Sec. 1. (a) The department, in consultation with statewide organizations whose mission is to link family engagement to student achievement, shall develop the Indiana family friendly school designation program.

     (b) The program must do the following:

(1) Allow a school to voluntarily request from the department an assessment for the purpose of evaluating and improving parental involvement in the school.

(2) Establish a procedure under which the department must conduct an assessment described in subdivision (1) if the parents of at least ten percent (10%) of the students currently included in the ADM at a particular school request that the department conduct an assessment under this chapter. The department shall determine the manner in which requests may be submitted under this subdivision.

     (c) The department may designate a school as an Indiana family friendly school if the department determines that the school has established parental engagement practices that increase parental involvement and foster high student achievement.

     (d) The department shall develop rubrics or standards under which the department will evaluate a school’s parental involvement and award the Indiana family friendly designation to schools. The department’s evaluation of a school’s parental involvement under this subsection must incorporate surveys of teachers, students, and parents. The department shall make the results of a school’s evaluation available to the public.

     (e) The department shall make available to schools best practices in developing family engagement and parental involvement in student achievement.

     (f) The department shall annually assess the quality of a school’s family friendly school designation by correlating designation outcomes to student achievement. The department shall submit the results of the assessment under this subsection to the state board.

As added by P.L.127-2013, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.75-2022, SEC.1.