Parents’ Rights and Responsibilities

Every child is entitled to a free high-quality K-12 public education regardless of race, nationality, native language, gender, or immigration status without fear of unlawful discrimination or threat of deportation.

To be effective student advocates, parents must understand their rights and assume responsibility in their children’s educational progress. To learn about the specific federal and state education rights available to all students and their families, please click here.

When Exercising Your Rights

It is recommended that before exercising your rights as a parent, you should:

• Have a clear understanding of your rights.
• Be clear in communicating what information you are requesting from school officials.
• Be assertive when communicating. To learn more about positive assertive behavior, click here.
• Use a direct, non-aggressive tone of voice.
• Be persistent and try again if the initial contact was unsuccessful.
• Consider writing a formal letter or email (English, Spanish) to voice your concerns.

It is essential that parents become informed of their rights and responsibilities to be effective school partners and education advocates. Although not all interactions between parents, teachers, and school officials will go as each party wants, all need to strive to collaborate with one another to improve educational outcomes for children.