I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5211 
To strengthen families’ engagement in the education of their children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2010 
Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself and Mr. PLATTS) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To strengthen families’ engagement in the education of their 
children. 
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 ‘‘Family Engagement 
in Education Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. Findings; purpose. 
Sec. 4. Amendment references. 
Sec. 5. State support of family engagement in education. 
Sec. 6. State plans. 
Sec. 7. Local educational agency plans. 
Sec. 8. Family engagement in education policy. 
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Sec. 9. Prevention and intervention programs for children and youth who are 
neglected, delinquent, or at risk. 
Sec. 10. High quality teachers and principals. 
Sec. 11. Subpart 16 reference. 
Sec. 12. Family engagement in education programs. 
Sec. 13. Definitions. 
Sec. 14. Conforming amendments. 
Sec. 15. General Accountability Office study and report. 
Sec. 16. Federal coordination of family engagement in education programming. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Family engagement in a child’s education 
raises student achievement, improves behavior and 
attendance, decreases drop-out rates, and improves 
the emotional and physical well-being of children. 
(2) Families are critical determinants of chil-
dren’s school readiness as well as of students’ deci-
sion to pursue higher education. 
(3) Effective family engagement is a great 
equalizer for students, contributing to their in-
creased academic achievement, regardless of parents’ 
education level, ethnicity, or socioeconomic back-
ground. 
(4) Family engagement can raise student aca-
demic achievement so substantially that schools 
would need to increase spending by more than 
$1,000 per pupil to gain the same results. 
(5) Positive benefits for children, youth, fami-
lies, and schools are maximized through effective 
family engagement that is— 
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(A) a shared responsibility in which schools 
and other community agencies and organiza-
tions are committed to reaching out to engage 
families in meaningful ways and families are 
committed to actively supporting their chil-
dren’s learning and development; 
(B) continuous across a child’s life span-
ning from birth to young adulthood; and 
(C) reinforces learning that takes place in 
all settings. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to 
strengthen families’ engagement in the education of their 
children. 
SEC. 4. AMENDMENT REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 
this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi-
sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 
section or other provision of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 
SEC. 5. STATE SUPPORT OF FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN EDU-
CATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title I (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) 
is amended by adding after section 1004 the following new 
section: 
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‘‘SEC. 1005. STATE SUPPORT OF FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN 
EDUCATION. 
‘‘(a) 
ALLOCATION
OF
RESERVED
FUNDS
TO 
STATES.—Funds reserved under section 5731(c)(2)(B) 
shall be allocated to the States on the basis of the alloca-
tion formula set forth in section 1122. 
‘‘(b) USES OF FUNDS.—A State shall administer and 
expend funds received under subsection (a) to provide 
for— 
‘‘(1) establishment of an Office within the State 
educational agency, or staff positions within such 
agency, dedicated to family engagement; 
‘‘(2) development and implementation of state-
wide data collection and evaluation system on family 
engagement metrics to identify schools that would 
benefit from training and support related to family 
engagement; 
‘‘(3) review of local educational agencies’ family 
engagement policies and practices as provided by 
sections 1112(e)(3) and 1118(h), and evaluate the 
use of funds under this subsection; 
‘‘(4) award of grants to local educational agen-
cies with schools that would benefit from training 
and support related to family engagement; 
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