[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16461-16465]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    IMPROVING HEAD START ACT OF 2007

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 137, H.R. 1429, the 
Head Start authorization bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 1429) to reauthorize the Head Start Act, to 
     improve program quality, to expand access, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome the Senate's action on this 
important legislation, the Head Start for School Readiness Act.
  I commend Senator Enzi, Senator Dodd, and Senator Alexander for their 
bipartisan cooperation on this legislation, and I thank all the 
Senators on the HELP Committee for their contributions to improving 
Head Start to meet today's challenges. We began this process four years 
ago. Today, our bipartisan efforts have resulted in the strengthening 
of a 42 year old program that has been a lifeline of support for 
millions of low-income children preparing for school and for life.
  Since the War on Poverty, Head Start has delivered the assistance 
needed to enable disadvantaged children to arrive at school, ready to 
learn. Its comprehensive services provide balanced meals for children, 
support visits to the doctor and dentist, and teach young children 
important learning and social skills. It helps families with the 
greatest needs get on their feet, and encourages parents to participate 
actively in their child's early development.
  Years of evaluation have demonstrated that Head Start works. A 
Federal survey found that Head Start children make both academic and 
social gains under the program, and that these gains continue when 
children enter kindergarten. Once Head Start children complete their 
kindergarten year, they are near the national average of 100 in key 
areas, with scores of 93 in vocabulary, 96 in early writing, and 92 in 
early math.
  Over the years, we've also learned more about how Head Start can be 
improved. This reauthorization applies that knowledge to make 
modifications in the program, and it will enable Head Start to be even 
more effective in the years ahead.
  In this legislation, we expand Head Start to include thousands of 
low-income children who are not yet served by the program. We provide 
for better coordination of Head Start with State programs for low-
income children. We strengthen Head Start's focus on critical early 
learning skills and school readiness. We enhance the educational goals 
for Head Start teachers. We preserve the community-based structure of 
the program to ensure that the needs of local neighborhoods and their 
children are the top priority. We also provide greater accountability 
for the program, including new policies to provide improved monitoring 
visits and guarantee that programs with deficiencies receive needed 
attention and support.
  To strengthen Head Start, we must begin by providing more resources 
for it. Child poverty is on the rise again and the need for Head Start 
is greater than ever. Today, less than 50 percent of children eligible 
for Head Start participate in the program. Hundreds of thousands of 3- 
and 4-year-olds are left out because of inadequate funding. Early Head 
Start serves only 3 percent of eligible infants and toddlers. It is 
shameful that 97 percent of the children eligible for Early Head Start 
have no access to it. This legislation expands access to Head Start to 
serve as many infants, toddlers, and preschool children and their 
families as possible.
  The bill establishes goals to increase funding and expand the program 
to provide nearly $8 billion worth of services by 2010. These funding 
levels are essential to carry out the essential reforms in the 
legislation and to serve thousands of additional children and families.
  In 1994, we enacted Early Head Start to benefit infants, toddlers, 
and their families. It has worked ever since. Early Head Start children 
have larger vocabularies, lower levels of aggressive behavior, and 
higher levels of sustained attention than children not enrolled in the 
program. Early Head Start parents are more likely to play with their 
children and read to them. These activities increase a child's desire 
to learn and strengthen a family's commitment to education. Our bill 
doubles the size of Early Head Start over the course of the 
authorization, and includes a commitment to serve 56,000 additional 
children.
  The bill also establishes a Head Start Collaboration Office in every 
State to improve support for Head Start children, to align Head Start 
with kindergarten classrooms, and to strengthen its local partnerships 
with other agencies. These offices will work hand in hand with the Head 
Start network of training and technical assistance to support grantees 
in meeting the goals of preparing children for school.
  I'm especially pleased that the bill provides the blueprint needed to 
upgrade and strengthen other early childhood education programs and 
services in the states. The bill provides an active role for states in 
coordinating early childhood education and development programs, and 
designates an Early Care and Education Council in each state to 
undertake the activities essential to developing a comprehensive system 
for the nation's youngest children. The councils will conduct an 
inventory of children's needs, develop plans for data collection, 
support early childhood educators, review and upgrade early learning 
standards, and make recommendations on technical assistance and 
training. For States ready to move forward and implement their 
statewide plan, the legislation offers $100 million to support 
incentive grants for States to implement these important efforts.
  Over the past four decades, Head Start has developed quality and 
performance standards to guarantee a full range of services, so that 
children are educated in the basics about letters, numbers, and books, 
and are also healthy, well-fed, and supported in stable and nurturing 
relationships. Head Start is already a model program, but we can 
enhance its quality even more.
  The bill strengthens literacy efforts currently underway in Head 
Start programs. We know the key to future reading success is to get 
young children excited about letters and books and numbers. The bill 
emphasizes language and literacy, by enhancing the literacy training 
required of Head Start teachers, continuing to promote parent literacy, 
and working to put more books into Head Start classrooms and into 
children's homes.
  In addition, we make a commitment in the bill to upgrade all of the 
educational components of Head Start, and ensure that the services are 
aligned with expectations for children's kindergarten year and continue 
to be driven by the effective Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.
  At the heart of Head Start's success are its teachers and staff. They 
are caring, committed leaders who know the children they serve and are 
dedicated to improving their lives. They help children learn to 
identify letters of the alphabet and arrange the pieces of puzzles. 
They teach them to brush their teeth, wash their hands, make friends 
and follow rules. Yet their salary is

[[Page 16462]]

only half the salary of kindergarten teachers, and the turnover is 
high, about 11 percent a year.
  Because teacher quality is directly related to a child's outcome, our 
bill establishes a goal to ensure that every Head Start teacher earns 
an A.A. degree, and that half earn their B.A. degree by the next time 
Congress revisits the program. Head Start teachers and staff are the 
greatest resource for children and families in the program, and 
investing in their development must be a priority. I look forward to 
working with my colleagues to match these ambitious goals with the 
funding needed to make them a reality.
  Our legislation also gives local Head Start programs greater 
authority to assess the needs of families in their communities and 
define the services necessary to meet those needs. We've lifted the 
eligibility requirements under the program, so that families living 
below 130 percent of the Federal poverty rate can qualify and 
participate in Head Start. Yet we still prioritize services to children 
who need them the most. If programs determine that a greater share of 
infants and toddlers need services, our bill allows them to apply to 
the Secretary to convert and expand services to our youngest children. 
If programs identify a need to provide full-day or full-year care for 
children and families, they can take steps to do this as well.
  Accountability is a cornerstone of excellence in education and should 
start early. Head Start should be accountable for its commitment to 
provide safe and healthy learning environments, to support each child's 
individual pattern of development and learning, to cement community 
partnerships in services for children, and to involve parents in their 
child's growth.
  Head Start reviews are already among the most extensive in the field. 
Our bill takes a further step to improve this process by ensuring that 
monitoring results and feedback are available to programs and used for 
their improvement. We also take steps to address programs with serious 
deficiencies, and ensure that substantial problems in programs do not 
languish at the expense of children. If a local program is unable to 
meet Head Start's high standards of quality, others should step in. 
Every Head Start child deserves to develop and learn in a high-quality 
program.
  Our bill also takes an important step to suspend the Head Start 
National Reporting System. Four years ago, many of us insisted that 
instead of rushing forward with a national test of hundreds of 
thousands of children, Head Start would be better served if plans were 
developed more deliberately to ensure an appropriate means to gather 
and report child outcomes in programs. That appeal was ignored, and the 
Administration proceeded with an assessment--without sufficient 
authorization or oversight from Congress--that was later proven flawed 
and inconsistent with professional standards for testing and 
measurement.
  This legislation requires that the assessments used in Head Start 
must be held to the highest standard. Head Start's measures must be 
valid and reliable, fair to children from all backgrounds, balanced in 
what they assess, and sufficient to reflect the development of the 
whole child. We've called on the National Academy of Sciences to survey 
and study the state of assessments and outcomes appropriate for young 
children in environments like Head Start. Their study will be of great 
value as we consider how best to move forward in Head Start and other 
early childhood settings.
  Finally, the bill maintains the essential Federal-to-local structure 
of Head Start, and rejects other proposals that would dilute this 
important focus. Head Start's design enables it to tailor its services 
to meet local community needs. Head Start's regulations guarantee a 
universal standard of quality across all programs. Yet each program is 
unique and specifically adapted to its children and families. The focus 
on local neighborhoods and their children must always be at the heart 
of Head Start.
  One of our highest priorities in Congress is to expand educational 
opportunities for every American. In this age of globalization, every 
citizen deserves a chance to acquire the educational skills needed to 
compete in the modem economy. This process starts early--it begins at 
birth and continues throughout the early years, long before children 
enter kindergarten.
  The Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 will keep Head Start 
on its successful path, and enable this vital program to continue to 
thrive and improve. I look forward to swift passage of this legislation 
in the Senate, and a productive Conference with the House on the 
important reforms in this bill.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Head Start 
for School Readiness Act of 2007. This legislation is a bipartisan 
effort by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to 
reauthorize the Head Start Act.
  The Head Start Program was established in 1965 as part of the war on 
poverty by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The purpose of the program was, 
and remains, to provide educational and other developmental services to 
children in very low-income families. Since its creation, Head Start 
has been a comprehensive early childhood development program that 
provides educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services 
to low-income preschool-aged children and their families. Head Start 
currently provides services to over 900,000 children and their families 
through a network of over 1,600 public and private agencies.
  The legislation before us today builds on work started last Congress 
by the HELP Committee under my leadership. The Head Start for School 
Readiness Act ensures that low-income children receive the educational 
and developmental services they need to be ready to learn and be 
successful in school.
  I want to thank Senator Kennedy for his ongoing commitment to working 
on a bipartisan basis, which has resulted in legislation that meets the 
needs of children and families who participate in the Head Start 
Program throughout our Nation. I would also like to thank our 
colleagues, Senators Alexander and Dodd, for their fine work and 
dedication to this important program.
  Head Start was created to level the playing field for low-income 
children by providing them with education and development activities. 
This program recognizes that children do not start school with the same 
set of experiences and knowledge and helps provide low-income children 
with some of the experiences and knowledge their more affluent peers 
have as they start their elementary school experience. The Head Start 
Program also recognizes the important role that families play in a 
child's development and encourages their regular participation in the 
program.
  This legislation helps ensure that children in the Head Start Program 
will be better prepared to enter school with the skills necessary to 
succeed. It is well documented in early childhood education research 
that students who are not reading at grade level by the third grade 
will struggle with reading the rest of their lives. Head Start provides 
early education for over 900,000 children each year, most of whom would 
not have the opportunity to attend preschool programs elsewhere. The 
future of these children is why we have all worked so hard to improve 
and strengthen this act. The legislation before us today will help Head 
Start Programs provide children with the early learning skills and 
early childhood development activities they need to be successful. Head 
Start introduces many of these children to books, the alphabet, 
numbers, as well as how to play and share with their classmates. Head 
Start provides the building blocks children need for success later in 
life.
  The Head Start for School Readiness Act builds on what many great 
Head Start providers are already doing. Working from recommendations 
from the National Academy of Sciences, this bill adds educational 
standards related to language skills, literacy and numeracy skills, as 
well as cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Steps are also 
taken to ensure that limited English proficient children are provided 
assistance in acquiring the English language.

[[Page 16463]]

  I am particularly pleased with the accountability provisions put 
forth in this legislation. The legislation before us today includes 
important changes to the Head Start Program related to the evaluation 
and review of grantees. The timeframe for Head Start grantees to appeal 
decisions made by the Secretary to terminate grants is now limited. In 
some instances, Head Start grantees have been found to be operating 
programs that are unsafe or misusing Federal funds--and are often 
continuing those bad practices for months--as long as 600 days in some 
cases--during the termination process. This equates to children not 
receiving quality services, and instead of being prepared for success, 
they fall further behind.
  Additional steps have been taken in this legislation to increase the 
quality of Head Start Programs, including providing the Secretary the 
authority to terminate a grantee that has multiple and recurring 
deficiencies that has not made significant and substantial progress 
toward correcting those deficiencies. This legislation provides greater 
clarity for grantees as to what constitutes a program deficiency. Many 
of us have heard from grantees across the country who expressed 
frustration with the lack of consistency with which the provisions of 
the Head Start Program is enforced. For that reason this legislation 
includes provisions related to interrator reliability--this will help 
ensure consistency in the review of Head Start Programs across the 
country.
  Changes were made to the distribution of grant funds to ensure that 
programs maintain their funded levels of enrollment. We understand that 
families served by the Head Start Program tend to be more migratory and 
that full enrollment at Centers is often difficult to maintain. 
However, we also know that many programs have waiting lists and that 
thousands of eligible children are not currently being served. This 
legislation balances those needs by providing flexibility in meeting 
full enrollment, but also requiring funds to be moved from chronically 
under-enrolled programs.
  Senator Dodd has provided valuable leadership as we worked to develop 
a clear policy on the roles and responsibilities of the governing 
bodies and policy councils. We have worked together to clarify and 
strengthen the roles of the governing body and policy councils while 
preserving the important role of parents. After careful review, the 
committee found that many of the important fiscal and legal 
responsibilities of Head Start grantees were not explicitly assigned.
  Unfortunately there have been too many examples of programs that have 
failed the children, families, and community they were funded to serve 
due to appalling financial mismanagement. Cases were brought to the 
committee that detailed excessive and inappropriate expenditures, lost 
funds, and reduced services to children because proper financial 
management techniques were not in place. Too often the truth was hidden 
from governing bodies and policy councils alike.
  The bill clarifies those responsibilities leading to more consistent, 
high-quality fiscal and legal management, which will ensure these 
programs are serving children in the best possible way. Changes in this 
legislation address the concerning situations mentioned earlier by 
placing fiscal responsibility with the governing body. It is absolutely 
necessary and vital that one entity maintain fiscal and legal control 
of the Federal grant dollars. That said, we maintain the equally vital 
and necessary role of the policy councils in setting program 
priorities, classroom activities, and personnel changes. We believe 
this careful balance will help ensure the continued integrity of the 
Head Start Program for years to come.
  We recognize that a vast majority of the Head Start agencies provide 
high quality, comprehensive services for children in the Head Start 
Programs. However, the provisions in this bill will create an important 
incentive for programs to operate at their best and in the best 
interest of the children they serve.
  I want to particularly note emphasis we have placed on the role of 
parents in Head Start Programs. It is vital to remember that this 
program provides services to children and their families. Parents 
provide valuable insight and experience as to what a Head Start Program 
should do for children. In fact, this legislation increases the 
presence of parents in Head Start Programs, strengthens services for 
families, and provides training and development opportunities for 
parents that do serve on the policy councils and governing bodies.
  This legislation also increases the coordination, collaboration, and 
excellence of early childhood education and care programs. It enhances 
the role of the State director of Head Start collaboration to ensure 
that Head Start Programs are maximizing their potential by stretching 
dollars, promoting partnerships to meet State and local needs, and 
developing strategic plans to meet future and current goals. This 
legislation also allows each State to apply for funds to support a 
State advisory council on early care and education to conduct a 
statewide needs assessment, identify collaboration opportunities, and 
support additional data collection. Additional encouragement of 
coordination and collaboration will stretch Federal, State and local 
resources to provide additional resources to disadvantaged children 
across the country.
  Finally, this legislation requires the Department of Health and Human 
Services to cease any further development or implementation of the 
National Reporting System. While I believe that the assessment of 
children in the Head Start Program is important, I believe that the 
assessment must be both age and developmentally appropriate. This 
legislation requires a review and update of the assessments, standards, 
and measures used in Head Start Programs by the Panel on Developmental 
Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children of the National Academy of 
Sciences. Once the panel completes its recommendations, the Secretary 
is then allowed to revisit the issue of assessment in Head Start 
Programs.
  The members of the HELP Committee, and in particular Senators 
Alexander, Kennedy, and Dodd, have worked tirelessly on this 
legislation. The final product before us today is a comprehensive and 
bipartisan reauthorization of the Head Start Program. I wish to thank 
Senators Kennedy, Alexander, and Dodd and the other members of the 
committee for their assistance in moving this legislation to the floor. 
Passage of this legislation will ensure that low-income children are 
prepared not only for success in school but for later success in life.
  Finally, I would like to thank the staff of members of the HELP 
Committee who have spent countless hours preparing this legislation for 
passage by the Senate. In particular I would like to thank Roberto 
Rodriguez with Senator Kennedy, Catherine Hildum and Sharon Lewis with 
Senator Dodd, David Cleary and Sarah Rittling with Senator Alexander, 
and Beth Buehlmann and Lindsay Hunsicker of my staff.
  It is my hope that our bipartisan efforts will continue to produce 
results as we move to final passage of this legislation and on to a 
conference committee with the House of Representatives. We must all 
work together to get a bipartisan product to President Bush for his 
signature as soon as possible.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am pleased to speak today about the 
passage of H.R. 1429, the Head Start for School Readiness Act. This 
bipartisan legislation reauthorizes the Head Start program, something 
the Congress has not done since 2003.
  In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson launched a summer program for low-
income children and their families, and called it Project Head Start. 
The program's mission was simple: prepare low-income, preschool-aged 
children for success in school. Today, Head Start serves children and 
their families in urban and rural areas across the United States. And, 
since its inception, more than 20 million children and families have 
benefited from the Head Start program.
  Nevada's eight centers range from a Head Start and Early Head Start 
Center in rural Ely, to larger, more urban

[[Page 16464]]

centers in Reno, to a Tribal Head Start center in Gardnerville. Each of 
these programs is unique and, with the input and involvement of parents 
and families, help meet the needs of the communities they serve.
  Head Start currently provides comprehensive early education and 
health services to almost one million low-income preschool children to 
help them prepare for and succeed in school. Unfortunately, this is 
only a fraction of the number of children that could benefit from Head 
Start services. In my own state of Nevada, there are just under 10,000 
3- and 4-year-olds that are eligible for Head Start programs. But, last 
year, only about 27 percent of those eligible were able to participate.
  The bill that we have passed will allow many of these children in 
Nevada and across the Nation to get the early childhood services that 
they need, by expanding access and eligibility for low-income children 
and families.
  The legislation also makes a number of other important changes to the 
Head Start program. It focuses on developing the skills that children 
will need to enter school ready to learn by aligning Head Start 
standards and services with state child care and preschool programs and 
local public schools, and requiring new research-based standards and 
assessments.
  And, to ensure that Head Start programs are effective, the bill 
requires greater accountability through improved monitoring and 
recompetition for poor performing Head Start centers. Finally, this 
bill strengthens the Head Start workforce by setting new education and 
training goals for Head Start teachers and curriculum specialists.
  With proven and lasting results, Head Start is a wise investment in 
our future. I applaud the good work of the HELP Committee, and thank 
Senators Kennedy, Enzi, Dodd, and Alexander for their efforts on behalf 
of low-income children across the Nation.
  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)
 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I am delighted to join my colleagues 
in supporting the Head Start for School Readiness Act, which 
reauthorizes this critically important program to help prepare our most 
disadvantaged young children to attend school. We have worked hard to 
bring this bipartisan bill to the floor, and I particularly thank 
Senators Kennedy, Enzi, and Alexander for their leadership on this 
issue.
  For more than 40 years, Head Start provided comprehensive early 
childhood development services to low-income children, creating an 
important bridge to kindergarten and beyond.
  Head Start addresses the comprehensive needs of children and their 
families by offering not only academic opportunities, but also supports 
for health, nutrition, social skills, and more. More than 900,000 
children across the Nation, including nearly 9,000 children in 
Connecticut, depend on Head Start to support their social, emotional, 
physical, and cognitive development. Head Start is the foundation for a 
lifetime of learning for many of our most vulnerable children, and this 
reauthorization provides for continued success, while also 
strengthening the program.
  Among the many improvements in this legislation, of great importance 
is the expanded access to Head Start for more disadvantaged children. 
In Connecticut and other States where the cost of living is 
particularly high, many poor families aren't able to enroll their 
children in Head Start because they earn incomes just above the poverty 
level. This reauthorization allows programs to serve families with 
incomes up to 130 percent of the Federal poverty level, and expands 
opportunities for children of migrant families, Indian children, 
homeless children, foster children, as well as additional infants and 
toddler in Early Head Start programs.
  Currently, only half of all eligible children are served in Head 
Start, and fewer than 5 percent are served in Early Head Start. Head 
Start programs are also facing tremendous increases in operating costs, 
including transportation, health care premiums, facilities maintenance, 
and training for staff; yet Head Start has essentially been flatfunded 
for years. This legislation authorizes an increase from $6.9 billion in 
the current fiscal year, to $7.3 billion in fiscal year 2008, $7.5 
billion in fiscal year 2009, and $7.9 billion in fiscal year 2010, 
which will begin to meet the needs of Head Start children and allow for 
more enrollment opportunities. However, we must also acknowledge that 
we still have far to go before we provide adequate resources to this 
invaluable program.
  We know that children struggle when their families are not involved 
in their education; and that parents play the most important role in 
ensuring the success of their children. This legislation encourages a 
high level of family involvement, maintains the integral participation 
of parents in the day-to-day operations of the programs, and offers 
family members key roles as decisionmakers.
  I am pleased that this bill also improves program accountability by 
further clarifying governance responsibilities and enhancing teacher 
quality expectations. While we establish goals for improving 
educational standards for staff, we acknowledge that current resources 
may not adequately support staff to pursue additional training, nor 
provide enough for increased wages; therefore, we do not make these 
standards mandatory.
  Head Start must continue to maintain a core and integral role in our 
broader early childhood care and education systems as we expand our 
efforts to improve early education across this country. The legislation 
encourages greater collaboration and coordination with other early 
childhood development programs.
  Passing the Head Start for School Readiness Act today is an important 
step forward to improve opportunities for low-income children. Nothing 
reduces poverty like learning, and Head Start gives children what they 
need to learn early. I look forward to working with my colleagues to 
see that this important legislation becomes law.


                        state advisory councils

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I would like to inquire of Chairman 
Kennedy regarding the State advisory councils on early childhood 
education and care included in S. 556, the Head Start for School 
Readiness Act.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, S. 556 affirms the active role that 
States have in coordinating their system of early childhood education 
programs, and encourages States to enhance that role to increase the 
quality of programs available to young children. The act designates an 
early care and education council in each State for the purposes of 
conducting an inventory of children's needs and exploring the 
availability of prekindergarten opportunities; exploring areas for 
collaboration and coordination across programs; developing plans for 
data collection and to support the professional development of early 
childhood educators; and providing for the review and upgrading of 
State early learning standards. For those States prepared and 
interested in moving forward with a statewide plan encompassing these 
activities, S. 556 provides for one-time incentive grants to further 
develop and implement these important efforts.
  S. 556 also permit States to designate an existing entity to serve as 
the State advisory council on early childhood education and care, if 
such entity includes representation consistent with members mentioned 
in the act.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I thank the chairman for his explanation of these 
provisions. I am concerned, however, that it may not be practical for 
States with existing advisory councils to reconfigure their membership 
to reflect all of the individuals mentioned in the Head Start bill. In 
my home State of Washington, we are leading the way on early childhood 
coordination and reform with the establishment in 2005 of Governor 
Gregoire's cabinet-level Department of Early Learning and the Early 
Learning Council, which became the Early Learning Advisory Council. The 
council is working hard to make sure early learning programs in my 
State are aligned and are providing high quality services. However, I 
want to

[[Page 16465]]

make sure that the council is not unduly burdened for being a leader, 
and that it will not have to reconstitute its membership. I ask the 
chairman for his commitment to work with me as this bill is considered 
in conference with the House, to further resolve this issue.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I agree and would be happy to work with you on this 
issue. S. 556 directs Governors to designate specific individuals as 
members of the State advisory council to the maximum extent possible. 
While some members may need to be added by States to their existing 
councils in order to meet the goals of this legislation, I agree fully 
that Governors will need some flexibility in this function. Therefore, 
I support grant additional discretion as they consider the makeup and 
function of their existing councils in relation to the roles and 
responsibilities under this Act.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I share Senator Murray's concerns and 
appreciate the commitment to working with us on this issue.
  S. 556 also includes specific responsibilities of the State advisory 
council regarding early childhood activities, professional development 
and opportunities for coordination and collaboration. My State of 
Connecticut has been a leader in promoting the coordination and 
improvement of early learning opportunities for young children and has 
successfully carried out activities that complement the 
responsibilities under this act. Connecticut's Early Childhood 
Education Cabinet, which includes many of the members required by the 
Head Start Act, already advises the State on policy and on initiatives 
to meet early childhood goals, conducts statewide evaluations of the 
school readiness programs, and promotes collaboration and consistency 
of quality services.
  Is it the intention that States would be required to abandon the 
progress made with their existing efforts and begin new initiatives to 
fulfill their responsibilities under S. 556?
  Mr. KENNEDY. I appreciate the Senator's inquiry on this important 
point. That is not my intention, and S. 556 does not stipulate any 
requirements for States to conduct new efforts concerning their 
assessment of children's needs, opportunities for collaboration and 
coordination, the establishment of a unified data system, professional 
development activities, or other efforts described under the 
responsibilities of the State Advisory Council in this legislation. My 
own State of Massachusetts has also been a leader in carrying out 
several of these efforts through our own State Department of Early Care 
and Education.
  Preexisting and current efforts in States to improve and enhance the 
quality of early childhood education programs would certainly help 
fulfill and count toward the responsibilities stipulated by the Head 
Start for School Readiness Act.
  I ask Senator Enzi if he agrees with this point.
  Mr. ENZI. I do agree with the chairman and would be happy to join 
him, Senator Dodd, and Senator Murray in further clarifying these 
points as the conference committee considers S. 556 and begins its work 
on the reauthorization of the Head Start Act.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I thank my colleagues for their work with me on these 
issues, and I commend them for their leadership on the important 
reforms in this bill.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the substitute amendment at 
the desk be considered and agreed to and the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table; that the bill, as amended, be read three times, 
passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that the 
Senate insist upon its amendment, request a conference with the House 
on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses, and the Chair be authorized 
to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate; and that the HELP 
Committee be appointed as conferees, with the above occurring without 
further intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 1714) was agreed to.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time and passed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER appointed Senators Kennedy, Dodd, Harkin, 
Mikulski, Bingaman, Murray, Reed, Clinton, Obama, Sanders, Brown, Enzi, 
Gregg, Alexander, Burr, Isakson, Murkowski, Hatch, Roberts, Allard, and 
Coburn conferees on the part of the Senate.

                          ____________________