Parents' Right to Know
In accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act, parents have the right to know the professional qualifications of their children’s classroom teachers. Federal law allows parents to ask for certain information about those teachers and requires schools to provide the information in a timely manner if requested.
On December 10, 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law as Public Law Number 114-95. ESSA reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 “to ensure that every child achieves.”(1) ESSA is the nation’s general education law and, as such, has been revised by Congress many times over the years. The last reauthorization took place in 2001 and was called the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
In accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act/ PARENTS’ RIGHT-TO-KNOW, parents of a student in a Title I school have the right to request and receive in a timely manner: a) information regarding the professional qualifications of their student’s classroom teachers.
Specifically, parents have the right to ask for the following information about their children’s teachers:
- Whether the teacher has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction;
- Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.
- About baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree;
- Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.
Parents wishing to request any of this information should contact the Human Resources department at 918-357-6190.