Congratulations to PURE member Amy Zimmerman, director of Health and Disability Advocates, for successfully adding to parents rights in Illinois by shepherding HB 628 through the legislature. As reported by the Tribune, once the governor signs this bill, Illinois parents will have the right "to monitor a child's special education classroom, or to observe in advance the classroom a school district believes is the best fit for the child."

I ran into Amy in Springfield at a Senate Education Committee meeting the day that HB 628 and HB 363 were being considered. I mentioned to her that Sec. 1118 of the No Chlld Left Behind law, which details the parent involvement requirements of the law,  already includes the right of parents to "reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child's class, and observation of classroom activities."

HB 628 would apply to all parents of special needs children, not just those in schools with NCLB funds. It also applies to advocates who assist parents in making sure their children have the services they are entitled to.

This is news that parents need, especially at a time when many parents feel their children are being shortchanged by CPS. Let's spread the word!

More on classroom observation - yes, we can!

Considering the importance of parent involvement for student academic growth, parents and principals in Chicago sure spend a lot of time clashing over whether parents should be in the classroom or even in the school. The classic example is the number of LSC members who have been arrested for trespassing or threatened with arrest, just for trying to do their job as LSC members. Can you imagine that happening to Michael Scott in any school?

The best schools, the best principals, and the best teachers have no problem having parents around. The extent to which it becomes a problem is usually a pretty good measure of school dysfunction.

Not to mention that most CPS parents have the right under NCLB to be in the school.

Having said that, we can't let parents run wild, and some do!

What we need is an in-school etiquette in which parents and school staff are trained and which everyone follows. Because we have no real rules now, we have no real etiquette. Because we are so bad at this type of interaction, most of what we do turns out awkward, unpleasant, and unproductive.

A few years ago PURE developed some guidelines and tip sheets for classroom observation by parents. We think they hold up pretty well as at least a beginning for better communication and interaction.