H. R. 1804—63
(7) Public Law 96–88 specified that no provision of a pro-
gram administered by the Secretary or by any other officer
of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare shall
be construed to authorize the Secretary or any such officer
to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the
curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or person-
nel of any educational institution, school, or school system,
over any accrediting agency or association or over the selection
or content of library resources, textbooks, or other instructional
materials by any educational institution or school system.
(b) REAFFIRMATION.—The Congress agrees and reaffirms that
the responsibility for control of education is reserved to the States
and local school systems and other instrumentalities of the States
and that no action shall be taken under the provisions of this
Act by the Federal Government which would, directly or indirectly,
impose standards or requirements of any kind through the
promulgation of rules, regulations, provision of financial assistance
and otherwise, which would reduce, modify, or undercut State and
local responsibility for control of education.
TITLE IV—PARENTAL ASSISTANCE
SEC. 401. PARENTAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCE CENTERS.
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is—
(1) to increase parents’ knowledge of and confidence in
child-rearing activities, such as teaching and nurturing their
young children;
(2) to strengthen partnerships between parents and profes-
sionals in meeting the educational needs of children aged birth
through 5 and the working relationship between home and
school;
(3) to enhance the developmental progress of children
assisted under this title; and
(4) to fund at least 1 parental information and resource
center in each State before September 30, 1998.
(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to award
grants in each fiscal year to nonprofit organizations, and non-
profit organizations in consortia with local educational agencies,
to establish parental information and resource centers that
provide training, information, and support to—
(A) parents of children aged birth through 5 years;
(B) parents of children enrolled in elementary and
secondary schools; and
(C) individuals who work with the parents described
in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(2) AWARD
RULE.—In awarding grants under this title,
the Secretary shall ensure that such grants are distributed,
to the greatest extent possible, to all geographic regions of
the United States.
SEC. 402. APPLICATIONS.
(a) GRANTS APPLICATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each nonprofit organization and nonprofit
organization in consortium with a local educational agency
which desires a grant under this title shall submit an applica-
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tion to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as
the Secretary shall determine.
(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under para-
graph (1) shall, at a minimum, include assurances that a
grantee will—
(A)(i) be governed by a board of directors the member-
ship of which includes parents; or
(ii) be an organization that represents the interests
of parents;
(B) establish a special advisory committee the member-
ship of which—
(i) includes—
(I) parents described in subparagraphs (A) and
(B) of section 401(b)(1); and
(II) representatives of education professionals
with expertise in improving services for disadvan-
taged children; and
(ii) is broadly representative of minority, low-
income, and other individuals and groups that have
an interest in compensatory education and family lit-
eracy;
(C) use at least one-half of the funds provided under
this Act in each fiscal year to serve areas with high con-
centrations of low-income families in order to serve parents
who are severely educationally or economically disadvan-
taged;
(D) operate a center of sufficient size, scope, and quality
to ensure that the center is adequate to serve the parents
in the area;
(E) serve both urban and rural areas;
(F) design a center that meets the unique training,
information, and support needs of parents described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 401(b)(1), particularly
parents who are educationally or economically disadvan-
taged;
(G) demonstrate the capacity and expertise to conduct
the effective training information and support activities
for which assistance is sought;
(H) network with—
(i) clearinghouses;
(ii) parent centers for the parents of infants, tod-
dlers, children, and youth with disabilities served
under section 631(e) of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act;
(iii) other organizations and agencies;
(iv) established national, State, and local parent
groups representing the full range of parents of chil-
dren, aged birth through 5 years; and
(v) parents of children enrolled in elementary and
secondary schools;
(I) focus on serving parents described in subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of section 401(b) who are parents of low-income,
minority, and limited-English proficient, children; and
(J) use part of the funds received under this title
to establish, expand, or operate Parents as Teachers pro-
grams or Home Instruction for Preschool Youngsters pro-
grams.
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(b) GRANT RENEWAL.—In each fiscal year after the first fiscal
year a grantee receives assistance under this title, the grantee
shall demonstrate in the application submitted for each fiscal year
after such first year that a portion of the services provided by
such grantee is supported through non-Federal contributions, which
contributions may be in cash or in kind.
SEC. 403. USES OF FUNDS.
Grant funds received under this title may be used—
(1) for parent training, information, and support programs
that assist parents to—
(A) better understand their children’s educational
needs;
(B) provide followup support for their children’s edu-
cational achievement;
(C) communicate more effectively with teachers, coun-
selors, administrators, and other professional educators and
support staff;
(D) participate in the design and provision of assistance
to students who are not making adequate educational
progress;
(E) obtain information about the range of options, pro-
grams, services, and resources available at the national,
State, and local levels to assist parents described in sub-
paragraphs (A) and (B) of section 401(b);
(F) seek technical assistance regarding compliance with
the requirements of this title and of other Federal programs
relevant to achieving the National Education Goals;
(G) participate in State and local decisionmaking;
(H) train other parents; and
(I) plan, implement, and fund activities that coordinate
the education of their children with other Federal programs
that serve their children or their families; and
(2) to include State or local educational personnel where
such participation will further the activities assisted under
the grant.
SEC. 404. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
The Secretary shall provide technical assistance, by grant or
contract, for the establishment, development, and coordination of
parent training, information and support programs and parental
information and resource centers.
SEC. 405. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title—
(1) the term ‘‘parent education’’ includes parent support
activities, the provision of resource materials on child develop-
ment, parent-child learning activities and child rearing issues,
private and group educational guidance, individual and group
learning experiences for the parent and child, and other activi-
ties that enable the parent to improve learning in the home;
(2) the term ‘‘Parents as Teachers program’’ means a vol-
untary early childhood parent education program that—
(A) is designed to provide all parents of children from
birth through age 5 with the information and support such
parents need to give their child a solid foundation for
school success;
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(B) is based on the Missouri Parents as Teachers model
with the philosophy that parents are their child’s first
and most influential teachers;
(C) provides—
(i) regularly scheduled personal visits with families
by certified parent educators;
(ii) regularly scheduled developmental screenings;
and
(iii) linkage with other resources within the
community in order to provide services that parents
may want and need, except that such services are
beyond the scope of the Parents as Teachers program;
(3) the term ‘‘Home Instruction for Preschool Youngsters
program’’ means a voluntary early-learning program for parents
with one or more children between the ages of 3 through
5, that—
(A) provides support, training, and appropriate edu-
cational materials necessary for parents to implement a
school-readiness, home instruction program for their child;
and
(B) includes—
(i) group meetings with other parents participating
in the program;
(ii) individual and group learning experiences with
the parent and child;
(iii) provision of resource materials on child devel-
opment and parent-child learning activities; and
(iv) other activities that enable the parent to
improve learning in the home.
SEC. 406. REPORTS.
Each organization receiving a grant under this title shall sub-
mit to the Secretary, on an annual basis, information concerning
the parental information and resource centers assisted under this
title, including—
(1) the number of parents, including the number of minority
and limited-English-proficient parents, who receive information
and training;
(2) the types and modes of training, information, and sup-
port provided under this title;
(3) the number of Parents as Teachers programs and Home
Instruction for Preschool Youngsters programs which have been
assisted under this title; and
(4) the strategies used to reach and serve parents of minor-
ity and limited-English-proficient children, parents with limited
literacy skills, and other parents in need of the services pro-
vided under this title.
SEC. 407. GENERAL PROVISION.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this title—
(1) no person, including a parent who educates a child
at home, public school parent, or private school parent, shall
be required to participate in any program of parent education
or developmental screening pursuant to the provisions of this
title;
(2) no program assisted under this title shall take any
action that infringes in any manner on the right of a parent
to direct the education of their children; and