Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

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Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I introduce the Family Engagement in Education Act with my colleagues Senator COONS and Senator WHITEHOUSE. I thank Representative PLATTS for introducing the House companion of this bipartisan bill.

Our legislation will strengthen family engagement in education at the local, State, and national levels. It will empower parents by increasing school district resources dedicated to family engagement activities from 1 percent to 2 percent of the district Title I allocation. It will also improve quality of family engagement practices at the school level by requiring school districts to develop and implement standards-based policies and practices for family-school partnerships. It will build State and local capacity for effective family engagement in education by setting aside 1 percent of the State Title I allocation for local family engagement in education centers to provide innovative programming and services, such as leadership training and family literacy, to local families and to remove barriers to family engagement, and for supporting state-level activities. Finally, our bill will restructure the Parent Information Resource Centers so that they can provide statewide technical assistance in line with the quality framework developed by the U.S. Department of Education, Harvard Family Research Project, and Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. At the national level, our legislation will require the Secretary of Education to convene practitioners, researchers, and other experts in the field of family engagement in education to develop recommended metrics for measuring the quality and outcomes of family engagement in a child's education.

Research demonstrates that family engagement in a child's education increases student achievement, improves attendance, and reduces dropout rates. A recent study by Anne Seitsinger and Steven Brand at the University of Rhode Island's Center for School Improvement and Educational Policy found that students whose parents support their education through learning activities at home and discuss the importance of education perform better in school. Yet too often, family engagement is not built into our school improvement efforts in a systematic way. The Family Engagement in Education Act will promote meaningful family engagement policies and programs at the national, State, and local levels to ensure that all students are on track to be career and college-ready.

The bill builds on my successful efforts in the last reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, to incorporate provisions throughout the law to strengthen and boost parental involvement. It is also in line with the Administration's blueprint for reauthorization, which calls for doubling the amount that school districts are required to set aside for parental involvement and encouraging States to use some of their Title I funding to support local family engagement centers in education.

Developed with the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group, which includes organizations such as National PTA, United Way Worldwide, Harvard Family Research Project, and National Council of La Raza, and endorsed by hundreds of local, State, and national organizations, this legislation represents the broad consensus that we must do a better job of engaging families in all aspects of their children's education.

I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the Family Engagement in Education Act, and to work for its inclusion in the forthcoming debate to reauthorize and renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

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