[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 197 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 197

    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
   establish a program to help States expand the education system to 
 include at least 1 year of early education preceding the year a child 
                          enters kindergarten.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 17, 2003

  Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
   establish a program to help States expand the education system to 
 include at least 1 year of early education preceding the year a child 
                          enters kindergarten.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Early Education Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In 1989 the Nation's governors established a goal that 
        all children would have access to high quality early education 
        programs by the year 2000. As of January 1, 2003, this goal has 
        still not been achieved.
            (2) Research suggests that a child's early years are 
        critical to the development of the brain. Early brain 
        development is an important component of educational and 
        intellectual achievement.
            (3) The National Research Council of the National Academy 
        of Sciences reported that early education opportunities are 
        necessary if children are going to develop the language and 
        literacy skills necessary to learn to read.
            (4) Evaluations of early education programs demonstrate 
        that compared to children with similar backgrounds who have not 
        participated in early education programs, children who 
        participate in such programs--
                    (A) perform better on reading and mathematics 
                achievement tests;
                    (B) are more likely to stay academically near their 
                grade level and make normal academic progress 
                throughout elementary school;
                    (C) are less likely to be held back a grade or 
                require special education services in elementary 
                school;
                    (D) show greater learning retention, initiative, 
                creativity, and social competency; and
                    (E) are more enthusiastic about school and are more 
                likely to have good attendance records.
            (5) Studies have estimated that for every dollar invested 
        in quality early education, about 7 dollars are saved in later 
        costs.

SEC. 3. EARLY EDUCATION.

    The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

                       ``TITLE X--EARLY EDUCATION

``SEC. 10001. EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definition of Early Education.--In this section, the term 
`early education' means not less than a half-day of schooling each week 
day during the academic year preceding the academic year a child enters 
kindergarten.
    ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to establish a 
program to develop the foundation of early literacy and numerical 
training among young children by helping State educational agencies 
expand the education system to include early education for all 
children.
    ``(c) Program Authorized.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to award 
        grants to not less than 10 State educational agencies to enable 
        the State educational agencies to expand the education system 
        with programs that provide early education.
            ``(2) Matching requirement.--The amount provided to a State 
        educational agency under paragraph (1) shall not exceed 50 
        percent of the cost of the program described in the application 
        submitted pursuant to subsection (d).
            ``(3) Requirements.--Each program assisted under this 
        section--
                    ``(A) shall be carried out by one or more local 
                educational agencies, as selected by the State 
                educational agency;
                    ``(B) shall be carried out--
                            ``(i) in a public school building; or
                            ``(ii) in another facility by, or through a 
                        contract or agreement with, a local educational 
                        agency;
                    ``(C) shall be available to all children served by 
                a local educational agency carrying out the program; 
                and
                    ``(D) shall only involve instructors who are 
                licensed or certified in accordance with applicable 
                State law.
    ``(d) Application.--Each State educational agency desiring a grant 
under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 
Secretary may require. Each application shall--
            ``(1) include a description of--
                    ``(A) the program to be assisted under this 
                section; and
                    ``(B) how the program will meet the purpose of this 
                section; and
            ``(2) contain a statement of the total cost of the program 
        and the source of the matching funds for the program.
    ``(e) Secretarial Authority.--In order to carry out the purpose of 
this section, the Secretary--
            ``(1) shall establish a system for the monitoring and 
        evaluation of, and shall annually report to Congress regarding, 
        the programs funded under this section; and
            ``(2) may establish any other policies, procedures, or 
        requirements, with respect to the programs.
    ``(f) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds made available under this 
section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other Federal, 
State, or local funds, including funds provided under Federal programs 
such as the Head Start programs carried out under the Head Start Act 
and the Even Start family literacy program carried out under subpart 3 
of part B of title I.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $300,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2004 through 2008.''.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. prec. 6301) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

                       ``TITLE X--EARLY EDUCATION

``Sec. 10001. Early education program.''.
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