First Wyoming Parent Summit set for families and educators

CASPER (WNE) — If you’ve ever felt frustrated or unsure navigating Wyoming’s public school system as a parent, this new summit could be exactly what you need.

The Wyoming Department of Education Parent Summit will take place virtually on May 11. The free event is designed to bring parents and educators together to connect, engage, and collaborate.

“It’s really just meant to be an opportunity for parents, educators, community members, school administrators to come together to have a real discussion of how they work together,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder told the Star-Tribune. “We’ve had a lot of concerns of parents not feeling heard or involved in education policy or the education process, and so this is meant to bring all of those groups together to have a discussion about how best that they can work together when it comes to their children.”

Throughout the day, attendees can join a variety of panels covering topics such as public records requests, individualized education programs, academic standards and assessments, as well as school budgets and district operations.

The summit will also provide parents with resources Degenfelder described as “difficult to find online,” including a guide to filing records requests, a plain-language summary of House Bill 147, a contact map, and a step-by-step checklist for parents navigating special education.

This is the first year of the Parent Summit, but Degenfelder hopes to make it an annual event moving forward.

The program was originally an in-person event, but in a last minute pivot, the department decided to make it virtual to increase accessibility to the public.

Registration for the event can be found online by searching “Parent Summit” on the Wyo- ming Department of Education website.

This story was published on May 5, 2026.