I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5436 

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 

MAY 7, 2012 

Mr. LOEBSACK 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 elementary and secondary school service-learning program 

22 that will expand opportunities for students to engage in 

23 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) improves post-school outcomes. 

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 to establish a National Center for K–12 

16 Service Learning— 

17 ‘‘(A) to provide resources to State edu18 cational agencies to develop and expand the ca19 pacity of local educational agencies to improve 

20 teacher quality, school climate, and educational 

21 outcomes by providing an infrastructure for 

22 sustainable service-learning efforts through vi23 sion and leadership, professional development, 

24 curriculum and assessment, school-community 


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1 collaborations, and continuous improvement; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) to provide oversight, establish link4 ages with key Federal education initiatives, fos5 ter sustainability, provide evidence for the 

6 strengths and limitations of service-learning 

7 practices, and disseminate study findings. 

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

9 10 percent for research and evaluation activities, in10 cluding a study, conducted by the Institute of Edu11 cation Sciences and connecting with State longitu12 dinal data systems, on the effects of academic serv13 ice learning on instructional quality and the aca14 demic success of students in low-performing schools. 

15 The study shall include the following elements: 

16 ‘‘(A) A comprehensive, rigorous research 

17 design that builds on prior studies on effective 

18 pedagogies, service learning, and student suc19 cess. 

20 ‘‘(B) Gathering qualitative and quan21 titative data to comprehensively assess the im22 pact service learning has on students’ academic, 

23 civic, and behavioral performance, including 

24 student engagement. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Tracking and measuring the success 

2 of systemic district-level change based on exem3 plary service-learning policies and practices. 

4 ‘‘(D) Measuring the effectiveness of a qual5 ity professional development leadership system, 

6 including the effect the professional develop7 ment provided under this section has on teach8 ing and pedagogy, including the impact on 

9 teachers likelihood of providing students with 

10 real-world problem-solving opportunities, oppor11 tunities for deeper learning and tying academic 

12 concepts to real-world contexts, opportunities 

13 for leadership, and opportunities for peer col14 laboration. 

15 ‘‘(E) Systematically measuring the influ16 ence of service-learning participation on stu17 dents’ academic achievement within and across 

18 States. 

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

20 the Congress. 

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

22 5 percent for training and technical assistance for 

23 State-level program development. The Secretary 

24 shall contract with an entity, or entities, with a demVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:15 May 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5436.IH H5436

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1 onstrated record of achievement in promoting and 

2 disseminating best practices in service learning— 

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

4 an ever-expanding knowledge base of exemplary 

5 service-learning models; 

6 ‘‘(B) to ensure the dissemination, adop7 tion, and continuous improvement of these ex8 emplary practices at the State and local level; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(C) to conduct specific activities, includ11 ing— 

12 ‘‘(i) developing and disseminating ex13 emplary program models that demonstrate 

14 how high-quality service-learning programs 

15 can be replicated and can become sustain16 able at the State and local level by advanc17 ing the use of service learning as a high18 quality instructional pedagogy; 

19 ‘‘(ii) providing resources to support 

20 effective policy development at the State 

21 and local level to advance efforts with re22 spect to high-quality teachers and equi23 table distribution of quality teachers; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) providing exemplary professional 

25 development models and technical assistVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:15 May 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5436.IH H5436

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1 ance materials that are available to any in2 terested party. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2504. STATE ACTIVITIES. 

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

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

6 Secretary that includes the following assurances: 

7 ‘‘(1) All local educational agencies in the State 

8 shall have access to high-quality professional devel9 opment and peer mentoring through a cascade 

10 model, including resources and ongoing support to 

11 transform instructional practices. 

12 ‘‘(2) The State educational agency shall gen13 erate strategies for improvement in the lowest per14 forming areas utilizing service-learning policies and 

15 practices, National School Climate Standards, and 

16 exemplary practices for enhancing teacher quality. 

17 ‘‘(3) The State educational agency shall estab18 lish State policies and support systems that result in 

19 effective programs. 

20 ‘‘(4) The State educational agency shall estab21 lish effective partnerships to develop systemic imple22 mentation of service learning in teacher preparation 

23 and professional development. 

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

25 made available to a State educational agency under this 


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1 part, the agency shall reserve 10 percent to support a serv2 ice-learning specialist who acts as a conduit of information 

3 between the State and local level, provides training and 

4 technical assistance, program improvement, and progress 

5 monitoring 

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

7 available to a State educational agency under this part, 

8 the agency shall reserve 30 percent to support the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(1) Collaboration and mentoring to increase 

11 consistency in implementation across States to en12 sure high-quality practice and sustainability. 

13 ‘‘(2) Implementation of a statewide cascade 

14 professional development model. 

15 ‘‘(3) Onsite support and mentoring of local edu16 cational agencies. 

17 ‘‘(4) Dissemination of resources to support 

18 quality implementation, capacity building, and sus19 tainability of local efforts, including through grants 

20 or contracts with qualified national intermediaries or 

21 community-based organizations. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 2505. SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN23 CIES. 

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

25 receives funds under this part shall use the funds remainVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:15 May 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5436.IH H5436

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1 ing after the application of section 2504 to make sub2 grants to local educational agencies that use— 

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

4 the content area disciplines and implementation of 

5 key educational innovations in areas with a high per6 centage of underperforming youth; and 

7 ‘‘(2) a cascade professional model to bring prac8 tice to scale. 

9 ‘‘(b) COMPETITIVE SUBGRANTS.—Subgrants shall be 

10 made on a competitive basis with consideration for geo11 graphic diversity, including an equitable distribution be12 tween urban and rural local educational agencies. Priority 

13 shall go to local education agencies with high proportions 

14 of students living in poverty or performing below grade 

15 level. 

16 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—A local educational agency ap17 plying for a subgrant under this section shall submit an 

18 application to the State educational agency that includes 

19 information on how— 

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

21 cascade professional development model, ensure sus22 tainability, and replicate the service-learning model 

23 to increase academic engagement and performance 

24 in content area courses, increase civic skills and en25 gagement, and enable students in low performing 


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1 schools to help their own communities by giving 

2 them the knowledge, skills, and opportunities nec3 essary to participate in high-quality service-learning 

4 experiences; 

5 ‘‘(2) educators will— 

6 ‘‘(A) receive support in using instructional 

7 practices that incorporate the application of 

8 academic knowledge and skills to address rel9 evant needs in their community; and 

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

11 goals for their instructional activities, and 

12 measure impact on both students and the com13 munity; and 

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

15 community-wide expectation that service learning is 

16 an essential part of a high-quality education. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 2506. DEFINITION OF CASCADE PROFESSIONAL DE18 VELOPMENT MODEL. 

19 ‘‘In this part, the term ‘cascade professional develop20 ment model’ means a professional development model in 

21 which specialists are trained in high-quality practice and 

22 delivery of professional development. These experts then 

23 train educators, who are responsible for training, men24 toring, and supporting their peers. This model allows for 


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1 replication of effective practice and increased consistency 

2 in quality among all States. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2507. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

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

6 2013 and succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con8 tents for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

9 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

10 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. 

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

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

Æ 


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