I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5769 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 

grants to local educational agencies to establish ‘‘Family Friendly 

School’’ policies at 500 elementary schools that align the school day 

with the work day to better support working families and to disseminate 

the learnings from these model schools so that other local educational 

agencies may adopt these practices, and to establish a supplemental 

21st century community learning centers grant program to support programs and activities during summer recess when school is not in session. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 

Mr. MORELLE 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 provide grants to local educational agencies 

to establish ‘‘Family Friendly School’’ policies at 500 

elementary schools that align the school day with the 

work day to better support working families and to disseminate the learnings from these model schools so that 

other local educational agencies may adopt these practices, and to establish a supplemental 21st century community learning centers grant program to support programs and activities during summer recess when school 

is not in session. 


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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 ‘‘Family Friendly 

5 Schools Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Schools are shut down for an average of 29 

9 days throughout the school year, which is 2 weeks 

10 longer than the typical American with paid leave has 

11 in paid holidays and vacation. 

12 (2) Moreover, 39 percent of all workers, and 80 

13 percent of low-wage workers, lack access to any paid 

14 vacation time. 

15 (3) Most schools close at or around 3 p.m., 2 

16 hours short of the standard full-time work day. 

(4) Fewer than 1 17 ⁄2 of elementary schools and 

fewer than 1 18 ⁄3 of low-income schools offer before and 

19 afterschool care. 

20 (5) In communities across the Nation, 1 in 5 

21 school-aged children were unsupervised after school. 

22 (6) In 2014, parents of approximately 

23 19,400,000 children who were not in an afterschool 

24 program said that their children would participate if 

25 a program were available. 


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1 (7) If families pay out of pocket for child care 

2 to cover the excess school closure days and the hours 

3 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., it would cost an average 

4 of $6,600 per year, or 9 percent of an average fam5 ily’s income. 

6 (8) Moreover, 73 percent of families report 

7 some difficulty in finding summer care. 

8 (9) Many working parents are forced to make 

9 job-related changes during the summer. In 57 per10 cent of families, at least one parent makes a change 

11 to their job that is likely to result in a smaller paycheck, and in nearly 1 12 ⁄3 of families, both parents 

13 make a job sacrifice. 

14 (10) The misalignment of school and work 

15 schedules creates a significant strain on working 

16 parents and guardians, particularly mothers and 

17 Black, Latino, low-income, and single working par18 ents, and those with irregular schedules. 

19 (11) Misaligned school schedules cost the 

20 United States economy $55,000,000,000 in lost pro21 ductivity annually. 

22 (12) 1,000,000 women with elementary school23 aged children work less than full time because of 

24 their caregiving responsibilities. 


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1 (13) More than 8 in 10 parents of children in 

2 afterschool programs agree that afterschool pro3 grams help working parents keep their jobs. 

4 (14) More than half of families report a desire 

5 for their child to participate in a summer learning 

6 program. 

7 (15) Aligning school and work schedules is both 

8 an economic growth and child development strategy. 

9 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR FAMILY FRIENDLY 

10 SCHOOLS. 

11 Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

12 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘PART G—FAMILY FRIENDLY SCHOOLS 

15 ‘‘SEC. 4701. GRANT PROGRAM FOR FAMILY FRIENDLY 

16 SCHOOLS. 

17 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

19 grants to eligible entities to enable the establishment 

20 of ‘Family Friendly School’ policies at a total of 500 

21 elementary schools that align the school day with the 

22 work day to better support working families. 

23 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—Each grant awarded under 

24 this section shall be for a 5-year period. 


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1 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT.—Each grant awarded under this 

2 section shall be in an amount that is not more than 

3 $5,000,000 for the grant period for each elementary 

4 school at which Family Friendly School policies are 

5 established by the eligible entity. In determining the 

6 grant amount, the Secretary shall consider the num7 ber of students served. 

8 ‘‘(4) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condi9 tion of receiving a grant under this section, an eligi10 ble entity shall provide, from non-Federal sources, 

11 matching funds in an amount equal to not less than 

12 10 percent of the cost of establishing Family Friend13 ly School policies under this section. A parent copay14 ment or fee collected by the eligible entity shall not 

15 qualify as matching funds. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the term 

17 ‘eligible entity’ means— 

18 ‘‘(1) a local educational agency— 

19 ‘‘(A) that serves schools receiving assist20 ance under part A of title I; and 

21 ‘‘(B) that— 

22 ‘‘(i) has not reduced the instructional 

23 time or number of instructional days for 

24 elementary schools at any point during the 


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1 4-year period preceding the date of the ap2 plication for a grant under this section; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) has reduced the instructional 

4 time or number of instructional days for 

5 elementary schools at any point during the 

6 4-year period preceding the date of the ap7 plication for a grant under this section but 

8 pledges— 

9 ‘‘(I) to reverse the reduction 

10 without the use of Federal funds; and 

11 ‘‘(II) to return any Federal funds 

12 received under this section if the local 

13 educational agency does not reverse 

14 the reduction without the use of Fed15 eral funds not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of receipt of the Federal 

17 funds; or 

18 ‘‘(2) a local educational agency described in 

19 paragraph (1) in partnership with a nonprofit or 

20 community-based organization with a demonstrated 

21 record of providing high-quality enrichment activities 

22 for children. 

23 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 

24 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica25 tion at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 


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1 such information as the Secretary may require, includ2 ing— 

3 ‘‘(1) the number of elementary schools at which 

4 the eligible entity desires to establish Family Friend5 ly School policies; 

6 ‘‘(2) how such elementary schools will align 

7 with other schools and local educational agencies in 

8 the same geographic area in ways that support 

9 working families with children in different schools; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(3) how such elementary schools will make 

12 necessary adjustments to transportation to serve 

13 students attending such schools, including students 

14 with disabilities. 

15 ‘‘(d) AWARD OF GRANTS.—In awarding grants under 

16 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible en17 tities that— 

18 ‘‘(1) serve schools that have been identified by 

19 the local educational agency in the eligible entity to 

20 have the greatest need for aligning the school day 

21 with the work day to better support working families 

22 (such as through a survey of parents in the district 

23 to identify which schools have the most single par24 ents who work outside the home, families with 2 


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1 working parents, or parents working irregular sched2 ules); and 

3 ‘‘(2) propose— 

4 ‘‘(A) to restructure and expand the school 

5 day to better meet the needs of working fami6 lies, students, and teachers rather than adding 

7 on to the existing, unchanged school schedule; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) to leverage community resources, 

10 such as nonprofit or government programs for 

11 children or interested stakeholders in the com12 munity, to provide academic, athletic, or enrich13 ment activities during the additional school 

14 hours. 

15 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) PLANNING.—An eligible entity that re17 ceives a grant under this section shall spend the first 

18 year of the grant planning and consulting with 

19 teachers, parents, students, and community organi20 zations about how best to design and implement the 

21 Family Friendly School policies. Such first year 

22 grant period shall include a needs and assets assess23 ment that identifies the academic, nonacademic, 

24 physical and mental health, and other needs that 

25 would be most helpful in supporting working families 


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1 as they seek to maintain employment while sup2 porting their children’s development. 

3 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF FAMILY FRIENDLY

4 SCHOOL POLICIES.—An eligible entity that receives a 

5 grant under this section shall establish, after the 

6 first year of the grant period, Family Friendly 

7 School policies at an elementary school in accord8 ance with the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) If the eligible entity serves both 

10 schools that receive assistance under part A of 

11 title I and schools that do not receive assistance 

12 under such part, the eligible entity shall first 

13 serve, with funds provided under the grant, 

14 schools that receive assistance under such part. 

15 ‘‘(B) An elementary school at which Fam16 ily Friendly School policies are established shall 

17 not increase the amount of time teachers, para18 professionals, and other school staff have to 

19 work unless they volunteer to work additional 

20 hours, which additional hours shall be com21 pensated at no less than the rate the teachers, 

22 paraprofessionals, and other school staff earn 

23 for regular school hours. 

24 ‘‘(C) An elementary school at which Fam25 ily Friendly School policies are established shall 


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1 collaborate with community partners to develop 

2 high-quality, culturally relevant, linguistically 

3 accessible, developmentally appropriate aca4 demic, athletic, extracurricular, enrichment, or 

5 community-based learning opportunities, for 

6 students from at least 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (or dif7 ferent hours if determined appropriate due to 

8 the needs of the community) Monday through 

9 Friday during the school year. 

10 ‘‘(D) An elementary school at which Fam11 ily Friendly School policies are established shall 

12 not close throughout the school year, except on 

13 Federal holidays, weekends, and during weather 

14 emergencies and other emergencies that would 

15 make it a safety liability for children to be at 

16 school. Specifically, each elementary school at 

17 which Family Friendly School policies are es18 tablished may not close for parent-teacher con19 ferences, professional development, or for any 

20 other reason without offering full day enrich21 ment activities free of charge for students. 

22 ‘‘(E) An elementary school at which Fam23 ily Friendly School policies are established shall 

24 develop and implement evidence-based policies 

25 and practices for parent and family engagement 


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1 to support working families and help better 

2 align school and work schedules, which shall in3 clude at least one of the following activities: 

4 ‘‘(i) Providing one or more of the par5 ent and family engagement activities per6 mitted under this Act. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Providing assistance to families 

8 to leverage existing programs that support 

9 working families, such as programs under 

10 the Child Care and Development Block 

11 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et 

12 seq.), the program of block grants to 

13 States for temporary assistance for needy 

14 families under part A of title IV of the So15 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), 

16 the Medicaid program under title XIX of 

17 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 

18 seq.), and the supplemental nutrition as19 sistance program under the Food and Nu20 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 

21 seq.). 

22 ‘‘(iii) Making school buildings avail23 able for programs that serve parents, stu24 dents, and families when school is not in 

25 session. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Hosting parent-teacher con2 ferences and other school events in the 

3 evening, or at times that are convenient for 

4 parents who work outside the home, or 

5 using technology to speak with parents vir6 tually. 

7 ‘‘(v) Engaging in any other activities 

8 and strategies appropriate and consistent 

9 with the school’s parent and family en10 gagement policies and practices, which may 

11 include consulting with parents, students, 

12 and community organizations to support 

13 collaborative leadership. 

14 ‘‘(F) An elementary school at which Fam15 ily Friendly School policies are established shall 

16 annually survey parents, teachers, students, 

17 school administrators, and community organiza18 tions throughout the 5-year grant period to ask 

19 about their satisfaction with the programs and 

20 activities funded through the grant. 

21 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION ACTIVITIES.—An eligible 

22 entity that receives a grant under this section may 

23 allocate not more than 2 percent of the grant funds 

24 to the local mayor or other head of the locality to 

25 coordinate with the eligible entity, parents, teachers, 


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1 school administrators, local businesses, the local 

2 workforce development board, and other community 

3 organizations to strategize about how elementary 

4 schools at which Family Friendly School policies are 

5 established will align their calendar with other 

6 schools served by the eligible entity and with other 

7 schools in the same geographic region in ways that 

8 support working families with children in different 

9 schools. 

10 ‘‘(f) REPORT AND EVALUATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the 3-year mark in the 

12 grant period and at the conclusion of the 5-year 

13 grant period, the Secretary shall report to Congress 

14 on— 

15 ‘‘(A) approaches taken by the elementary 

16 schools at which Family Friendly School poli17 cies are established to align school and work 

18 schedules, including district-level changes or 

19 supports provided to schools to assist these ef20 forts; 

21 ‘‘(B) survey results on parent, teacher, 

22 student, school administrator, and community 

23 organization satisfaction with elementary 

24 schools at which Family Friendly School poli25 cies are established; 


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1 ‘‘(C) where available, information about 

2 changes in parental employment over the 5-year 

3 grant period for each elementary school at 

4 which Family Friendly School policies are es5 tablished, which may include information pro6 vided voluntarily by parents about— 

7 ‘‘(i) changes in parental employment 

8 rates by gender; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) changes in parental wages by 

10 gender; 

11 ‘‘(D) aggregate improvements in student 

12 engagement and performance, such as improve13 ments in grades, standardized test scores, class 

14 participation, classroom behavior, and attend15 ance rates, including rates of chronic absentee16 ism and tardiness, for each elementary school 

17 at which Family Friendly School policies are es18 tablished; 

19 ‘‘(E) changes in overall teacher compensa20 tion and retention rates over the grant period 

21 for each elementary school at which Family 

22 Friendly School policies are established; 

23 ‘‘(F) best practices and recommendations 

24 for creating schools that better align school and 

25 work schedules; 


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1 ‘‘(G) best practices and recommendations 

2 for communities to align school schedules and 

3 calendars among all schools within a school dis4 trict and with schools in other school districts, 

5 and between schools and businesses; 

6 ‘‘(H) best practices and recommendations 

7 for parent and family engagement policies to 

8 support working families and help better align 

9 school and work schedules; and 

10 ‘‘(I) best practices and recommendations 

11 for strengthening partnerships between schools 

12 and community resources. 

13 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATION.—The information pro14 vided under paragraph (1) shall be disaggregated by 

15 race, ethnicity, and income, where appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(3) PRIVACY.—The Secretary shall collect and 

17 disseminate information under this subsection in a 

18 manner that protects the privacy of individuals. 

19 ‘‘(g) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible en20 tity that receives a grant under this section shall use the 

21 grant funds to supplement, and not supplant, other funds 

22 available to carry out the activities described in this sec23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion shall be construed to alter, diminish, or otherwise afVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Sep 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5769.IH H5769

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1 fect the rights, remedies, and procedures afforded to indi2 viduals employed by schools or local educational agen3 cies.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. SUPPLEMENTAL 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY 

5 LEARNING CENTERS GRANT PROGRAM. 

6 Part B of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary 

7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7171 et seq.) is amend8 ed by striking section 4206 and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 4206. SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS FOR SUMMER PRO10 GRAMS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

12 under section 4207(b), the Secretary shall carry out a sup13 plemental grant program under this part, through which 

14 grants shall be allotted to States in accordance with sec15 tion 4202 (except that section 4202(a)(1) shall not apply). 

16 ‘‘(b) TERMS, CONDITIONS, REQUIREMENTS.—The 

17 terms, conditions, and requirements of this part shall 

18 apply to supplemental grants awarded under this section 

19 (including requirements relating to the State use of funds, 

20 State application and approval process, the local competi21 tive subgrant program, and local activities), except that 

22 funds awarded to eligible entities for community learning 

23 centers under this section shall be awarded for community 

24 learning centers that propose— 


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1 ‘‘(1) to establish or expand programs and ac2 tivities carried out during summer recess when 

3 school is not in session; or 

4 ‘‘(2) to establish or expand programs and ac5 tivities— 

6 ‘‘(A) carried out during summer recess 

7 when school is not in session; and 

8 ‘‘(B) carried out during afterschool hours. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 4207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap11 propriated to carry out this part (other than section 4206) 

12 $1,300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

13 2028. 

14 ‘‘(b) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS FOR SUMMER PRO15 GRAMS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 

16 out section 4206 $1,300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

17 2024 through 2028.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

19 Section 4202 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7172) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

22 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 4206’’ and in23 serting ‘‘section 4207(a)’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘section 

2 4206’’ and inserting ‘‘section 4207(a)’’. 

Æ 


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