II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2145

To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to allow employees

to take parental involvement leave to participate in or attend the educational activities of their children.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 27, 1996

Mr. HARKIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to

allow employees to take parental involvement leave to

participate in or attend the educational activities of their

children.

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 ‘‘Strengthen Families,

5 Strengthen Education Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LEAVE FOR PRIVATE EM2 PLOYEES.

3 (a) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 102(a) of the

4 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C.

5 2612(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(3) ENTITLEMENT TO PARENTAL INVOLVE7 MENT LEAVE.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section

9 103(f), an eligible employee shall be entitled to

10 a total of 4 hours of leave during any 30-day

11 period, and a total of 24 hours of leave during

12 any 12-month period, to participate in or attend

13 an activity that—

14 ‘‘(i) is sponsored by a school; and

15 ‘‘(ii) relates to an academic program

16 that is sponsored by the school and is at17 tended by a son or daughter of the em18 ployee.

19 ‘‘(B) RELATIONSHIP TO FAMILY AND MED20 ICAL LEAVE.—The amount of leave taken by an

21 eligible employee under this paragraph during a

22 12-month period shall be subtracted from the

23 amount of leave available to the employee under

24 paragraph (1) for such 12-month period.

25 ‘‘(C) DEFINITION.—As used in this para26 graph, the term ‘school’ means an elementary
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1 school or secondary school (as such terms are

2 defined in section 14101 of the Elementary and

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

4 8801)) and a Head Start program assisted

5 under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et

6 seq.).’’.

7 (b) SCHEDULE.—Section 102(b)(1) of such Act (29

8 U.S.C. 2612(b)(1)) is amended by inserting after the sec9 ond sentence the following: ‘‘Leave under subsection

10 (a)(3) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave

11 schedule.’’.

12 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section

13 102(d)(2)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2612(d)(2)(A)) is

14 amended by inserting before the period the following:

15 ‘‘, or for leave provided under subsection (a)(3) for any

16 part of the 24-hour period of such leave under such sub17 section’’.

18 (d) NOTICE.—Section 102(e)(1) of such Act (29

19 U.S.C. 2612(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the

20 following: ‘‘In any case in which an employee requests

21 leave under subsection (a)(3), the employee shall provide

22 the employer with not less than 7 days’ notice, before the

23 date the leave is to begin, of the employee’s intention to

24 take leave under such subsection.’’.
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1 (e) CERTIFICATION.—Section 103 of such Act (29

2 U.S.C. 2613) is amended by adding at the end the follow3 ing:

4 ‘‘(f) CERTIFICATION FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

5 LEAVE.—An employer may require that a request for

6 leave under section 102(a)(3) be supported by a certifi7 cation issued at such time and in such manner as the Sec8 retary may by regulation prescribe.’’.

9 SEC. 3. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LEAVE FOR PUBLIC EM10 PLOYEES.

11 (a) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 6382(a) of title

12 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

13 the following:

14 ‘‘(3)(A) Subject to section 6383(f), an employee shall

15 be entitled to a total of 4 hours of leave during any 30-

16 day period, and a total of 24 hours of leave during any

17 12-month period, to participate in or attend an activity

18 that—

19 ‘‘(i) is sponsored by a school; and

20 ‘‘(ii) relates to an academic program that is

21 sponsored by the school and is attended by a son or

22 daughter of the employee.

23 ‘‘(B) The amount of leave taken by an employee

24 under this paragraph during a 12-month period shall be
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1 subtracted from the amount of leave available to the em2 ployee under paragraph (1) for such 12-month period.

3 ‘‘(C) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘school’

4 means an elementary school or secondary school (as such

5 terms are defined in section 14101 of the Elementary and

6 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801)) and

7 a Head Start program assisted under the Head Start Act

8 (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).’’.

9 (b) SCHEDULE.—Section 6382(b)(1) of such title is

10 amended by inserting after the second sentence the follow11 ing: ‘‘Leave under subsection (a)(3) may be taken inter12 mittently or on a reduced leave schedule.’’.

13 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section

14 6382(d) of such title is amended by inserting before

15 ‘‘, except’’ the following: ‘‘, or for leave provided under

16 subsection (a)(3) any of the employee’s accrued or accu17 mulated annual leave under subchapter I for any part of

18 the 24-hour period of such leave under such subsection’’.

19 (d) NOTICE.—Section 6382(e)(1) of such title is

20 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In any case

21 in which an employee requests leave under subsection

22 (a)(3), the employee shall provide the employing agency

23 with not less than 7 days’ notice, before the date the leave

24 is to begin, of the employee’s intention to take leave under

25 such subsection.’’.
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1 (e) CERTIFICATION.—Section 6383 of such title is

2 amended by adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(f) An employing agency may require that a request

4 for leave under section 6382(a)(3) be supported by a cer5 tification issued at such time and in such manner as the

6 Office of Personnel Management may by regulation pre7 scribe.’’.

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