II 

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. 

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 ‘‘Parent Education and 

5 Family Engagement in Early Childhood Care and Edu6 cation Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this Act are— 

9 (1) to strengthen families by helping all parents 

10 provide the best possible environment for the healthy 


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1 growth and development of their young children 

2 from birth through early elementary school; 

3 (2) to support parents in their role as their 

4 child’s first and most important teacher by enabling 

5 the participation of parents in the early learning 

6 process through integrating parent education, joint 

7 parent-child interaction activities, and family en8 gagement into early childhood education programs; 

9 and 

10 (3) to facilitate successful transitions into ele11 mentary school by providing continuity of supports 

12 for children and parents. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR.—The term 

16 ‘‘early childhood educator’’ means any State-licensed 

17 or State-regulated professional working in an early 

18 childhood care and education program, including 

19 such a professional who is— 

20 (A) a child care provider; 

21 (B) a center-based or family child care 

22 provider; 

23 (C) an infant or toddler specialist; 

24 (D) an early intervention specialist or early 

25 childhood special educator; 


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1 (E) a home visitor working for an early 

2 childhood care and education program described 

3 in paragraph (2)(D); 

4 (F) an administrator, such as a director, 

5 supervisor, or other early childhood care and 

6 education leader; 

7 (G) a Head Start or Early Head Start 

8 teacher or teacher assistant; 

9 (H) a preschool teacher or other teacher, 

10 or teacher assistant; 

11 (I) an early elementary school teacher; and 

12 (J) a trainer or technical assistance pro13 vider. 

14 (2) EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION

15 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood care and 

16 education program’’ means— 

17 (A) a State-licensed or State-regulated pro18 gram or provider, regardless of setting or fund19 ing source, that provides early care and edu20 cation for children from the ages of birth to 

21 kindergarten entry, including any program op22 erated by a child care center or in a family 

23 child care home; 

24 (B) a preschool program funded by the 

25 Federal Government or by a State or a local 


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1 educational agency (including any preschool 

2 program supported under section 619 or part C 

3 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

4 Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.)); 

5 (C) an Early Head Start program or Head 

6 Start program; or 

7 (D) a program that delivers early child8 hood care and education services in a child’s 

9 home, such as the maternal, infant, and early 

10 childhood home visiting programs established 

11 under section 511 of the Social Security Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 711) and home visits supported 

13 under the Early Head Start program. 

14 (3) EARLY HEAD START PROGRAM.—The term 

15 ‘‘Early Head Start program’’ means an Early Head 

16 Start program supported under section 645A of the 

17 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840). 

18 (4) HEAD START PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Head 

19 Start program’’ means the Head Start program sup20 ported under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 

21 et seq.). 

22 (5) HIGH-NEED AREA.—The term ‘‘high-need 

23 area’’ means a defined geographical area in which 

24 there is— 

25 (A) a high rate of child poverty; and 


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1 (B)(i) a limited supply of high-quality, af2 fordable, and culturally and linguistically com3 petent early childhood care and education pro4 gram opportunities for children; or 

5 (ii) 1 or more elementary schools that are 

6 identified under section 1116 of the Elementary 

7 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 6316). 

9 (6) LOCAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘local agency’’ 

10 means— 

11 (A) a local educational agency, as defined 

12 in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec13 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 7801); 

15 (B) an agency administering an Early 

16 Head Start program or Head Start program; 

17 (C) a local agency responsible for admin18 istering a home visiting program for young chil19 dren; 

20 (D) an agency responsible for admin21 istering any other Federal, State, or local gov22 ernment child care or early childhood education 

23 program; 

24 (E) a local early childhood advisory council 

25 or coalition; 


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1 (F) a local child care resource and referral 

2 agency; or 

3 (G) a consortium of agencies described in 

4 any of subparagraphs (A) through (F). 

5 (7) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 9101 of the Ele7 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 7801). 

9 (8) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

10 means the Secretary of Education and the Secretary 

11 of Health and Human Services, acting in accordance 

12 with the interagency agreement described in section 

13 10. 

14 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

15 the several States of the United States, the District 

16 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

17 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

18 Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

19 Mariana Islands. 

20 SEC. 4. EARLY CHILDHOOD PARENT EDUCATION AND FAM21 ILY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made 

24 available under section 11 and not reserved under 

25 paragraph (2), the Secretaries are authorized to 


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1 award grants, on a competitive basis, to States to 

2 enable such States to support early childhood parent 

3 education and family engagement activities by 

4 awarding subgrants to local agencies. 

5 (2) RESERVATION.—Of the amounts appro6 priated to carry out this Act for a fiscal year, the 

7 Secretaries may use not more than 3 percent to 

8 carry out section 8. 

9 (b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

10 (1) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRED.—A State 

11 that receives a grant under this section shall con12 tribute, to the activities assisted under such grant, 

13 matching funds in an amount equal to not less than 

14 20 percent of the amount of the grant. 

15 (2) TYPES OF FUNDS.—The matching funds re16 quired under paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) shall be from non-Federal sources; and 

18 (B) may be met by— 

19 (i) contributions that are in cash or 

20 in-kind; and 

21 (ii) State or local funds or funds from 

22 any private source. 

23 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each State desiring a grant under 

25 this Act shall submit an application to the Secretaries at 


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1 such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such in2 formation as the Secretaries may reasonably require. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under 

4 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

5 (1) A description of how the State, through a 

6 local agency, will achieve the following goals: 

7 (A) Providing families with increased op8 portunities, including through the use of cul9 turally and linguistically appropriate materials, 

10 to learn how to best support their children’s 

11 physical, cognitive, social, and emotional devel12 opment during the first 5 years of life in the 

13 family and home setting. 

14 (B) Increasing parent involvement in their 

15 children’s early childhood care and education 

16 program settings. 

17 (C) As applicable, coordinating activities 

18 under this Act with— 

19 (i) parent involvement and education 

20 supported under part C of the Individuals 

21 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

22 1431 et seq.); 

23 (ii) parent training and information 

24 centers authorized under section 671 of 

25 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1471); 


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1 (iii) parent engagement activities car2 ried out under section 1118 of the Elemen3 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

4 (20 U.S.C. 6318); and 

5 (iv) parental information and resource 

6 centers supported under subpart 16 of part 

7 D of title V of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7273 

8 et seq.). 

9 (D) Facilitating successful transitions be10 tween settings, including transitions between 

11 early childhood care and education programs, 

12 transitions into elementary school, and transi13 tions between the early grades of elementary 

14 school. 

15 (2) A description of how the State will— 

16 (A) engage and assist local agencies in 

17 high-need areas in applying for subgrants under 

18 this Act; 

19 (B) award subgrants to local agencies serv20 ing high-need areas; and 

21 (C) provide technical assistance to local 

22 agencies receiving subgrants in high-need areas 

23 to address unique barriers to the implementa24 tion of the subgrant activities. 

25 (3) A description of how the State will— 


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1 (A) engage and assist local agencies in 

2 rural communities in applying for subgrants 

3 under this Act; and 

4 (B) provide technical assistance to local 

5 agencies receiving subgrants in rural commu6 nities to address unique barriers to implementa7 tion of the subgrant activities. 

8 SEC. 6. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 

9 (a) DISTRIBUTION OF SUBGRANTS.—A State that re10 ceives a grant under this Act for a fiscal year— 

11 (1) shall use not less than 83 percent of the 

12 grant funds to award subgrants to local agencies to 

13 establish, expand, or enhance early childhood parent 

14 education and family engagement programs involv15 ing children from birth through 5 years of age and 

16 their parents; and 

17 (2) may use not more than 15 percent of the 

18 grant funds to award subgrants to local agencies to 

19 establish, expand, or enhance elementary school par20 ent education and family engagement programs serv21 ing children between 5 and 8 years of age and their 

22 parents to assist with the transition to elementary 

23 school. 

24 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—A State may use not more 

25 than 2 percent of the amount received under this Act for 


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1 any fiscal year to pay for the administrative costs of the 

2 program supported by the grant. 

3 SEC. 7. SUBGRANTS. 

4 (a) SUBGRANTS AUTHORIZED.—A State receiving a 

5 grant under this Act shall use grant funds, in accordance 

6 with section 6(a), to award subgrants, on a competitive 

7 basis, to local agencies to enable the local agencies to es8 tablish, expand, or enhance early childhood and elemen9 tary school parent education and family engagement pro10 grams through the activities described in subsection (d). 

11 (b) APPLICATIONS.—A local agency desiring a 

12 subgrant under this section shall submit an application to 

13 the State at such time, in such manner, and containing 

14 such information as the State may reasonably require. 

15 (c) CONSULTATION.—Each local agency receiving a 

16 subgrant under this section shall develop the program car17 ried out with grant funds in consultation with— 

18 (1) other Federal, State, or local government19 sponsored early childhood care and education pro20 grams, including child care programs supported 

21 through Federal, State, or local funding sources, 

22 Early Head Start programs, Head Start programs, 

23 early childhood mental health providers, early inter24 vention services, and home visiting programs for 

25 young children, as appropriate; and 


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1 (2) parents who will be participating in the pro2 gram carried out under the subgrant. 

3 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A program carried 

5 out by a local agency receiving a subgrant under this 

6 section shall include— 

7 (A) support for parent education activities 

8 to enhance the skills of parents to provide for 

9 and understand their children’s learning proc10 esses and intellectual, social, emotional, and 

11 physical development, including instruction in 

12 positive parenting practices through parent13 child interaction; 

14 (B) training and professional development 

15 for early childhood educators in— 

16 (i) strategies for engaging parents, es17 pecially working parents, in parent edu18 cation activities; and 

19 (ii) culturally and linguistically appro20 priate approaches to discussing parenting, 

21 behavior management, and healthy child 

22 development; 

23 (C) training for parent educators and early 

24 childhood educators in— 


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1 (i) detecting challenges to children’s 

2 physical, cognitive, social and emotional, or 

3 behavioral development that may lead to 

4 learning problems and can be addressed 

5 through the community resources described 

6 in paragraph (2)(A); and 

7 (ii) improving child and family health, 

8 safety, and stability; and 

9 (D) coordination between early childhood 

10 educators and instructional staff at elementary 

11 schools in the same geographic area as the local 

12 agency, in order to establish ongoing channels 

13 of communication to help teachers, early child14 hood educators, and parents prepare children 

15 for school. 

16 (2) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A program car17 ried out by a local agency receiving a subgrant 

18 under this section may include— 

19 (A) coordination with, and referral to, re20 lated community resources, including, where ap21 propriate— 

22 (i) child care subsidy services; 

23 (ii) health and mental health services; 


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1 (iii) early intervention services pro2 vided under part C of Individuals with Dis3 abilities Education Act; 

4 (iv) employment and financial serv5 ices; 

6 (v) adult education services; and 

7 (vi) home visiting services; 

8 (B) indirect parental involvement activities 

9 designed to update parents and families on the 

10 progress of their children and the other activi11 ties of the program, such as newsletter-related 

12 activities, parent-teacher conferences, or other 

13 parent outreach activities, when the use of such 

14 indirect parental involvement activities support 

15 the activities described in paragraph (1); and 

16 (C) other parent and family education or 

17 engagement activities to improve the health, de18 velopment, and school readiness of children. 

19 (e) RESTRICTIONS.—A local agency receiving a 

20 subgrant under this section may not use such funds for 

21 routine child care or early childhood education program 

22 services that are not directly related to parent education 

23 or family engagement programs. 

24 (f) REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—A local agency that re2 ceives a subgrant under this section shall submit an 

3 annual report to the State and to the Secretaries at 

4 such time, in such manner, and containing such in5 formation as the Secretaries may require, including 

6 at a minimum— 

7 (A) data on the number and characteristics 

8 of parents and families who have received serv9 ices from the local agency’s program, includ10 ing— 

11 (i) the number and percentage of such 

12 families with incomes below the poverty 

13 line (as defined by the Office of Manage14 ment and Budget and revised annually in 

15 accordance with section 673(2) of the 

16 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to a family of 

18 the size involved; and 

19 (ii) the number and percentage of 

20 such families that include children with 

21 high needs, including— 

22 (I) children with disabilities, as 

23 defined in section 602 of the Individ24 uals with Disabilities Education Act 

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1 mental delays, as defined in section 

2 632 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1432); 

3 (II) children who are dual lan4 guage learners; 

5 (III) children who reside on In6 dian lands, as defined in section 8013 

7 of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 7713); and 

10 (IV) children who are migrant, 

11 homeless, or in foster care; 

12 (B) data demonstrating an increase in the 

13 availability and quality of parent education and 

14 family engagement services in communities in 

15 which the local agency operates; 

16 (C) data describing the training provided 

17 to teachers, early childhood educators, and par18 ents; 

19 (D) evidence of improved support for par20 ents and children to help promote successful 

21 transitions for children into elementary school; 

22 (E) evidence that parents developed posi23 tive relationships with early childhood care and 

24 education staff and gained confidence in ad25 dressing family specific needs, including— 


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1 (i) family safety and stability; and 

2 (ii) family health and mental health; 

3 and 

4 (F) if a local agency uses funds under this 

5 Act for permissible activities under subsection 

6 (d)(2), evidence of coordination with, and refer7 ral to, related community resources, including 

8 evidence that parents were referred to and 

9 accessed services described in subsection 

10 (d)(2)(A). 

11 SEC. 8. RESEARCH, EVALUATION, AND DISSEMINATION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall enter into 

13 an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, 

14 under which the National Academy of Sciences shall con15 duct a study and evaluation, including a report, on best 

16 practices that support the purposes of this Act, including 

17 best practices— 

18 (1) for training early childhood educators and 

19 parents in detecting children’s physical, cognitive, 

20 social and emotional, or behavioral developmental 

21 issues that are associated with learning problems; 

22 (2) for training and professional development 

23 for early childhood educators (including early child24 hood care and education program directors) in— 


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1 (A) strategies for engaging parents, espe2 cially working parents, in parent education ac3 tivities; and 

4 (B) culturally and linguistically appro5 priate approaches to discussing parenting, be6 havior management, and healthy child develop7 ment, especially in areas with diverse popu8 lations of children and families; 

9 (3) for training parent educators and early 

10 childhood educators in identifying and preventing 

11 child abuse and neglect; and 

12 (4) for referring parents to community re13 sources and services to address identified family 

14 needs. 

15 (b) SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.—The evaluation described 

16 in subsection (a) shall carry out all of the following: 

17 (1) Assess the impact of each local agency’s 

18 program, using evidence of the program’s outcomes, 

19 including— 

20 (A) increased quality of parent education 

21 and engagement services within early childhood 

22 care and education programs; and 

23 (B) improved child and family health, safe24 ty, and stability. 


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1 (2) Identify factors that foster or hinder the 

2 successful implementation of each local agency’s pro3 gram. 

4 (3) Utilize the data on best practices, as de5 scribed in subsection (a), to provide information to 

6 each local agency that can be used to drive program 

7 improvement. 

8 (4) Generate and disseminate information about 

9 best practices, as described in subsection (a), that 

10 are associated with— 

11 (A) increased quality of parent education 

12 and family engagement services within early 

13 childhood care and education programs; and 

14 (B) improved child and family health, safe15 ty, and stability. 

16 (c) REPORTING SCHEDULE AND PLAN.—The Secre17 taries shall work with the National Academy of Sciences 

18 to establish and approve a reporting schedule and a re19 search, evaluation, and dissemination plan for the evalua20 tion described in subsection (a). 

21 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretaries shall 

22 submit an annual report to the Committee on Health, 

23 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Com24 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on 

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1 tives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

2 of Representatives, on the lessons learned through pro3 grams funded under this Act. 

4 SEC. 9. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

5 (a) SUPPLEMENT AND NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant and 

6 subgrant funds provided under this Act shall supplement, 

7 and not supplant, other Federal, State, and local funds 

8 that are available for early childhood parent education and 

9 family engagement programs. States receiving grant 

10 funds, and local agencies receiving subgrant funds, under 

11 this Act may provide additional funds, other than those 

12 received under this Act, to enhance the parent education 

13 and family engagement programs that are supported by 

14 such grant or subgrant funds. 

15 (b) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State that re16 ceives funds under this part for a fiscal year shall main17 tain the fiscal effort provided by the State for the activities 

18 supported by the funds under this Act at a level equal 

19 to or greater than the level of such fiscal effort for the 

20 preceding fiscal year. 

21 (c) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—Family participa22 tion in any program supported under this Act shall be vol23 untary and shall not preclude the family’s participation 

24 in other Federal, State, or local programs. 


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1 SEC. 10. INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT. 

2 The Secretary of Education and the Secretary of 

3 Health and Human Services shall jointly develop policies 

4 for, and administer activities under, this Act in accordance 

5 with such terms as the Secretaries shall set forth in an 

6 interagency agreement. Such interagency agreement, at a 

7 minimum, shall include a description of the respective 

8 roles and responsibilities of the Secretaries in carrying out 

9 this Act. 

10 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this Act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 

13 2014 through 2019. 

Æ 


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