Family Engagement in Education Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-622
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2015-03-02 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Advisory bodies
Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
Child care and development
Congressional oversight
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Educational technology and distance education
Elementary and secondary education
Family relationships
Government studies and investigations
Indian social and development programs
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Minority education
Performance measurement
School administration
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-02
text: 

Family Engagement in Education Act of 2015

 
Amends title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to authorize states to reserve school improvement funds to: 
 
 
award a grant to a statewide nonprofit organization to establish a Statewide Family Engagement Center that provides comprehensive training, technical assistance, and capacity building to local educational agencies (LEAs), organizations that support family-school partnerships, and other organizations that carry out parent education and family engagement in education programs; 
 
award grants to nonprofit organizations or Indian tribes or organizations that partner with LEAs or schools to establish and operate Local Family Engagement Centers that assist families in becoming engaged in their childrens' education; and 
 
develop and implement a statewide family engagement in education plan.
 
 
Requires each state school improvement plan to include a plan for strengthening family engagement in education. 
 
Requires each LEA and school receiving school improvement funds to develop policies and practices for family engagement in education that meet specified principles and standards. 
 
Increases the percentage of school improvement funds that LEAs must reserve for family engagement activities. Requires at least 75% of those reserved funds to be distributed to schools served under the school improvement program.
 
Requires states and correctional facilities to work with family members and aftercare providers in developing educational services and transition plans for youth following their stay in state and local institutions for neglected or delinquent youth. 
 
Requires the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences to develop recommended metrics on family engagement in education for states and LEAs and to make recommendations on the integration of those metrics into state accountability and longitudinal data systems. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Education to conduct research on effective family engagement in education.
 
Requires states to use part of their grant under part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund) of title II of the ESEA to train teachers and principals to effectively engage families in their children's education.
 
Repeals programs authorizing the Secretary to award grants to: (1) nonprofit organizations and consortia of those organizations and LEAs to establish parental information and resource centers, and (2) local nonprofit parent organizations to support local family information centers.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1219)
action_date: 2015-03-02
text: Introduced in Senate