I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2268 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize 

a national elementary and secondary service-learning program that promotes student academic achievement, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 5, 2013 

Mr. LOEBSACK (for himself and Mr. POLIS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to authorize a national elementary and secondary service-learning program that promotes student 

academic achievement, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Engaging Students 

5 Through Service Learning Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. K–12 SERVICE-LEARNING PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Elementary and 

3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et 

4 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘PART E—ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 

6 K–12 EDUCATION THROUGH SERVICE LEARNING 

7 ‘‘SEC. 2501. FINDINGS. 

8 ‘‘The Congress finds as follows: 

9 ‘‘(1) Students learn best when they are actively 

10 engaged in meaningful and challenging learning ex11 periences that encourage higher order skills develop12 ment, critical thinking, and problem solving. 

13 ‘‘(2) Service learning is a pedagogy that encom14 passes key elements of effective teaching and learn15 ing, including active learning, authentic experiences, 

16 opportunities for peer collaboration, problem solving, 

17 student leadership and empowerment, and cog18 nitively challenging academic activities. 

19 ‘‘(3) Students invest themselves in learning 

20 when their educational experiences have personal 

21 meaning to them and are connected to authentic, 

22 real issues in their everyday lives. 

23 ‘‘(4) In service learning, students apply their 

24 knowledge and skills to solve actual community 

25 problems and experience the real-world value of what 

26 they are learning in school. Service learning can 


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1 therefore have a powerful effect on students, increas2 ing their academic engagement, their civic engage3 ment and their social and emotional development. 

4 ‘‘(5) Service learning can have a powerful effect 

5 on students, helping them to increase their academic 

6 engagement and performance, their civic engagement 

7 and desire to help others, and their social-emotional 

8 learning in areas related to 21st century skill acqui9 sition, such as task persistence, intellectual curiosity, 

10 and ability to work in teams. 

11 ‘‘(6) In service learning, students connect to the 

12 community and to their classmates in ways that are 

13 far more powerful than simple cooperative learning. 

14 ‘‘(7) Service learning has been found to pro15 mote behavioral and dispositional factors that medi16 ate students’ educational success such as greater 

17 motivation for school, engagement in learning tasks, 

18 building of self-efficacy and self-esteem, and propen19 sity to engage in pro-social behaviors. 

20 ‘‘(8) Research has demonstrated that test 

21 scores of students who participated in service learn22 ing are higher in reading, writing, mathematics, so23 cial studies, and science than those of non-partici24 pants. 


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1 ‘‘(9) High-quality service learning will improve 

2 student achievement and our schools because it em3 ploys effective, experiential learning strategies asso4 ciated with student engagement in academic work 

5 and preparation for success in college and the work6 place, engages students in solving complex problems, 

7 probes for deeper learning, and seeks opportunities 

8 for students to transfer knowledge from one context 

9 to another. 

10 ‘‘(10) Principals report that service learning 

11 has a positive impact on teacher satisfaction, school 

12 climate, academic achievement, and school engage13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(11) Teachers who use service learning in the 

15 classroom as a type of positive teaching strategy 

16 achieve better results in a variety of academic and 

17 behavioral categories than those who don’t, are more 

18 effective, challenged, and energized, and are more 

19 likely to remain within their chosen profession. 

20 ‘‘(12) Only an estimated 24 percent of the ap21 proximately 53,300,000 K–12 youth in the United 

22 States are given the opportunity to engage in any 

23 kind of service-learning experience, a decline from 

24 32 percent in 1999. 


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1 ‘‘(13) Schools in high-poverty areas are less 

2 likely to employ service learning as a teaching strat3 egy, yet research has shown this is a particularly ef4 fective pedagogy for use in such schools. Service 

5 learning can significantly reduce the achievement 

6 gap between affluent and low-income students. Low7 income students who participated in service opportu8 nities have better school attendance and grades than 

9 low-income students who do not participate. 

10 ‘‘(14) There is a need for a rigorous and fo11 cused initiative to demonstrate and broadly promote 

12 high-quality service learning that enhances teacher 

13 effectiveness, improves student learning and edu14 cational success, and positively affects school cli15 mate. 

16 ‘‘(15) State educational agencies are the only 

17 entities with comprehensive, statewide responsibility 

18 for the quality of learning within a State. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 2502. PURPOSE. 

20 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to authorize a national 

21 service-learning program that will expand opportunities 

22 for students in elementary and secondary schools to en23 gage in high-quality service learning that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) promotes student achievement in academic 

2 subjects, including science, technology, engineering, 

3 and mathematics; 

4 ‘‘(2) incorporates 21st century skills, such as 

5 critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration; 

6 ‘‘(3) integrates content knowledge and use of 

7 technology; 

8 ‘‘(4) enhances school climate and civic engage9 ment; and 

10 ‘‘(5) prepares students for college or a career. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 2503. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

12 ‘‘The Secretary shall reserve funds for national activi13 ties as follows: 

14 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall reserve not more than 

15 10 percent of the appropriation for this program in 

16 any fiscal year to establish a National Center for K– 

17 12 Service Learning— 

18 ‘‘(A) to provide technical assistance to 

19 State educational agencies to develop and ex20 pand the capacity of local educational agencies 

21 to improve teacher quality, school climate, and 

22 educational outcomes by providing an infra23 structure for sustainable service-learning efforts 

24 through vision and leadership, professional de25 velopment, curriculum and assessment, schoolVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:49 Jun 07, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2268.IH H2268

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1 community collaborations, and continuous im2 provement; and 

3 ‘‘(B) to provide oversight, coordinate with 

4 key Federal education initiatives, foster sustain5 ability, provide evidence for the strengths and 

6 limitations of service-learning practices, and 

7 disseminate study findings. 

8 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall reserve not more than 

9 10 of the appropriation for this program in any fis10 cal year percent for research and evaluation activi11 ties, including a study, conducted by the Institute of 

12 Education Sciences using data culled from the State 

13 longitudinal data systems authorized under title II 

14 of the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 

15 2002, on the effects of academic service learning on 

16 instructional quality and the academic success of 

17 students in low-performing schools. The study shall 

18 include the following elements: 

19 ‘‘(A) A comprehensive, rigorous research 

20 design that builds on prior studies on effective 

21 pedagogies, service learning, and student suc22 cess. 

23 ‘‘(B) Gathering qualitative and quan24 titative data to comprehensively assess the im25 pact service learning has on students’ academic, 


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1 civic, and behavioral performance, including 

2 student engagement. 

3 ‘‘(C) Identifying, tracking, and measuring 

4 the success of systemic, district-level change 

5 based on exemplary service-learning policies and 

6 practices. 

7 ‘‘(D) Measuring the effectiveness of a 

8 high-quality professional development leadership 

9 system, including the effect the professional de10 velopment provided under this section has on 

11 teaching and pedagogy, including the impact on 

12 teachers likelihood of providing students with 

13 real-world problem-solving opportunities, oppor14 tunities for deeper learning and tying academic 

15 concepts to real-world contexts, opportunities 

16 for leadership, and opportunities for peer col17 laboration. 

18 ‘‘(E) Systematically measuring the influ19 ence of service-learning participation on stu20 dents’ academic achievement within and across 

21 States. 

22 ‘‘(F) Reporting annually to the public and 

23 the Congress. 

24 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall reserve not more than 

25 5 percent of the appropriation for this program in 


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1 any fiscal year for training and technical assistance 

2 for State-level program development consistent with 

3 the purposes of this Act. The Secretary shall con4 tract with an entity, or entities, with a demonstrated 

5 record of achievement in promoting and dissemi6 nating best practices in service learning— 

7 ‘‘(A) to continually scan the field and build 

8 an ever-expanding knowledge base of exemplary 

9 service-learning models; 

10 ‘‘(B) to help ensure the dissemination, 

11 adoption, and continuous improvement of these 

12 exemplary practices at the State and local level; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(C) to conduct specific activities, includ15 ing— 

16 ‘‘(i) developing and disseminating ex17 emplary program models that demonstrate 

18 how high-quality service-learning programs 

19 can be replicated and can become sustain20 able at the State and local level by advanc21 ing the use of service learning as a high22 quality instructional pedagogy; 

23 ‘‘(ii) providing resources to support 

24 effective policy development at the State 

25 and local level to advance efforts with reVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:49 Jun 07, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2268.IH H2268

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1 spect to high-quality teachers and the equi2 table distribution of high-quality teachers; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iii) providing exemplary professional 

5 development models and technical assist6 ance materials to any interested party. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 2504. STATE ACTIVITIES. 

8 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—A State educational agency desiring 

9 a grant under this part shall submit an application to the 

10 Secretary that includes an assurance that, not later than 

11 90 days after receiving a grant— 

12 ‘‘(1) all local educational agencies in the State 

13 will have access to high-quality professional develop14 ment and peer mentoring through a cascade model, 

15 including resources and ongoing support to trans16 form instructional practices; 

17 ‘‘(2) the State educational agency will imple18 ment strategies for improvement in the lowest per19 forming geographic areas utilizing service-learning 

20 policies and practices, National School Climate 

21 Standards, and exemplary practices for enhancing 

22 teacher quality; 

23 ‘‘(3) the State educational agency will establish 

24 State policies and support systems that are designed 

25 to result in effective programs; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) the State educational agency will establish 

2 partnerships with entities, such as institutions of 

3 higher education, institutions of teacher training, 

4 and nonprofit organizations with a demonstrated 

5 record of experience in school-based service learning, 

6 to develop systemic implementation of service learn7 ing in teacher preparation and professional develop8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(b) SERVICE-LEARNING SPECIALIST.—Of the funds 

10 made available to a State educational agency under this 

11 part, the agency shall reserve a portion of those funds ap12 propriated to support a service-learning specialist who acts 

13 as a conduit of information between the State and local 

14 level, provides training and technical assistance, program 

15 improvement, and progress monitoring. 

16 ‘‘(c) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—Of the funds made 

17 available to a State educational agency under this part, 

18 the agency shall reserve 30 percent to support the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(1) Collaboration and mentoring to increase 

21 consistency in implementation across States to en22 sure high-quality practice and sustainability. 

23 ‘‘(2) Implementation of a statewide cascade 

24 professional development model. 


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1 ‘‘(3) On-site support and mentoring of local 

2 educational agencies. 

3 ‘‘(4) Dissemination of resources to support im4 plementation, capacity building, and sustainability of 

5 local efforts, including through grants or contracts 

6 with qualified national intermediaries or community7 based organizations. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 2505. SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN9 CIES. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency that 

11 receives funds under this part shall use the funds remain12 ing after the application of section 2504 to make sub13 grants to local educational agencies that use— 

14 ‘‘(1) the service-learning model to strengthen 

15 the content area disciplines and implementation of 

16 key educational innovations in schools with a high 

17 percentage of underperforming youth; and 

18 ‘‘(2) a cascade professional development model 

19 to bring practice to scale. 

20 ‘‘(b) COMPETITIVE SUBGRANTS.—Subgrants under 

21 subsection (a) shall be made on a competitive basis with 

22 consideration for geographic diversity, including distribu23 tion between urban and rural local educational agencies. 

24 In making awards, the State educational agency must give 

25 priority to local educational agencies with high proportions 


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1 of students living in poverty or performing below grade 

2 level. 

3 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—A local educational agency ap4 plying for a subgrant under this section shall submit an 

5 application to the State educational agency that includes 

6 information on how— 

7 ‘‘(1) funds will be used to participate in the 

8 cascade professional development model, ensure sus9 tainability, and replicate the service-learning model 

10 to increase academic engagement and performance 

11 in content area courses, increase civic skills and en12 gagement, and enable students in low-performing 

13 schools to help their own communities by giving 

14 them the knowledge, skills, and opportunities nec15 essary to participate in high-quality service-learning 

16 experiences; 

17 ‘‘(2) educators will— 

18 ‘‘(A) receive support in using instructional 

19 practices that incorporate the application of 

20 academic knowledge and skills to address rel21 evant needs in their community; and 

22 ‘‘(B) identify current data, set measurable 

23 goals for their instructional activities, and 

24 measure impact on both students and the com25 munity; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) partnerships will be established to create a 

2 community-wide expectation that service learning is 

3 an essential part of a high-quality education. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 2506. DEFINITION OF CASCADE PROFESSIONAL DE5 VELOPMENT MODEL. 

6 ‘‘In this part, the term ‘cascade professional develop7 ment model’ means a professional development model in 

8 which specialists are trained in high-quality practice and 

9 delivery of professional development. These experts then 

10 train educators, who are responsible for training, men11 toring, and supporting their peers. This model allows for 

12 replication of effective practice and increased consistency 

13 in quality among all States. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 2507. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this part such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

17 2014 and for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con19 tents for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

20 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

21 to section 2441 the following: 

‘‘PART E—ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF K–12 EDUCATION

THROUGH SERVICE LEARNING

‘‘Sec. 2501. Findings. 

‘‘Sec. 2502. Purposes. 

‘‘Sec. 2503. National activities. 

‘‘Sec. 2504. State activities. 

‘‘Sec. 2505. Subgrants to local educational agencies. 


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‘‘Sec. 2506. Definition of cascade professional development model. 

‘‘Sec. 2507. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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