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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 1, 2021 04:41 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Donna Bullock and Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Parental Involvement Leave Act |
| Parental involvement in the education of children is enormously important to healthy development. Parents’ engagement in their children’s school activities improves student achievement, reduces absenteeism, affirms parents’ confidence in education, and reflectively improves teacher morale. Students with engaged parents or other caregivers earn higher grades and test scores, have better social skills, and show improved behavior. The connection can make a difference at all age levels and the more intensively involved parents are, the greater the positive impact. Yet many parents in the Commonwealth are constrained from attending parent-teacher conferences, supporting their children’s extra-curricular activities, or participating in school accountability. Only 27 percent of students living under the poverty line had a parent participate in a school-related activity. Too often, this is the result of the scheduling demands of jobs which parents depend upon to provide for their families. As legislators, we have an obligation to provide a framework for employers to allow parent-employees the scheduling flexibility to be involved with their children’s education. My legislation will require employers to give eligible parents eight hours of unpaid leave per year to attend school-related activities. Also, if a parent has a child with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a child with a disability, they will receive an additional four hours of unpaid leave. Please consider joining us in supporting students and their parents around the Commonwealth. |
Introduced as HB530