District Wide Parental Involvement (Secondary Students - Parent Bill of Rights) Policy No. 549

Printable PDF Board Policy 549

The board supports parents' efforts to be involved in the technology center's education programs. This policy outlines the technology center's efforts to educate parents and support parent involvement in response to the 2014 Parents' Bill of Rights.

Parents have the right be involved in their minor child's education, including directing that education. Parents are encouraged to exercise their rights in conjunction with technology center guidance so as not to inadvertently impede their minor child's compliance with federal and state mandated requirements - including requirements related to graduation or program completion. Parents also have the right to review school records related to their minor child.

Pursuant to the 2023 Oklahoma “Parents’ Bill of Rights” (OAC 210: 10-2-3) no center employee and no Independent Contractor shall encourage, coerce, or attempt to encourage or coerce a minor child to withhold information from the child’s parent or guardian.  The center shall disclose to the child’s parent or guardian any information known to the center or its employees or an Independent Contractor regarding material changes reasonably expected to be important to a parent or guardian regarding their child’s health, social or psychological development, including identity information.  Such disclosures shall occur within 30 days of learning the information and may include referrals for appropriate counseling services.  Any parent or guardian alleging a violation by the district of OAC 210: 10-2-3 shall provide a written complaint to the State Department of Education.  Any violation by an Independent Contractor that the center knew or should have known about shall be attributed to the center responsible for the contract.

“Independent Contractor” means an individual, organization, or entity that is engaged by and/or contracted by the district to provide services or instruction, whether directly or indirectly, to students or within the center on a temporary contractual basis and is not an employee of the center.

Parents generally have the right to consent prior to an audio or video recording being made of their minor child. This right does not preempt the technology center's right to make recordings (without specific parental approval) related to:

·       Safety, general order and discipline

·       Academic or extracurricular activities

·       Classroom instruction

·       Security/surveillance of the buildings or grounds

·       Photo ID cards

Parents have the right to receive prompt notice if their minor child is believed to be the victim of a crime perpetrated by someone other than the parent, unless law enforcement or DHS officials have determined that parental notification would impede the related investigation. These notice provisions do not apply to matters which involve routine misconduct typically addressed through student discipline procedures. School personnel will not attempt to encourage or coerce a child to withhold information from parents.

1.       The technology center will promote parent participation with the goal of improving parent and teacher cooperation in areas such as homework, attendance and discipline.

The following are examples of activities of how this will be accomplished:

·       Parent teacher conferences

·       Back to school/ meet the teacher nights

·       School sponsored webpages with class information available to parents

·       School newsletters    

2.       The technology center will inform parents about their child’s course of study by disseminating this information.

The following are examples of activities of how this will be accomplished:

·       During annual enrollment

·       In student handbooks

·       On the district’s webpage

Parents may review learning materials affecting their minor children’s course of study, including supplemental materials, by making a request through the program director.

3.       Parents who object to a learning material or activity may withdraw their minor child from the class or program in which the material is used. In order to withdraw a student, the parent must submit a written request, signed and dated by a parent, to the program director. Parents who choose to withdraw their minor child from a class are responsible for making alternate arrangements for the child to earn credit for the work missed.

4.       If a teacher is going to provide instruction or presentations regarding sexuality in a course, the teacher will send written notice home to parents five (5) days in advance of the presentation. Parents who object to their minor child's participation in such instruction may send a written request to the program director to have the student excused from the presentation. Any such student will be permitted to study in the office during the presentation.

5.       Parents may learn about the nature and purpose of clubs and activities which are part of the technology center's curriculum by reviewing student handbooks and the technology center's website. The school's extracurricular clubs and activities are also published in student handbooks, the policy manual, and are available on the district's website

6.       Parents have numerous rights and decision-making responsibilities concerning their minor children. To assist parents in meeting these responsibilities and to fulfill its obligations under the 2014 Parent Bill of Rights, the district has compiled the following information for parents:

A.      The technology center does not provide sex education but relies on sending schools to meet this requirement. Parents may opt their student out of the relevant program by following the procedures established by the sending district.

B.      Parents who are not residents of the technology center district may enroll their minor children in accordance with board policy. A copy of that policy is available in the superintendent's office.

C.      The district utilizes a number of resources to educate students. Parents who object to an assignment based on sex, morality or religion may opt their minor child out of the assignment by following the procedures established in item 3 above.

D.     A minor student is required to have (1) a current, up-to-date immunization record OR (2) a completed and signed state-approved exemption form. Either the up-to-date immunization record or a completed and signed state-approved exemption form must be on file with the district prior to the student’s admission to the district.  The exemption form shall specify that the student has received or is in the process of receiving the immunizations currently required by Oklahoma State Department of Health regulations, unless the exemption has been granted from the immunizations on medical, religious, or personal grounds or as otherwise required by law. 

The immunization requirements shall be posted at the district’s website and in any notice or publication provided to parents/guardians regarding immunizations.  The state-approved exemption form is available at the Oklahoma State Department of Health website, URL: https://oklahoma.gov/health.html

E.       Students are required to meet certain obligations in order to graduate from high school and/or complete their technology center course of study. Parents can learn about these requirements each year during course enrollment or by talking with a technology center counselor. This information is also available in student handbooks and on the Oklahoma State Department of Education's website_(www.ok.gov/sde/).

F.       The technology center does not provide AIDS education but instead relies on the sending school to complete this task. Parents may opt their minor student out of this education by following the procedures established by their child's sending school.

G.     Parents have the right to review student test results related to their minor student. Parents may review the results of classroom exams by contacting their child's teacher. Parents may review the results of state-wide testing at the child's sending school by following the procedures established by their child's sending school.

H.     Qualifying students have the right to participate in their sending school's gifted and talented program in accordance with the sending district's policy regarding the program. A copy of the policy is available through the sending district.

I.         Parents have the right to review teachers' manuals, films, tapes or other supplementary instructional material if the materials are being used in connection with a research or experimentation program or project. In order to review these materials, the parent should contact the program director.

J.        Parents have the right to receive a school report card related to their child's sending school. Information regarding these report cards will be provided through the sending district.

K.      Students are required to attend school regularly, and the technology center will notify parents of any student absence unless the parent has already contacted the technology center to report the absence. The technology center will send a written notice to parents if their minor student appears to be in danger of exceeding the maximum allowable number of absences and will notify the district attorney and the parent if a child may be considered truant. Parents may contact the program director for additional information regarding student absences.

L.       Parents have the right to review the technology center's courses of study and textbooks. Arrangements for this review can be made through the program director.

M.    Students may be excused from school for religious purposes provided the parent contacts the director to request such an absence.

N.     Parents have the right to review all technology center policies, including parental involvement policies. Copies of these policies are available through the superintendent's office.

O.     Parents have the right to participate in parent-teacher organizations through their child's sending school. Information regarding these groups will be made available through the sending school.

P.      Parents may opt out of selected data collection related to state longitudinal student data system reporting. Parents may not opt out of necessary and essential record collecting. Parents may file an opt out request through the superintendent's office.

Q.     The technology center will not procure, solicit to perform, arrange for the performance of, perform surgical procedures or perform a physical examination upon a minor student or prescribe any prescription drugs to a minor student without first obtaining a written consent for the proposed assessment or treatment. The written consent will be effective for the school year for which it was granted and must be renewed each subsequent school year. If the assessment or treatment for which the written consent is provided is performed through telemedicine at a school site, and if the written consent is provided by the Parent and is currently effective, the health professional shall not be required to verify that the parent is at the school site.

R.      The technology center will not procure, solicit to perform, arrange of the performance of or perform an assessment for mental health therapy on a minor student without first obtaining consent of a parent or legal guardian of the minor. The written consent will be effective for the school year for which it was granted and must be renewed each subsequent school year. If the assessment or treatment for which the written consent is provided is performed through telemedicine at a school site, and if the written consent is provided by the Parent and is currently effective, the health professional shall not be required to verify that the parent is at the school site. However, a student shall not be seen without consent.

S.       A student shall not be vaccinated at school or on school grounds or receive a vaccine as part of the mobile vaccination effort without prior written authorization, including the signature of the parent or legal guardian of the student for the vaccine or group of vaccines to be administered during a single visit.

Parents requesting information outlined in this policy should submit written requests for information through the director or superintendent, as noted in the respective section. Appropriate school personnel will either make the information available or provide a written explanation of why the information is being withheld within ten (10) days of the request. Any parent whose request is denied or who does not receive a response within fifteen (15) days may submit a written request for the information to the board of education. The board will include an item on its next public meeting agenda (or the following meeting, if time does not permit inclusion of the item on the agenda) to allow the board to formally consider the parent's request.

Reference:

OKLA. STAT. tit. 70, § 1-116.2

OKLA. STAT. tit. 25, § 2001

OKLA. STAT. tit. 25, § 2004, et seq.

Okla. Stat. tit. 70 § 1210.191

O.A.C. 310: 535-1-2

Okla. Stat. tit. 70 § 1210.191

O.A.C. 310: 535-1-2

O.A.C. 210: 10-2-1, et seq.

OAC 210: 10-2-3

Revised: September 17, 2024