Only 4 percent of eligible California students have signed up for a free tutoring program, a study shows. Most parents said they either didn’t know about the statewide program or they lacked transportation.

The tutoring program was set up for students who attend failing schools, but few are taking advantage of it, according to study done for the state Department of Education. Education officials said participation was low because the program was just in its second year.

The off-campus tutoring sites make transportation an issue for some.

“My daughter didn’t want to go all the way over there to get tutored,” said Don Stotts, whose son and daughter graduated last summer from San Bernardino High School.

Free tutoring is a component of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and its purpose is to improve student achievement. The federal legislation calls for an overhaul to education through stronger accountability, more flexibility and local control of schools, and more options for parents.

When schools fail to meet federal performance goals in English and math for two consecutive years, qualified students become eligible for up to 36 hours of free tutoring. Those who qualify for free tutoring must be classified as low-income and score below average on standardized tests.

The state maintains a list of approved providers including those that offer online services.

The California Department of Education asked WestEd, a nonprofit education research organization, last summer to survey the 145 districts statewide that were required to provide free tutoring to determine the effectiveness of the program.

About 397,000 students were eligible for tutoring but fewer than 20,000 requested services, according to the survey. Of those districts participating in the survey, 71 percent said they didn’t provide tutoring because parents declined the service.