IGBLA: Promoting Parental Involvement

Policy

The Board of Education welcomes and promotes parental involvement in the School District and encourages parents to play an active role in their children’s education. The Board directs the Chief Executive Officer to develop regulations and procedures necessary to comply with the provisions of this policy.

This policy is publicly available and is posted prominently on the School District website.

Instruction that Includes Sexuality Content

The School District ensures that any sexuality content is age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate for the age of the student receiving the instruction, regardless of the age or grade level of the student.

The School District, prior to providing instruction that includes sexuality content or permitting a third party to provide such instruction on behalf of the School District, provides parents the opportunity to review any instructional material that includes sexuality content. Upon request of the student's parent, a student shall be excused from instruction that includes sexuality content and be permitted to participate in an alternative assignment. Instruction that includes sexuality content is not provided to students in kindergarten through third grade by the School District or any third party acting on behalf of the School District.

Parent Notification Regarding Student Health and Well-Being

The School District promptly notifies a student's parent of any substantial change in the student's services, including counseling services, or monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being or the school's ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the student. This parental notice reinforces the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children and that the School District does not inhibit parental access to the student’s education and health records maintained by the school.

This parental notice is provided through the methods the School District generally uses to communicate with parents including, but not limited to, email, texts, phone calls, letters or other direct forms of communication.

School District personnel are prohibited from directly or indirectly encouraging a student to withhold information from a parent concerning the student’s mental, emotional or physical health or well-being, or a change in related services or monitoring. School District personnel are prohibited from discouraging or prohibiting parental notification of and involvement in decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional or physical health or well-being.

Parental Authorization for Student Health Care Services

The School District obtains parental authorization before providing any type of health care services to students, including physical, mental and behavioral health care services and parents can choose whether to authorize the School District to provide health care services. The Board directs the Chief Executive Officer to develop procedures to obtain necessary authorization from parents, which may include, but is not limited to, whatever means the School District generally obtains parental authorization.

At the beginning of each school year, the School District notifies parents of each health care service offered at, or facilitated in cooperation with, their student's school and their option to withhold consent or decline any specified service. Parental consent to health care services does not waive the parent's right to access the student's educational or health records or to be notified about a change in the student's services or monitoring.

Prior to providing a health care service to a student, the School District notifies parents whether the service is required to be provided by the School District under State law and if other options for a student to access the service exist. This requirement can be satisfied by an annual notice to parents at the beginning of the school year.

Provisions related to parental authorization for student health care services do not apply to emergency situations, first aid, other unanticipated minor health care services or health care services provided pursuant to a student's IEP (individualized education program) or Section 504 plan.

Parent Concerns and Appeal Procedures

A parent may file, with a school principal or assistant principal, a written concern regarding a topic addressed in this policy, which must be resolved within thirty days after receipt of the written concern.

A parent may appeal a principal's or assistant principal's decision to the Chief Executive Officer. If a parent appeals the principal's or assistant principal's decision, the Chief Executive Officer or designee shall conduct a hearing on the decision. Based on the findings of that hearing, the Chief Executive Officer shall decide whether to affirm the principal's or assistant principal's decision. If the Chief Executive Officer does not affirm the decision, the Chief Executive Officer shall determine a resolution to the parent's concern. A parent may appeal the Chief Executive Officer’s decision to the Board of Education. The Board shall review the Chief Executive Officer’s decision and, if the Board determines it necessary, hold a hearing on the decision and, based on that hearing, either affirm the Chief Executive Officer’s decision or determine a new resolution to the parent's concern. Nothing in this policy prevents a parent from contacting a Board of Education member regarding the parent's concerns with the operation of a school in the School District.

The Board directs the Chief Executive Officer or designee to develop procedures to ensure prompt and fair attention to written concerns about this policy. The School District notifies parents of their right to file a written concern by whatever means the School District generally communicates with parents including, but not limited to, email, phone call or other direct forms of communication.

This policy does not prescribe all rights of parents or preempt or foreclose claims or remedies in support of parental rights that are available under the Constitution, statutes or common law of Ohio.

Statutory Exceptions

Pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code nothing in this policy shall require disclosure or activity that is in conflict with or in violation of any of the following:

1. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule;
2. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3798;
3. Ohio Revised Code Sections 2317.02, 4732.19 or 5122.04;
4.  Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232g;
5. Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 10a and any laws enacted to implement that section, including Ohio Revised Code Sections 2930.07 and 2930.10;
6. a condition of bond;
7. a protection order or consent agreement issued pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Sections 2151.34, 2903.213, 2903.214, 2919.26 or 3113.31;
8. a condition of a community control sanction, post-release control sanction or parole;
9. a specific request for nondisclosure made pursuant to a criminal investigation or grand jury subpoena in which the student is the victim and a parent is the alleged perpetrator or
10. mandatory reporting under Ohio Revised Code Section 2151.421.

Nothing in this policy prohibits or limits the career and academic mentoring and counseling between teachers and students in the regular course of the school day.

Definitions

Pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code the following terms used in this policy are defined as follows:

The term “biological sex” means the biological indication of male and female, including sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads and unambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth, without regard to an individual's psychological, chosen or subjective experience of gender.

The term “HIPAA privacy rule” means the standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information in 45 Code of Federal Regulations part 160 and part 164, subparts A and E.

The term “IEP” (individualized education program) means the written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with Ohio Revised Code Section 3323.011.

The term “parent” means either of the natural or adoptive parents of a student, except under the following conditions: (a) When the marriage of the natural or adoptive parents of the student has been terminated by a divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment or the natural or adoptive parents of the student are living separate and apart under a legal separation decree and the court has issued an order allocating the parental rights and responsibilities with respect to the student, "parent" means the residential parent as designated by the court except that "parent" means either parent when the court issues a shared parenting decree; (b) When a court has granted temporary or permanent custody of the student to an individual or agency other than either of the natural or adoptive parents of the student, "parent" means the legal custodian of the child; or (c) When a court has appointed a guardian for the student, "parent" means the guardian of the student.

The term "sexuality content" means any oral or written instruction, presentation, image or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology provided in a classroom setting. This does not include instruction or presentations required by State law in sexually transmitted infection education, sexually transmitted infection education emphasizing abstinence, child sexual abuse prevention, sexual violence prevention education or incidental references to sexual concepts or gender ideology occurring outside of formal instruction or presentations on such topics, including references made during class participation and in schoolwork.

The term "student's mental, emotional or physical health or well-being" includes, at a minimum, a student's academic performance; any significant sickness or physical injury, or any psychological trauma suffered by a student; any harassment, intimidation or bullying, as defined by State law, by or against a student in violation of school district policy; any request by a student to identify as a gender that does not align with the student's biological sex; and exhibition of suicidal ideation or persistent symptoms of depression, or severe anxiety, or other mental health issues.

The terms "age-appropriate content" and "developmentally appropriate content" mean activities or items that are generally accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally appropriate for a child, based on the development of cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioral capacities that are typical for an age or age group.

History

• • Adopted: June 24, 2025

Legal References

• • Ohio Revised Code Section 3313.473