Parents as Teachers: the Family Involvement in Education Act of 1993

Summary: Parents as Teachers:  the Family Involvement in Education Act of 1993 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for parents as teachers programs, with special consideration for hard-to-serve populations. 
Makes eligible for such a grant any State which operates a parents as teachers program associated with the Parents as Teachers National Center in Missouri. 
Sets forth program requirements, limiting services to families during the period from the last three months of a mother's pregnancy to the child's attaining age three. 
Directs the Secretary to:  (1) establish a Parents as Teachers National Center for information dissemination and technical and training assistance for States with such programs; and (2) evaluate such programs within four years. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. PARENTS AS TEACHERS PROGRAMS.

    Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is 
amended by inserting at the end the following new part:

                     ``Part G--Parents as Teachers

``SEC. 4701. SHORT TITLE.

    ``This part may be cited as the `Parents as Teachers: the Family 
Involvement in Education Act of 1993'.

``SEC. 4702. FINDINGS.

    ``The Congress finds--
            ``(1) increased parental involvement in the education of 
        their children appears to be the key to long-term gains for 
        youngsters;
            ``(2) providing seed money is an appropriate role for the 
        Federal Government to play in education;
            ``(3) children participating in the parents as teachers 
        program in Missouri are found to have increased cognitive or 
        intellectual skills, language ability, social skills and other 
        predictors of school success;
            ``(4) most early childhood programs begin at age 3 or 4 
        when remediation may already be necessary; and
            ``(5) many children receive no health screening between 
        birth and the time they enter school, thus such children miss 
        the opportunity of having developmental delays detected early.

``SEC. 4703. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    ``It is the purpose of this part to encourage States to develop and 
expand parent and early childhood education programs in an effort to--
            ``(1) increase parents' knowledge of and confidence in 
        child-rearing activities, such as teaching and nurturing their 
        young children;
            ``(2) strengthen partnerships between parents and schools; 
        and
            ``(3) enhance the developmental progress of participating 
        children.

``SEC. 4704. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For the purposes of this part--
            ``(1) the term `developmental screening' means the process 
        of measuring the progress of children to determine if there are 
        problems or potential problems or advanced abilities in the 
        areas of understanding and use of language, perception through 
        sight, perception through hearing, motor development and hand-
        eye coordination, health, and physical development;
            ``(2) the term `eligible family' means any parent with one 
        or more children between birth and 3 years of age, or any 
        parent expecting a child;
            ``(3) the term `lead agency' means the office or agency in 
        a State designated by the Governor to administer the parents as 
        teachers program authorized by this part;
            ``(4) the term `parent education' includes parent support 
        activities, the provision of resource materials on child 
        development and parent-child learning activities, private and 
        group educational guidance, individual and group learning 
        experiences for the parent and child, and other activities that 
        enable the parent to improve learning in the home;
            ``(5) the term `parent educator' means a person hired by 
        the lead agency of a State or designated by local entities who 
        administers group meetings, home visits and developmental 
        screening for eligible families, and is trained by the Parents 
        As Teachers National Center established under section 4708; and
            ``(6) the term `Secretary' means the Secretary of 
        Education.

``SEC. 4705. PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.

    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) The Secretary is authorized to make grants to States 
        to pay the Federal share of the cost of establishing, 
        expanding, and operating parents as teachers programs.
            ``(2) In awarding grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall give special consideration to applicants whose programs 
        primarily serve hard-to-serve populations, including--
                    ``(A) teenaged parents,
                    ``(B) illiterate parents,
                    ``(C) economically disadvantaged parents,
                    ``(D) offenders and their families,
                    ``(E) unemployed parents,
                    ``(F) learning disabled parents, and
                    ``(G) non-English speaking parents.
            ``(3) In determining the amount of a grant under paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary shall take into consideration the size of 
        the population to be served, the size of the area to be served, 
        and the financial resources of such population and area.
    ``(b) Special Rule.--Any State operating a parents as teachers 
program which is associated with the Parents As Teachers National 
Center located in St. Louis, Missouri, shall be eligible to receive a 
grant under this part.

``SEC. 4706. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--(1) Each State receiving a grant under section 
4705(a) shall conduct a parents as teachers program which--
            ``(A) establishes and operates parent education programs 
        including programs of developmental screening of children; and
            ``(B) designates a lead State agency which shall--
                    ``(i) hire parent educators who have had supervised 
                experience in the care and education of children;
                    ``(ii) establish the number of group meetings and 
                home visits required to be provided each year for each 
                participating family, with a minimum of 4 group 
                meetings and 8 home visits for each participating 
                family;
                    ``(iii) be responsible for administering the 
                periodic screening of participating children's 
                educational, hearing and visual development, using the 
                Denver Developmental Test, Zimmerman Preschool Language 
                Scale, or other approved screening instruments; and
                    ``(iv) develop recruitment and retention programs 
                for hard-to-reach populations.
    ``(2) Grants awarded section 4705(a) shall only be used for parents 
as teachers programs which serve families during the period of time 
beginning with the last 3 months of a mother's pregnancy and ending 
when a child attains the age of 3.

``SEC. 4707. PARENTS AS TEACHERS NATIONAL CENTER.

    ``The Secretary shall establish a Parents As Teachers National 
Center to disseminate information to, and provide technical and 
training assistance to, States establishing and operating parents as 
teachers programs.

``SEC. 4708. EVALUATIONS.

    ``The Secretary shall complete an evaluation of the State parents 
as teachers programs within 4 years from the date of enactment of this 
part.

``SEC. 4709. APPLICATION.

    ``Each State desiring a grant under section 4705(a) shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner and 
accompanied by such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
require. Each such application shall describe the activities and 
services for which assistance is sought.

``SEC. 4710. PAYMENTS AND FEDERAL SHARE.

    ``(a) Payments.--The Secretary shall pay to each State having an 
application approved under section 4709 the Federal share of the cost 
of the activities described in the application.
    ``(b) Federal Share.--(1) The Federal share--
            ``(A) for the first year for which a State receives 
        assistance under this part shall be 100 percent;
            ``(B) for the second such year shall be 100 percent;
            ``(C) for the third such year shall be 75 percent;
            ``(D) for the fourth such year shall be 50 percent; and
            ``(E) for the fifth such year 25 percent.
    ``(2) The non-Federal share of payments under this part may be in 
cash or in kind fairly evaluated, including planned equipment or 
services.

``SEC. 4711. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each of 
the fiscal years 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 to carry out this 
Act.''.