Research shows that family engagement advances the academic and developmental progress of our nation’s children and drives increases in student achievement. The Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC) program provides much-needed technical assistance and partnership development to states and school districts to foster meaningful engagement with families. SFECs directly serve over a dozen states, including AZ, CT, HI, KY, MA, MD, MN, NE, OH, PA, SC, SD, WV. Funding is needed to sustain these programs and support expansion to serve more families.    

PTA believes that an investment in SFECs is critical to ensuring that families are meaningfully supported and engaged in their child’s education, so they can support our nation’s students in becoming fully prepared for the future. Family engagement boasts strong bipartisan support, and more than ever, support for this program is needed to strengthen family engagement and improve current challenges such as NAEP scores. 

We urge you to take action TODAY and ask your members of Congress for no less than $20 million in funding for the Statewide Family Engagement Centers grant program in FY 2026. That funding level would, at a minimum, enable all existing grants to be continued, and potentially provide additional states the opportunity to engage in this great work. PTA urges you to ask your members of Congress to reject any proposals to eliminate the SFEC program, which is the only education grant program solely dedicated to family engagement within the Every Student Succeeds Act.