(a)
The Nell Soto Parent/Teacher Involvement Program is hereby established for the purpose of providing grant awards to schools in which a majority of teachers and parents agree to strengthen the communication between schools and parents as a means of improving pupil academic achievement.
(b)
Any school district or charter school that maintains kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, the California School for the Deaf, or the California School for the Blind may operate a parent/teacher involvement program at any schoolsite that meets each of the requirements set forth in subdivision (c).
(c)
The program shall include all of the following elements:
(1)
At least 50 percent of the teachers employed at the schoolsite voluntarily agree to participate in either periodic visits to the homes of their pupils or in community meetings that are held at times and locations that are convenient to parents.
(2)
At least 50 percent of the parents or guardians of pupils enrolled at the schoolsite have voluntarily signed a parent/teacher/pupil compact in which parents agree to participate in periodic home visits or community meetings. The compact shall also encompass the elements of the parent involvement policy adopted by the State Board of Education on September 9, 1994.
(3)
A teacher or teaching paraprofessional who participates in the program shall receive training in strategies for communicating effectively with parents and in conducting periodic home visits or community meetings. These strategies may include providing parents with guidance in how to reinforce educational objectives with their children at home.
(4)
Teachers and teaching paraprofessionals shall be compensated for their participation in home visits or community meetings at an hourly rate comparable to their regular base salary.
(5)
A certification that participating teachers or participating teachers paired with teaching paraprofessionals will conduct home visits to a substantial percentage of the enrolled pupils whose parents or guardians have voluntarily signed a parent/teacher/pupil compact at least once annually or that, in the case of high schools or middle schools that participate in the program, will hold at least monthly community-based meetings at various sites located throughout the attendance area of the high school or middle school.
(d)
For purposes of this article, “teaching paraprofessional” has the same meaning as in Section 44392.
(e)
For purposes of this section, “community meetings” are periodic public meetings held by participating schools for the purpose of strengthening communication between the schools and parents for the improvement of pupil academic achievement.