• Utah has taken commendable steps to ensure that information about curriculum is shared with parents.

• New polling data shows there is a perception and experience gap between how accessible parents feel curriculum is to them and how accessible teachers feel they make curriculum to parents.

• Policymakers should consider creating a grant program that rewards teachers who proactively create robust parent access to their curriculum to address this gap.

​According to new polling data, Utah parents and teachers hold diverging views of the accessibility of curriculum being shared by teachers with parents.

The new data was discussed at a recent Sutherland Institute event where key Utah education policymakers discussed a policy agenda that strengthens the parent-teacher relationship.

The Utah governor’s education advisor Dr. Rich Nye, House Education Committee Chair Representative Candice Pierucci, and Utah State Board of Education Chair Dr. Jim Moss offered their insights on parent engagement, access to curriculum, what’s been done in Utah and other opportunities to improve these goals.

Sutherland Institute’s recent publication titled “Boosting Parent Engagement in Public Schools by Strengthening Parent Access” reviews Utah’s recent work on parent access and provides additional recommendations. Here are some highlights from that report.

The Utah history of parent access to curriculum

Utah has taken commendable steps to ensure that information about curriculum is shared with parents.

For instance, in 2021, the Legislature passed a law that requires local school boards to make district curriculum readily accessible and available to parents, including annually sharing how parents can access the information and posting the information online. 

In 2023, the Legislature passed a law requiring an open process for approving curriculum that must include parents with children enrolled in the district.

The lawmaking body has recently tackled thorny but related issues like requiring districts to provide a platform where parents can see what their children are checking out in the library and outlining how districts should approach “sensitive materials.”

Furthermore, in 2023, a law was passed that created a new position that reports to the Utah State Board of Education called the Parent Liaison and Engagement Education Specialist, who fields complaints from parents and helps them navigate their rights, options and more.

This multi-layered approach makes clear that Utah prioritizes parent access to curriculum. Yet, there’s more to unpack and accomplish.

Gaps exist in the perception of curriculum access

One of the key takeaways gleaned from the new polling data, is that there is room for improvement in helping parents access curriculum. Perhaps this requires both creating teacher capacity to share more and building parent capacity to use the information that gets shared with them.

The data show that while a majority of parents (78%) and teachers (87%) agree there is some degree of accessibility to information about instructional materials and curriculum in schools, their perception of the ease in accessing that information varies significantly. For instance, 55% of teachers say that this information is extremely or very accessible; however, the majority of parents (62%) say this information is only somewhat accessible to them.

Furthermore, data show when parents rate teachers and teachers rate themselves in making curriculum information accessible to parents, 69% of parents feel teachers provide some or a great deal of access to curriculum and instructional materials, but up to 92% of teachers report themselves doing this.

A legislative recommendation 

Public policy may be able to improve the perception and experience gap seen in these responses. In another piece I have written about simple fixes that districts can make to their websites without legislation.

Another avenue is a legislative proposal to create a grant program that rewards teachers who proactively create robust parent access to their curriculum. What is considered “robust” might be that teachers provide summary weekly previews of their instruction, an in-depth day-to-day look at what they’re teaching, and information about how parents can access this information easily and efficiently. Rather than a mandate, this recommendation is only to create a reward for those who choose to do this, hopefully acting as an incentive that honors teachers’ professionalism, autonomy and workload.

We hope that any policymakers, teachers or parents interested in this topic will join the conversation about strengthening the parent-teacher relationship, a variable we believe is at the heart of success for student learning.