                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND INVOLVEMENT REQUIREMENTS (§ 22.1-279.3)

A. Each parent of a student enrolled in a public school has a duty to assist the
school in enforcing the standards of student conduct and compulsory school
attendance in order that education may be conducted in an atmosphere free of
disruption and threat to persons or property, and supportive of individual
rights.

B. A school board shall provide opportunities for parental and community
involvement in every school in the school division.

C. Within one calendar month of the opening of school, each school board shall,
simultaneously with any other materials customarily distributed at that time,
send to the parents of each enrolled student (i) a notice of the requirements of
this section; (ii) a copy of the school board&#8217;s standards of student
conduct; and (iii) a copy of the compulsory school attendance law. These
materials shall include a notice to the parents that by signing the statement of
receipt, parents shall not be deemed to waive, but to expressly reserve, their
rights protected by the constitutions or laws of the United States or the
Commonwealth and that a parent shall have the right to express disagreement with
a school&#8217;s or school division&#8217;s policies or decisions.
			Each parent of a student shall sign and return to the school in which the
student is enrolled a statement acknowledging the receipt of the school
board&#8217;s standards of student conduct, the notice of the requirements of
this section, and the compulsory school attendance law. Each school shall
maintain records of such signed statements.

D. The school principal may request the student&#8217;s parent or parents, if
both parents have legal and physical custody of such student, to meet with the
principal or his designee to review the school board&#8217;s standards of
student conduct and the parent&#8217;s or parents&#8217; responsibility to
participate with the school in disciplining the student and maintaining order,
to ensure the student&#8217;s compliance with compulsory school attendance law,
and to discuss improvement of the child&#8217;s behavior, school attendance, and
educational progress.

E. In accordance with the due process procedures set forth in this article and
the guidelines required by &#xA7; 22.1-279.6, the school principal or his
designee shall notify the parents of any student who violates a school board
policy or the compulsory school attendance requirements when such violation is
likely to result in the student&#8217;s suspension or the filing of a court
petition, whether or not the school administration has imposed such disciplinary
action or filed a petition. The notice shall state (i) the date and particulars
of the violation; (ii) the obligation of the parent to take actions to assist
the school in improving the student&#8217;s behavior and ensuring compulsory
school attendance compliance; (iii) that, if the student is suspended, the
parent may be required to accompany the student to meet with school officials;
and (iv) that a petition with the juvenile and domestic relations district court
may be filed under certain circumstances to declare the student a child in need
of supervision.

F. No suspended student shall be admitted to the regular school program until
such student and his parent have met with school officials to discuss
improvement of the student&#8217;s behavior, unless the school principal or his
designee determines that readmission, without parent conference, is appropriate
for the student.

G. Upon the failure of a parent to comply with the provisions of this section,
the school board may, by petition to the juvenile and domestic relations
district court, proceed against such parent for willful and unreasonable refusal
to participate in efforts to improve the student&#8217;s behavior or school
attendance, as follows:

   1. If the court finds that the parent has willfully and unreasonably failed to
   meet, pursuant to a request of the principal as set forth in subsection D, to
   review the school board&#8217;s standards of student conduct and the
   parent&#8217;s responsibility to assist the school in disciplining the student
   and maintaining order, and to discuss improvement of the child&#8217;s
   behavior and educational progress, it may order the parent to so meet; or

   2. If the court finds that a parent has willfully and unreasonably failed to
   accompany a suspended student to meet with school officials pursuant to
   subsection F, or upon the student&#8217;s receiving a second suspension or
   being expelled, it may order the student or his parent, or both, to
   participate in such programs or such treatment, including, but not limited to,
   extended day programs, summer school, other educational programs and
   counseling, as the court deems appropriate to improve the student&#8217;s
   behavior or school attendance. The order may also require participation in a
   parenting, counseling, or mentoring program, as appropriate, or that the
   student or his parent, or both, shall be subject to such conditions and
   limitations as the court deems appropriate for the supervision, care, and
   rehabilitation of the student or his parent. In addition, the court may order
   the parent to pay a civil penalty not to exceed $500.

H. The civil penalties established pursuant to this section shall be enforceable
in the juvenile and domestic relations district court in which the
student&#8217;s school is located and shall be paid into a fund maintained by
the appropriate local governing body to support programs or treatments designed
to improve the behavior of students as described in subdivision G 2. Upon the
failure to pay the civil penalties imposed by this section, the attorney for the
appropriate county, city, or town shall enforce the collection of such civil
penalties.

I. All references in this section to the juvenile and domestic relations
district court shall be also deemed to mean any successor in interest of such
court.

HISTORY: 1995, c. 852; 1996, c. 771; 2000, c. 538; 2001, cc. 688, 820; 2004, c.
573; 2023, c. 523.