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# Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $11 Million to Expand and Support Parent Education and Family Engagement Efforts 

# Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $11 Million to Expand and Support Parent Education and Family Engagement Efforts 

October 11, 2023

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing $11.4 million in grants to 12 organizations in states and school districts  across the country to improve and strengthen family engagement programs. This investment builds on the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) “Raising the Bar for Parent  Partnership in Our Schools” efforts  to engage parents, family members, caregivers, or advocates. To date, the  current program has awarded nearly $83 million to expand and support parent and  family engagement.
“As a parent, teacher, and  former principal, I’ve seen firsthand how strong and productive relationships between educators and families are the foundation of thriving school communities,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The importance  of parent partnerships in our schools is backed by years of research  demonstrating how students benefit academically, socially, and emotionally from  robust family engagement. The grants announced by the Biden-Harris  Administration today will help schools across the country Raise the Bar for how  they engage parents, families, and caregivers, and ultimately, how they drive  student success.” 
The Statewide Family  Engagement Centers (SFEC) program provides financial support to  statewide organizations to carry out parent education and family engagement  programs. In addition, the program provides technical assistance and support to  state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) in the  implementation and enhancement of systemic and effective family engagement  policies, programs, and activities that lead to improvements in student development and academic achievement.
Services offered through SFEC are designed to assist parents in participating in their children’s education,  including by giving parents more confidence and empowering them to engage with  teachers and school leaders. The SFEC program, housed  within the Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, has  supported funding efforts to: 
- Provide direct services to families on how to effectively work with their child’s school and teachers to improve their child’s academic outcomes and overall well-being.
- Serve as critical centralized information hubs during and after the pandemic.
- Launch strategic surveys and publish key research findings to inform educators, practitioners, and families about the latest educational barriers and opportunities.
- Provide parents and caregivers with easy-to-understand, applicable information to solve present-day problems.

During the Department’s recent  “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar,” Secretary Cardona and senior officials listened to parents’ input across the country and discussed how  engagement in their children’s education can strongly enhance academic outcomes and contribute to better social-emotional outcomes. For example, during the  Kansas City, Missouri stop, the Secretary met with parents to share the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts around parental engagement and to discuss the importance of and value  in bringing their voices to the table in schools—regardless of their ethnic  background or socio-economic status. 
Also, this summer, the Department completed a six-part Family Engagement  Learning Series and hosted a series of Parent Empowerment Pop-Ups. On National Parents Day, the Department published a parent-written blog titled “Standing  Shoulder-to-Shoulder,” and  Secretary Cardona participated in a cookout in  Chicago with parents. The Department has also hosted the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments’ webinar on Strategies for Engaging Families to Support Students’ Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Well-Being and Success, as well as an Engage Every Student webinar on Parent and Family Engagement with out-of-school time practitioners. You can  also view the Department's publication of sample questions for parents and  families to help build strong partnerships with schools here. 
A complete list of the 12 SFEC grant  awards follows:

**CALIFORNIA**  Parent Institute for Quality Education, $943,493

**COLORADO**    The Keystone Center, $873,508

**CONNECTICUT**  Capitol Region Education Council, $962,290

**INDIANA**    Indiana Resource Center for Families with Special Needs,  Inc., $986,024

**KENTUCKY**    National Center for Families Learning, $748,072    National Center for Families Learning, $997,699  

**LOUISIANA**    Louisiana Children's Research Center for Development and  Learning, $859,044  

**MARYLAND**    Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium Inc., $983,574  

**NEW JERSEY**    Statewide Parent Advocacy Network, $999,389  

**OHIO**    The Ohio State University, $643,526  

**SOUTH CAROLINA**    University of South Carolina, $1,000,000  

**WEST VIRGINIA**    The EdVenture Group, Inc., $727,458  
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