SELF Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4626 To establish a competitive grant program to support the development, imple- mentation, and evaluation of successful teacher and school leader training programs on family engagement that will increase the capacity of teach- ers and school leaders to work with families to develop and support the social and emotional skills, habits, and mindsets of children. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 8, 2019 Mr. RYAN (for himself and Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To establish a competitive grant program to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of success- ful teacher and school leader training programs on family engagement that will increase the capacity of teachers and school leaders to work with families to develop and support the social and emotional skills, habits, and mindsets of children. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Oct 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4626.IH H4626 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4626 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Emotional 2 Learning for Families Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘SELF Act 3 of 2019’’. 4 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated to 6 carry out this section, the Secretary of Education shall 7 award grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational 8 agencies to develop, implement, and evaluate teacher and 9 school leader training programs on family engagement. 10 Local educational agencies may work in partnership with 11 the entities described in subsection (e)(3) to carry out 12 such programs. The objective of such programs will be to 13 increase the capacity of teacher and school leaders to work 14 with families to develop and support the social and emo- 15 tional skills, habits, and mindsets of children. 16 (b) GRANT AWARDS.— 17 (1) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—The total 18 amount of each grant awarded under this section 19 may not exceed $1,200,000. 20 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—A grant awarded under 21 this section shall be for a period of 5 years, and may 22 be renewed. 23 (3) NUMBER OF GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 24 award not more than 100 grants under this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Oct 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4626.IH H4626 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4626 IH (c) APPLICATIONS.—An application submitted by a 1 local educational agency for a grant under this section 2 shall demonstrate— 3 (1) the ability to provide laboratory and in- 4 structional space for proposed programming; 5 (2) a commitment to the development, imple- 6 mentation, and evaluation of successful teacher and 7 school leader training programs on family engage- 8 ment that will increase the capacity of teachers and 9 school leaders to work with families to develop and 10 support the social and emotional skills, habits, and 11 mindsets of children; 12 (3) a plan to ensure that the proposed pro- 13 grams will serve diverse groups, such as underrep- 14 resented or economically disadvantaged families; and 15 (4) a long-term commitment to the proposed 16 programs to be carried out with the grant, including 17 a plan to continue the actions described in para- 18 graphs (1) through (3) for a period of not less than 19 5 years. 20 (d) SELECTION.—In awarding grants under this sec- 21 tion, the Secretary shall— 22 (1) give priority to high-need local educational 23 agencies, as defined in section 200 of the Higher 24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Oct 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4626.IH H4626 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4626 IH (2) ensure that, to the maximum extent prac- 1 ticable, the projects funded under this section are lo- 2 cated in diverse geographic regions of the United 3 States. 4 (e) USES OF FUNDS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency 6 receiving a grant under this section shall use such 7 funds to carry out programs at elementary schools 8 and secondary schools served by the local edu- 9 cational agency that— 10 (A) involves instruction of research-based 11 social and emotional skills, habits, and mindsets 12 through locally relevant materials for teachers 13 and school leaders and families; 14 (B) provides professional development for 15 teachers and school leaders to engage families 16 and support the development of the social and 17 emotional skills, habits, and mindsets of fami- 18 lies; 19 (C) provides direct instruction on social 20 emotional learning to families during times 21 when families are available and in places that 22 are convenient and easily accessible; 23 (D) encourages participation of families in 24 the programs offered by the local education 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Oct 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4626.IH H4626 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4626 IH agency under this section, including programs 1 supported by partner agencies as described 2 under paragraph (3); and 3 (E) is designed to result in improved meas- 4 urable outcomes related to children, including 5 positive social behavior and academic outcomes. 6 (2) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—In the 7 case of a local educational agency that is a State 8 educational agency, such entity shall award sub- 9 grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational 10 agencies to carry out the program described in para- 11 graph (1). 12 (3) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—Each 13 local educational agency awarded a grant under this 14 section may carry out the program funded under the 15 grant in partnership with one or more of the fol- 16 lowing: 17 (A) Institutions of higher education. 18 (B) Nonprofit organizations. 19 (C) Community-based organizations. 20 (f) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 21 4 years after the first grant is awarded under this section, 22 and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 23 Congress and make publicly available, a report on activi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Oct 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4626.IH H4626 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4626 IH ties and results under this section. Such report shall de- 1 scribe— 2 (1) the total number of grant applications re- 3 ceived during the year preceding the report; 4 (2) the number and geographic distribution of 5 the grants for such year and for all grants awarded 6 under this section; 7 (3) participation of minority-serving institu- 8 tions; 9 (4) participation of underrepresented and eco- 10 nomically disadvantaged families; 11 (5) overall program outcomes and issues of con- 12 cern; and 13 (6) recommendations for program revisions to 14 achieve the desired program outcome. 15 (g) DEFINITIONS.— 16 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 17 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘parent’’, ‘‘pro- 18 fessional development’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and 19 ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the meanings given 20 the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 21 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 22 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 23 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Oct 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4626.IH H4626 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4626 IH meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 1 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 2 (3) INSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘instruction’’ 3 means activities that— 4 (A) emphasize communication of knowl- 5 edge concerning social emotional learning in 6 adults and children; 7 (B) provide opportunities to practice social 8 emotional learning through interactive activities 9 between families and their children; and 10 (C) are aligned with and integrated into 11 family involvement and engagement standards 12 that may exist in the applicable State or that 13 may be developed. 14 (4) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 15 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti- 16 tution of higher education described in section 17 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 18 U.S.C. 1067q). 19 (5) TEACHER AND SCHOOL LEADER TRAINING 20 PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘teacher and school leader 21 training programs’’ includes training programs for 22 teachers, principals, school leaders, and other school- 23 based personnel. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Oct 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4626.IH H4626 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4626 IH (6) TEACHERS AND SCHOOL LEADERS.—The 1 term ‘‘teachers and school leaders’’ means teachers, 2 principals, school leaders, and other school-based 3 personnel. 4 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 5 the Secretary of Education. 6 (8) SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING.—The term 7 ‘‘social emotional learning’’ includes— 8 (A) self-awareness, or having a realistic 9 perception of one’s own values, interests, and 10 strengths, and being able to recognize one’s 11 own emotions; 12 (B) self-management, or how well one 13 manages emotions, impulses, and stress, and is 14 able to establish and achieve goals and exercise 15 self-discipline; 16 (C) social awareness, or the ability to take 17 the perspective of and empathize with someone 18 else and to appreciate and respect diversity; 19 (D) relationship skills, or the ability to 20 participate in healthy, cooperative, and caring 21 relationships, and effectively resolve conflicts; 22 and 23 (E) responsible decision making, or the 24 ability to recognize and generate good choices, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Oct 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4626.IH H4626 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4626 IH evaluate the likely consequences of actions, and 1 take responsibility for one’s decisions. 2 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 3 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 4 $130,000,000, of which not more than $10,000,000 may 5 be used by the Secretary for reports and technical assist- 6 ance. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Oct 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4626.IH H4626 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS