Parental Notifications

This Tuesday our Board will be updating some policies, including Board Policy 5145.6 titled "Parental Notification."  In the second paragraph, this policy references Education Code 48981, a short & easy-to-understand law:

"The notice shall be provided at the time of registration for the first semester or quarter of the regular school term.  The notice may be provided using any of the following methods:

1. By regular mail.

2. If a parent or guardian requests to receive the notice in electronic format, by providing access to the notice electronically.  Notice provided in electronic format shall conform to the requirements of Section 48985.

3. By any other method normally used to communicate with the parents or guardians in writing."

There is some dispute about what the term "in writing" means.  The CSBA sample version also removes the phrase "in writing," but instead uses the phrase "written communication with parents / guardians." Our new recommended policy that we will be voting on does not include either of those phrases, but instead says "or any other method normally used to communicate with parents."   However, unless a parent or guardian explicitly requests these notifications via ParentSquare, the law seems to clearly state that it shall be provided "in writing."