I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3246 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish 
a Teacher Advisory Committee and a Parents and Families Advisory 
Committee. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 14, 2017 
Miss RICE of New York (for herself and Ms. STEFANIK) introduced the fol-
lowing 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 establish a Teacher Advisory Committee and 
a Parents and Families Advisory Committee. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teachers and Parents 
at the Table Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TEACHER ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 1004 (20 U.S.C. 6304) the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 1005. TEACHER ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
‘‘(1) Expert teachers offer an important re-
source to policymakers as they can bring their exper-
tise and perspective from the classroom to inform 
policy so that positive outcomes for all students will 
be maximized. 
‘‘(2) State Teachers of the Year represent a 
valuable resource with a body of expert knowledge 
and skill about instructional practice, 21st century 
learning, and school functioning that can be infused 
into policymaking to promote better outcomes for 
prekindergarten, elementary, and secondary stu-
dents. 
‘‘(3) State Teachers of the Year have been se-
lected by their communities and States as models of 
their profession and represent every State in the Na-
tion and every discipline and grade level. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish an advisory committee, to be known as the Teacher 
Advisory Committee (referred to in this section as the 
‘Committee’). 
‘‘(c) DUTY.—The duty of the Committee shall be to 
bring the perspective of expert teachers to policymakers 
regarding the implementation and impact of the Every 
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Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114–95) and to make 
policy recommendations. 
‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The membership of the 
Committee shall consist of not more than 10 teach-
ers employed in a public elementary school and not 
more than 10 teachers employed in a public sec-
ondary school who— 
‘‘(A) are past or present finalists or State 
Teachers of the Year, or are nominated from 
organizations representing teachers and have 
demonstrated similar evidence of expertise; 
‘‘(B) have experience working with edu-
cational policy; 
‘‘(C) have a demonstrated history of work-
ing as a teacher leader in the policy arena; and 
‘‘(D) have submitted an application to the 
Secretary to serve on the Committee. 
‘‘(2) LIST; APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall 
compile a list of teachers submitting applications 
under paragraph (1)(D). The members of the Com-
mittee shall be appointed sequentially as follows: 
‘‘(A) The Secretary shall appoint 4 teach-
ers from the list. 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall sub-
mit to Congress and the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) 2 reports per year on the monitoring 
carried out under subsection (c); and 
‘‘(B) on a quarterly basis, updates on such 
monitoring. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The reports sub-
mitted under paragraph (1) shall provide the per-
spective of members of the Committee and surveys 
of teachers in the networks represented on the Com-
mittee on not more than 3 topics per year deter-
mined by the Committee in consultation with policy-
makers; such topics might include— 
‘‘(A) testing and assessment; 
‘‘(B) the equitable distribution of teachers; 
‘‘(C) the diversity of the teaching work-
force; 
‘‘(D) the Every Student Succeeds Act 
(Public Law 114–95) in rural schools; and 
‘‘(E) other topics of relevance determined 
by the Committee in consultation with policy-
makers and members of other Department 
school and family engagement fellowships (such 
as the School Ambassadors Program). 
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‘‘(f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT APPLICA-
BILITY.—The provisions of the Federal Advisory Com-
mittee Act (Public Law 92–463; 5 U.S.C. App.) shall 
apply to the Committee. 
‘‘(g) COMPENSATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Com-
mittee may be compensated at not to exceed the 
daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in 
effect for a position at level IV of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
States Code, for each day during which that member 
is engaged in the actual performance of the duties 
of the Committee. 
‘‘(2) TRAVEL
EXPENSES.—While away from 
their homes or regular places of business in the per-
formance of services for the Committees, members of 
the Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, in-
cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same 
manner as persons employed intermittently in the 
Government service are allowed expenses under sec-
tion 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The following 
additional requirements shall apply to the Committee: 
‘‘(1) The Committee shall meet in person at 
least once per year for deliberation. 
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‘‘(2) The Committee shall be available for con-
sultation with officials at the Department and the 
authorizing Committees of Congress regarding the 
contents of the reports submitted under subsection 
(e) . 
‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘State 
Teacher of the Year’ means any person who has been rec-
ognized as a State Teacher of the Year by the Council 
of Chief State School Officers. 
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts 
appropriated to, and available at the discretion of, the Sec-
retary for programmatic and administrative expenditures 
for fiscal years 2018 through 2022, a total of $500,000 
shall be used to establish and carry out the functions of 
the Committee established under this section.’’. 
SEC. 3. PARENTS AND FAMILIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), as amended by section 2 
of this Act, is further amended by inserting after section 
1005 (as added by such section 2) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1006. PARENTS AND FAMILIES ADVISORY COM-
MITTEE. 
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
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‘‘(1) Parents and families have a major influ-
ence on their children’s achievement in school and 
throughout life. 
‘‘(2) Parents and family members offer an im-
portant resource to policymakers as they provide a 
unique perspective as consumers of our Nation’s 
public schools. 
‘‘(3) All parents and family members—regard-
less of income, education, or cultural background— 
are critical in their child’s learning and development 
and want their child to reach their fullest potential. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish an advisory committee, to be known as the Parents 
and Families Advisory Committee (referred to in this sec-
tion as the ‘Committee’). 
‘‘(c) DUTIES AND FOCUS.—The duty of the Com-
mittee shall be to monitor the effects of this Act on chil-
dren and families, and review and analyze implementation 
of State and local parent and family engagement policies, 
school-parent compacts, and other family engagement ac-
tivities described in section 1116 and part E of title IV. 
‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The membership of the 
Committee shall consist of 10 parents or family 
members of children enrolled in a public elementary 
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school and 10 parents or family members of children 
enrolled in a public secondary school who— 
‘‘(A) have a demonstrated history of paren-
tal involvement and family engagement in 
schools; and 
‘‘(B) have submitted an application to the 
Secretary to serve on the Committee. 
‘‘(2) LIST; APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall 
compile a list of parents and family members sub-
mitting applications under paragraph (1)(B). The 
members of the Committee shall be appointed as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(A) The Secretary shall appoint 4 parents 
or family members from the list. 
‘‘(B) The Majority Leader of the Senate 
shall appoint 4 parents or family members from 
the list. 
‘‘(C) The Minority Leader of the Senate 
shall appoint 4 parents or family members from 
the list. 
‘‘(D) The Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives shall appoint 4 parents or family 
members from the list. 
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‘‘(E) The Minority Leader of the House of 
Representatives shall appoint 4 parents or fam-
ily members from the list. 
‘‘(3) REPRESENTATION REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The members of the 
Committee shall represent multiple geographic 
areas and a diversity of students, and shall in-
clude at least one parent or family member rep-
resenting each of the following student groups: 
‘‘(i) Economically disadvantaged stu-
dents. 
‘‘(ii) Students from major racial and 
ethnic groups. 
‘‘(iii) Children with disabilities. 
‘‘(iv) English learners. 
‘‘(v) Students who are members of an 
Indian tribe or tribal organization, as de-
fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter-
mination and Education Assistance Act 
(25 U.S.C. 450b). 
‘‘(B) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—Consider-
ation should also be given to representation of 
students’ gender identity, migrant status, and 
residence in rural areas in the appointment of 
members of the Committee. 
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‘‘(4) ADVISORS.—If requested by the Com-
mittee, the Secretary may provide access to not 
more than 5 research advisors to the Committee, 
such as researchers, practitioners or representatives 
from national nonprofit organizations with expertise 
in family engagement in education, to provide evi-
dence-based information and materials. 
‘‘(5) TERM.—Each member of the Committee 
shall serve on the Committee for a 3-year term. 
‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall sub-
mit to Congress and the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) on an annual basis, a report and pol-
icy recommendations on the review and analysis 
carried out under subsection (c); and 
‘‘(B) on a quarterly basis, updates on such 
review and analysis. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report sub-
mitted under paragraph (1) shall provide the per-
spective of parents and families on not more than 3 
topics per year determined by the Committee. Such 
topics may include the following: 
‘‘(A) The effects of this Act on parental in-
volvement and family engagement in education, 
including schools and classrooms. 
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‘‘(B) Direction for State education authori-
ties and local education authorities for imple-
menting written family engagement policies 
under section 1116 and part E of title IV. 
‘‘(C) Recommendations for strengthening 
family engagement policy and implementation 
in order to meet the goals of section 1116 and 
part E of title IV. 
‘‘(f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT APPLICA-
BILITY.—The provisions of the Federal Advisory Com-
mittee Act (Public Law 92–463; 5 U.S.C. App.) shall 
apply to the Committee. 
‘‘(g) COMPENSATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Com-
mittee may be compensated at not to exceed the 
daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in 
effect for a position at level IV of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
States Code, for each day during which that member 
is engaged in the actual performance of the duties 
of the Committee. 
‘‘(2) TRAVEL
EXPENSES.—While away from 
their homes or regular places of business in the per-
formance of services for the Committees, members of 
the Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, in-
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cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same 
manner as persons employed intermittently in the 
Government service are allowed expenses under sec-
tion 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The following 
additional requirements shall apply to the Committee: 
‘‘(1) The Committee shall meet in person at 
least once per year for deliberation. 
‘‘(2) The Committee shall be available for con-
sultation with officials at the Department and the 
authorizing Committees of Congress regarding the 
contents of the reports submitted under subsection 
(e) . 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘family engagement’ means a 
shared responsibility of families and schools for stu-
dent success— 
‘‘(A) in which schools and community- 
based organizations are committed to reaching 
out to engage families in meaningful ways and 
families are committed actively to support their 
children’s learning and development; 
‘‘(B) that is continuous from birth through 
young adulthood; and 
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‘‘(C) that reinforces learning that takes 
place in the home, school, and community. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘parental involvement’ means the 
participation of parents or family members in reg-
ular, two-way, and meaningful communication in-
volving student academic learning and other school 
activities, including ensuring— 
‘‘(A) that parents or family members play 
an integral role in assisting their child’s learn-
ing; 
‘‘(B) that parents or family members are 
encouraged to be actively involved in their 
child’s education at school; 
‘‘(C) that parents or family members are 
full partners in their child’s education and are 
included, as appropriate, in decisionmaking and 
on advisory committees to assist in the edu-
cation of their child; and 
‘‘(D) the carrying out of other activities, 
such as those described in section 1116. 
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts 
appropriated to, and available at the discretion of, the Sec-
retary for programmatic and administrative expenditures 
for fiscal years 2018 through 2022, a total of $500,000 
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shall be used to establish and carry out the functions of 
the Committee established under this section.’’. 
Æ 
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