S. 1674 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1674 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 7, 2013Mr. Franken introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To help establish, enhance, and increase access to early childhood parent education and family engagement programs, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Parent Education and Family Engagement in Early Childhood Care and Education Act. 2. Purposes The purposes of this Act are— (1) to strengthen families by helping all parents provide the best possible environment for the healthy growth and development of their young children from birth through early elementary school; (2) to support parents in their role as their child's first and most important teacher by enabling the participation of parents in the early learning process through integrating parent education, joint parent-child interaction activities, and family engagement into early childhood education programs; and (3) to facilitate successful transitions into elementary school by providing continuity of supports for children and parents. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Early childhood educator The term early childhood educator means any State-licensed or State-regulated professional working in an early childhood care and education program, including such a professional who is— (A) a child care provider; (B) a center-based or family child care provider; (C) an infant or toddler specialist; (D) an early intervention specialist or early childhood special educator; (E) a home visitor working for an early childhood care and education program described in paragraph (2)(D); (F) an administrator, such as a director, supervisor, or other early childhood care and education leader; (G) a Head Start or Early Head Start teacher or teacher assistant; (H) a preschool teacher or other teacher, or teacher assistant; (I) an early elementary school teacher; and (J) a trainer or technical assistance provider. (2) Early childhood care and education program The term early childhood care and education program means— (A) a State-licensed or State-regulated program or provider, regardless of setting or funding source, that provides early care and education for children from the ages of birth to kindergarten entry, including any program operated by a child care center or in a family child care home; (B) a preschool program funded by the Federal Government or by a State or a local educational agency (including any preschool program supported under section 619 or part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.)); (C) an Early Head Start program or Head Start program; or (D) a program that delivers early childhood care and education services in a child’s home, such as the maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting programs established under section 511 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711) and home visits supported under the Early Head Start program. (3) Early Head Start program The term Early Head Start program means an Early Head Start program supported under section 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840). (4) Head Start program The term Head Start program means the Head Start program supported under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.). (5) High-need area The term high-need area means a defined geographical area in which there is— (A) a high rate of child poverty; and (B) (i) a limited supply of high-quality, affordable, and culturally and linguistically competent early childhood care and education program opportunities for children; or (ii) 1 or more elementary schools that are identified under section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316). (6) Local agency The term local agency means— (A) a local educational agency, as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); (B) an agency administering an Early Head Start program or Head Start program; (C) a local agency responsible for administering a home visiting program for young children; (D) an agency responsible for administering any other Federal, State, or local government child care or early childhood education program; (E) a local early childhood advisory council or coalition; (F) a local child care resource and referral agency; or (G) a consortium of agencies described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (F). (7) Parent The term parent has the meaning given the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). (8) Secretaries The term Secretaries means the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting in accordance with the interagency agreement described in section 10. (9) State The term State means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 4. Early childhood parent education and family engagement program (a) Program authorized (1) In general From the amounts made available under section 11 and not reserved under paragraph (2), the Secretaries are authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to States to enable such States to support early childhood parent education and family engagement activities by awarding subgrants to local agencies. (2) Reservation Of the amounts appropriated to carry out this Act for a fiscal year, the Secretaries may use not more than 3 percent to carry out section 8. (b) Matching requirement (1) Matching funds required A State that receives a grant under this section shall contribute, to the activities assisted under such grant, matching funds in an amount equal to not less than 20 percent of the amount of the grant. (2) Types of funds The matching funds required under paragraph (1)— (A) shall be from non-Federal sources; and (B) may be met by— (i) contributions that are in cash or in-kind; and (ii) State or local funds or funds from any private source. 5. Applications (a) In general Each State desiring a grant under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretaries at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretaries may reasonably require. (b) Contents Each application submitted under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) A description of how the State, through a local agency, will achieve the following goals: (A) Providing families with increased opportunities, including through the use of culturally and linguistically appropriate materials, to learn how to best support their children’s physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development during the first 5 years of life in the family and home setting. (B) Increasing parent involvement in their children’s early childhood care and education program settings. (C) As applicable, coordinating activities under this Act with— (i) parent involvement and education supported under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); (ii) parent training and information centers authorized under section 671 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1471); (iii) parent engagement activities carried out under section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6318); and (iv) parental information and resource centers supported under subpart 16 of part D of title V of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7273 et seq.). (D) Facilitating successful transitions between settings, including transitions between early childhood care and education programs, transitions into elementary school, and transitions between the early grades of elementary school. (2) A description of how the State will— (A) engage and assist local agencies in high-need areas in applying for subgrants under this Act; (B) award subgrants to local agencies serving high-need areas; and (C) provide technical assistance to local agencies receiving subgrants in high-need areas to address unique barriers to the implementation of the subgrant activities. (3) A description of how the State will— (A) engage and assist local agencies in rural communities in applying for subgrants under this Act; and (B) provide technical assistance to local agencies receiving subgrants in rural communities to address unique barriers to implementation of the subgrant activities. 6. State use of funds (a) Distribution of subgrants A State that receives a grant under this Act for a fiscal year— (1) shall use not less than 83 percent of the grant funds to award subgrants to local agencies to establish, expand, or enhance early childhood parent education and family engagement programs involving children from birth through 5 years of age and their parents; and (2) may use not more than 15 percent of the grant funds to award subgrants to local agencies to establish, expand, or enhance elementary school parent education and family engagement programs serving children between 5 and 8 years of age and their parents to assist with the transition to elementary school. (b) Administration A State may use not more than 2 percent of the amount received under this Act for any fiscal year to pay for the administrative costs of the program supported by the grant. 7. Subgrants (a) Subgrants authorized A State receiving a grant under this Act shall use grant funds, in accordance with section 6(a), to award subgrants, on a competitive basis, to local agencies to enable the local agencies to establish, expand, or enhance early childhood and elementary school parent education and family engagement programs through the activities described in subsection (d). (b) Applications A local agency desiring a subgrant under this section shall submit an application to the State at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the State may reasonably require. (c) Consultation Each local agency receiving a subgrant under this section shall develop the program carried out with grant funds in consultation with— (1) other Federal, State, or local government-sponsored early childhood care and education programs, including child care programs supported through Federal, State, or local funding sources, Early Head Start programs, Head Start programs, early childhood mental health providers, early intervention services, and home visiting programs for young children, as appropriate; and (2) parents who will be participating in the program carried out under the subgrant. (d) Use of funds (1) Required activities A program carried out by a local agency receiving a subgrant under this section shall include— (A) support for parent education activities to enhance the skills of parents to provide for and understand their children's learning processes and intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development, including instruction in positive parenting practices through parent-child interaction; (B) training and professional development for early childhood educators in— (i) strategies for engaging parents, especially working parents, in parent education activities; and (ii) culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches to discussing parenting, behavior management, and healthy child development; (C) training for parent educators and early childhood educators in— (i) detecting challenges to children’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional, or behavioral development that may lead to learning problems and can be addressed through the community resources described in paragraph (2)(A); and (ii) improving child and family health, safety, and stability; and (D) coordination between early childhood educators and instructional staff at elementary schools in the same geographic area as the local agency, in order to establish ongoing channels of communication to help teachers, early childhood educators, and parents prepare children for school. (2) Permissible activities A program carried out by a local agency receiving a subgrant under this section may include— (A) coordination with, and referral to, related community resources, including, where appropriate— (i) child care subsidy services; (ii) health and mental health services; (iii) early intervention services provided under part C of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; (iv) employment and financial services; (v) adult education services; and (vi) home visiting services; (B) indirect parental involvement activities designed to update parents and families on the progress of their children and the other activities of the program, such as newsletter-related activities, parent-teacher conferences, or other parent outreach activities, when the use of such indirect parental involvement activities support the activities described in paragraph (1); and (C) other parent and family education or engagement activities to improve the health, development, and school readiness of children. (e) Restrictions A local agency receiving a subgrant under this section may not use such funds for routine child care or early childhood education program services that are not directly related to parent education or family engagement programs. (f) Reports (1) Annual report A local agency that receives a subgrant under this section shall submit an annual report to the State and to the Secretaries at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretaries may require, including at a minimum— (A) data on the number and characteristics of parents and families who have received services from the local agency's program, including— (i) the number and percentage of such families with incomes below the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget and revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to a family of the size involved; and (ii) the number and percentage of such families that include children with high needs, including— (I) children with disabilities, as defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401), or with developmental delays, as defined in section 632 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1432); (II) children who are dual language learners; (III) children who reside on Indian lands, as defined in section 8013 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7713); and (IV) children who are migrant, homeless, or in foster care; (B) data demonstrating an increase in the availability and quality of parent education and family engagement services in communities in which the local agency operates; (C) data describing the training provided to teachers, early childhood educators, and parents; (D) evidence of improved support for parents and children to help promote successful transitions for children into elementary school; (E) evidence that parents developed positive relationships with early childhood care and education staff and gained confidence in addressing family specific needs, including— (i) family safety and stability; and (ii) family health and mental health; and (F) if a local agency uses funds under this Act for permissible activities under subsection (d)(2), evidence of coordination with, and referral to, related community resources, including evidence that parents were referred to and accessed services described in subsection (d)(2)(A). 8. Research, evaluation, and dissemination (a) In general The Secretaries shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, under which the National Academy of Sciences shall conduct a study and evaluation, including a report, on best practices that support the purposes of this Act, including best practices— (1) for training early childhood educators and parents in detecting children’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional, or behavioral developmental issues that are associated with learning problems; (2) for training and professional development for early childhood educators (including early childhood care and education program directors) in— (A) strategies for engaging parents, especially working parents, in parent education activities; and (B) culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches to discussing parenting, behavior management, and healthy child development, especially in areas with diverse populations of children and families; (3) for training parent educators and early childhood educators in identifying and preventing child abuse and neglect; and (4) for referring parents to community resources and services to address identified family needs. (b) Specific activities The evaluation described in subsection (a) shall carry out all of the following: (1) Assess the impact of each local agency's program, using evidence of the program's outcomes, including— (A) increased quality of parent education and engagement services within early childhood care and education programs; and (B) improved child and family health, safety, and stability. (2) Identify factors that foster or hinder the successful implementation of each local agency's program. (3) Utilize the data on best practices, as described in subsection (a), to provide information to each local agency that can be used to drive program improvement. (4) Generate and disseminate information about best practices, as described in subsection (a), that are associated with— (A) increased quality of parent education and family engagement services within early childhood care and education programs; and (B) improved child and family health, safety, and stability. (c) Reporting schedule and plan The Secretaries shall work with the National Academy of Sciences to establish and approve a reporting schedule and a research, evaluation, and dissemination plan for the evaluation described in subsection (a). (d) Report to Congress The Secretaries shall submit an annual report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, on the lessons learned through programs funded under this Act. 9. General provisions (a) Supplement and not supplant Grant and subgrant funds provided under this Act shall supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, and local funds that are available for early childhood parent education and family engagement programs. States receiving grant funds, and local agencies receiving subgrant funds, under this Act may provide additional funds, other than those received under this Act, to enhance the parent education and family engagement programs that are supported by such grant or subgrant funds. (b) Maintenance of effort A State that receives funds under this part for a fiscal year shall maintain the fiscal effort provided by the State for the activities supported by the funds under this Act at a level equal to or greater than the level of such fiscal effort for the preceding fiscal year. (c) Voluntary participation Family participation in any program supported under this Act shall be voluntary and shall not preclude the family's participation in other Federal, State, or local programs. 10. Interagency agreement The Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall jointly develop policies for, and administer activities under, this Act in accordance with such terms as the Secretaries shall set forth in an interagency agreement. Such interagency agreement, at a minimum, shall include a description of the respective roles and responsibilities of the Secretaries in carrying out this Act. 11. Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2014 through 2019.