Demonstration grants and other assistance

A. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, through the state superintendent of education and state Department of Education, is hereby authorized to make demonstration grants and to provide other forms of state assistance to city and parish school boards and to other appropriate public and private agencies for the development of innovative and promising family-school educational partnership activities designed to: (1) Support the efforts of families, including training, to the maximum extent practicable, to work with children in the home both to attain the instructional objective of the schools and to instill positive attitudes about the importance of education and learning in the life of the child. (2) Train teachers and other staff personnel to work effectively as educational partners with the families of participating students. (3) Train families, teachers, and other staff personnel in the schools to build an educational partnership between home and school. (4) Evaluate how well family involvement activities of the school are working, what barriers exist to greater participation, and what steps are needed to be taken to expand participation in such family involvement activities. (5) Purchase or develop courseware, software, communication aids, equipment, or materials relating to increasing the involvement and participation of families in the learning of children or in the life of the schools. (6) Provide family learning or other community education courses in which families, together, may learn reading, math, and other subjects. B. The provisions of this Section shall be applicable only to the extent that funds are made available for this purpose from public or private sources.