The National PTA has developed a Reference Guide on State Laws on Family Engagement in Education that can be found here http://www.pta.org/State_Laws_Report.pdf.  The guide was developed as a tool for State PTAs and other family and child advocates to increase systemic, effective family engagement in all of our nation’s public schools and its purposes are to:

· Provide families and advocates with information on family engagement provisions within state education laws so that they can better advocate for their children’s education on the school and district levels. 

· Guide policymakers’ and advocates’ development of their legislative reform initiatives as well as their efforts to monitor the implementation of laws already in place. 

While American’s are trying to keep young children in child care, the German government is toying with the idea of giving parents money to keep their children home. This proposed subsidy has sparked controversy and criticism.

Many feel that keeping children, especially immigrant children, home will be detrimental. Critics of the proposal contend that, for immigrant children in particular, child care assists with new language acquisition by surrounding the child with speakers of that language.  Others contend that all children are better prepared for school for having attended a child care program.   Still others say that the proposal is a feminist issue, that paying women to stay home with their children discourages them from entering the workforce.