Subpart 16 – Parental Assistance and Local Family Information Centers

SEC. 5561 | SEC. 5562 | SEC. 5563 | SEC. 5564 | SEC. 5565 | SEC. 5566

SEC. 5561. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this subpart are the following:

(1) To provide leadership, technical assistance, and financial support to nonprofit organizations (including statewide nonprofit organizations) and local educational agencies to help the organizations and agencies implement successful and effective parental involvement policies, programs, and activities that lead to improvements in student academic achievement.

(2) To strengthen partnerships among parents (including parents of children from birth through age 5), teachers, principals, administrators, and other school personnel in meeting the educational needs of children.

(3) To develop and strengthen the relationship between parents and their children’s school.

(4) To further the developmental progress of children assisted under this subpart.

(5) To coordinate activities funded under this subpart with parental involvement initiatives funded under section 1118 and other provisions of this Act.

(6) To provide a comprehensive approach to improving student learning, through coordination and integration of Federal, State, and local services and programs.

SEC. 5562. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

(a) PARENTAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCE CENTERS- The Secretary is authorized to award grants in each fiscal year to nonprofit organizations (including statewide nonprofit organizations), and consortia of such organizations and local educational agencies, to establish school-linked or school-based parental information and resource centers that provide comprehensive training, information, and support to —

(1) parents of children enrolled in elementary schools and secondary schools;

(2) individuals who work with the parents of children enrolled in elementary schools and secondary schools;

(3) State educational agencies, local educational agencies, schools, organizations that support family-school partnerships (such as parent-teacher associations and Parents as Teachers organizations), and other organizations that carry out parent education and family involvement programs; and

(4) parents of children from birth through age 5.

(b) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION- In awarding grants under this subpart, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that such grants are distributed in all geographic regions of the United States.

SEC. 5563. APPLICATIONS.

(a) SUBMISSION- Each nonprofit organization (including a statewide nonprofit organization), or a consortia of such an organization and a local educational agency, that desires a grant under this subpart shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may require.

(b) CONTENTS- Each application submitted under subsection (a), at a minimum, shall include assurances that the organization or consortium will —

(1)(A) be governed by a board of directors the membership of which includes parents; or

(B) be an organization or consortium that represents the interests of parents;

(2) establish a special advisory committee the membership of which includes —

(A) parents of children enrolled in elementary schools and secondary schools, who shall constitute a majority of the members of the special advisory committee;

(B) representatives of education professionals with expertise in improving services for disadvantaged children; and

(C) representatives of local elementary schools and secondary schools, including students and representatives from local youth organizations;

(3) use at least 50 percent of the funds received under this subpart in each fiscal year to serve areas with high concentrations of low-income families, in order to serve parents who are severely educationally or economically disadvantaged;

(4) operate a center of sufficient size, scope, and quality to ensure that the center is adequate to serve the parents in the area;

(5) serve both urban and rural areas;

(6) design a center that meets the unique training, information, and support needs of parents of children enrolled in elementary schools and secondary schools, particularly such parents who are educationally or economically disadvantaged;

(7) demonstrate the capacity and expertise to conduct the effective training, information, and support activities for which assistance is sought;

(8) network with —

(A) local educational agencies and schools;

(B) parents of children enrolled in elementary schools and secondary schools;

(C) parent training and information centers assisted under section 682 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;

(D) clearinghouses; and

(E) other organizations and agencies;

(9) focus on serving parents of children enrolled in elementary schools and secondary schools who are parents of low-income, minority, and limited English proficient children;

(10) use at least 30 percent of the funds received under this subpart in each fiscal year to establish, expand, or operate Parents as Teachers programs, Home Instruction for Preschool Youngsters programs, or other early childhood parent education programs;

(11) provide assistance to parents in areas such as understanding State and local standards and measures of student and school academic achievement;

(12) work with State educational agencies and local educational agencies to determine parental needs and the best means for delivery of services;

(13) identify and coordinate Federal, State, and local services and programs that support improved student learning, including programs supported under this Act, violence prevention programs, nutrition programs, housing programs, Head Start programs, adult education, and job training; and

(14) work with and foster partnerships with other agencies that provide programs and deliver services described in paragraph (13) to make such programs and services more accessible to children and families.

SEC. 5564. USES OF FUNDS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Grant funds received under this subpart shall be used for one or more of the following:

(1) To assist parents in participating effectively in their children’s education and to help their children meet State and local standards, such as assisting parents —

(A) to engage in activities that will improve student academic achievement, including understanding the accountability systems in place within their State educational agency and local educational agency and understanding their children’s educational academic achievement in comparison to State and local standards;

(B) to provide follow-up support for their children’s educational achievement;

(D) to become active participants in the development, implementation, and review of school-parent compacts, parent involvement policies, and school planning and improvement;

(E) to participate in the design and provision of assistance to students who are not making adequate academic progress;

(F) to participate in State and local decisionmaking; and

(G) to train other parents (such as training related to Parents as Teachers activities).

(2) To obtain information about the range of options, programs, services, and resources available at the national, State, and local levels to assist parents and school personnel who work with parents.

(3) To help the parents learn and use the technology applied in their children’s education.

(4) To plan, implement, and fund activities for parents that coordinate the education of their children with other Federal, State, and local services and programs that serve their children or their families.

(5) To provide support for State or local educational personnel, if the participation of such personnel will further the activities assisted under the grant.

(6) To coordinate and integrate early childhood programs with school-age programs.

(b) PERMISSIVE ACTIVITIES- Grant funds received under this subpart may be used to assist schools with activities including one or more of the following:

(1) Developing and implementing the schools’ plans or activities under sections 1118 and 1119.

(2) Developing and implementing school improvement plans, including addressing problems that develop in the implementation of the schools’ plans or activities under sections 1118 and 1119.

(3) Providing information about assessment and individual results to parents in a manner and a language the family can understand.

(4) Coordinating the efforts of Federal, State, and local parent education and family involvement initiatives.

(5) Providing training, information, and support to —

(A) State educational agencies;

(B) local educational agencies and schools, especially low-performing local educational agencies and schools; and

SEC. 5565. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

(a) MATCHING FUNDS FOR GRANT RENEWAL- For each fiscal year after the first fiscal year in which an organization or consortium receives assistance under this subpart, the organization or consortium shall demonstrate in the application submitted for such fiscal year, that a portion of the services provided by the organization or consortium is supported through non-Federal contributions, which contributions may be in cash or in kind.

(b) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each organization or consortium receiving assistance under this subpart shall submit to the Secretary, on an annual basis, information concerning the parental information and resource centers assisted under this subpart, including the following information:

(A) The number of parents (including the number of minority and limited English proficient parents) who receive information and training.

(B) The types and modes of training, information, and support provided under this subpart.

(C) The strategies used to reach and serve parents of minority and limited English proficient children, parents with limited literacy skills, and other parents in need of the services provided under this subpart.

(D) The parental involvement policies and practices used by the center and an evaluation of whether such policies and practices are effective in improving home-school communication, student academic achievement, student and school academic achievement, and parental involvement in school planning, review, and improvement.

(E) The effectiveness of the activities that local educational agencies and schools are carrying out, with regard to parental involvement and other activities assisted under this Act, that lead to improved student academic achievement and improved student and school academic achievement.

(2) DISSEMINATION- The Secretary shall disseminate annually to Congress and the public the information that each organization or consortium submits under paragraph (1).

(c) 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.

(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this subpart shall be construed to prohibit a parental information and resource center from —

(1) having its employees or agents meet with a parent at a site that is not on school grounds; or

(2) working with another agency that serves children.

(e) PARENTAL RIGHTS- Notwithstanding any other provision of this subpart —

(1) no person (including a parent who educates a child at home, a public school parent, or a private school parent) shall be required to participate in any program of parent education or developmental screening under this subpart; and

(2) no program or center assisted under this subpart shall take any action that infringes in any manner on the right of a parent to direct the education of their children.

(f) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS- The Secretary shall use funds made available under this subpart to continue to make grant or contract payments to each entity that was awarded a multiyear grant or contract under title IV of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (as such title was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) for the duration of the grant or contract award.

SEC. 5566. LOCAL FAMILY INFORMATION CENTERS.

(a) IN GENERAL- If the amount made available to carry out this subpart for a fiscal year is more than $50,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award 50 percent of the amount that exceeds $50,000,000 as grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, local nonprofit parent organizations to enable the organizations to support local family information centers that help ensure that parents of students in elementary schools and secondary schools assisted under this subpart have the training, information, and support the parents need to enable the parents to participate effectively in their children’s early childhood education, in their children’s elementary and secondary education, and in helping their children to meet challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.

(b) LOCAL NONPROFIT PARENT ORGANIZATION DEFINED- In this section, the term local nonprofit parent organization’ means a private nonprofit organization (other than an institution of higher education) that —

(1) has a demonstrated record of working with low-income individuals and parents;

(2)(A) has a board of directors, the majority of whom are parents of students in elementary schools and secondary schools assisted under part A of title I and located in the geographic area to be served by a local family information center; or

(B) has a special governing committee to direct and implement a local family information center, a majority of the members of whom are parents of students in schools assisted under part A of title I; and

(3) is located in a community with elementary schools and secondary schools that receive funds under part A of title I, and is accessible to the families of students in those schools.

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