Teachers and Parents at the Table Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8570 To establish a Teacher Advisory Committee and a Parents and Families Advisory Committee. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 9, 2020 Miss RICE of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To establish a Teacher Advisory Committee and a Parents and Families Advisory Committee. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teachers and Parents 4 at the Table Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TEACHER ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) Expert teachers offer an important resource 8 to policymakers as they can bring their expertise and 9 perspective from the classroom to inform policy so 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8570 IH that positive outcomes for all students will be maxi- 1 mized. 2 (2) State Teachers of the Year represent a val- 3 uable resource with a body of expert knowledge and 4 skill about instructional practice, 21st century learn- 5 ing, and school functioning that can be infused into 6 policymaking to promote better outcomes for elemen- 7 tary and secondary students. 8 (3) State Teachers of the Year have been se- 9 lected by their communities and States as models of 10 their profession and represent every State in the Na- 11 tion and every discipline and grade level. 12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 13 an advisory committee, to be known as the Teacher Advi- 14 sory Committee (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Com- 15 mittee’’). 16 (c) DUTY.—The duty of the Committee shall be to 17 bring the perspective of expert teachers to policymakers 18 and monitor the implementation and impact of the Every 19 Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114–95). The Com- 20 mittee shall make policy recommendations on given sets 21 of topics to improve elementary and secondary education. 22 (d) MEMBERSHIP.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The membership of the 24 Committee shall consist of not more than 10 teach- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8570 IH ers employed in a public elementary school and not 1 more than 10 teachers employed in a public sec- 2 ondary school who— 3 (A) are past or present finalists or State 4 Teachers of the Year, or are nominated from 5 organizations representing teachers and have 6 demonstrated similar evidence of expertise; 7 (B) have experience working with edu- 8 cational policy; 9 (C) have a demonstrated history of holding 10 teacher leadership roles among other teachers 11 and school leaders; and 12 (D) have submitted an application to the 13 Secretary to serve on the Committee. 14 (2) LIST; APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall 15 compile a list of teachers submitting applications 16 under paragraph (1)(D). The members of the Com- 17 mittee shall be appointed sequentially as follows, ex- 18 cept that no appointer may appoint more than two 19 public elementary and two public secondary school 20 teachers: 21 (A) The Secretary shall appoint 4 teachers 22 from the list. 23 (B) The majority leader of the Senate shall 24 appoint 4 teachers from the list. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8570 IH (C) The minority leader of the Senate shall 1 appoint 4 teachers from the list. 2 (D) The Speaker of the House of Rep- 3 resentatives shall appoint 4 teachers from the 4 list. 5 (E) The minority leader of the House of 6 Representatives shall appoint 4 teachers from 7 the list. 8 (3) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS.— 9 (A) FINALISTS OR STATE TEACHERS OF 10 THE YEAR.—Not less than half of the members 11 of the Committee shall be past or present final- 12 ists or State Teachers of the Year. 13 (B) REPRESENTATION REQUIREMENT.— 14 The members of the Committee shall represent 15 the diversity of the teaching workforce. The 16 committee shall include members— 17 (i) working in a diversity of geo- 18 graphic regions, including urban, subur- 19 ban, and rural areas across the country; 20 (ii) holding a variety of specializa- 21 tions, such as special education teachers, 22 teachers of English learners, and those 23 who work with high-ability learners; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8570 IH (iii) serving a diverse variety of stu- 1 dent populations, including— 2 (I) economically disadvantaged 3 students; 4 (II) students from major racial 5 and ethnic groups; 6 (III) children with disabilities; 7 (IV) English learners; 8 (V) students who are members of 9 an Indian tribe or tribal organization, 10 as defined in section 4 of the Indian 11 Self-Determination and Education As- 12 sistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b); 13 (VI) students who identify as les- 14 bian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 15 youth; 16 (VII) migrant students; 17 (VIII) children in foster care; 18 and 19 (IX) homeless children and 20 youths. 21 (4) TERM.—Each member of the Committee 22 shall serve on the Committee for a 3-year term. 23 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8570 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall submit 1 to the Committee on Education and Labor of the 2 House of Representatives and the Committee on 3 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen- 4 ate and the Secretary 2 reports per year on the 5 monitoring carried out under subsection (c). 6 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The reports sub- 7 mitted under paragraph (1) shall provide the per- 8 spective of members of the Committee, and informa- 9 tion collected from surveys of teachers in the net- 10 works represented on the Committee, on not more 11 than 3 topics per year determined by the Committee 12 in consultation with policymakers. Such topics might 13 include— 14 (A) testing and assessment; 15 (B) the equitable distribution of teachers; 16 (C) the diversity of the teaching workforce; 17 (D) implementation and impact of the 18 Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114– 19 95) in rural public schools; 20 (E) school resource equity, including per- 21 pupil expenditures of Federal, State, and local 22 funds; 23 (F) fostering a positive school climate 24 through the implementation of evidence-based 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8570 IH practices that promote safe and supportive 1 learning environments for all students; and 2 (G) other topics of relevance determined by 3 the Committee in consultation with policy- 4 makers and members of other Department 5 school and family engagement fellowships (such 6 as the School Ambassadors Program). 7 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT APPLICA- 8 BILITY.—The provisions of the Federal Advisory Com- 9 mittee Act (Public Law 92–463; 5 U.S.C. App.) shall 10 apply to the Committee. 11 (g) COMPENSATION.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Com- 13 mittee may be compensated at not to exceed the 14 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in 15 effect for a position at level IV of the Executive 16 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 17 States Code, for each day during which that member 18 is engaged in the actual performance of the duties 19 of the Committee. 20 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 21 their homes or regular places of business in the per- 22 formance of services for the Committees, members of 23 the Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, in- 24 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8570 IH manner as persons employed intermittently in the 1 Government service are allowed expenses under sec- 2 tion 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code. 3 (h) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The following ad- 4 ditional requirements shall apply to the Committee: 5 (1) The Committee shall meet in person at least 6 once per year for deliberation. 7 (2) The Committee shall be available for con- 8 sultation with officials at the Department of Edu- 9 cation, the Committee on Education and Labor of 10 the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 11 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen- 12 ate regarding the contents of the reports submitted 13 under subsection (e). 14 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 15 (1) The term ‘‘State Teacher of the Year’’ 16 means any person who has been recognized as a 17 State Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief 18 State School Officers. 19 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 20 of Education. 21 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts ap- 22 propriated to, and available at the discretion of, the Sec- 23 retary for programmatic and administrative expenditures 24 for fiscal years 2020 through 2024, a total of $500,000 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8570 IH shall be used to establish and carry out the functions of 1 the Committee established under this section. 2 SEC. 3. PARENTS AND FAMILIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 3 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 4 (1) Parents and families have a major influence 5 on their children’s achievement in public school and 6 throughout life. 7 (2) Parents and family members offer an im- 8 portant resource to policymakers as they provide a 9 unique perspective as consumers of our Nation’s 10 public schools. 11 (3) All parents and family members—regardless 12 of income, education, or cultural background—are 13 critical in their child’s learning and development and 14 want their child to reach their fullest potential. 15 (4) Parental engagement improves school cul- 16 ture and community well-being, as well as drive im- 17 provements in student outcomes. 18 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 19 an advisory committee, to be known as the Parents and 20 Families Advisory Committee (referred to in this section 21 as the ‘‘Committee’’). 22 (c) DUTIES AND FOCUS.—The duty of the Committee 23 shall be to monitor the effects and implementation of the 24 Every Student Success Act (Public Law 114–95) on chil- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8570 IH dren and families, and review and analyze implementation 1 of State and local parent and family engagement policies, 2 school-parent compacts, and other family engagement ac- 3 tivities described in section 1116 and part E of title IV 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 5 (20 U.S.C. 6318; 20 U.S.C. 7241 et seq.). 6 (d) MEMBERSHIP.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The membership of the 8 Committee shall consist of 10 parents or family 9 members of children enrolled in a public elementary 10 school and 10 parents or family members of children 11 enrolled in a public secondary school who— 12 (A) have a demonstrated history of paren- 13 tal involvement and family engagement in pub- 14 lic schools; and 15 (B) have submitted an application to the 16 Secretary to serve on the Committee. 17 (2) LIST; APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall 18 compile a list of parents and family members sub- 19 mitting applications under paragraph (1)(B). The 20 members of the Committee shall be appointed se- 21 quentially as follows: 22 (A) The Secretary shall appoint 4 parents 23 or family members from the list. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8570 IH (B) The majority leader of the Senate shall 1 appoint 4 parents or family members from the 2 list. 3 (C) The minority leader of the Senate shall 4 appoint 4 parents or family members from the 5 list. 6 (D) The Speaker of the House of Rep- 7 resentatives shall appoint 4 parents or family 8 members from the list. 9 (E) The minority leader of the House of 10 Representatives shall appoint 4 parents or fam- 11 ily members from the list. 12 (3) REPRESENTATION REQUIREMENT.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The members of the 14 Committee shall represent geographically di- 15 verse areas, including urban, suburban, and 16 rural areas across the country, and a diversity 17 of students, and shall include at least one par- 18 ent or family member representing each of the 19 following student groups: 20 (i) Economically disadvantaged stu- 21 dents. 22 (ii) Students from major racial and 23 ethnic groups. 24 (iii) Children with disabilities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8570 IH (iv) English learners. 1 (v) Students who are members of an 2 Indian tribe or tribal organization, as de- 3 fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter- 4 mination and Education Assistance Act 5 (25 U.S.C. 450b). 6 (vi) Students who identify as lesbian, 7 gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. 8 (vii) Migrant students. 9 (viii) Children in foster care. 10 (ix) Homeless children and youths. 11 (B) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—Consider- 12 ation should also be given to representation of 13 students’ gender identity, migrant status, and 14 residence in rural areas in the appointment of 15 members of the Committee. 16 (4) ADVISORS.—If requested by the Committee, 17 the Secretary may provide access to 5 research advi- 18 sors to the Committee, such as researchers, practi- 19 tioners or representatives from national nonprofit or- 20 ganizations with expertise in family engagement in 21 education, to provide evidence-based information and 22 materials. 23 (5) TERM.—Each member of the Committee 24 shall serve on the Committee for a 3-year term. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8570.IH H8570 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8570 IH (e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall submit 2 to the Committee on Education and Labor of the 3 House of Representatives and the Committee on 4 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen- 5 ate [Text truncated for display. 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