[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1674 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1674

  To help establish, enhance, and increase access to early childhood 
    parent education and family engagement programs, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 7, 2013

  Mr. 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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Parent Education and Family 
Engagement in Early Childhood Care and Education Act''.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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).

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.
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