Kari Marx will tell you flat out why she left her last employer: She wants to be involved in her children's school.

For Marx, that means being able to come to work a little later once in a while or extend her lunch hour to help at a class party or oversee an arts activity.

``It takes some schedule management,'' says Marx, an accounting manager at Ultimate Software in Weston. ``But it's important to me.''

With more than 70 percent of American children raised by working parents, flexibility is one of the most important benefits employers can give workers who are moms and dads. Unfortunately, many parents, particularly lower-wage workers, don't have jobs with flexibility or leave policies they can use to attend school functions.

As the school year starts, recent government actions bear some good news: Legislators are creating policies to address this issue. Twelve states and the District of Columbia now require that employers give school-involvement leave to allow parents to attend conferences or other school-related events. Florida is not among the states. The policies vary in whether the leave is just for state employees or all working parents. Some states require paid leave and even provide employers income tax deductions for giving workers time off.

Even more, 14 additional states intend on introducing school involvement leave policies during the 2009-2010 legislative sessions.

``The majority of states are interested in this issue,'' says Judi Casey, director of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network. ``It's not just an isolated effort.''

Casey considers school involvement leave ``a low-cost way of employers saying we're supportive of your efforts to have a job and a life.''

Propelling the momentum is national research that shows parental involvement directly affects school achievement and results in a lower dropout rate.

A year ago, I became very involved in the PTA at my children's school. I took on the job of volunteer coordinator -- the person who rounds up parents to help out with vision screenings, school photos, dance ticket sales and yearbook distribution.

In my role, I come across parents who work horrendously long hours and just can't be there during the school day. The waitress working two jobs and the housekeeper at a local beachfront hotel laid it out for me: When you're struggling to pay the bills, you can't really chance the boss docking you for taking time off to chaperon a class field trip or to see your child get a math award.

Yet, I've seen how any parent who does help out in the schools learns quickly the range of benefits. Being involved has helped me build a rapport with my children's teachers and become more aware of educational opportunities the school offers.

Marguerite Fein has learned that, too. She is crazy busy during the workday. Most of the time, she's on the phone, booking passengers for Carnival Cruise Line. This school year, she took on the job of PTA president at Indian Ridge Middle School, even though her son won't attend until next August. ``I'm helping where help is needed in the community,'' she says. She says working parents often are intimidated to get involved.

``They feel it's going to take a lot of time, but you can be involved by helping even once for just a couple of hours.''

Two years ago, Broward Schools Superintendent James Notter called on companies in the poorer cities in the district to give working parents up to six hours off a year -- with pay -- to visit their kids' schools. He had noticed that parent participation at 10 schools in the area was particularly low.

The reaction to his plea was mixed. Mom-and-pop-business owners struggling in a competitive economy said it was too hard to break free from work responsibilities. Larger companies were more responsive.

As the new school year kicks off, Notter told me he's going to continue to advocate for ``release time'' for parents to get involved in their child's schools.

Of course, schools and communities can do more to reach out to working parents, too.

Casey suggests holding more meetings and activities in the evening and offering child care during back-to-school night.

With today's employees carrying heavier workloads, Casey sees school involvement leave as a low-cost workplace benefit for stressed parents and an investment in America's future workforce. ``It has little cost and enormous benefit.''

Send your comments and ideas to Cindy Krischer Goodman at cgoodman @MiamiHerald.com.