[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 13 (Wednesday, February 5, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S1027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Kennedy, 
        Mr. Harkin, Ms. Moseley-Braun, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. 
        Wellstone, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Akaka):
  S. 280. A bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to 
allow employees to take school involvement leave to participate in the 
school activities of their children or to participate in literacy 
training, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Labor and Human 
Resources.


                    the time for schools act of 1997

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, 4 years ago today, thanks to the hard 
work of Senator Dodd, we passed the Family and Medical Leave Act. It 
was one of the first things I did as a newly elected Senator. And I am 
proud of its success. In fact, it is probably the single most effective 
law passed by Congress this decade.
  Now I want to expand the scope of FMLA to apply to participation in 
our schools. The Time for Schools Act of 1997 will allow parents 24 
hours per year to participate in activities in their child's school.
  As the mother of two children--one a teenager in high school--I know 
how difficult and how important it is to participate in their 
education. I have been lucky to have had the opportunity to be involved 
in their lives. But many parents do not have the time it takes to do 
those little things that will assure their child's success in school.
  By expanding the uses of one of the most successful laws in years, I 
want to give parents something they don't have enough of--time.
  When I tour schools in my home State of Washington, I often hear 
young people say, ``Adults don't seem to care about me.'' We know 
that's not true, but we need to show them that adults do care. And one 
of the best places to start is to reaffirm the importance of their 
education by taking steps to help their families get more involved in 
schools.
  These days we have many dual-income families and single parents 
struggling to work to make ends meet. All of these families know how 
important it is to be involved in their children's learning.
  However, a recent study, Parents as School Partners research 
initiative, sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women's Center 
for the Child, found that a basic lack of time was one of the main 
barriers to more parental involvement at schools.
  Educational studies have shown that family involvement is more 
important to student success than family income or education. In fact, 
things parents control, such as limiting excess television watching and 
providing a variety of reading materials in the home, account for 
almost all the differences --nearly 90 percent--in average student 
achievement across States.
  All sectors of our communities want more time for young people. 
Students, teachers, parents and businesses feel something must be done 
to improve family involvement. In fact, 89 percent of company 
executives identified the biggest obstacle to school reform as the lack 
of parental involvement.
  And, a 1996 postelection poll commissioned by the national PTA and 
other organizations found that 86 percent of people favor legislation 
that would allow workers unpaid leave to attend parent-teacher 
conferences, or to take other actions to improve learning for their 
children.
  A commitment to our children is a commitment to the future. I want to 
make sure all young people receive the attention they need to succeed.
  My legislation will allow parents time to: First, attend a parent/
teacher conference; second, interview a new school for their child; and 
third, participate in family literacy training.
  Just last week, I talked to a woman from Bellevue who has an 11-year-
old special needs daughter in school. Both she and her husband work 
during the day, but he cannot get away for school activities. She told 
me my legislation would allow her husband to attend school conferences 
and participate in their child's education for the first time.
  I look at the Family and Medical Leave Act--which has helped one in 
six American employees take time to deal with serious family health 
problems, and which 90 percent of businesses had little or no cost 
implementing--and I see success. People in my State have been able to 
deal with urgent family needs, without having to give up their jobs.
  My bill expands the uses of Family and Medical Leave to another 
urgent need families face--the need to help their children learn.
  Now we need to grant employees the same peace of mind about 
preventing problems in school that can lead to bigger problems for 
their children later on. The time is right for the Time for Schools 
Act.

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