Title I, Part A Parent and Family Engagement

Additional Resources

For additional resources please visit the Washington Statewide Family Engagement Center webpage.

Contact Information

Overview and Legal Requirements

LEAs receiving Title I, Part A funds must engage families through programs and activities that align with ESEA section 1116. This page includes references to the 2025 Parent and Family Engagement Non-Reg Guidance to help you locate relevant requirements. 

Required Policies

Each LEA and school that receives Title I, Part A funds must develop a written PFE policy that describes how it will implement the requirements and established the program components for parent and family engagement in ESEA Section 1116.

What’s Required 

  • A District Parent and Family Engagement Policy  
  • A School-level Parent and Family Engagement Policy 
  • Both must be developed jointly with families and reviewed annually
    • See 2025 Guidance, pp. 7-8 for required elements of the LEA level policy and pp. 14 for required elements of the school level policy. 
LEA Resources
School Resources
School-Parent Compact

Each Title IA school must jointly develop with parents a School-Parent Compact that outlines how families, school staff, and students will share responsibility for improved academic achievement. The compact must describe how the school and families will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high academic standards.

  • See 2025 Guidance, pp. 16 for required elements of the School-Parent Compact. 
Resources
Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) must conduct annual evaluations by of the content and effectiveness of their Parent & Family Engagement (PFE)  policy under ESEA Section 1116(a)(2)(D).

To support this work, OSPI has developed a new Parent & Family Engagement Survey and District/School Implementation Guide to help schools and districts gather meaningful, actionable feedback from families and strengthen continuous improvement efforts.

The guide includes:

Guidance for districts, schools, and LEAs on administering and using the survey Baseline survey questions aligned to federal requirements Optional and program-specific survey sections Suggestions for implementation, accessibility, and use of survey results for continuous improvement

The English version of the document includes both the full implementation guide and the complete English survey.

The survey and implementation guide were co-developed with LEAs, families, and program partners, and are designed as an optional resource that districts and schools may adapt based on local needs and program requirements.

English Version

Parent & Family Engagement Survey and District/School Implementation Guide – English

Available Survey Languages

Arabic | Chinese | Dari | Marshallese | Pashto | Russian | Somali | Spanish | Ukrainian | Vietnamese

Spring is an ideal time to review feedback (surveys, focus groups, participation data) and use the results to inform updates for the next school year.

 

Funding and Allowable Uses

Set-Aside Requirement

LEAs receiving more than $500,000 in Title I, Part A funds must reserve at least 1% for PFE activities. Of that amount, at least 90% must be distributed to Title IA schools, prioritizing those with the greatest need. 

LEAs must: 

  • Engage families in deciding how PFE funds are used
  • Provide opportunities for meaningful parent input on engagement activities
  • Track PFE expenditures accurately at the school or LEA level
  • Carry over any unspent funds and add them to the current year’s PFE budget
Resources

PFE Budget Survey Form 

The PFE Budget Survey sample may be used to solicit parent feedback to: 

  • Make recommendations to schools about PFE activities. 
  • Generate suggestions to improve activities involving parents. 
  • Develop a report to share with parents, staff, and the community. 
Communication with Families

Under state and federal law, all parents have the right to information about their child's education in a language they can understand.

Best Practices for Two-Way Communication

  • Provide information in a family’s preferred language
  • Use accessible formats and plain language
  • Offer multiple touchpoints: email, text, in-person, flyers

Building Trust Tips

  • Invite family input and respond to concerns
  • Ensure accessibility at all engagement events
  • Use 360-Degree Communication strategy (Module 2) 
    • See Guidance pp. 4 for details on communication expectations
Resources
Building Parent and Staff Capacity

Each school and LEA receiving assistance under Title I, Part A must ensure effective involvement of parents and support a partnership among the school, the parents, staff, and the community to improve student academic achievement through training, information, and coordination activities. (ESEA section 1116(e)). 

  • See Guidance pp. 17 for details on building parent capacity expectations.
Resources

Creative Commons License
Except where otherwise noted, the Washington ESSA Consolidated Plan developed by the by Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.