As Americans we have a variety of rights, privileges, and freedoms. In Arizona, as parents you benefit from many legal rights to help oversee your children's education. Some of these rights include your right to inspect the curriculum being used by your children's schools and the right to withdraw your children from activities, classes, or programs at school that question your beliefs in the area of "sex, morality, or religion."
The rights you have are meant to be tools to help fulfill basic responsibilities for your children. You are the ones who are primarily responsible for the care and education of your children, not the state - and we often don't like to be reminded of these responsibilities.
Every right implies a great deal of responsibility. In Arizona, you have a lot of freedom to choose what type of schooling your children will receive. You can freely choose between public, charter, home schooling, and private schools. There are even tax credits and vouchers that can make private school a more realistic option for some families. You have the freedom to choose, but with that freedom comes a responsibility for your children's education that should not be taken lightly. You must be willing to investigate the options and decide what is best for your children.
If you decide to send your children to public school, Arizona law gives you the freedom to choose among a number of schools in your area, not necessarily the closest one or even one within your school district. This gives you the opportunity to choose the best school possible. There are great online tools available to help you make this choice, like GreatSchools.net, which collects test scores and school report cards not just for Arizona, but for schools all over the country.
As a parent, you can be held financially responsible for any damage your children cause to school property. You are obligated under state law to make sure that your children have received proper immunizations before they are enrolled in school, or provide the school with a signed statement that due to personal beliefs, you do not consent to immunization. If you choose to go this route, your children may be barred from attending if an outbreak of a communicable disease occurs in your school.
You have a responsibility to take an active role in your children's education. This includes ensuring that that your children attend school every day and arrive on time each morning. You have a duty to ensure that your children are keeping up with your school work and to meet regularly with teachers to make sure adequate progress is being made. You should also talk to your children daily about your school work in order to spot potential problems early.
These responsibilities should not be seen as a burden. The rewards of taking an active role in your children's education are tremendous. In fact, parental involvement is one of the best predictors of academic success for children. Make a difference - be involved!
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Brad
Frese is the Research Director
for The
Center for Arizona Policy www.azpolicy.org |
© 2008 Good News Tucson™
