I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5436 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize 
a national elementary and secondary service-learning program that pro-
motes student academic achievement, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2012 
Mr. LOEBSACK 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 authorize a national elementary and sec-
ondary service-learning program that promotes student 
academic achievement, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Engaging Students 
Through Service Learning Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. K–12 SERVICE-LEARNING PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘PART E—ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 
K–12 EDUCATION THROUGH SERVICE LEARNING 
‘‘SEC. 2501. FINDINGS. 
‘‘The Congress finds as follows: 
‘‘(1) Students learn best when they are actively 
engaged in meaningful and challenging learning ex-
periences that encourage higher order skills develop-
ment, critical thinking, and problem solving. 
‘‘(2) Service learning is a pedagogy that encom-
passes key elements of effective teaching and learn-
ing, including active learning, authentic experiences, 
opportunities for peer collaboration, problem solving, 
student leadership and empowerment, and cog-
nitively challenging academic activities. 
‘‘(3) Students invest themselves in learning 
when their educational experiences have personal 
meaning to them and are connected to authentic, 
real issues in their everyday lives. 
‘‘(4) In service learning, students apply their 
knowledge and skills to solve actual community 
problems and experience the real-world value of what 
they are learning in school. Service learning can 
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therefore have a powerful effect on students, increas-
ing their academic engagement, their civic engage-
ment and their social and emotional development. 
‘‘(5) Service learning can have a powerful effect 
on students, helping them to increase their academic 
engagement and performance, their civic engagement 
and desire to help others, and their social-emotional 
learning in areas related to 21st century skill acqui-
sition, such as task persistence, intellectual curiosity, 
and ability to work in teams. 
‘‘(6) In service learning, students connect to the 
community and to their classmates in ways that are 
far more powerful than simple cooperative learning. 
‘‘(7) Service learning has been found to pro-
mote behavioral and dispositional factors that medi-
ate students’ educational success such as greater 
motivation for school, engagement in learning tasks, 
building of self-efficacy and self-esteem, and propen-
sity to engage in pro-social behaviors. 
‘‘(8) Research has demonstrated that test 
scores of students who participated in service learn-
ing are higher in reading, writing, mathematics, so-
cial studies, and science than those of non-partici-
pants. 
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‘‘(9) High-quality service learning will improve 
student achievement and our schools because it em-
ploys effective, experiential learning strategies asso-
ciated with student engagement in academic work 
and preparation for success in college and the work-
place, engages students in solving complex problems, 
probes for deeper learning, and seeks opportunities 
for students to transfer knowledge from one context 
to another. 
‘‘(10) Principals report that service learning 
has a positive impact on teacher satisfaction, school 
climate, academic achievement, and school engage-
ment. 
‘‘(11) Teachers who use service learning in the 
classroom as a type of positive teaching strategy 
achieve better results in a variety of academic and 
behavioral categories than those who don’t, are more 
effective, challenged, and energized, and are more 
likely to remain within their chosen profession. 
‘‘(12) Only an estimated 24 percent of the ap-
proximately 53,300,000 K–12 youth in the United 
States are given the opportunity to engage in any 
kind of service-learning experience, a decline from 
32 percent in 1999. 
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‘‘(13) Schools in high poverty areas are less 
likely to employ service learning as a teaching strat-
egy, yet research has shown this is a particularly ef-
fective pedagogy for use in such schools. Service 
learning can significantly reduce the achievement 
gap between affluent and low-income students. Low- 
income students who participated in service opportu-
nities have better school attendance and grades than 
low-income students who do not participate. 
‘‘(14) There is a need for a rigorous and fo-
cused initiative to demonstrate and broadly promote 
high-quality service learning that enhances teacher 
effectiveness, improves student learning and edu-
cational success, and positively affects school cli-
mate. 
‘‘(15) State educational agencies are the only 
entities with comprehensive, statewide responsibility 
for the quality of learning within a State. 
‘‘SEC. 2502. PURPOSE. 
‘‘The purpose of this part is to authorize a national 
elementary and secondary school service-learning program 
that will expand opportunities for students to engage in 
high-quality service learning that— 
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‘‘(1) promotes student achievement in academic 
subjects, including science, technology, engineering, 
and mathematics; 
‘‘(2) incorporates 21st century skills, such as 
critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration; 
‘‘(3) integrates content knowledge and use of 
technology; 
‘‘(4) enhances school climate and civic engage-
ment; and 
‘‘(5) improves post-school outcomes. 
‘‘SEC. 2503. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 
‘‘The Secretary shall reserve funds for national activi-
ties as follows: 
‘‘(1) The Secretary shall reserve not more than 
10 percent to establish a National Center for K–12 
Service Learning— 
‘‘(A) to provide resources to State edu-
cational agencies to develop and expand the ca-
pacity of local educational agencies to improve 
teacher quality, school climate, and educational 
outcomes by providing an infrastructure for 
sustainable service-learning efforts through vi-
sion and leadership, professional development, 
curriculum and assessment, school-community 
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collaborations, and continuous improvement; 
and 
‘‘(B) to provide oversight, establish link-
ages with key Federal education initiatives, fos-
ter sustainability, provide evidence for the 
strengths and limitations of service-learning 
practices, and disseminate study findings. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall reserve not more than 
10 percent for research and evaluation activities, in-
cluding a study, conducted by the Institute of Edu-
cation Sciences and connecting with State longitu-
dinal data systems, on the effects of academic serv-
ice learning on instructional quality and the aca-
demic success of students in low-performing schools. 
The study shall include the following elements: 
‘‘(A) A comprehensive, rigorous research 
design that builds on prior studies on effective 
pedagogies, service learning, and student suc-
cess. 
‘‘(B) Gathering qualitative and quan-
titative data to comprehensively assess the im-
pact service learning has on students’ academic, 
civic, and behavioral performance, including 
student engagement. 
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