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# U.S. Department of Education Creates National Parents and Families Engagement Council to Help Ensure Recovery Efforts Meet Students’ Needs

# U.S. Department of Education Creates National Parents and Families Engagement Council to Help Ensure Recovery Efforts Meet Students’ Needs

June 14, 2022

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
Today,  the U.S. Department of Education launched the National Parents and Families  Engagement Council (the Council) to facilitate strong and effective  relationships between schools and parents, families and caregivers. Families’  voices play a critical role in how the nation’s children are recovering from  the pandemic.

“Parents  are a child’s first teachers, and there’s no one better equipped to work with  schools and educators to identify what students need to recover,” said U.S.  Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The National Parents and Families  Engagement Council will serve as an important link between families and caregivers,  education advocates and their school communities. The Council will help foster  a collaborative environment where we can work together to serve the best  interest of students and ensure they have the academic and mental health  support they need to recover from the pandemic and thrive in the future.”

The  Council consists of parent, family, or caregiver representatives from national  organizations that will work with the Department to identify constructive ways  to help families engage at the local level. Organization representatives will  reflect the diversity of the education system, including, but not limited to,  families of students in public schools, charters, private schools, and  homeschool. The Council will be a channel for parents and families to constructively  participate in their children’s education by helping them understand the rights  they have, create a feedback loop with schools to shape how American Rescue  Plan (ARP) funds are deployed to meet students’ needs, and identify summer  learning and enrichment opportunities for children in their communities.

“Parents  provide critical perspective, and they should always have a seat at the table  whenever decisions are made that impact their children. And this is more  important than ever in the effort to help students recover from the COVID-19  pandemic,” said Anna King, president of National Parent Teacher Association  (PTA). “National PTA applauds the Department of Education for launching the  National Parents and Families Engagement Council and providing a channel for  parents’ voices to be heard and considered. This is essential to help make sure  the needs of students are met coming out of the pandemic and ensure every child  has everything they need to make their potential a reality.”

“NAFSCE  congratulates the Department of Education for establishing a National Parents  and Families Engagement Council,” said Vito Borrello, executive director of the  National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE).  “This Council provides the opportunity to bring diverse parent voices together  to inform the Department’s policies and programs, while also serving as a  dissemination vehicle for engaging families across the country in equitable  education policy.”  At  launch, Council members include:
- The Council of Parent Attorneys       and Advocates (COPAA)
- Fathers Incorporated
- Generations United
- Girls Inc.
- League of United Latin American       Citizens (LULAC)
- Mocha Moms
- National Association for       Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE)
- National Action Network
- National Military Family       Association (NMFA)
- National Parent Teacher       Association (PTA)
- National Parents Union (NPU)
- The National Center for Parent       Leadership, Advocacy, and Community Empowerment (PLACE)
- United Parent Leaders Action       Network (UPLAN)
- UnidosUS

In  the coming weeks, the Council will meet to discuss how their children are  recovering; the different ways schools are providing academic, mental health  and social and emotional support; and how they can best constructively engage  with schools. In the coming months, the Department and the Council will hold  local listening sessions with parents, families, principals, educators, and  school community members to better understand the needs of students as they  start the 2022-23 school year.
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