responsibilities of a family mentor as:
Encourage attendance at school events;
Make mentee aware of resources available;
Establish a line of communication between mentee family and school;
Advocate for [or with] mentee family.
LEA POLICY
There are two types of potential revisions: adding a small line of Code specific to newcomer or LEP parent participation to existing statue or rewriting the entire statute from the lens of newcomer or LEP families and incorporating detailed references to federal requirements in local policy. Minnesota’s Learning English for Academic Proficiency and Success (LEAPS) Act provides examples of both revisions. Because this change will be unaccompanied by a fiscal note—and thereby, an increase in resources and capacity—the efficacy of statutory change alone should be weighed against likelihood of passage for each option. Legislation should also require a report to the legislature during the session following implementation.
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