Closing the door on parental involvement

The public education establishment often blames parents for its troubles, claiming that more parental involvement is needed to improve student achievement. But the Clark County School District, like so many school districts, likes to hide behind closed doors.

The Superintendent's Educational Opportunities Advisory Committee - which was set up to advise the superintendent regarding low-performing, low-income, primarily minority schools - has met twice this month without advertising its meetings or agenda to the public. This is a direct violation of Nevada's open-meeting laws.

"Parents of children attending 'troubled schools' and the public have a vested interest in attending these meetings," Maggy McLetchie, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said in article published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Not advertising the meetings would seem to contradict the district's often-stated goal of increasing parental involvement."

Read the rest of the Review-Journal article, titled District panel breaks law: Superintendent says open meeting rules do not apply.