Parents Right to Know
1.5 Parents Right-to-Know
The parent's right-to-know provision allows parents, guardians, and stakeholders the ability to request the qualifications of their child's classroom teacher. Even though the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) eliminated the highly qualified requirement, the parents' right-to-know provision now focuses on students being taught by teachers who do not meet the state certification or licensure at the grade-level and subject they are teaching. For information on teacher certification and licensing, please visit the Tennessee Department of Education's website at https://www.tn.gov/education/section/licensing.
Required Deadlines:
- § Parents must be informed annually at the start of the school year.
- § If a change in placement occurs during the school year, then the notification must be sent home as well.
Available Resources:
- Regional Consultant
- In ePlan:
•1. TDOE Resources
•2. ESSA Information & Guidance
•3. ESSA Highly Qualified Requirements
- Sample ESSA Parents Right-to-Know 1 & 2
Action Steps & Recommended Timeline:
- § May-June: Ensure all Title I Schools administrators are aware of the requirement. District-level staff may want to consider providing a blurb for school-level publications and websites.
- § June-July: Review all blurbs to ensure wording is correct.
- § Aug.: All Title I Schools should provide information to parents, guardian, and stakeholders.