[Senate Report 108-208]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 413
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    108-208

======================================================================



 
                             HEAD START ACT

                                _______
                                

               November 24, 2003.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Gregg, from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                   Pensions, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                         [To accompany S. 1940]

    The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 
reported an original bill (S. 1940) to reauthorize the Head 
Start Act, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary of the Bill..................................1
 II. Background and Need for Legislation..............................2
III. Legislative History and Committee Action.........................3
 IV. Explanation of Bill and Committee Views..........................4
  V. Cost Estimate...................................................30
 VI. Application of Law to the Legislative Branch....................30
VII. Regulatory Impact Statement.....................................30
VIII.Section-by-Section Analysis.....................................30

 IX. Additional Views................................................50
  X. Changes in Existing Law.........................................56

                   I. Purpose and Summary of the Bill

    The Head Start Improvements for School Readiness Act of 
2003 reauthorizes and makes improvements in the Head Start 
program in order to ensure that children in the program make 
measurable progress toward attaining the goal of school 
readiness. In order to accomplish this, the bill focuses on 
four areas: (1) improved academic outcomes for children, (2) 
improved teacher competency and high quality opportunities for 
professional development, (3) better coordination and 
collaboration with other programs in the state (including the 
local public schools), and (4) greater accountability for those 
providing these valuable services to children.
    The bill authorizes $7.2 billion for fiscal year 2005, $7.6 
billion for fiscal year 2006, $8.0 billion for fiscal year 
2007, and such sums as may be necessary for subsequent years. 
Each year, 13 percent of Head Start funding is set-aside for 
the Secretary to allocate funds for Migrant and Seasonal Head 
Start programs, Indian Head Start programs, training and 
technical assistance for Head Start grantees and other 
purposes. For research and evaluation each year $20 million is 
reserved. The set-aside for Early Head Start is increased from 
10 percent currently to a maximum of 18 percent in fiscal year 
2009.

                II. Background and Need for Legislation

    Studies document a wide gap between lower and higher income 
children before they enter kindergarten and despite significant 
Federal investment, this gap persists. When children begin 
school behind, they tend to remain behind. The research shows 
that, on average, Head Start helps to narrow the achievement 
gap between our nation's poorest children and their more 
affluent peers, however, the committee believes 
thatmodifications within the program could lead to greater outcomes for 
Head Start children. Long-term positive outcomes and cost-savings 
include improved school performance and behavior, reduced special 
education placement, lower school dropout rates, and increased lifelong 
earning potential.
    Head Start was created in 1965 against this backdrop and 
today stands as one of the nation's most popular domestic 
programs. Built on the premise that effective intervention in 
the lives of children can be best accomplished through family 
and community involvement, Head Start attempts to involve 
communities and families in both the design and implementation 
of the program at the local level.
    Today, Head Start provides educational and other 
comprehensive support services to close to one million low 
income preschool children in order to help prepare those 
children for school. Because school readiness involves the 
interrelationship between cognitive and intellectual 
developmental, physical, social and emotional and other areas 
of development, Head Start programs provide a broad array of 
services determined to be necessary, based on an assessment of 
child and family needs.
    Head Start currently serves 910,000 children through 18,000 
centers and 829 home-based programs in all 50 states, the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories, 
and provides services for migrant and Native American 
populations. Unlike other Federal social services programs that 
are funded through States, the Department of Health and Human 
Services awards Head Start grants directly to local agencies, 
called grantees, which deliver program services. Grantees, 
estimated at 1570 in fiscal year 2003, may contract with other 
organizations, called delegate agencies, to run all or part of 
their programs. Grantees had such contracts with approximately 
575 delegate agencies in fiscal year 2003. Grantees and 
delegate agencies include public and private school systems, 
community action agencies, faith-based organizations and other 
private nonprofit and for profit organizations, local 
governments, and Indian tribes.
    Since the inception of Head Start nearly 40 years ago, the 
face of poverty has changed dramatically. Single parent 
families headed by women accounted for about one-third of the 
poor in 1966; now they represent more than half of those living 
in poverty. Children have now replaced the elderly as the group 
most likely to be poor. One child in five in the United States 
lives in poverty. Disadvantaged children who are part of a 
racial or ethnic minority group face even harsher realities; 44 
percent of all African American children, and 38 percent of all 
Hispanic children, are poor.
    As the needs of children and families changed, so has Head 
Start. Head Start was first enacted into law in 1965 as a 
summer program with a budget of $352 million. In 1995, an 
appropriation of $3.3 billion allowed more than 2,000 locally 
run Head Start programs to serve more than 730,000 children and 
their families. The appropriation for fiscal year 2003 will be 
more than double that of 1995--$6.8 billion.
    By is nature, Head Start requires community input in order 
to be responsive to community needs. Local programs may adapt 
their services to serve Indian tribes or migrant and seasonal 
farmworker communities, target homeless children or children of 
drug-addicted parents or help families transitioning off 
welfare.
    In 1993, Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna 
Shalala appointed an Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality 
and Expansion to examine closely the Head Start program and to 
make recommendations for the future. The recommendations of the 
Advisory Committee focused on three important areas: (1) the 
need to improve quality; (2) the need to expand services; and 
(3) the need to forge partnership with other community 
providers, including closer coordination with elementary 
schools, State, and locally sponsored programs, cooperating 
with the private sector and linking Head Start with other 
national initiatives. Reauthorizations in the past have 
enhanced teacher qualifications, attention to cognitive areas 
of development, created the early Head Start program, and led 
to program standards and an outcomes framework that attend to 
all areas of children's development and learning.
    The Head Start Improvements for School Readiness Act of 
2003 builds on the current foundation by increasing the focus 
on continued program quality and the achievement of important 
educational and other outcomes for children that will ensure 
their school readiness.

             III. Legislative History and Committee Action

    On October 29, 2003 the Senate Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions by a vote of 21-0 reported a 
committee originated bill to reauthorize the Head Start 
program.

Hearings and Testimony--Summary of Witnesses

    The Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held 
a hearing on July 22, 2003 at 10 a.m. entitled ``Reauthorizing 
Head Start: Preparing Children to Succeed in School and in 
Life''. The hearing focused on the reauthorization of Head 
Start program, the President's proposal and H.R. 2210, ``The 
School Readiness Act of 2003''.
    The following witnesses testified:
    Ms. Windy Hill, Associate Commissioner for the Head Start 
Bureau Administration for Children, Youth and Families, U.S. 
Department of Health and HumanServices, Washington, DC, 
discussed strengthening the education component of Head Start and 
improving coordination and integration of State and local childhood 
services in support of President Bush's proposal;
    Dr. G. Reid Lyon, Chief of the Child development and 
Behavior Branch National Institute of Child Health and Human 
Development, National Institutes of Health, Washington, DC, 
emphasized the importance of basing early childhood programs on 
developmental science and discussed the need for competent 
teachers, better coordination with other early childhood 
services, and called for a comprehensive assessment and 
reporting system to ensure Head Start produces positive 
outcomes;
    Dr. Marnie S. Shaul, Director, Education, Workforce and 
Income Security Issues, U.S. General Accounting Office, 
Washington, DC, discussed that while Head Start is key among 
the array of early childhood programs, there is no national 
research on the effectiveness of the program. There are studies 
that show that the skills of Head Start children have improved, 
but there is no definitive evidence that this improvement is 
related to participation in the program. A comprehensive study 
is expected to be completed by 2006:
    Ms. Amy Wilkins, Executive Director, Trust for Early 
Education, Washington, DC, linked between qualified teachers to 
better outcomes for students and also discussed the importance 
of strong coordination between Federal and State policies and 
funding to a successful Head Start program and called;
    Ms. Janis Santos, Executive Director of the Holycoke-
Chicope-Springfield Head Start Center, Springfield, 
Massachusetts recommended enhanced teacher qualifications for 
Head Start teachers and stronger collaboration and strategic 
planing at the State level. She recommended the government 
redefine its priorities for Head Start by fully funding the 
program and enrolling more families above the income 
guidelines.

            IV. Explanation of the Bill and Committee Views


Enhancing the School Readiness of Head Start Children

    Knowledge about children's development and learning has 
expanded greatly during the past two decades. Research in the 
neurobiological and behavioral sciences suggests the importance 
of a child's experience during the first years of life for 
healthy brain development. From birth through age five, 
children rapidly develop the capabilities on which subsequent 
development builds. According to child development expert Dr. 
T. Berry Brazelton, ``A child's experiences in the first months 
and years of life determine whether he or she will enter school 
eager to learn or not.''
    Given all that has been learned about the development of 
young children, the committee was surprised to discover the 
lack of a single definition of school readiness that is 
consistently used across this country. Research shows that 
children who read well in the early grades are far more 
successful in later years.
    According to the National Institute for Child Health and 
Development and other experts, school readiness consists of a 
broad set of competencies such as cognitive, social, emotional, 
physical, and language development, motivation and approaches 
to learning, as well as discipline-specific domains including 
the arts, literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies. 
The academic and social competencies that define school 
readiness start developing long before children enter the 
elementary classroom.
    The committee recognizes that the areas of a young 
children's development is strongly interconnected, with 
positive outcomes in one area relying on development in other 
domains. As such, standards for early learning should, as much 
as practicable, seek to address a wide range of domains. As 
such, standards for early learning should, as much as 
practicable, seek to address a wide range of domains. A group 
of researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development 
Center at the University of North Carolina have defined school 
readiness as the condition of children when they enter school, 
and the capacity of schools to educate the children enrolled. 
According to the research team, ``the readiness puzzle can only 
be solved if the two pieces fit together'' (Bailey, 1999).
    Studies indicate that children who are enrolled in Head 
Start make some progress, but are still lagging far behind the 
national average in school readiness. A recent publication by 
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 
Strengthening Head Start: What the Research Shows, provides an 
indepth analysis of the outcomes for children and families 
served by the Head Start program. Based on data from the Family 
and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), the HHS analysis 
concludes that both higher and lower achieving Head Start 
children have low scores on school readiness evaluations 
overall and show some limited progress after completion of the 
Head Start program. In other words, Head Start children enter 
and leave the program with below average skills and knowledge 
levels (HHS, 2003).
    These data indicate that many Head Start children are 
entering kindergarten without the crucial knowledge levels that 
have been proven to be excellent predictors of later school 
success. The challenges that so many of these children will 
experience later in tier academic careers are beginning well 
before they enter school or enter Head Start. the importance of 
all children achieving academic parity upon entry into 
kindergarten is critical since children who start behind have 
been shown to stay behind.
    To accomplish the goal of ensuring that Head Start children 
develop the cognitive, social and emotional competencies 
necessary to succeed, the Head Start Improvements for School 
Readiness Act significantly enhances program emphasis on 
cognitive development and school readiness, while retaining the 
commitment toproviding comprehensive social services. The 
committee recognizes the importance of all domains of development in 
order for a child to be school ready, however the committee believes 
Head Start can be strengthened to help promote greater academic 
outcomes and school readiness for Head Start children.
    One of the critical components of school readiness is the 
attainment of prereading abilities. As such, Head Start 
programs should provide children from low income families a 
high quality, oral language and literature rich environment. 
Through scientific research, much has been learned about the 
way children learn to read, and the strong foundation that is 
important before children are given formal reading instruction 
in kindergarten and first grade. Consistent with the Early 
Reading First initiative launched as part of the No Child Left 
Behind Act, Head Start must play a pivotal role in this effort. 
In addition to caring for the emotional and social needs of 
children under their care, Head Start programs must encourage 
and promote cognitive development activities along with 
professional development for teachers and staff based on 
scientific research in reading.
    Children who have limited preliteracy skills (i.e. weak 
phonological awareness and weak phonemic awareness) are more 
likely to struggle in attaining age-appropriate reading 
instruction that should be taken into account by Head Start 
teachers. For example, if children can correctly identify 
letters of the alphabet before they enter kindergarten and 
understand that letters represent sounds that make up words, it 
is more likely that they will learn to read words in school 
faster than children who do not possess this knowledge. 
Experimental findings consistently confirm that children's 
knowledge of the alphabet is a strong predictor of their later 
progress in learning to read words accurately, quickly and 
automatically. Professional development and instructional 
activities should be designed to strengthen phonological 
awareness and instruction to help children understand that 
works are made up of letters, which correspond to sounds.
    The committee also recognizes the importance of other 
readiness skills for young children. For example, promoting 
premathematics and prescience knowledge and abilities is an 
important component of school readiness. These competencies may 
be promoted through early science and math experiences, 
including observing with senses, predicting, inferring, 
defining and controlling variables, working in teams, and 
communicating discoveries. Examples of science and math 
experiences may include planting different seeds, with various 
types of growing medium, light, and water; building towers with 
various block sizes; employing ramps and different balls; 
watching ice melt in different environments, etc.
    Scientific advances continually modify the corps of 
knowledge. The Head Start Improvements for School Readiness Act 
updates the Head Start quality standards and performance 
measures to reflect those scientific advances that relate to 
the areas of competence fundamental to children's school 
readiness. Head Start grantees are required to demonstrate the 
capacity to serve eligible children with scientifically based 
programs that promote school readiness and meet quality 
standards. Stronger quality standards under the bill will 
require Head Start teachers to ensure that children enrolled in 
the program develop and demonstrate the following: language 
skills; prereading knowledge, including an interest in and 
appreciation of books, reading and writing either alone or with 
others; premathematics knowledge, such as recognition of 
numbers and counting; cognitive abilities related to academic 
achievement; and, social development important for environments 
constructive for child development, early learning and school 
success. The committee bill continues to require limited 
English proficient (LEP) children to further develop their 
language skills through Head Start, such as making progress 
toward the acquisition of the English language, while focusing 
also on the other requirements for children in the program.
    While the statutory improvements of the committee bill are 
expected to raise the cognitive abilities of Head Start 
children, the committee believes that the Head Start 
performance standards and measures defined in regulations by 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services also need 
significant revision in order to ensure child school readiness. 
The committee has required that the results based performance 
measures be reviewed and updated as needed, no less than every 
four years, based on advances in the science of early childhood 
development.

Head Start Alignment With K-12 Education

    An alignment of goals and expectations extending from the 
early years into later schooling, can support better 
transitions from infant toddler care through preschool programs 
to kindergarten and into the primary grades, as teachers work 
within a consistent framework across educational settings. 
Comprehensive standards, curricula, teaching practices and 
assessments must be age, developmentally, and linguistically 
appropriate for young children. These standards, curricula, 
teaching practices, and assessments must be supported by 
comprehensive services for children and by the professional 
development for staff, so as to support each child's positive 
development and educational growth. Care must be taken to 
ensure that curricula and other practices that are appropriate 
for older or more developmentally advanced children are used to 
educate younger children.
    Unfortunately, studies show that many children, including 
and especially children from low income backgrounds, enter 
school without the necessary skills and abilities to succeed. 
States report that between 20 percent to nearly half of all 
children entering school are not prepared to succeed in school. 
Evidence further suggests that children who start behind tend 
to stay behind. For these reasons, the committee recognizes the 
importance of coordinating preschool programs, including Head 
Start, with K-12 education goals. It is critical that Head 
Start programs work closely with local educational agencies to 
coordinate curricula and facilitate a smooth transition from 
Head Start into school.
    The Language Enrichment Activities Program, or LEAP, 
developed for the Cone Head Start Center in Dallas has 
demonstrated that strong curriculum and a relationship with a 
community's local elementary school can advance and strengthen 
the cognitive and communications skills of low income children. 
Children attending the Cone Head Start Center have demonstrated 
that children from low income families can perform at levels 
comparable to children from a higher socioeconomic level when 
given a quality preschool experience that includes a strong 
curriculum aligned with the K-12 system, educated and trained 
classroom teachers, and onsite monitoring of teacher 
instruction and interaction with children.
    In an effort to ensure that all children are proficient 
readers by a young age, the No Child Left Behind Act authorizes 
significant funds for reading programs such as Early Reading 
First and Reading First. These programs establish clear and 
specific expectations for what can and should happen for all 
students by insisting that they have the necessary language, 
cognitive, and early reading skills for continued success in 
school.
    The committee recognizes that the No Child Left Behind Act 
and Head Start share the same goal of ensuring that all of our 
nation's students are able to succeed in school. Therefore, 
throughout the act, changes have been made to ensure greater 
alignment of Head Start's services to early learning and school 
readiness standards in respective States in which Head Start 
programs operate and to the K-12 education system. The 
committee urges programs to support teachers' work within a 
consistent framework across educational settings, ensuring that 
standards for early learning are addressed and supported by 
support and professional development for staff, so as to 
support each child's positive development and educational 
growth.
    The committee bill also updates the Head Start educational 
standards in accordance with the latest scientifically based 
research regarding the skills children need to have in order to 
be successful in school.
    The committee bill also helps to ensure a seamless system 
of education for children of all ages by requiring States to 
consult with their chief State school officer, local 
educational agencies, and local Head Start agencies when 
developing school readiness standards and general plans for the 
coordinated delivery of early care and education services at 
both the State and local level.

Increased Need for Coordination and Collaboration

    Head Start has a long history of providing comprehensive 
child development and support services to young children and 
families with incomes at far below the poverty level. However, 
in recent years, States have begun to expand their own early 
childhood development initiatives. The National Conference of 
State Legislatures reported in 1998 that 20 States used their 
own funds to supplement Head Start. Currently, Federal and 
State programs together provide approximately $23 billion in 
funding for childcare and preschool education.
    With so many different early childhood programs providing 
services to the same target population, some States have 
endeavored to improve coordination and collaboration among the 
programs. The goal is to create a system that is more 
responsive to the needs of working parents, and that supports 
opportunities for children to participate in high quality 
programs that involve communities in the planning and 
implementation of service delivery.
    The committee is concerned that the fragmented service 
delivery system that has resulted from uncoordinated programs 
can hinder program improvement and prevent needy children and 
families from obtaining the full array of services for which 
they qualify. Therefore the committee bill attempts to improve 
the coordination of programs in order to reduce the duplication 
of services, prevent under enrollment, and allow gaps in 
services for needy children and families to be more easily 
addressed.
    The committee has addressed the importance of collaboration 
by further expanding the current role of the Head Start 
Collaborator in each State to no only collaborate and 
coordinate in service delivery but also to promote alignment of 
Head Start services with early learning and school readiness 
goals and standards at the State level. Each Head Start State 
Collaboration Office will conduct a needs assessment of Head 
Start agencies in the State with respect to collaboration and 
coordination of services for children, align services with 
State early learning goals and standards, provide for greater 
opportunities for professional development for Head Start 
staff, and promote partnerships between Head Start and other 
organizations.
    The committee feels strongly that the Director of State 
Collaboration should be a position of significant authority, 
appointed by the Governor and preferably located within the 
Office of the Governor. This centralized authority will allow 
for a more comprehensive coordination of services statewide, 
which will assist in providing ``wrap around'' child care 
services and health care and employment services that are 
critical to the working poor.
    In an effort to engage all community stakeholders, the 
committee bill specifies that a variety of new entities 
participate in State collaboration activities. Some of these 
entities include: State and local educational agencies, State 
Departments of Health and Human Services, representatives of 
the State Head Start association, representatives from the 
State network for child care resource and referral agencies, 
and community and faith based organizations. The addition of 
these entities will allow all States to develop a more seamless 
system for the provision of services to needy children and 
families, as well as leveraging the experience and expertise of 
a variety of organizations andindividuals.
    The committee encourages the Secretary, in awarding 
collaboration grants to the States, to award funds for 
designation of a Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Collaboration 
Project Director position and an Indian Head Start 
Collaboration Project Director. Such positions should be 
assigned the same responsibilities assigned to the State 
Directors of Head Start Collaboration. While it is important 
that the State Directors of Head Start Collaboration engage 
with the migrant and Indian populations in their respective 
States, these special Project Directors will ensure that the 
specific issues faced by children and families served by 
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Indian Head Start programs 
are addressed. These positions will also serve as a conduit for 
knowledge and understanding of these special populations served 
by the Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
    In the context of greater collaboration, the committee also 
recognizes the important role of partnerships between Head 
Start programs and school and public libraries in increasing 
the preliteracy skills of Head Start participants. Many 
librarians have worked extensively in the area of improving 
family literacy and achieved success in integrating research 
based literacy practices into their work with families with 
prekindergarten children. Some Head Start programs across the 
country have long had library partnerships, through which 
librarians provide literacy training to Head Start staff; 
utilize a lending library, mobile library van, or other efforts 
to provide books to children; foster greater parental 
involvement through reading programs; and offer outreach and 
programs for limited English proficiency populations. The 
committee is encouraged by these practices and urges their 
continuation and expansion.
    State Head Start Collaboration offices currently receive 
about $8 million in funding each year. Given the new, expanded 
role Head Start Collaboration offices will play under the bill, 
the committee urges the Secretary to increase the investment in 
collaboration offices, if it can be done without reducing the 
level of services to Head Start children.

State Advisory Councils

    In many States, as well as at the local level, there has 
been movement to enhance coordination among the variety of 
early childhood education programs through formal and 
comprehensive State coordination arrangements. In some States, 
significant coordination already exists among Head Start, Early 
Start, child care and State prekindergarten programs and public 
schools. In some cases, such coordination efforts have taken 
the form of Councils or Governor's Cabinets.
    In keeping with a desire for greater collaboration among 
Head Start, early learning programs, and other related programs 
serving young children in the State, the committee has 
attempted to formalize coordination efforts in all States in a 
highly inclusive way across the sectors and settings of early 
childhood programs. In such efforts, the committee intends to 
bring together a diverse and wide array of agencies, 
organizations, and early childhood professionals, including 
(but not limited to) Head Start, family and centerbased child 
care, and State prekindergarten programs. For States with 
similar preexisting Councils or entities, additional members 
may need to be included in order to meet the inclusive list of 
representatives for the council.
    The State Advisory Councils in the committee bill are 
intended to be consultative and encourage greater State level 
coordination of efforts and understanding of shared goals for 
young children, programs and the professionals who provide the 
critical early education for children from birth until school 
entry. In particular, the Council is charged with conducting a 
State needs assessment, developing a professional development 
system with a career lattice for early childhood program staff, 
and making recommendations for a statewide, unified data 
collection system. The committee requires each State Advisory 
Council to provide opportunities for genuine public input in 
both its needs assessment and its recommendations, as well as 
meet with sufficient regularity to review and revise the needs 
assessments and recommendations.

Training and Technical Assistance

    The committee bill changes the training and technical 
assistance set-aside from ``at least two percent'' in current 
law to ``two percent'' and directs, for the first time, that 
half of those funds be sent directly to local grantees so that 
programs have a reliable source of funding for training and 
technical assistance activities. The remaining 50 percent spent 
by the Secretary provides the Secretary adequate flexibility to 
conduct appropriate Federal training and technical assistance 
to help individual programs meet the Head Start quality 
standards.
    The committee bill allows for training and technical 
assistance funds to support a regional or State system of early 
childhood education training and technical assistance. The 
committee encourages the Secretary to include in its regional 
system, assistance for the Migrant Seasonal Head Start program 
and the American Indian/Alaska Native programs. The committee 
encourages the Secretary to provide the training and technical 
assistance for these two programs through national awards by 
contractors with knowledge of, and experience in, working with 
the populations served by these programs.
    The committee bill also restricts the use of training and 
technical assistance funds for travel expenditures associated 
with attending conferences when similar training and technical 
assistance is available locally. It is the committee's view 
that occasional travel may be necessary, but that excessive 
travel to Head Start conferences and events, especially 
conferences and events outside of the continental U.S., is 
generally not the most appropriate or effective use of Federal 
training and technicalassistance funds. Whenever possible, Head 
Start programs should utilize local or regionally based training 
opportunities and should limit travel to occasions when an identified 
training need cannot be met through local or regional resources. All 
training and technical assistance expenditures should be consistent 
with the needs identified in a grantee's annual plan for training and 
technical assistance.
    The committee believes that better information is needed on 
how funds for training and technical assistance are spent both 
by Head Start agencies and the Department of Health and Human 
Services, and better accountability mechanisms for their use 
are needed. The committee urges the Department of Health and 
Human Services to require better data reporting on the use of 
training and technical assistance dollars so that Congress has 
access to more complete information when assessing the amount 
of funds needed for this purposes. Better data reporting also 
will help the Department and Congress identify the most 
effective uses of these funds so that Head Start instructors 
and administrators are gaining the knowledge needed to improve 
program management and the delivery of services to children and 
their families.

Funds for Quality Improvement

    The Head Start Improvements for School Readiness Act 
provides greater support for improving program quality by 
significantly increasing the percentage of new dollars that 
must be spent on quality improvement. Research has demonstrated 
that the experiences of young children greatly affect all 
aspects of their development, including cognitive development. 
The level of commitment to quality improvement demonstrated in 
the committee bill is critical if Head Start is to succeed in 
improving the school readiness of participating children.
    In an effort to ensure that Head Start programs are of the 
highest possible quality, and to ensure that funds are 
available to assist Head Start programs to reach new goals for 
teacher quality, the committee bill requires the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to reserve 50 percent of all new Head 
Start funds for purposes of quality improvement. Not less than 
half of that 50 percent must be used to increase teacher 
salaries and assist programs in recruiting and retaining 
quality staff. Funds also may be spent on other functions that 
have been determined to improve program performance, such as 
providing ongoing professional development based on the latest 
early childhood research on curriculum and teaching methods, or 
improving communication with and outreach to families and 
external partners.

Head Start Research and Evaluation

    There is an ongoing need for high quality research about 
the effectiveness of Head Start. During the last 
reauthorization, the Congress took a giant step forward by 
commissioning a national study on the impact of Head Start 
services. This study will be the first of its kind to provide 
valuable data comparing the outcomes of children in Head Start 
with similar children who do not participate in this program. 
The Family and Child Experiences Survey (known as FACES) also 
can provide valuable information on program performance over 
time, yet it is not designed to compare Head Start relative to 
other children in other preschool programs serving a similar 
population or other situations if not enrolled in Head Start. 
The committee eagerly awaits data from the National Head Start 
Impact Study, which is expected to demonstrate the 
effectiveness of Head Start. In addition to current research, 
with input from the Head Start community, research needs should 
be continually assessed so that Congress can identify ways in 
which Head Start can be strengthened to best meet the needs of 
the children it serves.
    The committee supports a one time directive to the National 
Academy of Sciences to establish an independent panel of 
experts to review the current body of early childhood research. 
This review is needed to provide recommendations on age and 
developmentally appropriate academic standards and measurable 
benchmarks for achievement, the types of services (including 
classroom instruction) necessary to ensure school readiness, 
and appropriate methods to assess child progress in preparing 
for school. This study also is needed to ensure a well informed 
approach to developing school readiness standards and will 
assist states in the process of developing and/or implementing 
such standards. While the Secretary is not required to adopt 
the recommendations of the panel, the committee hopes the 
recommendations of this panel (and those of other experts in 
the field) will inform and guide the Secretary as he determines 
and implements the recommended educational standards for Head 
Start participants.
    The committee notes with some concern that there exists a 
paucity of research focusing on American Indian and Alaska 
Native Head Start programs, and therefore exists scant 
information available on these programs. The committee strongly 
recommends that the Secretary undertake a study or set of 
studies designed to focus on this population, with a focus on 
issues such as curriculum development, availability and need 
for services, appropriate research methodologies and measures 
for these populations, and best practices for teaching and 
educating American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start 
students. Furthermore, the committee underscores the importance 
of providing tribes and tribal organizations (such as the 
National Indian Head Start Directors Association) the 
opportunity to contribute to and collaborate on this research, 
with tribes retaining as much local control over this process 
as is practicable.

Family Literacy

    In keeping with the goal of improving school readiness and 
valuing the role of parents in their children's education, the 
committee bill renews its support for training and technical 
assistance in the area of family literacy services. For 
decades, Head Startprograms have coordinated with the Even 
Start family literacy program. Since the 1998 reauthorization of Head 
Start more than 5,000 Head Start staff have received training in 
providing comprehensive family literacy services and nearly 20,000 
children's books have been placed in Head Start classrooms. The 
committee commends the work of the Head Start Bureau and the National 
Center for Family Literacy in its conduct of the Head Start Family 
Literacy Project. Not only have program grantees found the project's 
training and technical assistance useful, but evaluations have proven 
the merit of this important work. The committee encourages the 
Secretary to ensure the continuity of these important services so that 
Head Start children might be better prepared for school and Head Start 
parents might be better able to fulfill their role as their child's 
first and best teacher.

Father Involvement

    The committee has included language requiring Head Start 
programs to extend outreach to fathers, in appropriate cases, 
in order to strengthen the role of fathers in families, in the 
education of their young children, and in the Head Start 
program. The committee hopes that Head Start agencies will take 
appropriate steps to encourage fathers and father figures to 
participate in the academic, social, and emotional development 
of children enrolled in Head Start programs. The committee 
feels strongly that fathers should be included in the program 
in order to provide children with a more stable learning 
environment and a better chance of long term emotional and 
social health.

Underserved and At-Risk Populations

    While all children served by Head Start are economically in 
need, there are some subgroups of the eligible Head Start 
population that are particularly at risk, and often 
underserved. The children of migrant and seasonal workers are 
one of the most underserved populations of Head Start eligible 
children. According to a Department of Health and Human 
Services 2001 study less than 19 percent of the eligible 
children of migrant and seasonal workers receive Head Start 
services. The committee bill attempts to increase the 
participation of the children of migrant and seasonal workers 
by increasing the percentage set aside to 5 percent.
    In an effort to address the unique challenges faced by 
American Indian and Alaska Native students, the committee bill 
includes representatives of Tribal Head Start programs serving 
large numbers of American Native and Alaska Native children as 
participants in State level collaboration and coordination of 
services and requires annual consultation with the Secretary. 
The committee believes that increased input from tribal 
programs that serve large numbers of American Indian and Alaska 
Native students will allow for a better understanding of the 
unique needs of these students.
    Homeless children also face substantial barriers when it 
comes to gaining and maintaining access to Head Start services. 
The Department of Education's fiscal year 2000 Report to 
Congress on the Education of Homeless Children and Youth 
identified Head Start as a program presenting significant 
barriers to access for homeless children. The committee bill 
attempts to address this issue by increasing efforts to conduct 
outreach to homeless families, and leveraging the experience of 
the homeless liaisons in public schools that are required under 
the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Improvement Act. This 
coordination assists in identifying barriers to serving 
homeless children and facilitates a smooth transition when 
homeless children move from Head Start to elementary schools. 
The bill also addresses the issue of required paperwork, which 
is one of the biggest barriers to enrolling homeless children 
in Head Start. Homeless families often have difficulty 
producing the necessary documents, such as birth certificates 
and immunization records. The Head Start Improvements for 
School Readiness Act models provisions in the No Child Left 
Behind Act that allow eligible homeless students to enroll in 
Head Start while those documents are being obtained (consistent 
with State and local law). This will allow needy children to 
begin accessing critical Head Start services at the earliest 
possible opportunity.
    Through the comprehensive services provided to young 
children and their families, Head Start and Early Head Start 
programs can play an important role in preventing the abuse and 
neglect of children and in protecting children and ameliorating 
the affects of maltreatment they may have already suffered. 
Ensuring that children are ready to learn means ensuring that 
children are safe at home and receive the kind of nurturing and 
care that all children deserve.
    Research shows that abused and neglected children are more 
likely to suffer poor prospects for success in school; sexually 
abused and neglected children are at a higher risk for academic 
failure; that maltreatment appears to be an additional factor 
over and above poverty that affects the academic achievement of 
children; and a higher frequency of academic difficulties and 
school behavior problems is reported among abused children.
    The committee recognizes that abused and neglected children 
and children at risk of maltreatment are in need of preventive 
services and may benefit from Head Start and Early Head Start 
services. The committee bill builds upon provisions already 
existing in the Head Start statute that provide for (1) home 
based services to Head Start children and their families, (2) 
staff training in working with children who experience 
violence, (3) training to parents in parenting skills and basic 
child development, and (4) collaboration with other agencies 
and organizations involved in child and family services.

Limited English Proficient Children and Families

    Approximately 27 percent of the children served by Head 
Start speak a language otherthan English at home and come to 
Head Start centers not speaking any English. These children speak over 
140 languages. After English, the most common languages spoken by Head 
Start children are Spanish, Chinese, Hmong, and Vietnamese. Given 
demographic projections for the immigrant community, the number of 
children who will come to Head Start speaking a language other than 
English will only increase in the forseeable future.
    During this reauthorization of Head Start, the committee 
prioritized improving the delivery of services for limited 
English proficient children and their families. The bill 
establishes a requirement that grantees set policies to 
identify and serve limited English proficient students through 
linguistically appropriate approaches so that such students 
have a meaningful opportunity to participate in Head Start 
programs.
    The committee urges the Secretary and the Head Start Bureau 
to continue and enhance activities to ensure that limited 
English proficient students are served by high quality Head 
Start programs, including activities to assist Head Start 
grantees to adopt teaching strategies that provide language 
rich learning environments, literacy development, and materials 
appropriate for limited English proficient students.
    The committee recognizes the development of Native language 
immersion and cultural programs as an important strategy for 
meeting the needs of children served by Indian Head Start 
programs, guided by the discretion of the individual Tribal 
grantees.

Children With Disabilities in Head Start

    Head Start grantees are required to enroll and provide 
comprehensive educational, medical, and social services to 
children with disabilities and their families. Since 1972, 
Congress has required that no less than 10 percent of the 
children a grantee serves are children with disabilities. 
Grantees are going above and beyond this requirement--children 
with disabilities now comprise 13 percent of the total Head 
Start population.
    Today, over 125,000 disabled children participate in Head 
Start with a variety of challenges including speech and 
language impairments, autism, orthopedic impairments, mental 
retardation, developmental delays, learning disabilities, and 
other disabilities. Such children receive individualized 
services in an inclusive, integrated environment that prepares 
them for school. The population of children with disabilities 
served in Head Start has increased by 17,000 children since 
1997.
    The committee recognizes the important role Head Start 
plays in seeking out, identifying and serving low income 
children with disabilities. Therefore, it encourages grantees 
to maintain current strategies delineated in Federal 
performance standards for comprehensively addressing the needs 
of children with disabilities. Grantees must: continue outreach 
to identify and enroll children with disabilities; provide 
comprehensive educational, medical, and social services to 
children with disabilities; coordinate programs and systems 
(such as IDEA and Medicaid/EPSDT programs) to ensure that a 
wide range of needs are met; and provide funding for provider 
training and technical assistance specifically related to the 
care of children with disabilities.

Assessments of Young Children

    Recent research on child development and learning has shown 
that focused attention to children's cognitive development as 
well as their social, emotional, and physical development must 
be integrated for children's optimal readiness for school. 
Consistent with that research, Head Start programs are 
currently guided in their curriculum and program practice by 
the Head Start Outcomes Framework, which provides guidance on 
all domains of child development and learning, with a variety 
of indicators within each domain.
    Recent reports conducted by the National Academy of 
Sciences, such as Neurons to Neighborhoods and Eager to Learn, 
have demonstrated the need to consider carefully the variation 
in each child of his or her development and background in 
developing standards for Head Start programs, expected outcomes 
for Head Start children, and effective and appropriate pedagogy 
and assessment.
    The committee believes that educational assessments are an 
essential component of program evaluation and improving student 
achievement. Through valid assessments, much can be learned 
about program strengths and weaknesses, what a child has or has 
not learned, and which instructional techniques work best with 
different children.
    Currently, Head Start programs use locally designed 
assessments to monitor child development and growth, and to 
improve instruction and services to maximize children's 
learning. The committee bill acknowledges the importance of 
assessments in Head Start and has included a requirement that 
agencies establish effective procedures and provide for the 
regular assessment of Head Start children, such as 
observational assessments, direct formal assessments, or parent 
and provider interviews, taking into consideration the age of 
the child. Because academic outcomes and assessments for young 
children are emerging areas of knowledge and practice, the 
committee recognizes the need to consult and rely on 
recommendations from independent experts in the development and 
application of such outcomes and assessments. As such, the 
committee has included requirements in the Act that the 
National Academy of Sciences review and make recommendations on 
appropriate academic requirements, benchmarks, and assessments 
for children in Head Start. The committee encourages the 
Secretary to take the panel's recommendations, as well as those 
of other experts in the field, into consideration when 
reviewing, developing, and revising outcomes and assessments in 
Head Start.

Teacher Quality and Staff Qualifications

    The committee believes that well educated and skilled 
teachers are a key to early childhood program quality and 
better outcomes for children. Research consistently 
demonstrates a link between the learning potential of children 
and the knowledge, skills and competency of classroom teachers. 
Teachers in Head Start must be adequately trained and educated, 
particularly in effectively providing prereading, language, and 
premathemaics instruction. This is a critical goal in order for 
Head Start children to become adequately prepared for 
kindergarten
    While nationally, Head Start has met the requirement that 
50 percent of its teachers have at least an Associates degree, 
the committee feels we can, and should do better. Therefore the 
committee bill includes a requirement that, no later than 
September 30, 2009, all Head Start teachers in center-based 
programs at least have an Associate's degree and experience in 
early childhood education. The bill also requires that by 
September 30, 2010, 50 percent of all Head Start teachers in 
each center based program have a bachelor's degree in early 
childhood and demonstrated teaching competencies in early 
childhood.
    The committee's primary objective is to improve outcomes 
for children in Head Start programs by raising the quality of 
the programs serving these children. The committee believes 
that Head Start should be helping children develop their 
literacy and language skills and promoting strong cognitive 
development. The new teacher requirements will help Head Start 
centers develop programs that can meet these needs as they 
become better informed and skilled in providing effective 
instruction and supports for children's development and 
readiness for school.
    According to the National Institute for Early Education 
Research has found, ``[t]teachers who have earned a BA are 
better equipped to provide high quality preschool education 
than are teachers with a 2 year degree (AA), Child Development 
Associate (CDA) certificate, or High School diploma (even when 
these teachers have had training in child development.)''
    Research clearly indicates that vocabulary is a critical 
building block to later literacy. Research also shows that the 
size and complexity of young children's vocabularies are 
directly related to the size and complexity of the vocabularies 
of the adults with whom children interact--both parents and 
teachers. Well educated teachers who themselves have strong 
literacy skills, rich vocabularies and employ complex speech 
patterns, provide stronger early literacy experiences to 
children than do teachers with lower levels of education. 
Literacy and verbal skill levels are clearly linked to formal 
educational attainment levels. For example: The National Adult 
Literacy Survey found that individuals with Associate's degrees 
are twice as likely to have literacy skills below the competent 
level as are individuals who have earned Bachelor's degrees.
    The committee understands that the requirement for the 
number of individuals with Bachelor's degrees set out in the 
legislation may be challenging for certain grantees, states, 
and regions. Therefore the committee has given the Secretary 
broad waiver authority for grantees, including rural and 
seasonal programs, that can demonstrate a good faith effort to 
satisfy the degree requirements as provided in the committee 
bill.
    The committee also notes the challenge facing Indian Head 
Start programs which are often located in remote and isolated 
areas without access to post secondary institutions. It is the 
committee's hope, however, that these challenges can be 
addressed by additional access to distance education. The 
committee bill includes a proposal to provide additional 
funding to Tribal Colleges and Universities. The committee 
intends for this funding to help the staff of Indian Head Start 
programs attend Tribal Colleges and Universities where such 
institutions exist, in order to meet the teacher requirements 
of this legislation in a way that respects the traditional 
values of Native American tribes.
    Finally, the committee bill requires all Head Start 
grantees to create a professional development plan for all full 
time employees who provide direct educational services to 
children. The committee believes that this activity will result 
in high quality professional development that directly benefits 
the individual instructor, Head Start students, and the overall 
program.

Program Quality

    Head Start programs are operating in a highly competitive 
job market due to the nation's economic strength. Head Start 
employs over 198,000 dedicated staff members (including 51,000 
teachers) to provide the comprehensive array of educational and 
social services which comprise the Head Start program. While 
program quality depends on the availability of quality 
materials, equipment, and community partners to provide 
comprehensive services, the quality of Head Start programs is 
primarily dependent upon staff quality. Therefore, staff 
development continues to be a high priority of this committee.
    Programs must be able to attract and retain qualified staff 
despite competition for skilled workers from a wide range of 
industries beyond child development and educational service 
areas and to develop and retain the qualified work force needed 
to ensure Head Start program quality. Improved academic 
achievement in Head Start simply cannot be accomplished without 
well qualified Head Start teachers who are trained in evidence 
based literacy techniques and understand the importance of a 
language rich, interactive environment for children.
    The committee recognizes that a well designed Head Start 
classroom with an effective prereading program delivered by a 
competent teacher is vital for later reading proficiencies and 
school readiness. Head Start teachers must be equipped with an 
understanding of how oral language, prereading and early 
literacy develops in children and how parental and classroom 
instruction and involvement can optimize that development. 
Children need exposure to concepts about print, open-ended 
conversations that grow their vocabularies and oral language 
skills, an understanding of the relationships between letters 
and sounds, ability in phonemic awareness and early writing as 
well as prereading development. Teachers need professional 
development that spans their training and careers to strengthen 
the knowledge and skills for promoting children's language, 
prereading and early writing, as well as other cognitive areas.
    Quality programs contribute significantly to children's 
development. There is growing recognition that participation in 
high quality early childhood education and care programs are 
important indicators of later school success and of children's 
later success in life. This is due in part to the fact that 
these programs impact children precisely at the point when 
children's development is rapid, dramatic, and 
multidimensional. The committee continues to place a 
significant emphasis on program quality and has therefore 
required 50 percent of new funds to be set aside for these 
purposes.

Early Head Start

    Neurological research demonstrates that it is during the 
first three years of life that the brain undergoes its most 
dramatic development, and children acquire the ability to 
think, speak, learn, and reason. According to many brain 
researchers, the development between the prenatal period and 
the first years of life is more extensive than previously 
thought and susceptible to long lasting early environmental 
influences (Moughty, 2003). The groundbreaking report Starting 
Points: Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children cites, 
``Babies raised by caring, attentive adults in safe, 
predictable environments are better learners than those raised 
with less attention in less secure settings.'' (Carnegie 
Corporation of New York, 1994).
    The critical development which occurs during the firs three 
years of a child's life is well documented: all infants and 
toddlers need positive learning experiences to foster their 
intellectual, social, and emotional development and to lay the 
foundation for later school success. Infants and toddlers 
living in high-risk environments need additional supports to 
promote their healthy growth and development. Disparities in 
children's cognitive and social abilities become evident well 
before they enter Head Start or PreKindergarten programs at age 
four.
    The Early Head Start program minimizes these disparities 
and ensures that children enter school ready to learn. The 
National Evaluation of Early Head Start--a rigorous, large 
scale, random-assignment evaluation--concluded that Early Head 
Start is making a positive difference in areas associated with 
children's success in school, family self-sufficiency, and 
parental support of child development.
    In light of these findings, the committee has added 
amendments to expand the Early Head Start program, increasing 
the current 10 percent set aside of total Head Start 
appropriations to 18 percent by 2009, so long as these 
increases will not reduce services for children in Head Start 
programs.
    Services for parents to support their role as parents are a 
critical component of the Early Head Start program. There is 
considerable evidence to support the notion that programs that 
combine child focused educational activities with explicit 
attention to parent child interaction patterns and relationship 
building have the greatest impact for at-risk children. The 
National Evaluation of Early Head Start--a rigorous, large 
scale, random assignment evaluation--concluded that EHS parents 
were more involved and provided more support for their child's 
language development and learning than control group parents. 
This clearly shows that the two generation focus is critical to 
the success of EHS.
    The committee expects that Early Head Start programs will 
continue to offer services to parents to support their role as 
parents and will continue to be responsible for the provision 
of services to parents that meet the Head Start Performance 
Standards. These services may continue to be provided either 
directly by the Early Head Start programs or through formal 
partnerships with community agencies. Early Head Start programs 
will continue to encourage parent participation in these 
services.
    Given the recent changes in the overall Head Start training 
and technical assistance system, the committee encourages the 
Secretary to ensure that Early Head Start programs and staff 
continue to receive opportunities for specialized infant and 
toddler training and technical assistance.

Designation and Competition of Head Start Agencies

    The committee bill requires Head Start agencies to 
establish program goals for improving the school readiness of 
children participating in Head Start, and to include goals 
related to meeting Head Start's performance standards as well 
as educational outcome standards described in section 641A of 
the Act. Specifically, the act requires existing Head Start 
programs to address goals related to (1) improving school 
readiness of children participating in the program (2) meeting 
the performance standards, educational standards described in 
section 641A and education expectations, and (3) establishing 
results based school readiness goals that are aligned with 
requirements and expectations for local public schools.
    Expanding the universe of organizations eligible to compete 
and operate Head Start programs may result in stronger Head 
Start programs overall. The committee has therefore included a 
provision requiring recompetition of Head Start grants every 
five years. During the recompetition process priority is given 
to any high performing Head Start agency that is (1) currently 
receiving assistance (2) meets or exceeds the program and 
financial management requirements, standards described in 
section 641(A)(a)(1), or other requirements established by the 
secretary, (3) has no unresolved programmatic deficiencies and 
has not had findings of deficiencies during the last triennial 
review; (4) can demonstrate active collaborations with the 
State in the provision of services to children. The committee 
duly anticipates high performing grantees to receive subsequent 
redesignation as Head Start grantees.

Head Start Performance Standards, Educational Standards and Measures

    As a national laboratory for early childhood development, 
Head Start has always been concerned with the quality of its 
programs and its effects on children and families. Since 1975, 
Head Start has focused on the quality of services provided and 
has assessed quality through process indicators, such as the 
number of teachers with early childhood education degrees or 
Child development Credentials. These indicators have been 
measured primarily through compliance with the Head Start 
Performance Standards using the ON-Site Program Review 
Instrument (OSPRI) once every three years. Process indicators 
will continue to be important to Head Start because of the 
belief that the quality and quantity of services provided are 
inextricably linked to the effects of the program.
    In 1995, Head Start joined efforts throughout the Federal 
Government to develop performance measures to promote 
accountability through the assessment of program quality and 
outcomes. These performance measures are helping Head Start 
change its focus from process to outcomes and toward results 
oriented evaluation in accordance with the Government 
Performance and Results Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-620), the 
recommendations of the 1993 Advisory Committee on Head Start 
Quality and Expansion and the mandate of section 641A(b) of the 
1994 Reauthorization of the Head Start Act.
    The performance measures developed in response to enhanced 
educational focus are providing methods and procedures for 
assessing, annually and over long periods, the quality and 
effectiveness of programs operated by Head Start agencies.
    However, while the performance standards establish a 
minimally acceptable level of services, they do not directly 
measure program quality or effectiveness. Head Start's 
performance measures, on the other hand, which provide a 
measure of program quality and effectiveness, had not generally 
been applied to local grantees until the 1998 reauthorization; 
rather, they have been used to gauge a national picture of Head 
Start program quality.

The National Reporting System

    In 1998, the committee included and Congress passed a 
provision requiring the current national performance measures 
to be applied locally and specifically, to be applied as part 
of the monitoring and triennial compliance reviews and directed 
the Secretary to develop additional performance measures to 
assess the educational achievement of children in Head Start. 
The Department of Health and Human Services National Reporting 
System was designed and implemented in order to fulfill this 
objective.
    The NRS is a brief, standardized test given at the 
beginning and end of each program year to assess on a limited 
set of language, literacy, and math indicators all four and 
five years old in the Head Start program. The primary purpose 
of the assessment is to have a common measurement instrument to 
evaluate how well individual Head Start programs and grantees 
are doing in preparing children for school.
    There is general agreement by childhood development experts 
on the use of assessments, and children are assessed regularly 
in nearly every preschool program around the country, including 
in all Head Start classrooms. Researchers agree that multiple 
assessments of young children are needed to determine young 
children's learning and development.
    Currently, Head Start children participate in multiple 
assessments that are locally designed and implemented. In some 
cases, these assessments may be useful to inform the 
instructional needs of individual children, but they can not be 
used to evaluate and compare rates of progress and the 
readiness of children in Head Start programs nationwide. The 
new National Reporting System is not designed to replace nay of 
the current assessments used by local programs. Rather, it is 
an additional tool to enable program sot be identified that 
would benefit from additional technical assistance in order to 
make better progress in achieving school readiness.
    The new national assessment is generally focused on 
evaluating children's competencies in prereading, 
premathematics, and language skills, and is conducted by 
teachers and other staff familiar with the children in a play 
based, interactive or observational manner. The assessment, 
which will be conducted in 4 and 5 year old children enrolled 
in Head Start, takes approximately 15-20 minutes per child and 
will occur at the beginning and end of each year in Head Start 
prior to kindergarten.
    It is the committee's view that a stronger accountability 
system is needed to ensure that Head Start children are 
prepared for school. While the committee appreciates and 
understands the concerns about specific aspects of the NRS, 
specifically about the study design, content, administration, 
and use of test results, the committee does not recommend 
suspending the development of this much needed accountability 
system. The committee urges the Administration to continue with 
its efforts to develop anenhanced accountability system that is 
capable of addressing all aspects of a child's development, instead of 
narrowly focusing on only certain domains of school readiness. The 
committee is confident that the Administration will continue to work in 
good faith with all Members of Congress and the public to address 
concerns about the new accountability system.

Transition

    Successful transition from preschool into K-12 is one of 
Head Start's primary objectives. The committee has long 
recognized that transition activities are a partnership in 
which the Head Start and local education agencies must 
cooperate; therefore compatible transition requirements are 
outlined both in the Head Start statute and in the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act.
    Previously, the committee provided a set aside to fund 
thirty one demonstration projects designed to identify and 
replicate best practices for extending a Head Start like model 
of comprehensive services into kindergarten and the first three 
grades of elementary school, thereby facilitating the 
transition of Head Start children into their local school 
systems. Based on the success of this initiative, two 
Information Memos sharing project results were disseminated to 
all Head Start grantees. In addition, three training guides 
have been developed and numerous training opportunities made 
available to assist grantees in incorporating best practices 
identified by this effort.
    These demonstration projects were discontinued in fiscal 
year 1996 consistent with the terms of their original awards. 
The committee feels strongly about the continuation of the 
transition activities which have been demonstrated to be 
effective and should now be an integral part of every Head 
Start program.
    The committee commends the Administration's efforts to 
foster an environment in which transition activities are 
integrated into program operations in a manner similar to each 
of the other vital services provided to families. It is the 
committee's intent that those efforts continue and that 
grantees be provided continued training and technical 
assistance to make that goal a reality.

Accountability

    While 85 percent of Head Start grantees provide quality 
services according to the latest monitoring report issued by 
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are 
some grantees that are not fulfilling their obligation to 
ensure that our nation's neediest children enter school with 
the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. This is 
evidenced by the approximately 170 Head Start programs that 
have been terminated by the Department due to concerns over 
their quality over the past 10 years.
    The committee believes the current Head Start monitoring 
system is not adequate to ensure that programs are consistently 
delivering the level of high quality services necessary for 
children to advance in all areas of development. Evidence that 
program quality varies greatly is a concern of Congress and of 
high performing grantees that are negatively impacted by the 
poor quality of lower performing grantees. It is the 
committee's view that the scheduled triennial review process, 
coupled with an automatic renewal of grants on an annual basis, 
does not provide adequate assurances to the Congress and the 
public about Head Start program operations. Therefore the Head 
Start Improvements and School Readiness Act requires that 
triennial reviews occur, to the extent practicable, on an 
unscheduled basis. It is the committee's view that unscheduled 
reviews will help to ensure that all programs are performing at 
the highest levels possible at all times.
    The committee bill also requires that grantees develop 
annual program goals and demonstrate that they have met, or are 
making progress toward meeting these goals as a condition of 
refunding. Priority for continuation of funding (which is now 
automatic), will only be permitted for high performing 
grantees. All other grantees will have their grants fully 
recompeted every 5 years. The committee included this historic 
new provision to ensure that Head Start grantees and the 
programs under them strive for and are held accountable for 
continuous quality improvement.
    To help ensure that Head Start programs are providing the 
highest quality services to students, the committee bill also 
allows the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to 
contract out for activities associated with the monitoring of 
Head Start grantees. Monitoring is an important part of the 
Department's responsibility for overseeing Head Start. In order 
to ensure the integrity of the monitoring process, the 
committee believes HHS should be allowed to contract out 
monitoring responsibilities to impartial third parties who have 
a demonstrated expertise in early childhood development and 
Head Start program operations, including knowledge and 
expertise about the Head Start performance standards. With an 
independent evaluator in place, the committee and the public 
can be assured that the monitoring process will not be 
influenced, even unintentionally, by the personal relationships 
between grantees and the regional offices that they rely on for 
guidance and assistance.

Oversight and Monitoring

    At least once every three years each Head Start and Early 
Head Start agency receives a comprehensive onsite review by the 
Department of Health and Human Services. These monitoring 
reviews play a vital role in assuring that Head Start agencies 
are providing high quality services.
    The committee believes that oversight by the Secretary of 
the Department of Health and Human Services is an important 
element in ensuring that Head Start grantees meet the 
guidelines established for their program. Appropriate oversight 
ensures that programeffectiveness can be assessed and measured, 
that only qualified programs continue to receive Federal funding, and 
that inefficient or abusive use of Federal funds is halted.
    The PRISM monitoring of Head Start grantees undertaken by 
the Department is critical to realizing the goals of adequate 
oversight of the program. Head Start's current monitoring 
system is the gold standard in the field of early care and 
education. As such, amendments are added to the act to ensure 
that such monitoring is conducted in all Head Start centers, to 
provide for greater accountability and oversight.
    Currently, ACF regional office employees serve the dual 
role of leading monitoring reviews and overseeing the provision 
of training and technical assistance. We share the goal of the 
Department in preserving the integrity of these two discrete 
processes. However, the committee believes that, because of 
their years of training and their expertise with the Head Start 
program, its' regulations and policies, employees of the 
Department of Health and Human Services should (to the extent 
determined appropriate by the Secretary) continue to be 
included on teams sent out to monitor and evaluate Head Start 
programs.

Under-Enrollment

    Under current law, Head Start grantees are expected to 
fully meet their funded enrollment and to maintain a waiting 
list. This is required in order to ensure program integrity and 
ready access to program services by eligible low income 
children. The committee is concerned about reports indicating 
that some Head Start grantees have experience problems 
achieving and maintaining their full funded enrollment and are 
operating with significant under enrollment while others 
experience shortfalls in their capacity to provide or maintain 
services to eligible children. Given the importance of this 
issue and its implications for Head Start, the committee 
believes a statutory approach to dealing with under enrolled 
grantees is warranted.
    While the full extent to which Head Start programs are 
under enrolled is unknown, the committee believes, given very 
limited Federal resources, that under enrollment at any level 
is an unacceptable and potentially a serious problem, and one 
that needs an immediate solution.
    The committee bill provides for reduction of Head Start 
grants and redistribution of funds in cases of under 
enrollment. The committee bill has been carefully drafted to 
provide for shared accountability in addressing issues of 
enrollment of Head Start children. The bill requires each Head 
Start program to report on a monthly basis to the Secretary a 
figure which reflects the program's actual enrollment, 
including a description of an enrollment shortfall if such 
actual enrollment is less than the funded enrollment prescribed 
by the grant held by the Head Start agency.
    The bill also requires the Secretary (on a semi-annual 
basis) to determine which Head Start agencies are under-
enrolled, and directs the agency (in collaboration with the 
Secretary) to provide for a plan and timetable in which to 
address issues of under-enrollment in agencies operating will 
less than 95 percent of enrollment.
    In reviewing enrollment data, the committee bill directs 
the Secretary to take into consideration the quality and extent 
of outreach, recruitment, and community needs assessments, 
changing demographics, mobility of populations, and the 
identification of new underserved low income populations; 
facilities related issues that may impact enrollment; the 
ability to provide full-day programs, where needed, through 
Head Start funds or through collaboration with other funds or 
programs; the availability and use by families of other 
preschool and child care options (including parental care) in 
the local area; and agency management procedures that may 
impact efficient enrollment. Agencies identified by the 
Secretary shall be provided timely and on-going technical 
assistance to reduce under-enrollment, but are considered to be 
out of compliance immediately.
    Upon receipt of technical assistance, the Head Start agency 
will implement its plan to address under-enrollment. If 1 year 
after the date of implementation of the plan, the Head Start 
agency continues to operate at less than full enrollment, the 
Secretary shall (where determined appropriate) continue to 
provide technical assistance to the agency. If after 18 months, 
a Head Start agency is still operating with an actual 
enrollment that is less than 95 percent of the agency's funded 
enrollment, the Secretary may designate such agency as 
chronically under-enrolled and recapture, withhold, or reduce 
the base grant by a percentage equal to the percentage 
difference between funded and actual enrollment for the most 
recent year in which the agency is determined to be under-
enrolled.
    If the Secretary, after implementation of the plan, finds 
that the causes of under-enrollment are beyond the agency's 
control; the shortfall can reasonably be expected to be 
temporary; or the number of slots allotted to the agency is 
small enough that under-enrollment does not constitute a 
significant shortfall, the Secretary may waive or reduce the 
percentage reductions in the base grant.
    The Secretary shall use the recovered funds to distribute 
to other Head Start agencies within the State that demonstrate 
that they will use such funds to increase enrollment in their 
Head Start programs. If there is no agency within a State that 
meets this requirement, the Secretary shall use such amounts to 
redirect funds to other Head Start agencies.

Financial Audits

    In addition to conducting on-site inspections, regional ACF 
staff also monitor grantees'compliance with regulations by 
annually reviewing their financial audit reports. Auditors may select 
and review samples of financial transactions to determine whether a 
grantee has followed established procedures and program regulations. If 
a grantee administers more than one federal grant--as is often the case 
with large nonprofit agencies, school districts, and municipalities--
relatively small grants may not be reviewed in much detail.
    In addition to a lack of detail, financial audit reports 
may not provide timely information for monitoring current 
grantee operations. Grantees have 9 months to submit financial 
audit reports for any given year. It may take several 
additional months before officials in the HHS Office of 
Inspector General review the audit report, summarize the 
findings and submit the findings to the appropriate regional 
officials. Grantees that are classified as ``high risk'' do not 
face termination of their funding unless they are also 
classified as deficient, which usually involves an on-site 
inspection. As a result, ACF may wait up to 3 years until the 
next regularly scheduled triennial inspection before it 
classifies a high-risk grantee as deficient and requires it to 
develop a quality improvement plan and face possible 
termination from the program.
    The committee is very concerned about this process and 
encourages the Secretary to adopt additional measures that 
would permit an annual review of grantee financial status.

Combat Pay Ineligibility

    The committee feels strongly that as our soldiers are 
overseas fighting to defend our freedom it is our 
responsibility to make sure we take care of their children and 
families. When soldiers receive combat pay because they are 
working in dangerous situations this extra income should not 
adversely affect their family's eligibility for programs such 
as Head Start. The Subcommittee on Children and Families has 
held a series of joint hearings with the Armed Services 
Subcommittee on Personnel on issues affecting military 
families. The committee included language to address the 
problem of soldiers not being able to access certain benefits, 
such as Head Start, due to income ineligibility when they 
receive combat pay. This language is intended to ensure that 
families in the military receiving combat pay and who would 
otherwise be eligible for Head Start would not be deemed 
ineligible because of that income supplement.

Grantee Responsibility to Seriously Deficient Delegate Agencies

    This legislation includes language that would strengthen 
the ability of Head Start grantees to defund delegate agencies 
that have serious deficiencies. Head Start grantees, in 
addition to the oversight already conducted by the Secretary, 
are asked to clearly define procedures for defunding a 
seriously deficient program as well as that program's appeals 
process. It is the intent of the committee that such procedures 
be fair to all parties but not unduly cumbersome or time-
consuming.
    Grantees are expected to define their procedures for 
evaluating delegate agencies to minimize the circumstances that 
would necessitate defunding and ensure that all of its delegate 
agencies are held accountable for performance and successfully 
address any deficiencies in a timely manner.
    Any delegate agency found seriously deficient must be 
notified of the possibility of termination. During the notice 
period, monthly monitoring visits and technical assistance may 
be provided by the Head Start grantee. The grantee could also 
elect to release funds on a reimbursement basis instead of in 
advance, particularly in the event of questionable fiscal 
practices by the delegate agency. After a reasonable notice 
period, if deficiencies are not corrected, the termination will 
take effect. The grantee is then responsible for ensuring 
continuity of Head Start services for the children and families 
affected.

Accessibility to Books in the Classroom

    To further expand the availability of books in Head Start 
classrooms, the committee bill recommends that State Head Start 
Collaboration offices promote partnerships between Head Start 
agencies and other organizations to enhance the Head Start 
curriculum, including partnerships to promote more books in 
Head Start classrooms.
    Because of the importance of creating a literacy rich 
environment for children in Head Start, the committee further 
encourages the Secretary to recommend a sufficient number of 
children's books for each Head Start classroom and to encourage 
Head Start programs to collaborate with a local library, where 
available, that is interested in that collaboration, to develop 
innovative programs to excite children about the world of 
books, such as programs that involve taking children to the 
library for story hour; promoting use of library cards for 
families so that children can bring books home; developing a 
lending library or using a mobile library van; entering into a 
financial agreement with the library to provide the Head Start 
classroom book collection or to supplement the collection with 
books on various themes of the week, to provide fresh books in 
the classroom on a regular basis; and carrying out other 
activities through partnerships, to promote literacy and 
excitement about the world of print.

Centers of Excellence

    The committee bill includes provisions from S. 1474, the 
Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood, which was originally 
proposed by Senator Alexander on July 28, 2003.The committee 
included S. 1474 as part of the Head Start Improvements for School 
Readiness Act because the committee supports the underlying goal of 
giving grants to Head Start programs that are exemplary and leveraging 
excellent programs to model best practices so that other programs can 
achieve excellence. The legislation authorizes the Governors to 
nominate and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create 
a nationwide network of 200 Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood 
build around exemplary Head Start programs.
    All Head Start centers need to excel in school readiness, 
accountability, and coordination of services; improving the 
performance of all centers in these areas is the focus of this 
legislation. States have primary responsibility for setting 
standards for and funding public education. A child who arrives 
at school too far behind the starting line may never catch up. 
In addition, the state is in the best position to help 
coordinate the variety of public and private programs that have 
been created since Head Start was established. In order to 
increase coordination between Head Start and the public schools 
system and other State-run social service programs, such as 
Medicaid and the child care block grant, centers that have the 
potential to drive effective collaboration within their State 
(including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) would be 
nominated by their Governor.
    The Secretary of HHS would select 149 Centers of Excellence 
of the centers that receive nominations from their Governor. 
The Secretary would name an additional 51 centers, with a goal 
of having at least one Center of Excellence in each State and 
the District of Columbia. It is also the committee's intent 
that one or more Indian and migrant Head Start programs would 
be also be recognized as Centers of Excellence. The committee 
encourages Governors to look for exemplary Indian Head Start 
programs and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs within 
their respective states. In addition, it is the committee's 
intent that Governors are encouraged to look to Head Start 
centers offering Early Head Start programs. The significance of 
years 0-3 in child development is now widely understood, and it 
is important for Centers of Excellence to be able to encourage 
best practices in serving the very young.
    Head Start programs identified, as Centers of Excellence 
would receive a Federal bonus grant of at least $100,000 and up 
to $500,000 in each of 5 years, in addition to its base 
funding. It is the committee's intent that bonus grant funding 
for the Centers would vary depending on the number of children 
served at a Center of Excellence. It is the hope of the 
committee that as we continue to work through the legislative 
process and new money is available some of this money will be 
designated for the Centers of Excellence.
    The Centers of Excellence bonus grants will be used for 
centers:
          (1) to work in their community to model the best of 
        what Head Start can do for at-risk children and 
        families, including getting those children ready for 
        school and ready for academic success,
          (2) to coordinate all early childhood services in 
        their community,
          (3) to offer training and support to all 
        professionals working with at-risk children,
          (4) to track these families and ensure seamless 
        continuity of services from prenatal to age 8, with an 
        emphasis on working in partnership with public schools 
        to ensure that Head Start children succeed in school,
          (5) to become models of excellence by all performance 
        measures and be willing to be held accountable for good 
        outcomes for our most disadvantaged children, and
          (6) to have the flexibility to serve additional Head 
        Start or Early Head Start children or provide more 
        full-day services to better meet the needs of working 
        parents.
    The committee has included Early Head Start, Migrant and 
Seasonal Head Start, and Indian Head Start programs as 
participants in the Centers of Excellence Program. The 
committee feels that all Head Start programs could benefit 
greatly by the exemplary practices modeled in Early Head Start 
programs for infants and toddlers, as well as practices 
tailored to the needs of children in Indian, Migrant, and 
Seasonal Head Start programs. The committee has not included a 
requirement to designate a minimum number of such agencies as 
Centers of Excellence, but urges the Secretary to ensure that 
at least one agency is selected from each of the Head Start 
Bureau's American Indian/Alaska Native and Migrant and Seasonal 
Head Start Program Branches.

Funding

    The committee bill authorize the Head Start program at $7.2 
billion for fiscal year 2005, $7.6 billion for fiscal year 
2006, $8 billion for fiscal year 2007, and such sums for fiscal 
years 2008 and 2009. By increasing the authorization level in 
the Head Start program by $400 million in each of the next 
three fiscal years, the committee is affirming its desire to 
improve and enhance program quality while also reasonably 
expanding the program to reach additional eligible children and 
families living in poverty.

Participation in Head Start Programs

    The committee recognizes that in large part, due to the 
success of welfare reform, some low income families earning a 
little above the Federal poverty level whose children would 
benefit from Head Start services are not able to participate in 
the program because they are not income eligible. Because of 
the federal nature of the Head Start program, the committee 
felt it important to use federal poverty level as the guide for 
participation rather than State measures such as State median 
income, for example. The committee has raised the eligibility 
level from 100 percent to 130 percent of Federal poverty, 
matching the eligibility level for the free school lunch, 
school breakfast and special milk programs and providing 
additional opportunities for participation byworking poor 
families in Head Start.

Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Programs and Indian Head Start Programs

    The committee has included several provisions to improve 
access to Head Start services by children of migrant and 
seasonal farm workers, as well as by Indian children.
    According to a study conducted by the Department of Health 
and Human Services in 2001, the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start 
programs have consistently received less than 4 percent of the 
Head Start annual appropriation over the last 8 years, enabling 
them to serve only 19 percent of eligible migrant and seasonal 
children, compared to 60 percent of the eligible population 
served by regular Head Start. While the Indian Head Start 
programs serves over 23,000 children each year, there still 
exists a need to expand services to additional eligible 
children.
    The committee has moved to address this issue by ensuring 
that, with respect to Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs, 
not less than 5 percent of the Head Start annual appropriation 
be directed to Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs. The 
committee has also moved to expand needed services to the 
Indian community by ensuring that not less than 4 percent of 
the Head Start annual appropriation be directed to Indian Head 
Start programs. The committee has taken care to ensure that 
funding increases provided to enable these populations to reach 
children currently on waiting lists and to establish new 
programs in areas that lack services to these populations of 
children not occur until it is clear that the number of 
children served in existing Head Start programs is not reduced 
as funding shortfalls are addressed.

Priority Funding and Regular Head Start Expansion Grants

    The committee bill includes provisions that after current 
Head Start programs are adjusted for inflation to ensure the 
provision of comprehensive services to at least the same number 
of children served in the preceding fiscal year, any remaining 
funds are to be used 50 percent for quality improvement 
activities and 50 percent for program expansion grants.
    In allocating the remaining 50 percent of expansion funds, 
the committee made it a priority to eliminate apparent 
discrepancies in the allocation of Head Start dollars among the 
States. The committee is responding to the inclusion of a 1978 
hold harmless provision that has created a disparity in how 
money was allocated between the States despite the increase in 
appropriations. In short, since 1979, 22 States have been 
funded at levels higher than their child poverty population 
warranted. As a result, the ability of many States to serve 
their eligible population has been compromised. For example, 
some States such as Nevada are serving only 30 percent of their 
eligible population and other States such as Maine serve 89 
percent of their eligible population. In order to begin to 
address this inequity, the committee has included the 
requirement that 65 percent of any new money (expansion of the 
current program) for Head Start would be allocated on a 
priority basis to those States that are underfunded (based on 
the percentage of eligible children being served in that 
State.) Although the committee acknowledges this will not solve 
the funding discrepancies between the States, we feel it is a 
step in the right direction.
    The committee also intends 65 percent of the Head Start 
expansion funds be made available to programs in States 
(including Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs), that 
continue to have significant numbers of eligible children left 
unserved.

                            V. Cost Estimate

    Due to time constraints the Congressional Budget Office 
estimate was not included in the report. When received by the 
committee, it will appear in the Congressional Record at a 
later time.

            VI. Application of Law to the Legislative Branch

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1, the Congressional 
Accountability Act (CAA) requires a description of the 
application of this bill to the legislative branch. This bill 
does not amend any act that applies to the legislative branch.

                    VII. Regulatory Impact Statement

    The committee has determined that there will be minimal 
increases in the regulatory burden imposed by this bill.

                   VIII. Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short Title

    This Act may be cited as the ``Head Start Improvements for 
School Readiness Act.''

Section 2. Statement of Purpose

    This section modifies section 636 by adding the goal of 
educational instruction inprereading, premathematics and 
language skills in the promotion of school readiness and development.

Section 3. Definitions

    This Section amends section 637 by adding community-based 
organizations to the definition of potential delegate agencies 
(2). Section 637(17) is amended to remove the Federated States 
of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the 
Republic of Palau from the definition of ``State.'' Section 
637(18) defines ``homeless child'' as one who lacks a regular 
or adequate nighttime residence or whose residence is a 
temporary shelter as defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
Assistance Act. Section 637(19) defines ``limited English 
proficient'' with respect to a child as someone enrolled or 
preparing to enroll in Head Start, someone who was not born in 
the United States or whose native language is not English, or 
someone whose difficulty in speaking or understanding English 
may be sufficient to deny such child the opportunity to 
participate fully in society or the ability to successfully 
achieve in a classroom in which the language of instruction is 
English.

Section 4. Financial Assistance for Head Start Programs

    This Section amends section 638 to reauthorize financial 
assistance to Head Start agencies for five years.

Section 5. Authorization of Appropriations

    This Section amends section 639 to reauthorize the Head 
Start Act at $7,215,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, 
$7,615,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, $8,015,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2007, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 
2008 and 2009.
    From the amount appropriated, the Secretary can make 
available up to $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 to carry out 
research, demonstration, and evaluation activities including 
longitudinal studies under section 649, and such sums for 
fiscal years 2005-2009, of which no more than $7,000,000 used 
for impact studies under section 649(g) for fiscal years 2004-
2009.

Section 6. Allotment of Funds

    This Section amends section 640 by requiring the Secretary 
to reserve a sum each fiscal year for Indian Head Start and 
migrant and seasonal Head Start programs that is the total of 
not less than 4 percent of the amount appropriated for Indian 
programs under section 639 for that fiscal year and not less 
than 5 percent of that appropriated amount for migrant and 
seasonal programs, but not if reserving such percentages would 
reduce the number of children served by Head Start programs 
relative to the number of children served upon the date of 
enactment of this Act. After ensuring that each grant recipient 
for Indian and migrant and seasonal programs have received a 
sufficient amount to serve the same number of children as were 
served by the date of enactment, the Secretary shall distribute 
65 percent of the remaining funds to priority grant recipients 
in the States serving the smallest percentages of eligible 
children and distributing the remaining 35 percent on a 
competitive basis.
    This Section outlines rules in the provision and 
administration of technical and training assistance in great 
detail including limiting assistance as described in section 
648 in an amount for each fiscal year equal to 2 percent of the 
amount appropriated under section 639 of which: 50 percent 
shall be made available to agencies to comply with the 
standards in section 641A(a)(1) and 50 percent shall be made 
available to the Secretary to support a regional or State 
system of early childhood education training and technical 
assistance and to assist local programs including Indian and 
migrant and seasonal programs or which not less than $3,000,000 
shall be made available to carry out the activities described 
in 648(d)(4). In order to provide assistance, this Section 
requires the Secretary to reserve 50 percent of such excess 
amount for each fiscal year 2005-2009.
    This Section requires that funds for quality improvement 
may be used to ensure such programs have adequate numbers of 
qualified staff and that such staff is furnished adequate 
training; developing and financing the salary scales and 
benefits standards under section 644(a) and 653 to ensure that 
salary levels and benefits are adequate to attract and retain 
qualified staff for such programs. Quality improvement funds 
may be used for salary increases to assist with implementation 
of quality programs, improve staff qualification or encourage 
staff to continually improve their skills and expertise.
    Quality improvement from reserved funds may also take the 
form of a collaboration grant from the Secretary to each State 
to facilitate collaboration between Head Start agencies and 
entities that carry out other activities designed to benefit 
low-income families and children from birth to school entry. 
Such grants shall be used to promote alignment of Head Start 
services with State early learning and school readiness goals 
and standards; encourage Head Start agencies to coordinate 
activities with the State agency responsible for administering 
the State program carried out under the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant Act of 1990; promote better linkages 
between Head Start agencies and other child and family agencies 
that provide health, mental health or family services, or other 
child or family supportive services; and carry out activities 
of the State Director of Head Start Collaboration. To improve 
coordination and delivery of early education services to 
children in the State, a State that receives such a grant is 
required to appoint a State Director of Head Start 
Collaboration; ensure that the Director holds a position with 
sufficient authority and access to ensure that the 
collaboration is effective and involves a range of State 
agencies; and involve the State Head Start Association in the 
selection of the Director and involve the Association in 
determinations relating to the ongoing direction of the 
collaboration office. Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director must conduct anassessment 
that addresses the needs of Head Start agencies in the State with 
respect to collaborating, coordinating services, and implementing State 
early learning and school readiness goals and standards to better serve 
children enrolled in Head Start programs. Such assessment will be 
updated annually and shall be made available to the public.
    This Section also mandates an assessment of the 
availability of high quality prekindergarten services for low-
income children in the State and requires the Director to 
develop a strategic plan based on the assessment that will: (1) 
enhance collaboration and coordination of Head Start services 
with other entities providing early childhood programs and 
services, health care, mental health care, welfare, child 
protective services, education and community service 
activities; family literacy services, reading readiness 
programs, services related to disabled children and other 
programs and services for LEP and homeless children; (2) assist 
Head Start agencies to develop a plan for the provision of a 
full working day, full calendar year services for children 
enrolled in Head Start programs who need such care; (3) assist 
Head Start agencies to align services with State early learning 
and school readiness goals and standards and to facilitate 
collaborative efforts to develop local school readiness 
standards; (4) enable agencies in the State to better 
coordinate professional development opportunities for Head 
Start staff such as assisting 2- and 4-year public and private 
institutions of higher education to develop articulation 
agreements; awarding grants to such institutions to develop 
model early childhood education programs; working with local 
Head Start agencies to meet the degree requirements in section 
648A(a)(2)(A); enabling State Head Start agencies to better 
coordinate outreach to eligible families; (5) promote 
partnership between Head Start agencies, State governments, and 
the private sector to help ensure that low-income pre-school 
children are receiving comprehensive services to prepare them 
to enter school ready to learn; and (6) promote partnerships 
between Head Start agencies, schools, law enforcement, and 
substance abuse and mental health treatment agencies to 
strengthen family and community environments and to reduce the 
impact on child development of substance abuse, child abuse and 
other high risk behaviors that compromise healthy development.
    This Section requires the Governor of a State to establish 
a council to serve as the State advisory council on 
collaboration on early care and education activities for 
children from birth to school entry. The State Advisory Council 
shall include: the State Director of Head Start Collaboration; 
a representative of the appropriate regional office of the 
Administration for Children and Families; a representative of 
the State educational agency and local educational agencies; a 
representative of institutions of higher education; a 
representative of the State agency responsible for mental 
health care; a representative of the State agency responsible 
for teacher professional standards; certification and 
licensing; a representative of the State agency responsible for 
child care; early childhood education professionals; 
kindergarten teachers and teachers in grades 1 through 3; a 
representative of the State agency responsible for programs 
under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Act; a 
representative of the State interagency coordinating councils 
established under section 641 of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act; a representative of the State Head 
Start Association where appropriate; a representative of the 
State network of child care resource and referral agencies; a 
representative of community-based organizations; a 
representative of State and local providers of early education 
and child care; a representative of migrant and seasonal Head 
Start programs and Indian Head Start programs; parents; 
religious and business leaders; the head of the state library 
administrative agency; representatives of State and local 
organizations and other entities providing professional 
development to early care and education providers; and a 
representative of other entities determined to be relevant by 
the chief executive officer of the State.
    The State Advisory Council is responsible for conducting a 
periodic statewide needs assessment concerning early care and 
education programs; identifying barriers to and opportunities 
for collaboration and coordination between entities carrying 
out Federal and State child development, child care, and early 
childhood education programs; developing recommendations 
regarding means of establishing a unified data collection 
system for early care and education programs throughout the 
State; developing a statewide professional development and 
career ladder plan for early care and education in the State. 
The Council shall hold public hearings on the needs assessment 
and recommendations described in this subsection and the 
Council shall submit a statewide strategic report concerning 
the needs assessment and recommendations to the State Director 
of Head Start Collaboration and the chief executive officer of 
the State. After submitting the report, the Council shall meet 
periodically to review any implementation of the 
recommendations and any changes in State and local needs.
    The Secretary is required to use from amounts reserved and 
allotted for programs described in 645A(a) of this subchapter 
10 percent for fiscal year 2004, 11 percent for fiscal year 
2005, 13 percent for fiscal year 2006, 15 percent for fiscal 
year 2007, 17 percent for fiscal year 2008, and 18 percent for 
fiscal year 2009, of the amount appropriated pursuant to 
section 639(a).
    This section requires the Secretary to establish procedures 
to enable Head Start agencies to develop locally designed or 
specialized service delivery models to address local community 
needs including models that leverage existing capacity and 
procedures to provide for the conversion of part-day programs 
to full-day programs or part-day slots to full-day slots.
    This section requires the Secretary to issue regulations to 
ensure the appropriate supervision and background checks of 
individuals with whom Head Start agencies contract to transport 
Head Start children.
    This section requires the Secretary to conduct an annual 
consultation in each affectedHead Start region, with tribal 
governments operating Head Start and Early Head Start programs and such 
consultations will be for the purpose of better meeting the needs of 
American Indian and Alaska Native children and families, taking into 
consideration funding allocations, distribution formulas, and other 
issues affecting Head Start services within tribal communities. Notice 
of the consultation will be published in the Federal Register prior to 
the consultations and a detailed report of such consultation shall be 
prepared and made available to all tribal governments receiving funds 
under this subchapter.
    This Section requires the Secretary to issue regulations 
and remove barriers to the enrollment and participation of 
eligible homeless children in Head Start.
    This subchapter does not require a State to establish a 
program of early education for children in the State, nor does 
it require any child to participate in a program of early 
education in order to attend preschool, or to participate in 
any initial screening prior to participation in such program.
    This Section requires all funded curricula under this 
subchapter to be scientifically-based, age appropriate and 
available for parents to examine.

Section 7. Designation of Head Start Agencies

    This Section amends section 641 by giving the Secretary 
discretionary authority to designate any local public or 
private non-profit or for-profit within a community, including 
community-based organizations, as a Head Start agency. To be 
designated as Head Start agencies that must establish program 
goals for improving school readiness of children, including 
goals for meeting the performance and educational standards as 
described in 641A and shall establish results-based school 
readiness goals that are aligned with requirements and 
expectations of local public schools. To continue to receive 
grants, agencies must demonstrate progress towards meeting such 
goals.
    In designation and redesignation the Secretary shall, in 
consultation with each State's chief executive officer, give 
priority to high performing, eligible agencies that: are 
already receiving funds under Head Start, meet or exceed 
program and financial management requirements, have no history 
of deficiencies during the last three years, and can 
demonstrate active collaboration with the State in the 
provision of services for children.
    However, if no entity is entitled to the priority, the 
Secretary shall conduct an open competition and shall consider 
the effectiveness of each such applicant to provide Head Start 
services based on the plan of such applicant: (1) to consider 
past performance of applicants in providing comparable services 
to Head Start services; (2) to provide health, nutritional, 
education, and social to prepare children to succeed in school; 
(3) to use scientifically based programs that promote school 
readiness; (4) the plan of such applicant to meet standards 
outlined in 641A(a)(1); (5) the plan of such applicant to 
coordinate the proposed Head Start program with other local 
preschool programs, State prekindergarten programs, child care 
programs, local educational agencies, and reading readiness; 
(6) to coordinate with public and private entities who are 
willing to commit resources to assist the Head Start program 
meet its program needs; (7) to collaborate with a local library 
to excite children about the world of books; (8) to involve 
parents in the education of their children at home and at the 
center and to give them the opportunity to participate in the 
development and performance of the program at the local level; 
to offer parents family literacy services, parenting skills 
training, substance abuse counseling; to offer parents the 
option to offer training in basic child development, assistance 
in developing communication skills, opportunities for parents 
to share experiences with other parents, any other activity 
designed to help parents become full partners in the education 
of their children; to provide each participating family a 
family needs assessment that includes consultation with such 
parents about the benefits of involvement in their child's 
education; to extend outreach to fathers to strengthen the role 
of fathers in families and in the education of their young 
children, and in Head Start programs, by working directly with 
fathers and father figures; (9) the plan of such applicant to 
meet the needs of: LEP children and their families including 
procedures to identify such children, plans to provide trained 
personnel and plans to assist children in making progress 
toward the acquisition of the English language; (10) to meet 
the needs of disabled children; (11) who chooses to assist 
younger siblings of children who will participate in the Head 
Start program to obtain health services from other sources; 
(12) and the plan of such applicant to collaborate with other 
entities carrying out early childhood education and child care 
programs in the community; and (13) to meet the needs of 
homeless children and children in foster care.

Section 8. Quality Standards; Monitoring of Head Start Agencies and 
        Programs

    This Section amends section 641A by requiring additional 
education standards and minimum levels of accomplishment based 
on recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences panel 
(described in Section 649(h)) and other experts in the field of 
early childhood education relating to: (1) language skills 
related to listening, understanding, speaking, and 
communicating including: understanding and use of a diverse 
vocabulary (including knowing the names of colors) and 
knowledge of how to use oral language to communicate for 
various purposes; narrative abilities used, for example, to 
comprehend, tell and respond to a story, or to comprehend 
instructions; ability to detect and produce sounds of the 
language the child speaks or is learning; and clarity of 
pronunciation andspeaking in syntactically and grammatically 
correct sentences; (2) prereading knowledge and skills including: 
alphabet knowledge, knowing the letter names and associating letters 
with their shapes and sounds in the language the child speaks or is 
learning; phonological awareness and awareness of processes that 
support reading, for example, rhyming, recognizing speech sounds and 
separate syllables in spoken words, and putting speech sounds together 
to make words; knowledge, interest in, and appreciation of books, 
reading and writing, and knowledge that books have parts such as front, 
back and title page; early writing, including the ability to write 
one's own name and other words and phrases; and print awareness and 
concepts, including recognizing different forms of print and 
understanding the association between spoken and written words; (3) 
premathematics knowledge and skills including number recognition; use 
of early number concepts and operations, including counting, simple 
adding and subtracting, and knowledge of quantitative relationships 
such as part versus whole and comparison of numbers of objects; use of 
early space and location concepts including recognizing shapes, 
classification, striation, and understanding directionality; and early 
pattern skills and measurement, including recognizing and extending 
simple patterns and measuring length, weight and time; (4) scientific 
abilities including building awareness about scientific skills and 
methods, such as gathering, describing, and recording information, 
making observations, explanations and predictions, and expanding 
scientific knowledge of the environment, time, temperature, and cause 
and effect relationships; (5) general cognitive abilities relate to 
academic achievement and child development including reasoning, 
planning, and problem-solving skills; ability to engage, sustain 
attention, and persist on challenging tasks; intellectual curiosity, 
initiative, and task engagement; and motivation to achieve and master 
concepts and skills; (6) social and emotional development related to 
early learning and school success including developing: the ability to 
develop social relationships, demonstrate cooperative behaviors, and 
relate to teachers and peers in positive and respectful ways; an 
understanding of the consequences of actions, following rules, and 
appropriately expressing feelings; a sense of self, such as self-
awareness, independence, and confidence; the ability to control 
negative behaviors with teachers and peers that include impulsiveness, 
aggression, and noncompliance; and knowledge of civic society and 
surrounding communities; (7) physical development including developing 
fine motor skills such as strength, manual dexterity, and hand-eye 
coordination; and gross motor skills, such as balance and coordinated 
movements; and (8) in the case of LEP children, progress towards 
acquisition of the English language while making meaningful progress in 
the aforementioned areas.
    This Section requires that facilities used by Head Start 
agencies for regularly scheduled center-based and combination 
program option classroom activities be in compliance with State 
and local requirements concerning licensing for such facilities 
and that such facility shall be accessible by State and local 
authorities for purposes of monitoring and ensuring compliance.
    Additionally, this Section requires the Secretary, in 
developing standards, to consider the unique challenges faced 
by individual programs, including seasonal, short term or those 
that serve rural populations, when developing standards 
regulations. the Secretary is also required to consult with 
Indian tribes, American Indian and Alaska Native experts in 
early childhood development, linguists, and the National Indian 
Head Start Directors Association in program standards review 
and promulgation, and educational performance measures for 
language acquisition and school readiness.
    This Section amends section 641A by adding a new section, 
``Evaluation is and Corrective Actions for Delegation Agencies; 
(641A(a)(4)). This section requires the Secretary to establish 
procedures for evaluating delegate agencies as well as 
procedures for defunding delegate agencies and procedures for 
appealing such defunding decisions. Each Head Start agency 
shall evaluate its delegate agencies using procedures 
established in this Act and shall inform the delegate agencies 
of the deficiencies to be corrected. To ensure corrective 
actions, the Head Start agency may: initiate procedures to 
terminate the designation of the agency unless the agency 
corrects the deficiency; conduct monthly monitoring visits to 
such delegate agency until all deficiencies are corrected or 
the Head Start agency decides to defund such delegate agency; 
and release funds to such delegate agency only as 
reimbursements until all deficiencies are corrected or the Head 
Start agency decides to defund such delegate agency.
    This Section requires performance measures to be 
appropriate for the population served and be reviewed no less 
than every four years based on advances in early childhood 
development science.
    This Section requires results-based outcome measures to be 
designed for the purpose of promoting the competencies of Head 
Start children with an emphasis on measuring those competencies 
that have a strong scientifically-based predictability of a 
child's school readiness and later performance in school. This 
Section permits Head Start agencies to establish and implement 
additional local results-based educational performance measures 
and goals.
    This Section mandates unannounced site inspections of Head 
Start Centers and sets rules for prompt follow-up reviews to 
agencies and programs that fail to meet one or more of the 
performance measures developed by the Secretary, and in the 
case of programs cited with substantial deficiencies a review 
is required within 6 months of the initial citation. Reviews 
may incorporate without or with limited prior notice as is 
necessary to ensure the participation of parents and key staff 
members. Reviews will be conducted by teams that include 
individuals who are knowledgeable about Head Start and other 
early childhood programs and, to the maximum extend 
practicable, the diverse needs of eligible children and LEP 
children and their families. Review willinclude assessment of 
program effectiveness measured in accordance with the results-based 
measures developed by the Secretary. Reviews will seek information from 
communities and States about innovative or effective collaborative 
efforts, barriers to collaboration, and collaboration efforts of Head 
Start agencies. Review teams will also review and assess whether a 
program is in conformity with the income eligibility requirements and 
regulations of Section 645. Reviews will assess whether programs are 
adequately addressing the population and community needs (including 
LEP, migrant and seasonal farmworker children). Reviews will also 
assess outcomes and performance as they relate to State-, local-, and 
agency-determined school readiness goals.
    This Section also requires that in order for a Head Start 
agency to retain designation and continue to receive funds if 
it has failed to meet quality standards or results-based 
performance measures it must develop in a timely manner a 
quality improvement plan subject to the Secretary's approval or 
(in some cases) the sponsoring agency. The Secretary or 
sponsoring agency must respond to the proposed improvement plan 
within 30 days of receiving it from an agency, either approving 
it, or giving reasons for not approving it. This Section 
requires within 120 days of the fiscal year's end the Secretary 
to publish a summary on the outcome findings which must be made 
widely available to the public as well as to the parents of 
Head Start children.
    This Section establishes rules for allowing for the 
reduction of grants and redistribution of funds in cases of 
under-enrollment. Each Head Start agency is required to report 
actual enrollment to the Secretary monthly and if that number 
is below the funded enrollment stated in the base grant, the 
agency must explain the enrollment shortfall. The Secretary 
must determine which agencies are under-enrolled based on at 
least 4 months of data. In cases of less than 95 percent 
enrollment, the Secretary will develop in collaboration with 
the agency, a plan and timetable for correcting under-
enrollment considering quality, extent of outreach, community 
needs assessment, changing demographics, identification of new 
underserved low-income populations, any facilities-related 
issues affecting enrollment, ability to provide full-day 
programs where needed through Head Start funds or through 
collaboration with other funding sources where available, the 
availability and use by families of other preschool and child 
care options, and agency management procedures that may impact 
enrollment.
    This Section requires that the Secretary provide timely and 
ongoing technical assistance to an agency for the purpose of 
implementing the plan but if, after one year after the plan is 
implemented and under-enrollment persists the Secretary shall 
continue to provide technical assistance where determined 
appropriate. After 18 months of being under-enrolled the 
Secretary may designate such agency as chronically under-
enrolled and may recapture, withhold or reduce the base grant 
by a percentage equal to the percentage difference between 
funded and actual enrollment. But if the enrollment shortfall 
is beyond the agency's control, is expected to be temporary or 
the number of slots allotted to the agency is small enough that 
under-enrollment does not constitute a significant shortfall, 
the Secretary may waive or reduce percentage reductions.
    In terms of redistribution of funds, the Secretary may use 
amounts recovered through reductions in a fiscal year to 
redirect funds to other Head Start agencies within the State to 
increase enrollment in their programs. In the case that there 
is no agency in the State that qualifies for the additional 
grant money, the Secretary may redirect funds to Head Start 
agencies in other States that do meet the requirements. 
Recaptured funds from under-enrolled agencies serving Indian or 
migrant children shall be awarded to other agencies serving 
those same special populations.
    The Secretary will adjust as necessary the funded 
enrollment indicated in the grant award of a Head Start agency 
receiving redistributed amounts.

Section 9. Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood

    Subject to the availability of funds, this new Section 641B 
requires the Secretary to establish a program in which he 
designates up to 200 exemplary Head Start agencies as Centers 
of Excellence in Early Childhood, with at least one designee 
per state and the District of Columbia as well as not less than 
one Indian Head Start program and not less than one migrant and 
seasonal Head Start program, for a five-year term. During the 
period of that designation and subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the agency shall be eligible to receive a bonus 
grant. State Governors shall nominate centers and applications 
must contain such information as the Secretary may require, and 
in case of Indian, migrant and seasonal Head Start programs, 
program branches shall nominate centers for this distinction.
    Applications shall include: (1) evidence that the Head 
Start program has significantly improved the school readiness 
and academic outcomes of Head Start children; (2) evidence that 
the program meets or exceeds Head Start standards and 
performance measures in section 641A (a) and (b) as evidenced 
by successful completion of programmatic and monitoring reviews 
and has no substantial deficiencies; (3) evidence that the 
program is making progress toward attaining the goals in 
section 648A; (4) evidence demonstrating the existence of a 
collaborative partnership between the agency and the State or a 
State agency; (5) a nomination letter from the Governor 
demonstrating the agency's ability to carry out the 
coordination, transition and training services of the program 
to be carried out under the bonus grant, including coordination 
of activities with State and local agencies that provide early 
childhood services to children and families in the community; 
and (6) information demonstrating the existence of or the 
agency's plan to establish a local council for excellence in 
early childhood education which shall include representatives 
of all institutions, agencies, and groups involved in the work 
of the center for eligible children and other at risk children 
and their families.
    The Secretary shall base the amount of the bonus grant on 
the number of children served at the center of excellence and 
subject to the availability of funding, make such a bonus grant 
in an amount not less than $100,000/year which may be used to: 
(1) provide services to additional eligible children; (2) 
better meet the needs of working families in the community 
served by the center by serving more children in Early Head 
Start or full-working-day, full calendar year Head Start 
programs; (3) model and disseminate best practices for 
achieving early academic success including achieving school 
readiness and developing rereading and premathematics skills 
for at-risk children and achieving the English acquisition for 
limited English proficient children, and to provide seamless 
service delivery for eligible children and their families; (4) 
coordinate early childhood and social services available in the 
community served by the center for at-risk children prenatal 
through age 8 and their families; (5) provide training for Head 
Start teachers and staff and develop agency leaders; (6) 
provide effective transitions between Head Start programs and 
elementary school and to provide training and technical 
assistance to help the providers increase their ability to work 
with low-income, at-risk children and their families; and (7) 
carry out other activities determined by the center to improve 
the overall quality of the Head Start program.
    The Secretary may revoke an agency's designation if it is 
determined that the agency is not demonstrating adequate 
performance.
    In the second year as a center of excellence, the center 
will work with its delegate agencies, other Head Start agencies 
and other providers of early childhood services in the 
community to encourage the agencies and providers to carry out 
model programs and by the second year of such designation shall 
establish the local council for excellence in early childhood 
education.
    This Section requires the Secretary to make a grant to an 
independent organization to conduct research on the ability of 
the centers of excellence to improve the school readiness of 
Head Start children and to positively impact school results in 
the earliest grades and shall also conduct research to measure 
the success of the centers at encouraging delegate agencies and 
additional Head Start agencies to meet measurable improvements 
in the area of school readiness. The report is required no 
later than 4 years after the date of enactment of the Head 
Start Improvements for School Readiness Act of 2003 and is to 
be submitted to the Secretary and Congress.
    Under this Section, $90,000,000 is appropriated for fiscal 
year 2004 and each subsequent year to make bonus grants to 
centers of excellence including $2,500,000 to pay for the 
Secretary's administrative costs in carrying out this section 
and $2,000,000 for the research activities described under this 
subsection.

Section 10. Powers and Functions of Head Start Agencies

    This Section amends section 642 to require that in order to 
be designated as a Head Start agency an agency must have 
authority under its charter or applicable law to receive and 
administer funds and contributions from private or local public 
sources which may be used in support of a Head Start program, 
and funds under any Federal or State assistance program 
pursuant to which a public or private nonprofit or for profit 
agency, could act as grantee, contractor, or sponsor of 
projects appropriate for inclusion in a Head Start program. 
Such agency must also be empowered to transfer funds and 
delegate powers of its governing board and its overall program 
responsibilities. These powers must include the power to make 
transfers and delegations covering component projects in all 
cases where this will contribute to efficiency and 
effectiveness or further program objectives.
    This Section also requires that in order to be designated a 
Head Start agency must establish a program with all standards 
set forth in 641A(a)(1), must: (1) establish a program with all 
standards set forth in section 641A(a)(1); (2) demonstrate the 
capacity to serve eligible children with scientifically based 
curricula and other services that promote school readiness; (3) 
establish effective procedures and provide for the regulator 
assessment of Head Start children including observational and 
direct formal assessment where appropriate; (4) seek the 
involvement of parents, community members, and local businesses 
in the design and implementation of the program; (5) provide 
for the regular participation of parents and community members 
in the implementation of such programs; (6) provide technical 
and other support needed to enable such parents and area 
residents to secure available assistance from public and 
private sources; (7) establish effective procedures to 
facilitate the involvement of parents of Head Start children in 
activities designed to help such parents become full partners 
in the education of their children; (8) conduct outreach to 
schools in which Head Start children will enroll, local 
educational agencies, the local business community, community-
based organizations, faith-based organizations, museums and 
libraries to generate support and leverage the resources of the 
entire local community in order to improve school readiness; 
(9) offer services or referrals to parents of Head Start 
children family literacy services and parenting skills 
training, drug and alcohol counseling, including information on 
the effect of drug exposure on infants and fetal alcohol 
syndrome; and (10) at the option of such agency offer to such 
parents training in basic child development and cognition, 
assistance in developing literacy and communication skills, 
opportunities to share experiences with other parents, regular 
in home visitation, and any other activity designed to help 
parents become full partners in the education of their children 
including, (1) provide participating families a family needs 
assessment, (2) consider providing services to assist younger 
siblings of Head Start children to obtain health services from 
other sources, (3) perform community outreach to encourage 
volunteers for the Head Start program, (4) inform single 
parents who participate in programs and activities about the 
availability of child support services for purposes of 
establishing paternity and acquiring child support, and (5) 
refer eligibleparents to the child support offices of State and 
local governments.
    Each Head Start agency shall take steps to ensure to the 
maximum extent possible that children maintain the 
developmental and educational gains achieved in Head Start 
programs and build upon such gains in further schooling.
    In communities where both public prekindergarten programs 
and Head Start programs operate, the Head Start agency shall 
coordinate activities with the local educational agency and 
other pre-k providers including outreach to identify eligible 
children. With parental permission, Head Start staff will also 
work with elementary schools to discuss teaching strategies and 
options and ensure a smooth elementary school transition for 
such children. The head of each Head Start agency shall 
coordinate activities and collaborate with the State agency 
responsible for administering the State program carried out 
under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 
and other programs carrying out early childhood education and 
development programs. Head Start agencies will also collaborate 
with local educational agencies on shared use of transportation 
and facilities and to reduce duplication of services while 
increasing participation of underserved populations of eligible 
children and exchanging information on the provision of 
noneducational services to such children.
    To promote continued parental involvement when children 
transition to school, this Section requires Head Start agencies 
to provide training to parents: to inform them about their 
rights and responsibilities regarding their children's 
education, to enable them to understand and work with schools 
in order to communicate with teachers and other school 
personnel; and to support the schoolwork of the children and to 
participate to appropriate decisions relating to the education 
of their children.
    This Section mandates that each Head Start agency shall 
consult with child development experts and classroom teachers 
to develop teacher hiring and evaluation assessments which 
shall measure: whether the teacher possesses an appropriate 
literacy level to implement Head Start curricula and whether 
the teacher has mastered other functions outlined in 648A(a)(1) 
of this bill.
    Head Start agencies are expected to enroll 100 percent of 
its funded enrollment and maintain an active waiting list at 
all time with ongoing outreach to communities to identify 
underserved populations.

Section 11. Head Start Transition and Alignment with K-12 Education

    This Section renames section 642A ``The Head Start 
Transition and Alignment with K-12 Education.'' This Section is 
amended to require each agency to coordinate with local 
educational agencies and schools in which Head Start children 
will enroll to: (1) develop and implement records transferring 
procedures; (2) establish ongoing communication channels 
between Head Start staff and school counterparts to facilitate 
program coordination; (3) develop continuity of developmentally 
appropriate curricula and practice between the Head Start 
agency and local educational agency to ensure an effective 
transition and appropriate shared expectations for learning and 
development as the children make the transition to school; (4) 
conduct parent-teacher meetings; (5) organize and participate 
in joint training including transition-related training of 
school and Head Start staff; (6) develop and implement family 
outreach and support programs, taking LEP families into 
consideration; (7) assist families, administrators and teachers 
in enhancing educational and developmental continuity and 
continuity of parental involvement in activities between Head 
Start services and elementary school classes; (8) link Head 
Start language, numeracy and literacy services with those 
provided by local educational agencies; (9) help parents 
understand the importance of parental involvement in a child's 
academic success while teaching the parents strategies for 
maintaining parental involvement as their child moves from the 
Head Start program to elementary school; (10) develop and 
implement a system to increase participation of underserved 
eligible children in program; and (11) coordinate activities 
and collaborate to ensure that curricula used in the Head Start 
program is aligned with State Early Learning Standards 
regarding cognitive, social, emotional, and physical 
competencies that children entering kindergarten are expected 
to demonstrate.

Section 12. Submission of Plans to Governors

    This Section amends section 643 to require approval from a 
State Governor of a proposed Head Start plan for a contract, 
agreement, grant or other assistance before an agency may carry 
out a Head Start program in the State. Governor approval is not 
required, however, for Indian, migrant and seasonal Head Start 
programs.

Section 13. Participation in Head Start Programs

    This Section amends Section 645(a)(1)((A) by expanding the 
eligibility for participation in Head Start programs to include 
children whose families are below 130% of the poverty line.
    This Section requires that military housing upgrades and 
special pay relating to duty subject to hostile fire or combat 
not be considered income for the purposes of determining Head 
Start program eligibility of the children of uniformed services 
members 645(a)(3)(B).

Section 14. Early Head Start Programs

    This Section renames section 645A ``Early Head Start 
Programs.'' Section 645A is amended by requiring Head Start 
agencies to provide additional services to parents to support 
their role as parents including parenting skills and basic 
child development training. Such training includes home-based 
services and family support services. ThisSection also requires 
that Early Head Start agencies develop a systematic transitioning 
process for children and parents from Early Head Start into Head Start 
or other local early childhood education programs, as well as establish 
communication channels between Early Head Start and Head Start staffs 
to coordinate programs.
    This Section amends Section 645A to include agencies 
responsible for administering section 106 of the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Act as a group with which Early Head 
Start agencies shall ensure formal linkages.
    This Section expands the definition of ``Eligible Services 
Providers'' to include tribal governments and entities 
operating migrant and seasonal Head Start programs, as well as 
community-based organizations that meet program participation 
standards.
    This Section also allows the Secretary to use funds for 
training and technical assistance to provide professional 
development and personnel enhancement activities on effective 
methods of conducting parent education, home visiting, and 
promoting quality early childhood development, on methods of 
recruiting and retaining qualified staff and on methods to 
increase program participation for underserved populations of 
eligible children.
    This Section mandates that not later than September 30, 
2009, all teachers providing direct services to Early Head 
Start children and families have a minimum of a child 
development associate credential or an associate degree and 
have been trained in early childhood development or equivalent 
coursework.
    This Section requires the Secretary to establish standards 
for training, qualification, and the conduct of home visits for 
home visitor staff in Early Head Start programs to further 
enhance the quality of services provided to families of 
participating children. Such standards established by the 
Secretary shall include: structured child-focused home visiting 
that promotes parents' ability to support the child's 
cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development; 
effective strengths-based parent education, including methods 
to encourage parents as their child's first teachers; early 
childhood development with respect to children from birth 
through age 3; methods to help parents promote emergent 
literacy in their children from birth to age 3; health, vision, 
hearing and developmental screenings; strategies for helping 
families coping with crisis; and the relationship of health and 
well-being of pregnant women to prenatal and early child 
development.

Section 15. Records and Audits

    The Section amends section 647(a) by requiring each Head 
Start agency receiving financial assistance to maintain and 
submit a complete accounting of their administrative expenses 
including salaries and compensation annually to the Secretary.

Section 16. Technical Assistance and Training

    This Section amends section 648 by requiring the Secretary 
to make available funds set aside in 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) to 
support a regional or State system of early childhood education 
training and technical assistance that improves the capacity of 
Head Start programs within a region or State to deliver 
services in accordance with the Head Start standards described 
in section 641A(a)(1). The Secretary shall: ensure that 
agencies with demonstrated expertise in providing high quality 
training and technical assistance to improve the delivery of 
Head Start services, including the State Head Start 
Association, State agencies, migrant and seasonal Head Start 
programs, and other entities currently providing training and 
technical assistance in early education are included in the 
planning and coordination of the system; and encourage States 
to supplement the funds authorized in section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) 
with Federal, State, or local funds other than Head Start 
funds, to expand training and technical assistance activities 
beyond Head Start agencies to include other providers of early 
childhood services within a region or State.
    In allocating resources for technical assistance and 
training under this section, the Secretary shall also assist 
Head Start agencies and programs in increasing the program 
participation of eligible homeless children.
    This Section recognizes Head Start personnel from community 
and faith-based organizations as eligible to receive grants for 
training in the use of the performing and visual arts to 
include community and faith-based organizations.
    This Section requires the Secretary to provide, either 
directly or through grants or other arrangements, funds to 
provide services to children determined to be abused or 
neglected, training for personnel providing services to 
children referred by entities providing child welfare services 
or receiving child welfare services. The Secretary shall also 
provide training and technical assistance funding for Head 
Start personnel that addresses the unique needs of migrant and 
seasonal farmworking families, LEP families and homeless 
families.
    This Section requires that funds used under this section 
shall be used to provide high quality, sustained and intensive 
training and technical assistance in order to have a positive 
and lasting impact on classroom instruction. Such funds shall 
be used to carry out activities related to one or more of the 
following: education and early childhood development; child 
health, nutrition and safety; family and community 
partnerships; other areas that impact the quality or 
effectiveness of Head Start programs.
    This section does not permit training and technical 
assistance funds to be used for long distance travel expenses 
for training activities available locally or regionally or for 
activities that are substantially similar to locally or 
regionally available trainingactivities. Such funds shall be 
used for needs identified annually by a grant applicant or delegate 
agency in its program improvement plan.
    Funds may be used to support local efforts to enhance early 
language and preliteracy development of children in Head Start 
programs and to provide children with high quality oral 
language skills and environments that are rich in literature in 
which to acquire language and preliteracy skills. Each agency, 
in coordination with the appropriate State office and the 
relevant State Head Start collaboration office shall ensure 
that all of the agency's teachers receive ongoing training in 
language and emergent literacy. Such training shall include 
methods to promote phonological and phonemic awareness and 
vocabulary development in age-appropriate and culturally and 
linguistically appropriate manner. Literacy training shall be 
culturally and linguistically appropriate and support 
children's development in their home language. Literacy 
training shall also include training in how to work with 
parents to enhance positive language and early literacy 
development at home. Literacy training shall also include 
specific methods to best address the needs of children who have 
speech and language delays or have other disabilities.

Section 17. Staff Qualifications and Development

    This Section amends section 648A by requiring all center-
based Head Start teachers to have at least an associate degree 
or equivalent coursework in early childhood or related 
educational area and teachers must also demonstrate teaching 
competencies including at a minimum, an appropriate level of 
literacy, a demonstrated capacity to be highly engaged with 
children and the ability to effectively implement and early 
childhood curriculum as determined by the program director by 
September 30, 2009.
    This Section also requires all center-based Head Start 
curriculum specialists and education coordinators have the 
capacity to offer assistance to other teachers in the 
implementation and adaptation of curricula to the group and 
individual needs of a class and to have a baccalaureate or 
advanced degree and coursework equivalent relating to early 
childhood by September 30, 2007.
    By September 30, 2007 all center-based Head Start teaching 
assistants must: have at least a child development associate 
credential; be enrolled in a program leading to an associate or 
baccalaureate degree; or be enrolled in a child development 
associate credential program to be completed within 2 years.
    This Section requires that not later than September 30, 
2010, 50 percent of all center-based Head Start teachers have a 
baccalaureate degree relating to early childhood or a related 
educational area (or equivalent coursework), and demonstrated 
teaching competencies, as determined by the program including 
at a minimum, an appropriate level of literacy, a demonstrated 
capacity to be highly engaged with children and the ability to 
effectively implement and early childhood curriculum.
    The Secretary is to require Head Start agencies to 
demonstrate continued progress and to submit an annual report 
indicating the number and percentage of center-based classroom 
instructors with child development associate credential or 
associate, baccalaureate or graduate degrees. The Secretary is 
required to compile and submit such program reports to the 
House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Senate 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
    Head Start staff who receive financial assistance to pursue 
a degree are required to teach or work in a Head Start program 
for at least 3 years after the degree is obtained or repay the 
total or prorated amount of the financial assistance received 
based on the length of service completed after receiving the 
degree.
    The Secretary may waive post-secondary degree requirements 
for an agency (1) that can demonstrate aggressive recruitment 
efforts have been unsuccessful with people who meet the 
requirements, (2) or if there is limited access to degree 
programs due to remote location of the program involved, or (3) 
if current Head Start staff is enrolled in a program that 
grants the required degree and will be completed in a year. An 
agency that receives such a waiver shall ensure that Head Start 
teachers for the agency who have not met the postsecondary 
degree requirements but are otherwise highly qualified and 
competent shall be directly and appropriately supervised by a 
teacher who has met or exceeded the degree requirements. 
Waivers cannot be granted for more than one year.
    Each Head Start agency and program is required to create a 
professional development plan for all staff who provide direct 
services to children in consultation with all employees 
including a plan for classroom teachers and curriculum 
specialists to meet the degree requirements.

Section 18. Tribal Colleges and Universities Head Start Partnership

    This Section amends the Act by authorizing the Secretary to 
award at least 5-year grants to Tribal college and universities 
to promote school readiness in Indian children by implementing 
tribal culture and language programs and increasing the number 
of degrees in early childhood education and related fields 
among Indian Head Start agency staff, parents of Head Start 
children, and members of the tribal community involved in 
Indian Head Start. Such programs shall developed and 
implemented in technology-mediated formats and grants may be 
used for technology literacy programs for those served by or 
associated with Indian Head Start. The Secretary will ensure 
that the American Indian Programs Branch of the Head Start 
Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services is 
sufficiently staffed to administer the programs in this Section 
and to provide appropriate technical assistance to the tribal 
colleges and universities receiving grants. To receive grants, 
tribal colleges and universities mustsubmit applications to the 
Secretary for consideration including a certification that a 
partnership has been established with at least one Indian Head Start 
agency for the purpose of conducting these activities. This Section 
authorizes $10,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal year 2004 
and such sums for fiscal years 2005-2008.

Section 19. Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation

    This Section amends section 649 so that the Secretary will 
also consider abused or neglected children when developing, 
testing and disseminating new ideas for addressing the needs of 
low-income children.
    This Section requires the Secretary to contract with the 
Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the National Research 
Council, the Board on Testing and Assessments and the Institute 
of Medicine of the National Academies to establish an expert 
panel to review and synthesize research and theories in the 
social, behavioral, and biological sciences regarding early 
childhood, and make recommendations regarding: (1) age and 
developmentally appropriate Head Start academic requirements 
and outcomes including the standards described in section 
641A(a)(1)(B)(ii); (2) differences in the type, length, mix, 
and intensity of services necessary to ensure school readiness 
for children from challenging backgrounds; (3) appropriate 
assessments of children including formal and systematic 
observations in a child's natural environment; assessments of 
children's development through parent and provider interviews; 
assessments of appropriate accommodations for children with 
disabilities, LEP, and from different cultural backgrounds; (4) 
identification of existing or recommendations for the 
development of, scientifically-based, valid and reliable 
assessments that are capable of measuring child outcomes in the 
domains important to school readiness, including language 
skills, prereading ability, premathematics ability, cognitive 
ability, scientific ability, social and emotional development, 
and physical development; and (5) appropriate use and 
application of valid and reliable assessments for such Head 
Start programs.
    The panel will consist of multiple experts in child 
development, child education, professional development, 
assessments of young children such as screening, diagnostic, 
and classroom based instructional assessments, and this panel 
shall include representatives from the Department of Health and 
Human Services including representatives from the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of 
Mental Health, The National Institute of Child Health and Human 
Development, the Administration for Children and Families, the 
National Association for the Education of Young Children, the 
National Center for Learning Disabilities, the American Academy 
of Pediatrics, the Institute of Education Sciences of the 
Department of Education, the Government Accounting Office, and 
other noted experts in early care and early childhood 
education.
    The panel will be established no later than 90 days after 
the enactment of this Act and not later than one year after the 
panel is established shall it complete and submit such 
recommendations to the Secretary. Amendments made to section 
641A(a)(1)(B)__ shall not be implemented by the Secretary until 
the panel submits the report.
    The Secretary shall, in appropriate cases, use the panel's 
results and recommendations to develop and revise educational 
performance measures, standards and assessments.
    The Secretary shall also conduct a study on the status of 
LEP children and their families in Head Start programs and no 
later than September 30, 2008 shall the Secretary prepare and 
submit a report containing the results of the study to Congress 
including information on: the demographics of LEP children from 
birth through age 5, including the number of such children 
receiving Head Start services and the geographic distribution 
of such children; the nature of Head Start services provided to 
LEP children and their families including types, duration, 
intensity, costs of family services and language assistance; 
procedures in Head Start programs for the assessment of 
language needs and the transition of LEP children to 
kindergarten including the extent to which Head Start programs 
meet the requirements of section 642A for LEP children; the 
extent to which Head Start programs make use of funds under 
section 640(a)(3) to improve the quality of Head Start services 
provided to LEP children and their families; and the 
qualifications and training provided to Head Start teachers 
serving LEP children and families; the rate of progress made by 
LEP children and their families in Head Start programs 
including: (1) their rate of progress toward meeting 
educational standards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) 
while enrolled in Head Start, measured between 1990 and 2003; 
(2) the correlation between such progress and the type of 
instruction and educational program provided to LEP children; 
and (3) the correlation between such progress and the health 
and family services provided by Head Start programs to LEP 
children and their families.
    The Secretary is required to submit interim reports to 
Congress on the impact research carried out by this Panel. 
Reports are due: September 30 of 2003, 2005, and 2006.

Section 20. Reports

    Section 650(a) is amended so that the Secretary will also 
consider homeless children in his reports concerning the status 
of children. This section also updates the name of the Senate 
committee charged with oversight of this legislation to 
``Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.''

Section 21. Comparability of Wages

    Section 653 is amended as to mandate that no individual is 
to be compensated with federal funds in excess of the salary of 
the Secretary. If this is violated, the Secretary shall 
withhold from the base grant of the Head Start agency involved 
for the next fiscal year, an amount equal to the aggregate 
amount by which the salary that resulted in the violation 
exceeded the salary of the Secretary.

Section 22. Limitation With Respect to Certain Unlawful Activities

    This Section amends section 655 to forbid participation in 
civil disturbance, rioting, or unlawful demonstration by 
individuals assigned by or employed in Head Start agencies.

Section 23. Political Activities

    This Section amends section 656(b) to forbid the 
participation of any Head Start employee during the hours in 
which such individual is working on behalf of such program in 
any political activity associated with an election, or 
contending faction or group, in an election for public or party 
office, or any activity to provide voters or prospective voters 
with transportation to the polls, or any voter registration 
activity. The Secretary may issue rules and regulations to 
enforce this section.

Section 24. Parental Consent Requirement for Health Services

    This Section amends the Act to require written parental 
consent before administrating or referring any health care 
services or procedures including non-emergency intrusive 
physical examination of a child in connection with 
participation in a program. Such services that require written 
parental permission include examinations: not immediately 
necessary to protect the health or safety of a child, those 
that require incision or those which involve exposure of 
private body parts. This Section does not prohibit agencies 
from using established methods for handling cases of child 
abuse and neglect that comply with Federal, State or tribal 
law.

                          IX. ADDITIONAL VIEWS

    The signatories of these ``Additional Views'' support the 
goals established in the Head Start Improvement for School 
Readiness Act, and were pleased to work with Chairman Gregg and 
the majority in drafting bipartisan legislation. However, there 
are a few areas in the report where we would like to clarify 
the basis of our views and support.
Enhancing the School Readiness of Head Start Children
    Head Start is one of the most studied and evaluated early 
childhood programs in America. Rigorous studies have found 
that, after leaving the program, children who attend Head Start 
make long-term gains. They are less likely to repeat a grade, 
to require special education classes, or to commit crimes than 
their non-Head Start peers. They are more likely to graduate 
from high school and attend college.
    Data from the national longitudinal study of Head Start--
known as the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES)--
demonstrates the positive development of Head Start children 
and their families, as well as the quality of Head Start 
classrooms. Key findings from FACES reveal that participation 
in Head Start narrows the gap between Head Start children and 
the general population of preschool-aged children in domains 
representing key components of school readiness. FACES data 
demonstrates a reduction in the school readiness gap between 
disadvantaged children and their peers in vocabulary and 
writing skills during the program. Socially, children in Head 
Start show a reduction in problem behaviors, aggressive 
behaviors, hyperactive behaviors, and withdrawn behaviors. 
Physically, they show high rates of immunizations, health 
screenings, treatment for disabilities, and enrollment in 
health insurance plans. And as Head Start continues to evolve, 
outcomes for children participating in the program continue to 
improve. Data from the 2000 FACES study show that, as compared 
to 1997, Head Start children show greater gains in book 
knowledge, letter recognition, and print conventions.
    Such progress in the cognitive, social, and physical 
domains of child development indicates that children are 
healthy and have the foundations needed to succeed later in 
kindergarten. Once in kindergarten, children who participated 
in Head Start demonstrate that they are ready to learn, 
evidenced by substantial progress toward national norms in word 
knowledge, letter recognition, math skills, and writing skills. 
At the end of the kindergarten year, studies have shown that 
children who participated in Head Start achieved scores of 93 
in vocabulary, 96 in early writing skills, and 92 in 
mathematics relative to a national normed score of 100.
    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, 
entitled Strengthening Head Start: What the Research Shows, 
notes that ``Children graduating from Head Start remain far 
behind the typical U.S. child.'' The signatories of these views 
deem it both inappropriate and detrimental to gauge the success 
of the Head Start program solely on the ability of children to 
reach national norms or the 50th percentile in a given domain 
of achievement or child developmental. Empirical evidence 
clearly supports the effectiveness and value of Head Start. 
Although children participating in Head Start lag behind the 
national average as they complete the program, they make gains 
while in the program. Furthermore, Head Start's effect is 
ongoing: as the above findings from FACES demonstrate, Head 
Start children leave the program ready to learn, and continue 
to make gains throughout kindergarten. To date, no studies have 
shown State preschool or other early childhood programs to be 
more effective than Head Start.
    In order to judge the full effectiveness of Head Start, an 
appropriate comparison should be made not to children from 
middle-income families as that national norm, but rather to 
children from similar, low-income families who are not able to 
participate in Head Start. An appropriate and balanced 
assessment of the Head Start program would consider the expanse 
of child gains in various domains during and after 
participation in a Head Start program, taking into 
consideration the scope of services provided under the program. 
Because Head Start typically provides services only a few hours 
a day for a few months of a year, an informed evaluation of 
Head Start would not anticipate the program effects to overcome 
all the detriments of poverty facing Head Start children and 
their families.
Designation of Head Start Agencies
    The Head Start Improvement for School Readiness Act makes 
changes to specify how programs are designated and subsequently 
re-designated, further informing the implications of a 5 year 
term on Head Start funds to local grantees.
    Consistent with designation requirements to establish goals 
for improving school readiness of Head Start children and goals 
for meeting the performance and educational standards under the 
act, Head Start programs making progress toward such 
requirements should be deemed programs of high quality. Such 
programs in good standing should continue to receive their 
grants awarded under this act without having to engage in a 
full competitive process.
    When a situation does trigger a competition for Head Start 
funds (either through the loss of funding of an existing 
program or the availability of any new funding), the Secretary, 
in consultation with the Governor of the State involved, is 
directed to grant priority to certain Head Start agencies in 
the competitive process.
    Specific to making a priority determination, pursuant to 
programmatic deficiencies or findings of deficiencies defined 
in the Head Start Improvement for School readiness Act, such 
determination should be based on the criteria for program 
deficiencies currently in use by the Department of Health and 
Human Services. Program deficiencies are determined through the 
PRISM on-site monitoring review, which occurs every 3 years to 
evaluate overall program performance.
    The PRISM review system considers 18 core questions and 
over 200 individual items. Individual noncompliance findings 
are often easily remedied; others indicate moreserious 
performance issues that may lead to deficiencies. Such differences in 
findings are not intended to be equally weighted for the purpose of 
this provision. Current regulations provide a definition of deficiency 
that relies on systematic findings that reflect several areas of 
noncompliance linked to a common issue.
    Deficiency is defined in Head Start's performance standards 
(45 CFR Part 1304) as:

          An area of performance in which an Early Head Start 
        or Head Start grantee agency is not in compliance with 
        state or federal requirements, included but not limited 
        to, the Head Start Act or one or more regulations under 
        parts 1301, 1304, 1305, 1306, or 1308 and which 
        involves: (A) a threat to the health and safety or 
        civil rights of children or staff; (B) a denial to 
        parents of the exercise of their full roles and 
        responsibilities related to program governance; (C) a 
        failure to perform substantially the requirements 
        related to early childhood development and health 
        services, family and community partnerships, or program 
        design and management; or (D) the misuse of Head Start 
        grant funds.

    It is the intent of the signatories of these views that the 
above definition of deficiencies be maintained for purposes of 
determining priority for high performing Head Start agencies in 
a competition for funding.

Head Start Research and Evaluation

    Improving children's school readiness has been a priority 
for Head Start since its inception. Recent research on child 
development and learning has shown that focused attention to 
children's cognitive development as well as their social, 
emotional, and physical development must be integrated for 
children's optimal readiness for school. Consistent with that 
research, Head Start programs are currently guided in their 
curriculum and program practice by the Head Start Outcomes 
Framework, which provides guidance on all domains of child 
development and learning, with a variety of indicators within 
each domain.
    Recent reports, such as Neurons to Neighborhoods and Eager 
to Learn, have demonstrated the need to consider carefully the 
variation in each child of his or her development, as well as 
to provide for the cultural and linguistic environment and 
background in developing standards for Head Start programs, 
expected outcomes for Head Start children, and effective and 
appropriate pedagogy and assessment.
    In keeping with Head Start's tradition of improving school 
readiness, the Head Start School Improvement for School 
Readiness Act updates the program's educational standards to 
reflect the advances in core areas of child development, 
including language, pre-literacy, and pre-math skills, as well 
as other cognitive abilities, social-emotional development, and 
physical development.
    Because academic outcomes and assessments for young 
children are emerging areas of knowledge and practice, the act 
also includes a review of Head Start's outcomes by the National 
Academy of Sciences, to facilitate greater information and 
recommendations on appropriate outcomes, as well as their 
development and application. Once NAS completes its report and 
recommendations, the Department of Health and Human Services 
will apply the results of such study to develop, inform and 
revise Head Start's outcomes. As such, any guidance or mandates 
for new outcomes will be grounded in independent research and 
informed by experts and practitioners in the child development 
and early care and education fields.

Head Start Performance Standards, Educational Standards, and Measures

    Head Start has a long tradition of delivering 
comprehensive, high-quality services to foster the healthy and 
positive development of low-income children, and to promote 
their school-readiness. The Head Start Program Performance 
Standards are designed to guide the implementation of Head 
Start's goals and objectives.
    Data collected by the U.S. Department of Education in 1998 
shows that the quality of Head Start classrooms is good and 
compares favorably to the quality of other preschools rated in 
separate assessments. Findings show that Head Start programs 
are more likely to meet national accreditation standards for 
good quality early childhood development programs and to have 
lower turnover rates than many other early childhood and child 
care settings. They are also more likely to provide 
comprehensive services and to involve parents in their 
children's learning.
    Head Start's performance standards are critical to 
maintaining the highest quality of services in Head Start 
centers. Such standards include mandatory regulations for Head 
Start grantees and prescribe the definitive features of a 
quality Head Start program. Beyond defining the process for 
providing services to children in the program, the Head Start 
Program Performance Standards guarantee services such as 
immunizations, health services, nutrition education, and the 
involvement of parents in programs.
    The signatories of these views note the importance of Head 
Start's performance standards, and recognize that such 
standards are directly correlated to the gains in development 
and school readiness outcomes made by Head Start children.

The National Reporting System

    The Head Start Improvement for School Readiness Act 
maintains Head Start's result-based performance measures, as 
authorized under section 641A(d), to assess the impact of 
services provided by Head Start programs and identify strengths 
and weaknesses in the operation of Head Start programs. 
Currently, Head Start programs use multiple assessments to 
improve instruction, services, and overall program quality. In 
addition to the assessments currently administered in Head 
Start to measure child outcomes, the Department of Health and 
Human Services has developed the NationalReporting System (NRS) 
to fulfill the performance measurement requirements under the Head 
Start Act.
    The signatories of these views continue to express serious 
concerns regarding the current design and implementation of the 
NRS.
    As noted in the committee views, the NRS currently measures 
only two domains of child development: language/literacy and 
pre-mathematics. Head Start promotes child development in at 
least eight areas of development, including social-emotional 
development and physical/health development. As such, the focus 
on only two domains of child development falls critically short 
of a balanced measure of school readiness, when all of the 
eight domains are important to child development and are 
interconnected. For example, a child's self-esteem grows if she 
learns a new letter of the alphabet, and a child who is well 
fed and engaged in positive, supportive relationships is able 
to better master new cognitive tasks. Any national assessment 
in Head Start should measure all domains important to child 
development.
    This NRS was also conceptualized and developed on a quick 
timeline of approximately 1 year, which raises concerns 
regarding the technical quality, scientific soundness, and 
integrity of the assessment. Questions have been raised on the 
reliability of individual items, as well as scientific 
soundness of compiled items of the NRS at the sub-domain and 
general levels. Pilot testing of the assessment does not 
appropriately address such concerns, as the NRS was pilot 
tested at only one time point, rather than at two points, as 
would be appropriate for measuring growth over time.
    Care must be taken to ensure fairness of the various test 
items included in the NRS, and avoid biased items that would 
require prior exposure to places or things to which typical 
Head Start children may not have had exposure. It is critical 
that appropriate adaptations are made to permit the full 
participation of children with disabilities in Head Start, and 
that attention is paid to ensure that the NRS is not 
culturally, geographically, or ethnically biased.
    Finally, adequate plans for the appropriate implementation 
of any assessment in Head Start must be developed. As the NRS 
has been implemented throughout Head Start programs, Directors 
and staff have noted difficulty in accessing materials and 
training to administer the assessment.
    A robust accountability system should further Head Start's 
mission of promoting school readiness. However, data from the 
NRS or from child assessments should not drive funding and high 
stakes accountability decisions in Head Start programs. Any 
data gathered from child assessments should be appropriately 
used to inform and improve instruction and program services in 
Head Start--not to the detriment of programs. Without making 
explicit the intended use of data from the NRS, unintended 
negative consequences may result.
    The signatories of these views support the development of 
assessments in Head Start that are of the highest quality, fair 
to all children, measure progress over time and from multiple 
sources, measure all domains important to child development, 
and include participation by independent experts in the field. 
The purpose and use of data from assessments must always be 
clear and shared by all stakeholders, and assessment data 
should be used only for its intended purpose. The Head Start 
Improvement for School Readiness Act requires the National 
Academy of Sciences to review assessments for use in Head Start 
programs. Consistent with that policy, the NRS should also be 
reviewed and revised according to the recommendations of the 
National Academy of Sciences panel, and plans for the 
development and implementation for such assessment should be 
informed by public comment.
    The signatories of these views urge Congressional oversight 
and further input in the development and implementation of the 
National Reporting System, and deem those steps critical in 
preserving the integrity of evaluation and accountability in 
Head Start.
    The signatories of these views look forward to working with 
Chairman Gregg and other members of the committee to address 
these issues as the Head Start Improvement for School Readiness 
Act comes before the Senate for a final vote.

                                   Edward M. Kennedy.
                                   Chris Dodd.
                                   Tom Harkin.
                                   Barbara A. Mikulski.
                                   James M. Jeffords.
                                   Jeff Bingaman.
                                   Patty Murray.
                                   Jack Reed.
                                   John Edwards.
                                   Hillary Rodham Clinton.

                       X. Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with rule XXVI paragraph 12 of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, the following provides a print of the 
statute or the part or section thereof to be amended or 
replaced (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in 
black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law 
in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

HEAD START ACT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote school 
readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of 
low-income children through educational instruction in 
prereading skills, premathematics skills, and language and 
through the provision, to low-income children and their 
families, of health, educational, nutritional, social, and 
other services that are determined, based on family needs 
assessments, to be necessary.

                              DEFINITIONS

    Sec. 637. For purposes of this subchapter:
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (2) The term ``delegate agency'' means a public, 
        private nonprofit (including a community-based 
        organization), or for-profit organization or agency to 
        which a grantee has delegated all or part of the 
        responsibility of the grantee for operating a Head 
        Start program.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (17) The term ``State'' means a State, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, 
        Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands of the United 
        States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern [Mariana 
        Islands, but for fiscal years ending before October 1, 
        2001 (and fiscal year 2002, if the legislation 
        described in section 640(a)(2)(B)(iii) has not been 
        enacted before September 30, 2001), also means the 
        Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the 
        Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.] Mariana 
        Islands.
          (18) The term ``homeless child'' means a child 
        described in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento 
        Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)).
          (19) The term ``limited English proficient'', used 
        with respect to a child, means a child--
                  (A) who is enrolled or preparing to enroll in 
                a Head Start program, Early Head Start program, 
                or other early care and education program;
                  (B)(i) who was not born in the United States 
                or whose native language is a language other 
                than English;
                  (ii)(I) who is an Indian (including an 
                Alaskan Native) or a native resident of a 
                United States territory; and
                  (II) who comes from an environment where a 
                language other than English has had a 
                significant impact on the child's level of 
                English language proficiency; or
                  (iii) who is migratory, whose native language 
                is a language other than English, and who comes 
                from an environment where a language other than 
                English is dominant; and
                  (C) whose difficulty in speaking or 
                understanding the English language may be 
                sufficient to deny such child--
                          (i) the ability to successfully 
                        achieve in a classroom in which the 
                        language of instruction is English; or
                          (ii) the opportunity to participate 
                        fully in society.

              FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PROGRAMS

    Sec. 638. The Secretary may, upon application by an agency 
which is eligible for designation as a Head Start agency 
pursuant to section 641, provide financial assistance to such 
agency for a period of 5 years for the planning, conduct, 
administration, and evaluation of a Head Start program focused 
primarily upon the children from low-income families who have 
not reached the age of compulsory school attendance which (1) 
will provide such comprehensive health, education, parental 
involvement, nutritional, social, and other services as will 
enable the children to attain their full potential and attain 
school readiness; and (2) will provide for direct participation 
of the parents of such children in the development, conduct, 
and overall program direction at the local level.

                    AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

    [Sec. 639. (a) There are authorized to be appropriated for 
carrying out the provisions of this subchapter such sums as may 
be necessary for fiscal years 1999 through 2003.
    [(b) From the amount appropriated under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall make available--
          [(1) for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2003 to 
        carry out activities authorized under section 642A, not 
        more than $35,000,000 but not less than the amount that 
        was made available for such activities for fiscal year 
        1998;
          [(2) not more than $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
        years 1999 through 2003 to carry out impact studies 
        under section 649(g); and
          [(3) not more than $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, 
        and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 
        years 2000 through 2003, to carry out other research, 
        demonstration, and evaluation activities, including 
        longitudinal studies, under section 649.]

SEC. 639. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
for carrying out the provisions of this subchapter 
$7,215,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $7,615,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2006, $8,015,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and such sums 
as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
    (b) Specific Programs.--From the amount appropriated under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall make available to carry out 
research, demonstration, and evaluation activities, including 
longitudinal studies under section 649, not more than 
$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may be 
necessary for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009, of which 
not more than $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 
2009 shall be available to carry out impact studies under 
section 649(g).

             ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS; LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE

    Sec. 640. (a)(1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (2) The Secretary shall reserve 13 percent of the amount 
appropriated for each fiscal year for use in accordance with 
the following order of priorities--
          [(A) Indian Head Start programs, services for 
        children with disabilities, and migrant and seasonal 
        Head Start programs, except that there shall be made 
        available for each fiscal year for use by Indian Head 
        Start programs and by migrant and seasonal Head Start 
        programs, on a nationwide basis, not less than the 
        amount that was obligated for use by Indian Head Start 
        programs and by migrant and seasonal Head Start 
        programs for fiscal year 1998;]
          (A) Indian Head Start programs, services for children 
        with disabilities, and migrant and seasonal Head Start 
        programs, except that--
                  (i) subject to the availability of 
                appropriations, the Secretary shall reserve for 
                each fiscal year for use by Indian Head Start 
                and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs 
                (referred to in this subparagraph as `covered 
                programs'), on a nationwide basis, a sum that 
                is the total of not less than 4 percent of the 
                amount appropriated under section 639 for that 
                fiscal year (for Indian Head Start programs), 
                and not less than 5 percent of that 
                appropriated amount (for migrant and seasonal 
                Head Start programs), except that--
                          (I) if reserving the specified 
                        percentages for Indian Head Start 
                        programs and migrant and seasonal Head 
                        Start programs would reduce the number 
                        of children served by Head Start 
                        programs, relative to the number of 
                        children served on the date of 
                        enactment of the Head Start 
                        Improvements for School Readiness Act, 
                        taking into consideration an 
                        appropriate adjustment for inflation, 
                        the Secretary shall reserve percentages 
                        that approach, as closely as 
                        practicable, the specified percentages 
                        and that do not cause such a reduction; 
                        and
                          (II) notwithstanding any other 
                        provision of this subparagraph, the 
                        Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal 
                        year for use by Indian Head Start 
                        programs and by migrant and seasonal 
                        Head Start programs, on a nationwide 
                        basis, not less than the amount that 
                        was obligated for use by Indian Head 
                        Start programs and by migrant and 
                        seasonal Head Start programs for the 
                        previous fiscal year;
                  (ii) after ensuring that each grant recipient 
                for a covered program has received an amount 
                sufficient to enable the grant recipient to 
                serve the same number of children in Head Start 
                programs as were served by such grant recipient 
                on the date of enactment of the Head Start 
                Improvements for School Readiness Act, taking 
                into consideration an appropriate adjustment 
                for inflation, and after allotting the funds 
                reserved under paragraph (3)(A) as specified in 
                paragraph (3)(D), the Secretary shall 
                distribute the remaining funds available under 
                this subparagraph for covered programs, by--
                          (I) distributing 65 percent of the 
                        remainder by giving priority to grant 
                        recipients in the States serving the 
                        smallest percentages of eligible 
                        children (as determined by the 
                        Secretary); and
                          (II) distributing 35 percent of the 
                        remainder on a competitive basis;''

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          [(C) training and technical assistance activities 
        which are sufficient to meet the needs associated with 
        program expansion and to foster program and management 
        improvement activities as described in section 648 of 
        this subchapter, in an amount for each fiscal year 
        which is not less than than 2 percent of the amount 
        appropriated for such fiscal year, of which not less 
        than $3,000,000 of the amount appropriated for such 
        fiscal year shall be made available to carry out 
        activities described in section 648(c)(4);]
          (C) training and technical assistance activities that 
        are sufficient to meet the needs associated with 
        program expansion and to foster program and management 
        improvement activities as described in section 648, in 
        an amount for each fiscal year that is equal to 2 
        percent of the amount appropriated under section 639 
        for such fiscal year, of which--
                  (i) 50 percent shall be made available to 
                Head Start agencies to comply with the 
                standards described in section 641A(a)(1) and 
                with the transportation safety regulations 
                issued pursuant to subsection (i) and section 
                645A(b)(11), and for the uses described in 
                clauses (iii), (iv), and (vii) of paragraph 
                (3)(B);
                  (ii) 50 percent shall be made available to 
                the Secretary to support a regional or State 
                system of early childhood education training 
                and technical assistance and to assist local 
                programs (including Indian Head Start programs 
                and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs) 
                in meeting the standards described in section 
                641A(a)(1); and
                  (iii) not less than $3,000,000 of the amount 
                in clause (ii) appropriated for such fiscal 
                year shall be made available to carry out 
                activities described in section 648(d)(4);

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (3)(A)(i) In order to provide assistance for activities 
specified in subparagraph (C) directed at the goals specified 
in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall reserve, from the 
amount (if any) by which the funds appropriated under section 
639(a) for a fiscal year exceed the adjusted prior year 
appropriation, a share equal to the sum of--
          (I) [60 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 
        1999, 50 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 
        2000, 47.5 percent of such excess amount for fiscal 
        year 2001, 35 percent of such excess amount for fiscal 
        year 2002, and] 25 percent of such excess amount for 
        fiscal year 2003 and 50 percent of such excess amount 
        for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009; and

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (B) Funds reserved under this paragraph (referred to in 
this paragraph as ``quality improvement funds'') shall be used 
to accomplish any or all of the following goals:
          (i) Ensuring that Head Start programs meet or exceed 
        [performance standards pursuant to section 
        641A(a)(1)(A).] standards and measures pursuant to 
        section 641A.
          [(ii) Ensuring that such programs have adequate 
        numbers of qualified staff, and that such staff are 
        furnished adequate training, including developing 
        skills in working with children with non-English 
        language background and children with disabilities, 
        when appropriate.]
          (ii) Ensuring that such programs have adequate 
        numbers of qualified staff, and that such staff is 
        furnished adequate training, including training to 
        promote the development of language skills, 
        premathematics skills, and prereading in young children 
        and in working with limited English proficient 
        children, children referred by child welfare services, 
        and children with disabilities, when appropriate.
          [(iii) Ensuring that salary levels and benefits are 
        adequate to attract and retain qualified staff for such 
        programs.]
          (iii) Developing and financing the salary scales and 
        benefits standards under section 644(a) and section 
        653, in order to ensure that salary levels and benefits 
        are adequate to attract and retain qualified staff for 
        such programs.
          [(iv) Using salary increases to improve staff 
        qualifications, and to assist with the implementation 
        of career development programs, for the staff of Head 
        Start programs, and to encourage the staff to 
        continually improve their skills and expertise by 
        informing the staff of the availability of Federal and 
        State incentive and loan forgiveness programs for 
        professional development.]
          (iv) Using salary increases to--
                  (I) assist with the implementation of quality 
                programs and improve staff qualifications;
                  (II) ensure that staff can promote the 
                language skills and literacy growth of children 
                and can provide children with a variety of 
                skills that have been identified, through 
                scientifically based early reading research, as 
                predictive of later reading achievement; and
                  (III) encourage the staff to continually 
                improve their skills and expertise by informing 
                the staff of the availability of Federal and 
                State incentive and loan forgiveness programs 
                for professional development.
          (v) Improving community-wide strategic planning and 
        needs assessments for such programs and collaboration 
        efforts for such programs, including collaborations to 
        increase program participation by underserved 
        populations of eligible children

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          [(vii) Ensuring that such programs have qualified 
        staff that can promote language skills and literacy 
        growth of children and that can provide children with a 
        variety of skills that have been identified, through 
        scientifically based reading research, as predictive of 
        later reading achievement.
          [(viii) Making such other improvements in the quality 
        of such programs as the Secretary may designate.]
          (vii) Providing assistance to complete postsecondary 
        coursework including scholarships or other financial 
        incentives, such as differential and merit pay, to 
        enable Head Start teachers to improve competencies and 
        the resulting child outcomes.
          (viii) Promoting the regular attendance and stability 
        of all Head Start children with particular attention to 
        highly mobile children, including children from migrant 
        and seasonal farmworking families (where appropriate), 
        homeless children, and children in foster care.
          (ix) Making such other improvements in the quality of 
        such programs as the Secretary may designate.
    (C) Quality improvement funds shall be used to carry out 
any or all of the following activities:
          (i)(I) Not less than one-half of the amount reserved 
        under this paragraph, to improve the compensation 
        (including benefits) of classroom teachers and other 
        staff of Head Start agencies and thereby enhance 
        recruitment and retention of qualified staff, including 
        recruitment and retention pursuant to achieving the 
        requirements set forth in section 648A(a). The 
        expenditure of funds under this clause shall be subject 
        to section 653. [Preferences in awarding salary 
        increases, in excess of cost-of-living allowances, with 
        such funds shall be granted to classroom teachers and 
        staff who obtain additional training or education 
        related to their responsibilities as employees of a 
        Head Start program.] Salary increases, in excess of 
        cost-of-living allowances, provided with such funds 
        shall be subject to the specific standards governing 
        salaries and salary increases established pursuant to 
        section 644(a).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (ii) To train classroom teachers and other staff to 
        meet the [education performance] additional educational 
        standards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B), through 
        activities--
                  (I) to promote children's language, 
                prereading and literacy growth, through 
                techniques identified through scientifically 
                based reading research;
                  [(II) If a Head Start agency certifies to the 
                Secretary for such fiscal year that part of the 
                funds set aside under sub-clause (I) to improve 
                wages cannot be expended by such agency to 
                improve wages because of the operation of 
                section 653, then such agency may expend such 
                part for any of the uses specified in this 
                subparagraph (other than wages.]
                  (II) to help limited English proficient 
                children attain the knowledge, skills, and 
                development specified in section 
                641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) and to promote the 
                acquisition of the English language by such 
                children and families;

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  [(IV) to provide training necessary to 
                improve the qualifications of the staff of the 
                Head Start agencies and to support staff 
                training, child counseling, and other services 
                necessary to address the problems of children 
                participating in Head Start programs, including 
                children from dysfunctional families, children 
                who experience chronic violence in their 
                communities, and children who experience 
                substance abuse in their families.]
                  (IV) to provide education and training 
                necessary to improve the qualifications of Head 
                Start staff, particularly assistance to enable 
                more instructors to be fully competent and to 
                meet the degree requirements under section 
                648A(a)(2)(A), and to support staff training, 
                child counseling, and other services necessary 
                to address the challenges of children 
                participating in Head Start programs, including 
                children from immigrant, refugee, and asylee 
                families, children from families in crisis, 
                children who experience chronic violence in 
                their communities, and children who experience 
                substance abuse in their families.
          (iii) To employ additional Head Start staff, 
        including staff necessary to reduce the child-staff 
        ratio, educational staff who have the qualifications 
        described in section 648A(a), and staff necessary to 
        coordinate a Head Start program with other services 
        available to children participating in such program and 
        to their families.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (v) To supplement amounts provided under paragraph 
        (2)(C) to provide training necessary to improve the 
        qualifications of the staff of the Head Start agencies, 
        and to support staff training, child counseling, and 
        other services necessary to address the problems of 
        children participating in Head Start [programs, 
        including children from dysfunctional families, 
        children who experience chronic violence in their 
        communities, and children who experience substance 
        abuse in their families] programs.
          (vi) To conduct outreach to homeless families in an 
        effort to increase the program participation of 
        eligible homeless children.
          (vii) To conduct outreach to migrant and seasonal 
        farmworking families and families with limited English 
        proficient children.
          [(vi)] (viii) Such other activities as the Secretary 
        may designate.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (4) Subject to section 639(b), the Secretary shall allot 
the remaining amounts appropriated in each fiscal year among 
the States, in accordance with latest satisfactory data so 
that--
          (A) each State receives an amount which is equal to 
        the amount the State received for fiscal year [1998]; 
        2003, and
          [(B) any amount available after all allotments are 
        made under subparagraph (A) for such fiscal year shall 
        be distributed proportionately on the basis of the 
        number of children less than 5 years of age from 
        families whose income is below the poverty line.
[For purposes of this paragraph, for each fiscal year the 
Secretary shall use the most recent data available on the 
number of children less than 5 years of age from families whose 
income is below the poverty line, as published by the 
Department of Commerce, unless the Secretary and the Secretary 
of Commerce determine that use of the most recent data 
available would be inappropriate or unreliable. If the 
Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce determine that some or 
all of the data referred to in this paragraph are inappropriate 
or unreliable, the Secretaries shall issue a report setting 
forth their reasons in detail.]
          (B) any amount available after all allotments are 
        made under subparagraph (A) for such fiscal year shall 
        be distributed as follows:
                  (i) Each State shall receive an amount 
                sufficient to enable such State to serve the 
                same number of children in Head Start programs 
                as were served by such State on the data of 
                enactment of the Head Start Improvements for 
                School Readiness Act, taking into consideration 
                an appropriate adjustment for inflation.
                  (ii) After ensuring that each State has 
                received the amount described in clause (i) and 
                after allotting the funds reserved under 
                paragraph (3)(A) as specified in paragraph 
                (3)(D), the Secretary shall distribute the 
                remaining balance, by--
                          (I) distributing 65 percent of the 
                        balance by giving priority to States 
                        serving the smallest percentages of 
                        eligible children (as determined by the 
                        Secretary); and
                          (II) distributing 35 percent of the 
                        balance on a competitive basis.
    (5)(A) From amounts reserved and allotted pursuant to 
paragraph (4), the Secretary shall reserve such sums as may be 
necessary to award the collaboration grants described in 
subparagraphs (B) and (D).
    [(B) From the reserved sums, the Secretary may award a 
collaboration grant to each State to facilitate collaboration 
regarding activities carried out in the State under this 
subchapter, and other activities carried out in, and by, the 
State that are designed to benefit low-income children and 
families and to encourage Head Start agencies to collaborate 
with entities involved in State and local planning processes 
(including the State lead agency administering the financial 
assistance received under the Child Care and Development Block 
Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and the entities 
providing resource and referral services in the State) in order 
to better meet the needs of low-income children and families.
    [(C) A State that receives a grant under subparagraph (B) 
shall--
          [(i) appoint an individual to serve as a State 
        liaison between--
                  [(I) the appropriate regional office of the 
                Administration for Children and Families and 
                agencies and individuals carrying out Head 
                Start programs in the State; and
                  [(II) agencies (including local educational 
                agencies) and entities carrying out programs 
                serving low-income children and families;
          [(ii) involve the State Head Start Association in the 
        selection of the individual, and involve the 
        association in determinations relating to the ongoing 
        direction of the collaboration;
          [(iii) ensure that the individual holds a position 
        with sufficient authority and access to ensure that the 
        collaboration described in subparagraph (B) is 
        effective and involves a range of State agencies;
          [(iv) ensure that the collaboration described in 
        subparagraph (B) involves coordination of Head Start 
        services with health care, welfare, child care, 
        education, and community service activities, family 
        literacy services, activities relating to children with 
        disabilities (including coordination of services with 
        those State officials who are responsible for 
        administering part C and section 619 of the Individuals 
        with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431-1445, 
        1419)), and services for homeless children;
          [(v) include representatives of the State Head Start 
        Association and local Head Start agencies in unified 
        planning regarding early care and education services at 
        both the State and local levels, including 
        collaborative efforts to plan for the provision of 
        full-working-day, full calendar year early care and 
        education services for children; and
          [(vi) encourage local Head Start agencies to appoint 
        a State level representative to represent Head Start 
        agencies within the State in conducting collaborative 
        efforts described in subparagraphs (B) and (D), and in 
        clause (v).
    [(D) Following the award of collaboration grants described 
in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall provide, from the 
reserved sums, supplemental funds for collaboration grants--
          [(i) to States that (in consultation with their State 
        Head Start Associations) develop statewide, regional, 
        or local unified plans for early childhood education 
        and child care that include the participation of Head 
        Start agencies; and
          [(ii) to States that engage in other innovative 
        collaborative initiatives, including plans for 
        collaborative training and professional development 
        initiatives for child care, early childhood education 
        and Head Start service managers, providers, and staff.]
    (B)(i) From the reserved sums, the Secretary shall award a 
collaboration grant to each State to facilitate collaboration 
between Head Start agencies and entities (including the State) 
that carry out other activities designed to benefit low-income 
families and children from birth to school entry.
    (ii) Grants described in clause (i) shall be used to--
          (I) encourage Head Start agencies to collaborate with 
        entities involved in State and local planning processes 
        to better meet the needs of low-income families and 
        children from birth to school entry;
          (II) encourage Head Start agencies to coordinate 
        activities with the State agency responsible for 
        administering the State program carried out under the 
        Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 
        U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and entities providing resources 
        and referral services in the State to make full-
        working-day and full calendar year services available 
        to children;
          (III) promote alignment of Head Start services with 
        State early learning and school readiness goals and 
        standards;
          (IV) promote better linkages between Head Start 
        agencies and other child and family agencies, including 
        agencies that provide health, mental health, or family 
        services, or other child or family supportive services; 
        and
          (V) carry out the activities of the State Director of 
        Head Start Collaboration authorized in subparagraph 
        (D).
    (C) In order to improve coordination and delivery of early 
education services to children in the State, a State that 
receives a grant under subparagraph (B) shall--
          (i) appoint an individual to serve as the State 
        Director of Head Start Collaboration;
          (ii) ensure that the State Director of Head Start 
        Collaboration holds a position with sufficient 
        authority and access to ensure that the collaboration 
        described in subparagraph (B) is effective and involves 
        a range of State agencies; and
          (iii) involve the State Head Start Association in the 
        selection of the Director and involve the Association 
        in determinations relating to the ongoing direction of 
        the collaboration office.
    (D) The State Director of Head Start Collaboration, after 
consultation with the State Advisory Council described in 
subparagraph (E), shall--
          (i) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
        of the Head Start Improvements for School Readiness 
        Act, conduct an assessment that--
                  (I) addresses the needs of Head Start 
                agencies in the State with respect to 
                collaborating, coordinating services, and 
                implementing State early learning and school 
                readiness goals and standards to better serve 
                children enrolled in Head Start programs in the 
                State;
                  (II) shall be updated on an annual basis; and
                  (III) shall be made available to the general 
                public within the State;
          (ii) assess the availability of high quality pre-
        kindergarten services for low-income children in the 
        State;
          (iii) develop a strategic plan that is based on the 
        assessment described in clause (i) that will--
                  (I) enhance collaboration and coordination of 
                Head Start services with other entities 
                providing early childhood programs and services 
                (such as child care and services offered by 
                museums), health care, mental health care, 
                welfare, child protective services, education 
                and community service activities, family 
                literacy services, reading readiness programs 
                (including such programs offered by public and 
                school libraries), services relating to 
                children with disabilities (including 
                coordination of services with those State 
                officials who are responsible for administering 
                section 619 and part C of the Individuals with 
                Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 
                1431 et seq.), and other early childhood 
                programs and services for limited English 
                proficient and homeless children (including 
                coordination of services with the Office of 
                Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children 
                and Youths under section 722(d)(3) of the 
                McKinney-Vinto Homeless Assistance Act (42 
                U.S.C. 11432(d)(3)));
                  (II) assist Head Start agencies to develop a 
                plan for the provision of full-working-day, 
                full calendar year services for children 
                enrolled in Head Start programs who need such 
                care;
                  (III) assist Head Start agencies to align 
                services with State early learning and school 
                readiness goals and standards and to facilitate 
                collaborative efforts to develop local school 
                readiness standards; and
                  (IV) enable agencies in the State to better 
                coordinate professional development 
                opportunities for Head Start staff, such as 
                by--
                          (aa) assisting 2- and 4-year public 
                        and private institutions of higher 
                        education to develop articulation 
                        agreements;
                          (bb) awarding grants to institutions 
                        of higher education to develop model 
                        early childhood education programs, 
                        including practica or internships for 
                        students to spend time in a Head Start 
                        or prekindergarten program;
                          (cc) working with local Head Start 
                        agencies to meet the degree 
                        requirements described in section 
                        648A(a)(2)(A), including providing 
                        distance learning opportunities for 
                        Head Start staff, where needed to make 
                        higher education more accessible to 
                        Head Start staff; and
                          (dd) enabling the State Head Start 
                        agencies to better coordinate outreach 
                        to eligible families;
          (iv) promote partnerships between Head Start 
        agencies, State governments, and the private sector to 
        help ensure that preschool children from low-income 
        families are receiving comprehensive services to 
        prepare the children to enter school ready to learn;
          (v) consult with the chief State school officer, 
        local educational agencies, and providers of early 
        childhood education and care to conduct unified 
        planning regarding early care and education services at 
        both the State and local levels, including undertaking 
        collaborative efforts to develop and make improvements 
        in school readiness standards;
          (vi) promote partnerships (such as the partnerships 
        involved with the Free to Grow initiative) between Head 
        Start agencies, schools, law enforcement, and substance 
        abuse and mental health treatment agencies to 
        strengthen family and community environments and to 
        reduce the impact on child development of substance 
        abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, and other high 
        risk behaviors that compromise healthy development;
          (vii) promote partnerships between Head Start 
        agencies and other organizations in order to enhance 
        the Head Start curriculum, including partnerships to 
        promote inclusion of more books in Head Start 
        classrooms and partnerships to promote coordination of 
        activities with the Ready-to-Learn Television program 
        carried out under subpart 3 of part D of title II of 
        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 6775 et seq.); and
          (viii) identify other resources and organizations 
        (both public and private) for the provision of in-kind 
        services to Head Start agencies in the State.
    (E)(i) The Governor of the State shall designate or 
establish a council to serve as the State advisory council on 
collaboration on early care and education activities for 
children from birth to school entry (in this subchapter 
referred to as the ``State Advisory Council'').
    (ii) The Governor may designate an existing entity to serve 
as the State Advisory Council, if the entity includes 
representatives described in subclause (I) through (XXIV) of 
clause (iii).
    (iii) Members of the State Advisory Council shall include, 
to the maximum extent possible--
          (I) the State Director of Head Start Collaboration;
          (II) a representative of the appropriate regional 
        office of the Administration for Children and Families;
          (III) a representative of the State educational 
        agency and local educational agencies;
          (IV) a representative of institutions of higher 
        education;
          (V) a representative (or representatives) of the 
        State agency (or agencies) responsible for health or 
        mental health care;
          (VI) a representative of the State agency responsible 
        for teacher professional standards, certification, and 
        licensing;
          (VII) a representative of the State agency 
        responsible for child care;
          (VIII) early childhood education professionals;
          (IX) kindergarten teachers and teachers in grades 1 
        through 3;
          (X) health care professionals;
          (XI) child development specialists, including 
        specialists in prenatal, infant, and toddler 
        development;
          (XII) a representative of the State agency 
        responsible for assisting children with developmental 
        disabilities;
          (XIII) a representative of the State agency 
        responsible for programs under part C of the 
        Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
        1431 et seq.);
          (XIV) a representative of the State interagency 
        coordinating councils established under section 641 of 
        the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
        U.S.C. 1441);
          (XV) a representative of the State Head Start 
        Association (where appropriate), and other 
        representatives of Head Start programs in the State;
          (XVI) a representative of the State network of child 
        care resources and referral agencies;
          (XVII) a representative of community-based 
        organizations;
          (XVIII) a representative of State and local providers 
        of early childhood education and child care;
          (XIX) a representative of migrant and seasonal Head 
        Start programs and Indian Head Start programs (where 
        appropriate);
          (XX) parents;
          (XXI) religious and business leaders;
          (XXII) the head of the State library administrative 
        agency;
          (XXIII) representatives of State and local 
        organizations and other entities providing professional 
        development to early care and education providers; and
          (XXIV) a representative of other entities determined 
        to be relevant by the chief executive officer of the 
        State.
    (iv)(I) The State Advisory Council shall be responsible 
for, in addition to responsibilities assigned to the council by 
the chief executive officer of the State--
          (aa) conducting a periodic statewide needs assessment 
        concerning early care and education programs for 
        children from birth to school entry;
          (bb) identifying barriers to, and opportunities for, 
        collaboration and coordination between entities 
        carrying out Federal and State child development, child 
        care, and early childhood education programs;
          (cc) developing recommendations regarding means of 
        establishing a unified data collection system for early 
        care and education programs throughout the State;
          (dd) developing a statewide professional development 
        and career ladder plan for early care and education in 
        the State; and
          (ee) reviewing and approving the strategic plan, 
        regarding collaborating and coordinating services to 
        better serve children enrolled in Head Start programs, 
        developed by the State Director of Head Start 
        Collaboration under subparagraph (D)(iii).
    (II) The State Advisory Council shall hold public hearings 
and provide an opportunity for public comment on the needs 
assessment and recommendations described in subclause (I). The 
State Advisory Council shall submit a statewide strategic 
report containing the needs assessment and recommendations 
described in subclause (I) to the State Director of Head Start 
Collaboration and the chief executive officer of the State.
    (III) After submission of a statewide strategic report 
under subclause (II), the State Advisory Council shall meet 
periodically to review any implementation of the 
recommendations in such report and any changes in State and 
local needs.
    [(E)] (F) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    [(F)] (G) * * *
    (6)(A) From amounts reserved and allotted pursuant to 
paragraphs (2) and (4), the Secretary shall use, for grants for 
programs described in section 645A(a), a portion of the 
combined total of such amounts equal to [7.5 percent for fiscal 
year 1999, 8 percent for fiscal year 2000, 9 percent for fiscal 
year 2001, 10 percent for fiscal year 2002, and 10 percent for 
fiscal year 2003, of the amount appropriated pursuant to 
section 639(a), except as provided in subparagraph (B)] 10 
percent for fiscal year 2004, 11 percent for fiscal year 2005, 
13 percent for fiscal year 2006, 15 percent for fiscal year 
2007, 17 percent for fiscal year 2008, and 18 percent for 
fiscal year 2009, of the amount appropriated pursuant to 
section 639(a). 
    [(B)(i) If the Secretary does not submit an interim report 
on the preliminary finding of the Early Head Start impact study 
currently being conducted by the Secretary (as of the date of 
enactment of the Head Start Amendments of 1998) to the 
appropriate committees by June 1, 2001, the amount of the 
reserved portion for fiscal year 2002 that exceeds the reserved 
portion for fiscal year 2001, if any, shall be used for quality 
improvement activities described in section 640(a)(3) and shall 
not be used to serve an increased number of eligible children 
under section 645A.
    [(ii) If the Secretary does not submit a final report on 
the Early Head Start impact study to the appropriate committees 
by June 1, 2002, or if the Secretary finds in the report that 
there are substantial deficiencies in the programs carried out 
under section 645A, the amount of the reserved portion for 
fiscal year 2003 that exceeds the reserved portion for fiscal 
year 2002, if any, shall be used for quality improvement 
activities described in section 640(a)(3) and shall not be used 
to serve an increased number of eligible children under section 
645A.
    [(iii) In this subparagraph:
          [(I) The term ``appropriate committees'' means the 
        Committee on Education and the Workforce and the 
        Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human 
        Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        Senate.
          [(II) The term ``reserved portion'', used with 
        respect to a fiscal year, means the amount required to 
        be used in accordance with subparagraph (A) for that 
        fiscal year.]
    [(C)] (B)(i) For any fiscal year for which the Secretary 
determines that the amount appropriated under section 639(a) is 
not sufficient to permit the Secretary to reserve the portion 
described in subparagraph (A) without reducing the number of 
children served by Head Start programs or adversely affecting 
the quality of Head Start services, relative to the number of 
children served and the quality of the services during the 
preceding fiscal year, the Secretary may reduce the percentage 
of funds [required to be] reserved for the portion described in 
subparagraph (A) for the fiscal year for which the 
determination is made, but not below the percentage required to 
be so reserved for the preceding fiscal year.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (f) The Secretary shall establish procedures to enable Head 
Start agencies to develop locally designed or specialized 
service delivery models to address local community [needs] 
needs, including--
          (1) models that leverage the capacity and 
        capabilities of the delivery system of early childhood 
        education and child care; and
          (2) procedures to provide for the conversion of part-
        day programs to full-day programs or part-day slots to 
        full-day slots.
    (g)(1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (A) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          [(C) the extent to which the applicant has undertaken 
        community-wide strategic planning and needs assessments 
        involving other community organizations and public 
        agencies serving children and families (including 
        organizations serving families in whose home English is 
        not the language customarily spoken), and organizations 
        and public entities serving children with 
        disabilities;]
          (C) the extent to which the applicant has undertaken 
        communitywide strategic planning and needs assessments 
        involving other community organizations and Federal, 
        State, and local public agencies serving children and 
        families (including organizations and agencies 
        providing family support services and protective 
        services to children and families and organizations 
        serving families in whose homes English is not the 
        language customarily spoken), and individuals, 
        organizations, and public entities serving children 
        with disabilities and homeless children including the 
        local educational agency liaison designated under 
        section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii);
          (D) the extent to which the family and community 
        needs assessment of the applicant reflects a need to 
        provide full-working-day or full calendar year services 
        and the extent to which, and manner in which, the 
        applicant demonstrates the ability to collaborate and 
        participate with [other local] the State and local 
        community providers of child care or preschool services 
        to provide full-working-day full calendar year 
        services;
          (E) the numbers of eligible children in each 
        community who would like to participate but are not 
        participating in a Head Start program or any other 
        early childhood program;

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (G) the extent to which the applicant proposes to 
        foster partnerships with other service providers in a 
        manner that will leverage the existing delivery systems 
        of such services and enhance the resource capacity of 
        the applicant; and
          (H) the extent to which the applicant, in providing 
        services, plans to coordinate with the local 
        educational agency serving the community involved, 
        including the local educational agency liaison 
        designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 
        McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
        11432(g)(1)(J)(ii), and with schools in which children 
        participating in a Head Start program operated by such 
        agency will enroll following such program, regarding 
        such services and the education services provided by 
        such local educational agency.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (i) The Secretary shall issue regulations establishing 
requirements for the safety features, and the safe operation, 
of vehicles used by Head Start agencies to transport children 
participating in Head Start programs and requirements to ensure 
the appropriate supervision and background checks of 
individuals with whom the agencies contract to transport those 
children.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (l)(1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (4)(A) For the purposes of paragraph (3), the Secretary 
shall conduct an annual consultation in each affected Head 
Start region, with tribal governments operating Head Start and 
Early Head Start programs.
    (B) The consultations shall be for the purpose of better 
meeting the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native children 
and families pertinent to subsections (a), (b), and (c) of 
section 641, taking into consideration funding allocations, 
distribution formulas, and other issues affecting the delivery 
of Head Start services within tribal communities.
    (C) The Secretary shall publish a notification of the 
consultations in the Federal Register prior to conducting the 
consultations.
    (D) A detailed report of each consultation shall be 
prepared and made available, on a timely basis, to all tribal 
governments receiving funds under this subchapter.
    (m) Enrollment of Homeless Children.--The Secretary shall 
issue regulations to remove barriers to the enrollment and 
participation of eligible homeless children in Head Start 
programs. Such regulations shall require Head Start agencies 
to--
          (1) implement policies and procedures to ensure that 
        eligible homeless children are identified and receive 
        appropriate priority for enrollment;
          (2) allow homeless children to apply to, enroll in, 
        and attend Head Start programs while required 
        documents, such as proof of residency, proof of 
        immunization, and other medical records, birth 
        certificates, and other documents, are obtained within 
        a reasonable timeframe (consistent with State law); and
          (3) coordinate individual Head Start programs with 
        efforts to implement subtitle B of title VII of the 
        McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 
        et seq.).
    (n) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this subchapter shall 
be construed to require a State to establish a program of early 
education for children in the State, to require any child to 
participate in a program of early education in order to attend 
preschool, or to participate in any initial screening prior to 
participation in such program, except as provided under section 
612(a)(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(3)) and consistent with section 614(a)(1)(C) 
of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(1)(C)).
    (o) Materials.--All curricula funded under this subchapter 
shall be scientifically based and age appropriate. Parents 
shall have the opportunity to examine any such curricula or 
instructional materials funded under this subchapter.
    [Sec. 641. (a) The Secretary is authorized to designate as 
a Head Start agency any local public or private nonprofit or 
for-profit agency, within a community, which (1) has the power 
and authority to carry out the purposes of this subchapter and 
perform the functions set forth in section 642 within a 
community; and (2) is determined by the Secretary (in 
consultation with the chief executive officer of the State 
involved, if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out 
Head Start programs) to be capable of planning, conducting, 
administering, and evaluating, either directly or by other 
arrangements, a Head Start program.
    [(b) For purposes of this subchapter, a community may be a 
city, county, or multicity or multicounty unit within a State, 
an Indian reservation (including Indians in any off-reservation 
area designated by an appropriate tribal government in 
consultation with the Secretary), or a neighborhood or other 
area (irrespective of boundaries or political subdivisions) 
which provides a suitable organizational base and possesses the 
commonality of interest needed to operate a Head Start program.
    [(c)(1) In the administration of the provisions of this 
section (subject to paragraph (2)), the Secretary shall, in 
consultation with the chief executive officer of the State 
involved if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out 
Head Start programs, give priority in the designation of Head 
Start agencies to any local public or private nonprofit or for-
profit agency which is receiving funds under any Head Start 
program on the date of the enactment of this Act unless the 
Secretary determines that the agency involved fails to meet 
program and financial management requirements, performance 
standards described in section 641A(a)(1), results-based 
performance measures developed by the Secretary under section 
641A(b), or other requirements established by the Secretary.
    [(2) If there is no agency of the type referred to in 
paragraph (1) because of any change in the assistance furnished 
to programs for economically disadvantaged persons, the 
Secretary shall, in consultation with the chief executive 
officer of the State if such State expends non-Federal funds to 
carry out Head Start programs, give priority in the designation 
of Head Start agencies to any successor agency that is 
operating a Head Start program in substantially the same manner 
as the predecessor agency that did receive funds in the fiscal 
year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is 
made.
    [(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
subsection, the Secretary shall not give such priority to any 
agency with respect to which financial assistance has been 
terminated, or an application for refunding has been denied, 
under this subchapter by the Secretary after affording such 
agency reasonable notice and opportunity for a full and fair 
hearing in accordance with section 646(a)(3).
    [(d) If no entity in a community is entitled to the 
priority specified in subsection (c), then the Secretary may 
designate a Head Start agency form among qualified applicants 
in such community. In selecting from among qualified applicants 
for designation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall 
give priority to any qualified agency that functioned as a Head 
Start delegate agency in the community and carried out a Head 
Start program that the Secretary determines met or exceeded 
such performance standards and such results-based performance 
measures. In selecting from among qualified applicants for 
designation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall 
consider the effectiveness of each such applicant to provide 
Head Start services, based on--
          [(1) any past performance of such applicant in 
        providing services comparable to Head Start services, 
        including how effectively such applicant provided such 
        comparable services;
          [(2) the plan of such applicant to provide 
        comprehensive health, nutritional, educational, social, 
        and other services needed to aid participating children 
        in attaining their full potential;
          [(3) the plan of such applicant to coordinate the 
        Head Start program it proposes to carry out, with other 
        preschool programs, including Even Start programs under 
        part B of chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et 
        seq.) and programs under part C and section 619 of the 
        Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
        1431-1445, 1419), and with the educational programs 
        such children will enter at the age of compulsory 
        school attendance;
          [(4) the plan of such applicant--
                  [(A) to seek the involvement of parents of 
                participating children in activities (at home 
                and in the center involved where practicable) 
                designed to help such parents become full 
                partners in the education of their children;
                  [(B) to afford such parents the opportunity 
                to participate in the development, conduct, and 
                overall performance of the program at the local 
                level;
                  [(C) to offer (directly or through referral 
                to local entities, such as entities carrying 
                out Even Start programs under part B of chapter 
                1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.), 
                public and school libraries, and family support 
                programs) to such parents--
                          [(i) family literacy services; and
                          [(i) parenting skills training;
                  [(D) to offer to parents of participating 
                children substance abuse counseling (either 
                directly or through referralto local entities), 
including information on drug-exposed infants and fetal alcohol 
syndrome;
                  [(E) at the option of such applicant, to 
                offer (directly or through referral to local 
                entities) to such parents--
                          [(i) training in basic child 
                        development;
                          [(ii) assistance in developing 
                        communication skills;
                          [(iii) opportunities for parents to 
                        share experiences with other parents; 
                        or
                          [(iv) any other activity designed to 
                        help such parents become full partners 
                        in the education of their children; and
                  [(F) to provide, with respect to each 
                participating family, a family needs assessment 
                that includes consultation with such parents 
                about the benefits of parent involvement and 
                about the activities described in subparagraphs 
                (C) (D), and (E) in which such parents may 
                choose to become involved (taking into 
                consideration their specific family needs, work 
                schedules, and other responsibilities);
          [(5) the ability of such applicant to carry out the 
        plans described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4);
          [(6) other factors related to the requirements of 
        this subchapter;
          [(7) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of 
        non-English background children and their families, 
        including needs related to the acquisition of the 
        English language;
          [(8) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of 
        children with disabilities;
          [(9) the plan of such applicant who chooses to assist 
        younger siblings of children who will participate in 
        the proposed Head Start program to obtain health 
        services from other sources; and
          [(10) the plan of such applicant to collaborate with 
        other entities carrying out early childhood education 
        and child care programs in the community.
    [(e) If no agency in the community receives priority 
designation under subsection (c), and there is no qualified 
applicant in the community, the Secretary shall designate a 
qualified agency to carry out the Head Start program in the 
community on an interim basis until a qualified applicant from 
the community is so designated.
    [(f) The Secretary shall require that the practice of 
significantly involving parents and area residents affected by 
the program in selection of Head Start agencies be continued.
    [(g) If the Secretary determines that a nonprofit agency 
and a for-profit agency have submitted applications for 
designation of equivalent quality under subsection (d), the 
Secretary may give priority to the nonprofit agency. In 
selecting from among qualified applicants for designation as a 
Head Start agency under subsection (d), the Secretary shall 
give priority to applicants that have demonstrated capacity in 
providing comprehensive early childhood services to children 
and their families.]

SEC. 641. DESIGNATION OF HEAD START AGENCIES.

    (a) Designation.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to 
        designate as a Head Start agency any local public or 
        private nonprofit or for-profit agency, within a 
        community-base organization that--
                  (A) has power and authority to carry out the 
                purpose of this subchapter and perform the 
                functions set forth in section 642 within a 
                community; and
                  (B) is determined to be capable of planning, 
                conducting, administering, and evaluating, 
                either directly or by other arrangements, a 
                Head Start program.
          (2) Required goals for designation.--In order to be 
        designated as a Head Start agency, an entity described 
        in paragraph (1) shall establish program goals for 
        improving the school readiness of children 
        participating in a program under this subchapter, 
        including goals for meeting the performance standards 
        and additional educational standards described in 
        section 641A and shall establish results-based school 
        readiness goals that are aligned with requirements and 
        expectations for local public schools.
          (3) Eligibility for subsequent grants.--In order to 
        receive a grant under this subchapter subsequent to the 
        initial grant provided following the date of enactment 
        of the Head Start Improvements for School Readiness 
        Act, an entity described in paragraph (1) shall 
        demonstrate that the entity has met or is making 
        progress toward meeting the goals described in 
        paragraph (2).
    (b) Communities.--For purposes of this subchapter, a 
community may be a city, county, or multicity or multicounty 
unit within a State, an Indian reservation (including Indians 
in any off-reservation area designated by an appropriate tribal 
government in consultation with the Secretary), or a 
neighborhood or other area (irrespective of boundaries or 
political subdivisions) that provides a suitable organizational 
base and possesses the commonality of interest needed to 
operate a Head Start program.
    (c) Priority in Designation.--In administering the 
provisions of this section, the Secretary shall, in 
consultation with the chief executive officer of the State 
involved, give priority in the designation (including 
redesignation) of Head Start agencies to any high-performing 
Head Start agency or delegate agency that--
          (1) is receiving assistance under this subchapter;
          (2) meets or exceeds program and financial management 
        requirements, standards described in section 
        641A(a)(1), results-based outcome measures described in 
        section 641A(b)(4), or other requirements established 
        by the Secretary;
          (3) has no unresolved programmatic deficiencies and 
        has not had findings of deficiencies during the last 
        triennial review under section 641A(c); and
          (4) can demonstrate, through agreements such as 
        memoranda of understanding, active collaboration with 
        the State in the provision of services for children 
        (such as the provision of extended day services, 
        education, professional development and training for 
        staff, and other types of cooperative endeavors).
    (d) Designation When Entity Has Priority.--If no entity in 
a community is entitled to the priority specified in subsection 
(c), the Secretary shall, after conducting an open competition, 
designate a Head Start agency from among qualified applicants 
in such community.
    (e) Effectiveness.--In selecting from among qualified 
applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the 
Secretary shall consider the effectiveness of each such 
applicant to provide Head Start services, based on--
          (1) any past performance of such applicant in 
        providing services comparable to Head Start services, 
        including how effectively such applicant provided such 
        comparable services;
          (2) the plan of such applicant to provide 
        comprehensive health, educational, nutritional, social, 
        and other services needed to aid participating children 
        in attaining their full potential, and to prepare 
        children to succeed in school;
          (3) the capacity of such applicant to serve eligible 
        children with scientifically based programs that 
        promote school readiness of children participating in 
        the program;
          (4) the plan of such applicant to meet standards set 
        forth in section 641A(a)(1), with particular attention 
        to the standards set forth in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
        of such section;
          (5) the plan of such applicant to coordinate the Head 
        Start program the applicant proposes to carry out with 
        other preschool programs, including--
                  (A) the Early Reading First and Even Start 
                programs under subparts 2 and 3 of part B of 
                title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6371 et seq., 
                6381 et seq.);
                  (B) programs under section 619 and part C of 
                the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
                (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);
                  (C) State prekindergarten programs;
                  (D) child care programs;
                  (E) the educational programs that the 
                children in the Head Start program involved 
                will enter at the age of compulsory school 
                attendance; and
                  (F) reading readiness programs such as those 
                conducted by public and school libraries;
          (6) the plan of such applicant to coordinate the Head 
        Start program that the applicant proposes to carry out 
        with public and private entities who are willing to 
        commit resources to assist the Head Start program in 
        meeting its program needs;
          (7) the plan of such applicant to collaborate with a 
        local library, where available, that is interested in 
        that collaboration, to--
                  (A) develop innovative programs to excite 
                children about the world of books, such as 
                programs that involve--
                          (i) taking children to the library 
                        for a story hour;
                          (ii) promoting the use of library 
                        cards;
                          (iii) developing a lending library or 
                        using a mobile library van; and
                          (iv) providing fresh books in the 
                        Head Start classroom on a regular 
                        basis;
                  (B) assist in literacy training for Head 
                Start teachers; and
                  (C) support parents and other caregivers in 
                literacy efforts;
          (8) the plan of such applicant--
                  (A) to seek the involvement of parents of 
                participating children in activities (at home 
                and in the center involved where practicable) 
                designed to help such parents become full 
                partners in the education of their children;
                  (B) to afford such parents the opportunity to 
                participate in the development and overall 
                conduct of the program at the local level;
                  (C) to offer (directly or through referral to 
                local entities, such as entities carrying out 
                Even Start programs under subpart 3 of part B 
                of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6381 et seq.), 
                public and school libraries, and entities 
                carrying out family support programs) to such 
                parents--
                          (i) family literacy services; and
                          (ii) parenting skills training;
                  (D) to offer to parents of participating 
                children substance abuse counseling (either 
                directly or through referral to local 
                entities), including information on the effect 
                of drug exposure on infants and fetal alcohol 
                syndrome;
                  (E) at the option of such applicant, to offer 
                (directly or through referral to local 
                entities) to such parents--
                          (i) training in basic child 
                        development (including cognitive 
                        development);
                          (ii) assistance in developing 
                        literacy and communication skills;
                          (iii) opportunities to share 
                        experiences with other parents 
                        (including parent mentor 
                        relationships);
                          (iv) regular in-home visitation; or
                          (v) any other activity designed to 
                        help such parents become full partners 
                        in the education of their children;
                  (F) to provide, with respect to each 
                participating family, a family needs assessment 
                that includes consultation with such parents 
                about the benefits of parent involvement and 
                about the activities described in subparagraphs 
                (C), (D), and (E) in which such parents may 
                choose to become involved (taking into 
                consideration their specific family needs, work 
                schedules, and other responsibilities); and
                  (G) to extend outreach to fathers, in 
                appropriate cases, in order to strengthen the 
                role of fathers in families, in the education 
                of their young children, and in the Head Start 
                program, by working directly with fathers and 
                father figures through activities such as--
                          (i) in appropriate cases, including 
                        fathers in home visits and providing 
                        opportunities for direct father-child 
                        interactions; and
                          (ii) targeting increased male 
                        participation in the conduct of the 
                        program;
          (9) the ability of such applicant to carry out the 
        plans described in paragraphs (2), (4), and (5);
          (10) other factors related to the requirements of 
        this subchapter;
          (11) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of 
        limited English proficient children and their families, 
        including procedures to identify such children, plans 
        to provide trained personnel, and plans to provide 
        services to assist the children in making progress 
        toward the acquisition of the English language;
          (12) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of 
        children with disabilities;
          (13) the plan of such applicant who chooses to assist 
        younger siblings of children who will participate in 
        the Head Start program, to obtain health services from 
        other sources;
          (14) the plan of such applicant to collaborate with 
        other entities carrying out early childhood education 
        and child care programs in the community; and
          (15) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of 
        homeless children and children in foster care.''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 641A. QUALITY STANDARDS; MONITORING OF HEAD START AGENCIES AND 
                    PROGRAMS.

    (a) Quality Standards.--
          (1) * * *
                  (A) performance standards with respect to 
                services required to be provided, including 
                health, parental involvement, nutritional, 
                social, transition activities described in 
                section [642(d)] 642(c), and other services;
                  (B)(i) [education performance standards] 
                educational performance standards to ensure the 
                school readiness of children participating in a 
                Head Start program, on completion of the Head 
                Start program and prior to entering school; and
                  [(ii) additional education performance 
                standards to ensure that the children 
                participating in the program, at a minimum--
                          [(I) develop phonemic, print, and 
                        numeracy awareness;
                          [(II) understand and use language to 
                        communicate for various purposes;
                          [(III) understand and use 
                        increasingly complex and varied 
                        vocabulary;
                          [(IV) develop and demonstrate and 
                        appreciation of books; and
                          [(V) in the case of non-English 
                        background children, progress toward 
                        acquisition of the English language.]
                  (ii) additional educational standards based 
                on the recommendations of the National Academy 
                of Sciences panel described in section 649(h) 
                and other experts in the field, to ensure that 
                the curriculum involved addresses, and that the 
                children participating in the program show 
                appropriate progress toward developing and 
                applying, the recommended educational outcomes, 
                after the panel considers the appropriateness 
                of additional educational standards relating 
                to--
                          (I) language skills related to 
                        listening, understanding, speaking, and 
                        communicating, including--
                                  (aa) understanding and use of 
                                a diverse vocabulary (including 
                                knowing the names of colors) 
                                and knowledge of how to use 
                                oral language to communicate 
                                for various purposes;
                                  (bb) narrative abilities 
                                used, for example, to 
                                comprehend, tell, and respond 
                                to a story, or to comprehend 
                                instructions;
                                  (cc) ability to detect and 
                                produce sounds of the language 
                                the child speaks or is 
                                learning; and
                                  (dd) clarity of pronunciation 
                                and speaking in syntactically 
                                and grammatically correct 
                                sentences;
                          (II) prereading knowledge and skills, 
                        including--
                                  (aa) alphabet knowledge 
                                including knowing the letter 
                                names and associating letters 
                                with their shapes and sounds in 
                                the language the child speaks 
                                or is learning;
                                  (bb) phonological awareness 
                                and processes that support 
                                reading, for example, rhyming, 
                                recognizing speech sounds and 
                                separate syllables in spoken 
                                words, and putting speech 
                                sounds together to make words;
                                  (cc) knowledge, interest in, 
                                and appreciation of books, 
                                reading, and writing (either 
                                alone or with others), and 
                                knowledge that books have parts 
                                such as the front, back, and 
                                title page;
                                  (dd) early writing, including 
                                the ability to write one's own 
                                name and other words and 
                                phrases; and
                                  (ee) print awareness and 
                                concepts, including recognizing 
                                different forms of print and 
                                understanding the association 
                                between spoken and written 
                                words;
                          (III) premathematics knowledge and 
                        skills, including--
                                  (aa) number recognition;
                                  (bb) use of early number 
                                concepts and operations, 
                                including counting, simple 
                                adding and subtracting, and 
                                knowledge of quantitative 
                                relationships such as part 
                                versus whole and comparison of 
                                numbers of objects;
                                  (cc) use of early space and 
                                location concepts including 
                                recognizing shapes, 
                                classification, striation, and 
                                understanding directionality; 
                                and
                                  (dd) early pattern skills and 
                                measurement, including 
                                recognizing and extending 
                                simple patterns and measuring 
                                length, weight, and time;
                          (IV) scientific abilities, 
                        including--
                                  (aa) building awareness about 
                                scientific skills and methods, 
                                such as gathering, describing, 
                                and recording information, 
                                making observations, and making 
                                explanations and predictions; 
                                and
                                  (bb) expanding scientific 
                                knowledge of the environment, 
                                time, temperature, and cause 
                                and effect relationships;
                          (V) general cognitive abilities 
                        related to academic achievement and 
                        child development, including--
                                  (aa) reasoning, planning, and 
                                problemsolving skills;
                                  (bb) ability to engage, 
                                sustain attention, and persist 
                                on challenging tasks;
                                  (cc) intellectual curiosity, 
                                initiative, and task 
                                engagement; and
                                  (dd) motivation to achieve 
                                and master concepts and skills;
                          (VI) social and emotional development 
                        related to early learning and school 
                        success, including developing--
                                  (aa) the ability to develop 
                                social relationships, 
                                demonstrate cooperative 
                                behaviors, and relate to 
                                teachers and peers in positive 
                                and respectful ways;
                                  (bb) an understanding of the 
                                consequences of actions, 
                                following rules, and 
                                appropriately expressing 
                                feelings;
                                  (cc) a sense of self, such as 
                                self-awareness, independence, 
                                and confidence;
                                  (dd) the ability to control 
                                negative behaviors with 
                                teachers and peers that include 
                                impulsiveness, aggression, and 
                                noncompliance; and
                                  (ee) knowledge of civic 
                                society and surrounding 
                                communities;
                          (VII) physical development, including 
                        developing--
                                  (aa) fine motor skills, such 
                                as strength, manual dexterity, 
                                and hand-eye coordination; and
                                  (bb) gross motor skills, such 
                                as balance and coordinated 
                                movements; and
                          (VIII) in the case of limited English 
                        proficient children, progress toward 
                        acquisition of the English language 
                        while making meaningful progress in 
                        attaining the knowledge, skills, 
                        abilities, and development described in 
                        subclauses (I) through (VII);

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  (D) standards relating to the condition and 
                location of facilities for such agencies, 
                programs, and [projects; and] projects, 
                including regulations that require that the 
                facilities used by Head Start agencies 
                (including Early Head Start agencies) and 
                delegate agencies for regularly scheduled 
                center-based and combination program option 
                classroom activities--
                          (i) shall be in compliance with State 
                        and local requirements concerning 
                        licensing for such facilities; and
                          (ii) shall be accessible by State and 
                        local authorities for purposes of 
                        monitoring and ensuring compliance.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (2) Considerations in developing standards.--In 
        developing the regulations required under paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary shall--
                  (A) * * *
                  (B) take into consideration--
                          (i) past experience with use of the 
                        standards in effect under this 
                        subchapter on [the date of enactment of 
                        this section] the date of enactment of 
                        the Head Start Improvements for School 
                        Readiness Act;
                          (ii) changes over the period since 
                        [the date of enactment of this Act] the 
                        date of enactment of the Head Start 
                        Improvements for School Readiness Act 
                        in the circumstances and problems 
                        typically facing children and families 
                        served by Head Start agencies;

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                          (vi) changes in the population of 
                        children who are eligible to 
                        participate in Head Start programs, 
                        including the language background and 
                        family structure of such children[; 
                        and];
                          (vii) the need for, and state-of-the-
                        art developments relating to, local 
                        policies and activities designed to 
                        ensure that children participating in 
                        Head Start programs make a successful 
                        transition to [public schools] the 
                        schools that the children will be 
                        attending; and
                          (viii) the unique challenges faced by 
                        individual programs, including those 
                        programs that are seasonal or short 
                        term and those programs that serve 
                        rural populations; and
                  (C)(i) review and revise as necessary the 
                performance standards in effect under this 
                subsection; and
                  (ii) ensure that any such revisions in the 
                performance standards will not result in the 
                elimination of or any reduction in the scope or 
                types of health, education, parental 
                involvement, nutritional, social, or other 
                services required to be provided under such 
                standards as in effect on [the date of 
                enactment of the Coats Human Services 
                Reauthorization Act of 1998] the date of 
                enactment of the Head Start Improvements for 
                School Readiness Act.
                  (D) consult with Indian tribes, American 
                Indian and Alaska Native experts in early 
                childhood development, linguists, and the 
                National Indian Head Start Directors 
                Association on the review and promulgation of 
                program standards and measures (including 
                standards and measures for language acquisition 
                and school readiness).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (4) Evaluations and corrective actions for delegate 
        agencies.--
                  (A) Procedures.--The Head Start agency shall 
                establish procedures relating to its delegate 
                agencies, including--
                          (i) procedures for evaluating 
                        delegate agencies;
                          (ii) procedures for defunding 
                        delegate agencies; and
                          (iii) procedures for appealing a 
                        defunding decision relating to a 
                        delegate agency.
                  (B) Evaluations.--Each Head Start agency--
                          (i) shall evaluate its delegate 
                        agencies using the procedures 
                        established pursuant to this section, 
                        including subparagraph (A); and
                          (ii) shall inform the delegate 
                        agencies of the deficiencies identified 
                        through the evaluation that shall be 
                        corrected.
                  (C) Remedies to ensure corrective actions.--
                In the event that the Head Start agency 
                identifies a deficiency for a delegate agency 
                through the evaluation, the Head Start agency 
                may--
                          (i) initiate procedures to terminate 
                        the designation of the agency unless 
                        the agency corrects the deficiency;
                          (ii) conduct monthly monitoring 
                        visits to such delegate agency until 
                        all deficiencies are corrected or the 
                        Head Start agency decides to defund 
                        such delegate agency; and
                          (iii) release funds to such delegate 
                        agency only as reimbursements until all 
                        deficiencies are corrected or the Head 
                        Start agency decides to defund such 
                        delegate agency.
                  (D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph shall be construed to impact or 
                obviate the responsibilities of the Secretary 
                with respect to Head Start agencies or delegate 
                agencies receiving funding under this 
                subchapter.
    (b) * * *
          (1) * * *
          [(2) Characteristics of measures.--] (2) 
        Characteristics and use of measures._The performance 
        measures developed under this subsection shall--
                  (A) be used to assess the impact of the 
                various services provided by Head Start 
                programs and, to the extent the Secretary finds 
                appropriate, administrative and financial 
                management practices of such programs;
                  (B) be adaptable for use in self-assessment, 
                peer review, and program evaluation of 
                individual Head Start agencies and programs[, 
                not later than July 1, 1999; and];
                  (C) be developed for other program purposes 
                determined by the Secretary[.];
        [The performance measures shall include the performance 
        standards described in subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii).]
                  (D) measure characteristics that are strongly 
                predictive (as determined on a scientific 
                basis) of a child's school readiness and later 
                performance in school;
                  (E) be appropriate for the population served; 
                and
                  (F) be reviewed not less than every 4 years, 
                based on advances in the science of early 
                childhood development.
        The performance measures shall include the performance 
        standards and additional educational standards 
        described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 
        (a)(1).
          (3) Use of measures.--The Secretary shall use the 
        performance measures developed pursuant to this 
        subsection--
                  (A) to identify strengths and weaknesses in 
                the operation of Head Start programs 
                nationally, regionally, and locally[; and];
                  (B) to identify problem areas that may 
                require additional training and technical 
                assistance resources[.]; and
                  (C) to enable Head Start agencies to 
                individualize programs of instruction to better 
                meet the needs of the child involved.
          [(4) Educational performance measures.--Such results-
        based performance measures shall include educational 
        performance measures that ensure that children 
        participating in Head Start programs--
                  [(A) know that letters of the alphabet are a 
                special category of visual graphics that can be 
                individually named;
                  [(B) recognize a word as a unit of print;
                  [(C) identify at least 10 letters of the 
                alphabet; and
                  [(D) associate sounds with written words.]
          (4) Results-based outcome measures.--Results-based 
        outcome measures shall be designed for the purpose of 
        promoting the knowledge, skills, abilities, and 
        development, described in subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) of 
        children participating in Head Start programs that are 
        strongly predictive (as determined on a scientific 
        basis) of a child's school readiness and later 
        performance in school.
          [(5) Additional local results-based performance 
        measures.--In addition to other applicable results-
        based performance measures, Head Start agencies may 
        establish local results-based educational performance 
        measures.]
          (5) Additional local results-based educational 
        measures and goals.--Head Start agencies may establish 
        and implement additional local results-based 
        educational measures and goals.
    (c) Monitoring of Local Agencies and Programs.--
          (1) In general.--In order to determine whether Head 
        Start agencies meet standards established under this 
        subchapter and results-based performance measures 
        developed by the Secretary under subsection (b) with 
        respect to program, administrative, financial 
        management, and other requirements, the Secretary shall 
        conduct the following reviews of designated Head Start 
        agencies, and of the Head Start programs and Head Start 
        centers operated by such agencies:
                  (A) A full review of each [such agency] Head 
                Start center at least once during each 3-year 
                period.
                  (B) * * *
                  [(C) Followup reviews including prompt return 
                visits to agencies and programs that fail to 
                meet the standards.]
                  (C) Unannounced site inspections of Head 
                Start centers, as appropriate.
                  (D) Followup reviews including--
                          (i) prompt return visits to agencies, 
                        programs, and centers that fail to meet 
                        1 or more of the performance measures 
                        developed by the Secretary under 
                        subsection (b); and
                          (ii) a review of programs with 
                        citations that include findings of 
                        deficiencies not later than 6 months 
                        after the date of such citation.
                  [(D)] (E) Other reviews as appropriate.
          [(2) Conduct of reviews.--The Secretary shall ensure 
        that reviews described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) 
        of paragraph (1)--
                  [(A) are performed, to the maximum extent 
                practicable, by employees of the Department of 
                Health and Human Services who are knowledgeable 
                about Head Start programs;
                  [(B) are supervised by such an employee at 
                the site of such Head Start agency;
                  [(C) are conducted by review teams that shall 
                include individuals who are knowledgeable about 
                Head Start programs and, to the maximum extent 
                practicable, the diverse (including linguistic 
                and cultural) needs of eligible children 
                (including children with disabilities) and 
                their families;
                  [(D) include as part of the reviews of the 
                programs, a review and assessment of program 
                effectiveness, as measured in accordance with 
                the results-based performance measures 
                developed by the Secretary pursuant to 
                subsection (b) and with the performance 
                standards established pursuant to subparagraphs 
                (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1);
                  [(E) seek information from the communities 
                and the States involved about the performance 
                of the programs, and the efforts of the Head 
                Start agencies to collaborate with the entities 
                carrying out early childhood education and 
                child care programs in the community.]
          (2) Conduct of Reviews.--The Secretary shall ensure 
        that reviews described in paragraph (1)--
                  (A) that incorporate a monitoring visit, may 
                incorporate the visit without prior notice of 
                the visit to the agency involved or with such 
                limited prior notice as is necessary to ensure 
                the participation of parents and key staff 
                members;
                  (B) are conducted by review teams that shall 
                include individuals who are knowledgeable about 
                Head Start and other early childhood education 
                programs and, to the maximum extent 
                practicable, the diverse (including linguistic 
                and cultural) needs of eligible children 
                (including children with disabilities) and 
                limited English proficient children and their 
                families;
                  (C) include as part of the reviews of the 
                programs, a review and assessment of program 
                effectiveness, as measured in accordance with 
                the results-based performance measures 
                developed by the Secretary pursuant to 
                subsection (b) and with the standards 
                established pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and 
                (B) of subsection (a)(1);
                  (D) seek information from the communities and 
                States where Head Start programs exist about 
                innovative or effective collaborative efforts, 
                barriers to collaboration, and the efforts of 
                the Head Start agencies to collaborate with the 
                entities carrying out early childhood education 
                and child care programs in the community;
                  (E) include as part of the reviews of the 
                programs, a review and assessment of whether 
                the programs are in conformity with the income 
                eligibility requirements under section 645 and 
                regulations promulgated under such section;
                  (F) include as part of the reviews of the 
                programs, a review and assessment of whether 
                programs have adequately addressed the 
                population and community needs (including needs 
                of populations of limited English proficient 
                children and children of migrant and seasonal 
                farmworking families); and
                  (G) include as part of the reviews of the 
                programs, data from the results of periodic 
                child assessments, and a review and assessment 
                of child outcomes and performance as they 
                relate to State, local, and agency-determined 
                school readiness goals.
    (d) Corrective Action; Termination.--
          (1) Determination.--If the Secretary determines, on 
        the basis of a review pursuant to subsection (c), that 
        a Head Start agency designated pursuant to section 641 
        fails to meet the standards described in subsection (a) 
        or results-based performance measures developed by the 
        Secretary under subsection (b), the Secretary shall--
                  (A) inform the agency of the deficiencies 
                that shall be corrected and identify the 
                technical assistance to be provided consistent 
                with (3);

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (e) Summaries of Monitoring Outcomes.--Not later than 120 
days after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
publish a summary report on the findings of reviews conducted 
under subsection (c) and on the outcomes of quality improvement 
plans implemented under subsection (d), during such fiscal 
year, [Such report shall be widely disseminated and available 
for public review in both written and electronic formats.] The 
information contained in such report shall be made available to 
all parents with children receiving assistance under this 
subchapter in an understandable and uniform format, and to the 
extent practicable, provided in a language that the parents can 
understand. Such information shall be made widely available 
through public means such as distribution through public 
agencies, and, at a minimum, by posting such information on the 
Internet immediately upon publication.
    (f) Reduction of Grants and Redistribution of Funds in 
Cases of Under-Enrollment.--
          (1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                  (A) Actual enrollment.--The term ``actual 
                enrollment'' means, with respect to the program 
                of a Head Start agency, the actual number of 
                children enrolled in such program and reported 
                by the agency (as required in paragraph (2)) in 
                a given month.
                  (B) Base grant.--The term ``base grant'' 
                means, with respect to a Head Start agency for 
                a fiscal year, that portion of the grant 
                derived--
                          (i) from amounts reserved for use in 
                        accordance with section 640(a)(2)(A), 
                        for a Head Start agency administering 
                        an Indian Head Start program or migrant 
                        and seasonal Head Start program;
                          (ii) from amounts reserved for 
                        payments under section 640(a)(2)(B); or
                          (iii) from amounts available under 
                        section 640(a)(2)(D) or allotted among 
                        States under section 640(a)(4).
                  (C) Funded enrollment.--The term ``funded 
                enrollment'' means, with respect to the program 
                of a Head Start agency in a fiscal year, the 
                number of children that the agency is funded to 
                serve through a grant for the program during 
                such fiscal year, as indicated in the grant 
                agreement.
          (2) Enrollment reporting requirement for current 
        fiscal year.--Each entity carrying out a Head Start 
        program shall report on a monthly basis to the 
        Secretary and the relevant Head Start agency--
                  (A) the actual enrollment in such program; 
                and
                  (B) if such actual enrollment is less than 
                the funded enrollment, any apparent reason for 
                such enrollment shortfall.
          (3) Secretarial review and plan.--The Secretary 
        shall--
                  (A) on a semiannual basis, determine which 
                Head Start agencies are operating with an 
                actual enrollment that is less than the funded 
                enrollment based on not less than 4 consecutive 
                months of data;
                  (B) for each such Head Start agency operating 
                a program with an actual enrollment that is 
                less than 95 percent of its funded enrollment, 
                as determined under subparagraph (A), develop, 
                in collaboration with such agency, a plan and 
                timetable for reducing or eliminating under-
                enrollment taking into consideration--
                          (i) the quality and extent of the 
                        outreach, recruitment, and community 
                        needs assessment conducted by such 
                        agency;
                          (ii) changing demographics, mobility 
                        of populations, and the identification 
                        of new underserved low-income 
                        populations;
                          (iii) facilities-related issues that 
                        may impact enrollment;
                          (iv) the ability to provide full-day 
                        programs, where needed, through Head 
                        Start funds or through collaboration 
                        with entities carrying out other 
                        preschool or child care programs, or 
                        programs with other funding sources 
                        (where available);
                          (v) the availability and use by 
                        families of other preschool and child 
                        care options (including parental care) 
                        in the local catchment area; and
                          (vi) agency management procedures 
                        that may impact enrollment; and
                  (C) provide timely and ongoing technical 
                assistance to each agency described in 
                subparagraph (B) for the purpose of 
                implementing the plan described in such 
                subparagraph.
          (4) Implementation.--Upon receipt of the technical 
        assistance described in paragraph (3)(C), a Head Start 
        agency shall immediately implement the plan described 
        in paragraph (3)(B).
          (5) Secretarial action for continued under-
        enrollment.--If, 1 year after the date of 
        implementation of the plan described in paragraph 
        (3)(B), the Head Start agency continues to operate a 
        program at less than full enrollment, the Secretary 
        shall, where determined appropriate, continue to 
        provide technical assistance to such agency.
          (6) Secretarial review and adjustment for chronic 
        under-enrollment.--
                  (A) In general.--If, after receiving 
                technical assistance and developing and 
                implementing a plan to the extent described in 
                paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) for 18 months, a 
                Head Start agency is still operating a program 
                with an actual enrollment that is less than 95 
                percent of its funded enrollment, the Secretary 
                may--
                          (i) designate such agency as 
                        chronically under-enrolled; and
                          (ii) recapture, withhold, or reduce 
                        the base grant for the program by, a 
                        percentage equal to the percentage 
                        difference between funded enrollment 
                        and actual enrollment for the program 
                        for the most recent year in which the 
                        agency is determined to be under-
                        enrolled under paragraph (2)(B).
                  (B) Waiver or limitation of reductions.--If 
                the Secretary, after the implementation of the 
                plan described in paragraph (3)(B), finds 
                that--
                          (i) the causes of the enrollment 
                        shortfall, or a portion of the 
                        shortfall, are beyond the agency's 
                        control (such as serving significant 
                        numbers of migrant or seasonal 
                        farmworker, homeless, foster, or other 
                        highly mobile children);
                          (ii) the shortfall can reasonably be 
                        expected to be temporary; or
                          (iii) the number of slots allotted to 
                        the agency is small enough that under-
                        enrollment does not constitute a 
                        significant shortfall,
                the Secretary may, as appropriate, waive or 
                reduce the percentage recapturing, withholding, 
                or reduction otherwise required by subparagraph 
                (A).
                  (C) Procedural requirements; effective 
                date.--The actions taken by the Secretary under 
                this paragraph with respect to a Head Start 
                agency shall take effect 1 day after the date 
                on which--
                          (i) the time allowed for appeal under 
                        section 646(a) expires without an 
                        appeal by the agency; or
                          (ii) the action is upheld in an 
                        administrative hearing under section 
                        646.
          (7) In general.--The Secretary shall use amounts 
        recovered from a Head Start agency through recapturing, 
        withholding, or reduction under paragraph (6) in a 
        fiscal year--
                          (i) in the case of a Head Start 
                        agency administering an Indian Head 
                        Start program or a migrant and seasonal 
                        Head Start program, whose base grant is 
                        derived from amounts specified in 
                        paragraph (1)(C)(i), to redirect funds 
                        to 1 or more agencies that--
                                  (I) are administering Head 
                                Start programs serving the same 
                                special population; and
                                  (II) demonstrate that the 
                                agencies will use such 
                                redirected funds to increase 
                                enrollment in their Head Start 
                                programs in such fiscal year; 
                                or
                          (ii) in the case of a Head Start 
                        agency in a State, whose base grant is 
                        derived from amounts specified in 
                        clause (ii) or (iii) of paragraph 
                        (1)(C), to redirect funds to 1 or more 
                        agencies that--
                                  (I) are administering Head 
                                Start programs in the same 
                                State; and
                                  (II) make the demonstration 
                                described in clause (i)(II).
                  (B) Special rule.--If there is no agency 
                located in a State that meets the requirements 
                of subclauses (I) and (II) of subparagraph 
                (A)(ii), the Secretary shall use amounts 
                described in subparagraph (A) to redirect funds 
                to Head Start agencies located in other States 
                that make the demonstration described in 
                subparagraph (A)(i)(II).
                  (C) Adjustment to funded enrollment.--The 
                Secretary shall adjust as necessary the 
                requirements relating to funded enrollment 
                indicated in the grant agreement of a Head 
                Start agency receiving redistributed amounts 
                under this paragraph.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 641B. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD.

  (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``center of 
excellence'' means a Center of Excellence in Early Childhood 
designated under subsection (b).
  (b) Designation and Bonus Grants.--The Secretary shall, 
subject to the availability of funds under this subchapter, 
including under subsection (f), establish a program under which 
the Secretary shall--
          (1) designate not more than 200 exemplary Head Start 
        agencies (including Early Head Start agencies) as 
        Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood; and
          (2) make bonus grants to the centers of excellence to 
        carry out the activities described in subsection (d).
  (c) Application and Designation.--
          (1) Application.--
                  (A) Nomination and submission.--
                          (i) In general.--To be eligible to 
                        receive a designation as a center of 
                        excellence under subsection (b), a Head 
                        Start agency in a State shall be 
                        nominated by the Governor of the State 
                        and shall submit an application to the 
                        Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
                        and containing such information as the 
                        Secretary may require.
                          (ii) Indian and migrant and seasonal 
                        head start programs.--In the case of an 
                        agency operating an Indian Head Start 
                        program or a migrant and seasonal Head 
                        Start program, to be eligible to 
                        receive a designation as a center of 
                        excellence under subsection (b), such 
                        an agency shall be nominated by the 
                        Governor of the State and by its 
                        program branch and shall submit an 
                        application to the Secretary in 
                        accordance with clause (i).
                  (B) Contents.--At a minimum, the application 
                shall include--
                          (i) evidence that the Head Start 
                        program carried out by the agency has 
                        significantly improved the school 
                        readiness of, and enhanced academic 
                        outcomes for, children who have 
                        participated in the program;
                          (ii) evidence that the program meets 
                        or exceeds standards and performance 
                        measures described in subsections (a) 
                        and (b) of section 641A, as evidenced 
                        by successful completion of 
                        programmatic and monitoring reviews, 
                        and has no findings of deficiencies 
                        with respect to the standards and 
                        measures;
                          (iii) evidence that the program is 
                        making progress toward meeting the 
                        requirements described in section 648A;
                          (iv) evidence demonstrating the 
                        existence of a collaborative 
                        partnership between the Head Start 
                        agency and the State (or a State 
                        agency);
                          (v) a nomination letter from the 
                        Governor, demonstrating the agency's 
                        ability to carry out the coordination, 
                        transition, and training services of 
                        the program to be carried out under the 
                        bonus grant involved, including 
                        coordination of activities with State 
                        and local agencies that provide early 
                        childhood services to children and 
                        families in the community served by the 
                        agency; and
                          (vi) information demonstrating the 
                        existence of, or the agency's plan to 
                        establish, a local council for 
                        excellence in early childhood, which 
                        shall include representatives of all 
                        the institutions, agencies, and groups 
                        involved in the work of the center for, 
                        and the local provision of services to, 
                        eligible children and other at-risk 
                        children, and their families.
          (2) Selection.--In selecting agencies to designate as 
        centers of excellence under subsection (b), the 
        Secretary shall designate not less than 1 from each of 
        the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto 
        Rico.
          (3) Term of designation.--
                  (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), 
                the Secretary shall designate a Head Start 
                agency as a center of excellence for a 5-year 
                term. During the period of that designation, 
                subject to the availability of appropriations, 
                the agency shall be eligible to receive a bonus 
                grant under subsection (b).
                  (B) Revocation.--The Secretary may revoke an 
                agency's designation under subsection (b) if 
                the Secretary determines that the agency is not 
                demonstrating adequate performance or has had 
                findings of deficiencies described in paragraph 
                (1)(B)(ii).
          (4) Amount of bonus grant.--The Secretary shall base 
        the amount of funding provided through a bonus grant 
        made under subsection (b) to a center of excellence on 
        the number of children served at the center of 
        excellence. The Secretary shall, subject to the 
        availability of funding, make such a bonus grant in an 
        amount of not less than $100,000 per year.
    (d) Use of Funds.--
          (1) Activities.--A center of excellence that receives 
        a bonus grant under subsection (b) may use the funds 
        made available through the bonus grant--
                  (A) to provide Head Start services to 
                additional eligible children;
                  (B) to better meet the needs of working 
                families in the community served by the center 
                by serving more children in existing Early Head 
                Start programs (existing as of the date the 
                center is designated under this section) or in 
                full-working-day, full calendar year Head Start 
                programs;
                  (C) to model and disseminate best practices 
                for achieving early academic success, including 
                achieving school readiness and developing 
                prereading and premathematics skills for at-
                risk children and achieving the acquisition of 
                the English language for limited English 
                proficient children, and to provide seamless 
                service delivery for eligible children and 
                their families;
                  (D) to coordinate early childhood and social 
                services available in the community served by 
                the center for at-risk children (prenatal 
                through age 8) and their families, including 
                services provided by child care providers, 
                health care providers, and providers of income-
                based financial assistance, and other State and 
                local services;
                  (E) to provide training and cross training 
                for Head Start teachers and staff, and to 
                develop agency leaders;
                  (F) to provide effective transitions between 
                Head Start programs and elementary school, to 
                facilitate ongoing communication between Head 
                Start and elementary school teachers concerning 
                children receiving Head Start services, and to 
                provide training and technical assistance to 
                providers who are public elementary school 
                teachers and other staff of local educational 
                agencies, child care providers, family service 
                providers, and other providers of early 
                childhood services, to help the providers 
                described in this subparagraph increase their 
                ability to work with low-income, at-risk 
                children and their families; and
                  (G) to carry out other activities determined 
                by the center to improve the overall quality of 
                the Head Start program carried out by the 
                agency and the program carried out under the 
                bonus grant involved.
          (2) Involvement of other head start agencies and 
        providers.--Not later than the second year for which 
        the center receives a bonus grant under subsection (b), 
        the center, in carrying out activities under this 
        subsection, shall work with the center's delegate 
        agencies, several additional Head Start agencies, and 
        other providers of early childhood services in the 
        community involved, to encourage the agencies and 
        providers described in this sentence to carry out model 
        programs. The center shall establish the local council 
        described in subsection (c)(1)(B)(vi).
  (e) Research and Reports.--
          (1) Research.--The Secretary shall, subject to the 
        availability of funds to carry out this subsection, 
        make a grant to an independent organization to conduct 
        research on the ability of the centers of excellence to 
        improve the school readiness of children receiving Head 
        Start services, and to positively impact school results 
        in the earliest grades. The organization shall also 
        conduct research to measure the success of the centers 
        of excellence at encouraging the center's delegate 
        agencies, additional Head Start agencies, and other 
        providers of early childhood services in the 
        communities involved to meet measurable improvement 
        goals, particularly in the area of school readiness.
          (2) Report.--Not later than 48 months after the date 
        of enactment of the Head Start Improvements for School 
        Readiness Act, the organization shall prepare and 
        submit to the Secretary and Congress a report 
        containing the results of the research described in 
        paragraph (1).
  (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated for fiscal year 2004 and each subsequent fiscal 
year--
          (1) $90,000,000 to make bonus grants to centers of 
        excellence under subsection (b) to carry out activities 
        described in subsection (d);
          (2) $2,500,000 to pay for the administrative costs of 
        the Secretary in carrying out this section, including 
        the cost of a conference of centers of excellence; and
          (3) $2,000,000 for research activities described in 
        subsection (e).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


              [POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGENCIES

    [Sec. 642. (a) In order to be designated as a Head Start 
agency under this subchapter, an agency must have authority 
under its charter or applicable law to receive and administer 
funds under this chapter, funds and contributions from private 
or local public sources which may be used in support of a Head 
Start program, and funds under any Federal or State assistance 
program pursuant to which a public or private nonprofit or for-
profit agency (as the case may be) organized in accordance with 
this subchapter, could act as grantee, contractor, or sponsor 
of projects appropriate for inclusion in a Head Start program. 
Such an agency must also be empowered to transfer funds so 
received, and to delegate powers to other agencies, subject to 
the powers of its governing board and its overall program 
responsibilities. The power to transfer funds and delegate 
powers must include the power to make transfers and delegations 
covering component projects in all cases where this will 
contribute to efficiency and effectiveness or otherwise further 
program objectives.
    [(b) In order to be so designated, a Head Start agency 
shall also--
          [(1) establish effective procedures by which parents 
        and area residents concerned will be enabled to 
        directly participate in decisions that influence the 
        character of programs affecting their interests;
          [(2) provide for their regular participation in the 
        implementation of such programs;
          [(3) provide technical and other support needed to 
        enable parents and area residents to secure on their 
        own behalf available assistance from public and private 
        sources;
          [(4) seek the involvement of parents of participating 
        children in activities designed to help such parents 
        become full partners in the education of their 
        children, and to afford such parents the opportunity to 
        participate in the development, conduct, and overall 
        performance of the program at the local level;
          [(5) offer (directly or through referral to local 
        entities, such as entities carrying out Even Start 
        programs under part B of chapter 1 of title I of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)), to parents of participating 
        children, family literacy services and parenting skills 
        training;
          [(6) offer to parents of participating children 
        substance abuse counseling (either directly or through 
        referral to local entities), including information on 
        drug-exposed infants and fetal alcohol syndrome;
          [(7) at the option of such agency, offer (directly or 
        through referral to local entities), to such parents--
                  [(A) training in basic child development;
                  [(B) assistance in developing communication 
                skills;
                  [(C) opportunities to share experiences with 
                other parents;
                  [(D) regular in-home visitation; or
                  [(E) any other activity designed to help such 
                parents become full partners in the education 
                of their children;
          [(8) provide, with respect to each participating 
        family, a family needs assessment that includes 
        consultation with such parents about the benefits of 
        parent involvement and about the activities described 
        in paragraphs (4) through (7) in which such parents may 
        choose to be involved (taking into consideration their 
        specific family needs, work schedules, and other 
        responsibilities);
          [(9) consider providing services to assist younger 
        siblings of children participating in its Head Start 
        program to obtain health services from other sources;
          [(10) perform community outreach to encourage 
        individuals previously unaffiliated with Head Start 
        programs to participate in its Head Start program as 
        volunteers; and
          [(11)(A) inform custodial parents in single-parent 
        families that participate in programs, activities, or 
        services carried out or provided under this subchapter 
        about the availability of child support services for 
        purposes of establishing paternity and acquiring child 
        support; and
          [(B) refer eligible parents to the child support 
        offices of State and local governments.
    [(c) The head of each Head Start agency shall coordinate 
and collaborate with the State agency responsible for 
administering the State program carried out under the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et 
seq.), and other early childhood education and development 
programs, including Even Start programs under part B of chapter 
1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.) and programs under part C and 
section 619 of the Individuals withDisabilities Education Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1431-1445, 1419), serving the children and families served 
by the Head Start agency to carry out the provisions of this 
subchapter.
    [(d)(1) Each Head Start agency shall take steps to ensure, 
to the maximum extent possible, that children maintain the 
developmental and educational gains achieved in Head Start 
programs and build upon such gains in further schooling.
    [(2) A Head Start agency may take steps to coordinate with 
the local educational agency serving the community involved and 
with schools in which children participating in a Head Start 
program operated by such agency will enroll following such 
program, including--
          [(A) collaborating on the shared use of 
        transportation and facilities; and
          [(B) exchanging information on the provision of 
        noneducational services to such children.
    [(3) In order to promote the continued involvement of the 
parents of children that participate in Head Start programs in 
the education of their children upon transition to school, the 
Head Start agency shall--
          [(A) provide training to the parents--
                  [(i) to inform the parents about their rights 
                and responsibilities concerning the education 
                of their children; and
                  [(ii) to enable the parents to understand and 
                work with schools in order to communicate with 
                teachers and other school personnel, to support 
                the school work of their children, and to 
                participate as appropriate in decisions 
                relating to the education of their children; 
                and
          [(B) take other actions, as appropriate and feasible, 
        to support the active involvement of the parents with 
        schools, school personnel, and school-related 
        organizations.
    [(4) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of 
Education, shall--
          [(A) evaluate the effectiveness of the projects and 
        activities funded under section 642A;
          [(B) disseminate to Head Start agencies information 
        (including information from the evaluation required by 
        subparagraph (A)) on effective policies and activities 
        relating to the transition of children from Head Start 
        programs to public schools; and
          [(C) provide technical assistance to such agencies to 
        promote and assist such agencies to adopt and implement 
        such effective policies and activities.
    [(e) Head Start agencies shall adopt, in consultation with 
experts in child development and with classroom teachers, an 
assessment to be used when hiring or evaluating any classroom 
teacher in a center-based Head Start program. Such assessment 
shall measure whether such teacher has mastered the functions 
described in section 648A(a)(1).

[SEC. 642A. HEAD START TRANSITION.

    [Each Head Start agency shall take steps to coordinate with 
the local educational agency serving the community involved and 
with schools in which children participating in a Head Start 
program operated by such agency will enroll following such 
program, including--
          [(1) developing and implementing a systematic 
        procedure for transferring, with parental consent, Head 
        Start program records for each participating child to 
        the school in which such child will enroll;
          [(2) establishing channels of communication between 
        Head Start staff and their counterparts in the schools 
        (including teachers, social workers, and health staff) 
        to facilitate coordination of programs;
          [(3) conducting meetings involving parents, 
        kindergarten or elementary school teachers, and Head 
        Start program teachers to discuss the educational, 
        developmental, and other needs of individual children;
          [(4) organizing and participating in joint 
        transition-related training of school and Head Start 
        staff;
          [(5) developing and implementing a family outreach 
        and support program in cooperation with entities 
        carrying out parental involvement efforts under title I 
        of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
        (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);
          [(6) assisting families, administrators, and teachers 
        in enhancing educational and developmental continuity 
        between Head Start services and elementary school 
        classes; and
          [(7) linking the services provided in such Head Start 
        program with the education services provided by such 
        local educational agency.]

SEC. 642. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGENCIES.

  (a) In General.--In order to be designated as a Head Start 
agency under this subchapter, an agency shall have authority 
under its charter or applicable law to receive and administer 
funds provided under this subchapter, funds and contributions 
from private or local public sources that may be used in 
support of a Head Start program, and funds provided under any 
Federal or State assistance program pursuant to which a public 
or private nonprofit or for-profit agency (as the case may be) 
organized in accordance with this subchapter, could act as a 
grantee, contractor, or sponsor of projects appropriate for 
inclusion in a Head Start program. Such an agency shall also be 
empowered to transfer funds so received, and to delegate powers 
to other agencies, subject to the powers of its governing board 
and its overall program responsibilities. The power to transfer 
funds and delegate powers shall include the power to make 
transfers and delegations covering component projects in all 
cases in which that power will contribute to efficiency and 
effectiveness or otherwise further program objectives.
  (b) Additional Requirements.--In order to be designated as a 
Head Start agency under this subchapter, a Head Start agency 
shall also--
          (1) establish a program with all standards set forth 
        in section 641A(a)(1), with particular attention to the 
        standards set forth in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
        such section;
          (2) demonstrate the capacity to serve eligible 
        children with scientifically based curricula and other 
        interventions and support services that help promote 
        the school readiness of children participating in the 
        program;
          (3) establish effective procedures and provide for 
        the regular assessment of Head Start children, 
        including observational and direct formal assessment, 
        where appropriate;
          (4) seek the involvement of parents, area residents, 
        and local business in the design and implementation of 
        the program;
          (5) provide for the regular participation of parents 
        and area residents in the implementation of the 
        program;
          (6) provide technical and other support needed to 
        enable such parents and area residents to secure, on 
        their own behalf, available assistance from public and 
        private sources;
          (7) establish effective procedures to facilitate the 
        involvement of parents of participating children in 
        activities designed to help such parents become full 
        partners in the education of their children, and to 
        afford such parents the opportunity to participate in 
        the development and overall conduct of the program at 
        the local level;
          (8) conduct outreach to schools in which Head Start 
        children will enroll, local educational agencies, the 
        local business community, community-based 
        organizations, faith-based organizations, museums, and 
        libraries to generate support and leverage the 
        resources of the entire local community in order to 
        improve school readiness;
          (9) offer (directly or through referral to local 
        entities, such as entities carrying out Even Start 
        programs under subpart 3 of part B of title I of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 6381 et seq.)), to parents of participating 
        children, family literacy services, and parenting 
        skills training;
          (10) offer to parents of participating children 
        substance abuse and other counseling (either directly 
        or through referral to local entities), if needed, 
        including information on the effect of drug exposure on 
        infants and fetal alcohol syndrome;
          (11) at the option of such agency, offer (directly or 
        through referral to local entities), to such parents--
                  (A) training in basic child development 
                (including cognitive development);
                  (B) assistance in developing literacy and 
                communication skills;
                  (C) opportunities to share experiences with 
                other parents (including parent mentor 
                relationships);
                  (D) regular in-home visitation; or
                  (E) any other activity designed to help such 
                parents become full partners in the education 
                of their children;
          (12) provide, with respect to each participating 
        family, a family needs assessment that includes 
        consultation with such parents about the benefits of 
        parent involvement and about the activities described 
        in this subsection in which such parents may choose to 
        be involved (taking into consideration their specific 
        family needs, work schedules, and other 
        responsibilities);
          (13) consider providing services to assist younger 
        siblings of children participating in its Head Start 
        program, to obtain health services from other sources;
          (14) perform community outreach to encourage 
        individuals previously unaffiliated with Head Start 
        programs to participate in its Head Start program as 
        volunteers; and
          (15)(A) inform custodial parents in single-parent 
        families that participate in programs, activities, or 
        services carried out or provided under this subchapter 
        about the availability of child support services for 
        purposes of establishing paternity and acquiring child 
        support; and
          (B) refer eligible parents to the child support 
        offices of State and local governments.
  (c) Progress.--
          (1) In general.--Each Head Start agency shall take 
        steps to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that 
        children maintain the developmental and educational 
        gains achieved in Head Start programs and build upon 
        such gains in further schooling.
          (2) Coordination.--
                  (A) Local educational agency.--In communities 
                where both public prekindergarten programs and 
                Head Start programs operate, a Head Start 
                agency shall collaborate and coordinate 
                activities with the local educational agency or 
                other public agency responsible for the 
                operation of the prekindergarten program and 
                providers of prekindergarten, including 
                outreach activities to identify eligible 
                children.
                  (B) Elementary schools.--Head Start staff 
                shall, with the permission of the parents of 
                children enrolled in Head Start programs, 
                regularly communicate with the elementary 
                schools such children will be attending to--
                          (i) share information about such 
                        children;
                          (ii) get advice and support from the 
                        teachers in such elementary schools 
                        regarding teaching strategies and 
                        options; and
                          (iii) ensure a smooth transition to 
                        elementary school for such children.
                  (C) Other programs.--The head of each Head 
                Start agency shall coordinate activities and 
                collaborate with the State agency responsible 
                for administering the State program carried out 
                under the Child Care and Development Block 
                Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and 
                other entities carrying out early childhood 
                education and development programs, programs 
                under subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-
                Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 
                et seq.), Even Start programs under subpart 3 
                of part B of title I of the Elementary and 
                Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6381 
                et seq.), and programs under section 619 and 
                part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 
                Education Act (20 U.S.C 1419, 1431 et seq.), 
                serving the children and families served by the 
                Head Start agency.
          (3) Collaboration.--A Head Start agency shall take 
        steps to coordinate activities with the local 
        educational agency serving the community involved and 
        with schools in which children participating in a Head 
        Start program operated by such agency will enroll 
        following such program, including--
                  (A) collaborating on the shared use of 
                transportation and facilities;
                  (B) collaborating to reduce the duplication 
                of services while increasing the program 
                participation of underserved populations of 
                eligible children; and
                  (C) exchanging information on the provision 
                of noneducational services to such children.
          (4) Parental involvement.--In order to promote the 
        continued involvement of the parents of children that 
        participate in Head Start programs in the education of 
        their children upon transition to school, the Head 
        Start agency shall--
                  (A) provide training to the parents--
                          (i) to inform the parents about their 
                        rights and responsibilities concerning 
                        the education of their children; and
                          (ii) to enable the parents--
                                  (I) to understand and work 
                                with schools in order to 
                                communicate with teachers and 
                                other school personnel;
                                  (II) to support the 
                                schoolwork of their children; 
                                and
                                  (III) to participate as 
                                appropriate in decisions 
                                relating to the education of 
                                their children; and
                  (B) take other actions, as appropriate and 
                feasible, to support the active involvement of 
                the parents with schools, school personnel, and 
                school-related organizations.
    (d) Assessment.--Each Head Start agency shall adopt, in 
consultation with experts in child development and with 
classroom teachers, an assessment to be used when hiring or 
evaluating any classroom teacher in a center-based Head Start 
program. Such assessment shall measure whether such teacher has 
mastered the functions described in section 648A(a)(1) and 
attained a level of literacy appropriate to implement Head 
Start curricula.
    (e) Funded Enrollment; Waiting List.--Each Head Start 
agency shall enroll 100 percent of its funded enrollment and 
maintain an active waiting list at all times with ongoing 
outreach to the community and activities to identify 
underserved populations.''.

SEC. 642A. HEAD START TRANSITION AND ALIGNMENT WITH K-12 EDUCATION.

    Each Head Start agency shall take steps to coordinate 
activities with the local educational agency serving the 
community involved and with schools in which children 
participating in a Head Start program operated by such agency 
will enroll following such program, including--
          (1) developing and implementing a systematic 
        procedure for transferring, with parental consent, Head 
        Start program records for each participating child to 
        the school in which such child will enroll;
          (2) establishing ongoing channels of communication 
        between Head Start staff and their counterparts in the 
        schools (including teachers, social workers, health 
        staff, and local educational agency liaisons designated 
        under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento 
        Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii))) 
        to facilitate coordination of programs;
          (3) developing continuity of developmentally 
        appropriate curricula and practice between the Head 
        Start agency and local educational agency to ensure an 
        effective transition and appropriate shared 
        expectations for children's learning and development as 
        the children make the transition to school;
          (4) conducting meetings involving parents, 
        kindergarten or elementary school teachers, and Head 
        Start teachers to discuss the educational, 
        developmental, and other needs of individual children;
          (5) organizing and participating in joint training, 
        including transition-related training of school staff 
        and Head Start staff;
          (6) developing and implementing a family outreach and 
        support program, in cooperation with entities carrying 
        out parental involvement efforts under title I of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), and family outreach and support 
        efforts under subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-
        Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et 
        seq.), taking into consideration the language needs of 
        limited English proficient parents;
          (7) assisting families, administrators, and teachers 
        in enhancing educational and developmental continuity 
        and continuity of parental involvement in activities 
        between Head Start services and elementary school 
        classes;
          (8) linking the services provided in such Head Start 
        program with the education services, including services 
        relating to language, literacy, and numeracy, provided 
        by such local educational agency;
          (9) helping parents understand the importance of 
        parental involvement in a child's academic success 
        while teaching the parents strategies for maintaining 
        parental involvement as their child moves from the Head 
        Start program to elementary school;
          (10) developing and implementing a system to increase 
        program participation of underserved populations of 
        eligible children, including children with disabilities 
        and limited English proficient children; and
          (11) coordinating activities and collaborating to 
        ensure that curricula used in the Head Start program is 
        aligned with State early learning standards with regard 
        to cognitive, social, emotional, and physical 
        competencies that children entering kindergarten are 
        expected to demonstrate.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                    SUBMISSION OF PLANS TO GOVERNORS

    Sec. 643. In carrying out the provisions of this 
subchapter, no contract, agreement, grant, or other assistance 
shall be made for the purpose of carrying out a Head Start 
program within a State unless a plan setting forth such 
proposed contract, agreement, grant, or other assistance has 
been submitted to the chief executive officer of the State for 
approval, and such plan has not been disapproved by such 
officer within 45 days of such submission, or, if disapproved 
(for reasons other than failure of the program to comply with 
State health, safety, and child care laws, including 
regulations applicable to comparable child care programs in the 
State), has been reconsidered by the Secretary and found by the 
Secretary to be fully consistent with the provisions and in 
furtherance of the purposes of this subchapter, as evidenced by 
a written statement of the Secretary's findings that is 
transmitted to such officer. Funds to cover the costs of the 
proposed contract, agreement, grant, or other assistance shall 
be obligated from the appropriation which is current at the 
time the plan is submitted to such officer. This section shall 
not, however, apply to contracts, agreements, grant, loans, or 
other assistance to Indian and migrant and seasonal Head Start 
programs in existence on the date of enactment of the Head 
Start Improvements for School Readiness Act, or to any 
institution of higher education in existence on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                  PARTICIPATION IN HEAD START PROGRAMS

    Sec. 645. (a)(1) The Secretary shall be regulation 
prescribe eligibility for the participation of person in Head 
Start programs assisted under this subchapter. Except as 
provided in paragraph (2), such criteria may provide--
          (A) that children from low-income families shall be 
        eligible for paticipation in programs assisted under 
        this subchapter if their families' incomes are below 
        130 percent of the poverty line, or if their families 
        are eligible or, in the absence of child care, would 
        potentially be eligible for public assistance; and

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (3)(A) In this paragraph:
          (i) The term ``dependent'' has the meaning given the 
        term in paragraphs (2)(A) and (4)(A)(i) of section 
        401(a) of title 37, United States Code.
          (ii) The terms ``member'' and ``uniformed services'' 
        have the meanings given the terms in paragraphs (23) 
        and (3), respectively, of section 101 of title 37, 
        United States Code.
  (B) The following amounts of pay and allowance of a member of 
the uniformed services shall not be considered to be income for 
purposes of determining the eligibility of a dependent of such 
member for programs funded under this subchapter:
          (i) The amount of any special pay payable under 
        section 310 if title 37, United States Code, relating 
        to duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger.
          (ii) The amount of basic allowance payable under 
        section 403 of such title, including any such amount 
        that is provided on behalf of the member for housing 
        that is acquired or constructed under the alternative 
        authority for the acquisition and improvement of 
        military housing under subchapter IV of chapter 169 of 
        title 10, United States Code, or any other related 
        provision of law.
  (4) After demonstrating a need through a community needs 
assessment, a Head Start agency may apply to the Secretary to 
convert part-day sessions, particularly consecutive part-day 
sessions, into full-day sessions.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


[SEC. 645A. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES WITH INFANTS AND 
                    TODDLERS.]

SEC. 645A. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--* * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (4) [provide services to parents to support their 
        role as parents] provide additional services to parents 
        to support their role as parents (including parenting 
        skills training and training in basic child 
        development) and to help the families move toward self-
        sufficiency (including educational and employment 
        services as appropriate);
          (5) coordinate services with services (including 
        home-based services) provided by programs in the State 
        and programs in the community (including programs for 
        infants and toddlers with disabilities) to ensure a 
        comprehensive array of services (such as health and 
        mental health services, and family support services);

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (7) develop and implement a systematic procedure for 
        transitioning children and parents from an Early Head 
        Start program into a Head Start program or another 
        local early childhood education program;
          (8) establish channels of communication between staff 
        of Early Head Start programs and staff of Head Start 
        programs or other local early childhood education 
        programs, to facilitate the coordination of programs;
          [(7)] (9) in the case of a Head Start agency that 
        operates a program and that also provides Head Start 
        services through the age of mandatory school 
        attendance, ensure that children and families 
        participating in the program receive such services 
        through such age;
          [(8)] (10) ensure formal linkages with the agencies 
        and entities described in section 644(b) of the 
        Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
        1444(b)) [and providers], providers of early 
        intervention services for infants and toddlers with 
        disabilities under the Individual with Disabilities 
        Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), and the 
        agencies responsible for administering section 106 of 
        the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 
        5106a); and
          [(9)] (11) meet such other requirements concerning 
        design and operation of the program described in 
        subsection (a) as the Secretary may establish.
    (d) Eligible Service Providers.--To be eligible to receive 
assistance under this section, an entity shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require. 
Entities that may apply to carry out activities under this 
section include--
          (1) entities operating Head Start programs under this 
        subchapter including tribal governments and entities 
        operating migrant and seasonal Head Start programs; and
          (2) other public entities, and nonprofit or for-
        profit private entities, including community-based 
        organizations, capable of providing child and family 
        services that meet the standards for participation in 
        programs under this subchapter and meet such other 
        appropriate requirements relating to the activities 
        under this section as the Secretary may establish.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (g) Monitoring, Training, Technical Assistance, and 
Evaluation.--
          (1) Requirement.--* * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                          [(iv) providing professional 
                        development and personnel enhancement 
                        activities, including the provision of 
                        funds to recipients of grants under 
                        subsection (a) for the recruitment and 
                        retention of qualified staff with an 
                        appropriate level of education and 
                        experience.]
                          (iv) providing professional 
                        development and personnel enhancement 
                        activities, including the provision of 
                        funds to recipients of grants under 
                        subsection (a), relating to--
                                  (I) effective methods of 
                                conducting parent education, 
                                home visiting, and promoting 
                                quality early childhood 
                                development;
                                  (II) recruiting and retaining 
                                qualified staff; and
                                  (III) increasing program 
                                participation for underserved 
                                populations of eligible 
                                children.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (h) Staff Qualifications and Development.--
          (1) Center-based staff.--The Secretary shall ensure 
        that, not later than September 30, 2009, all teachers 
        providing direct services to Early Head Start children 
        and families in Early Head Start centers have a minimum 
        of a child development associate credential or an 
        associate degree, and have been trained (or have 
        equivalent course work) in early childhood development.
          (2) Home visitor staff.--
                  (A) Standards.--In order to further enhance 
                the quality of home visiting services provided 
                to families of children participating in home-
                based, center-based, or combination program 
                options under this subchapter, the Secretary 
                shall establish standards for training, 
                qualifications, and the conduct of home visits 
                for home visitor staff in Early Head Start 
                programs.
                  (B) Contents.--The standards for training, 
                qualifications, and the conduct of home visits 
                shall include content related to--
                          (i) structured child-focused home 
                        visiting that promotes parents' ability 
                        to support the child's cognitive, 
                        social, emotional, and physical 
                        development;
                          (ii) effective strengths-based parent 
                        education, including methods to 
                        encourage parents as their child's 
                        first teachers;
                          (iii) early childhood development 
                        with respect to children from birth 
                        through age 3;
                          (iv) methods to help parents promote 
                        emergent literacy in their children 
                        from birth through age 3;
                          (v) health, vision, hearing, and 
                        developmental screenings;
                          (vi) strategies for helping families 
                        coping with crisis; and
                          (vii) the relationship of health and 
                        well-being of pregnant women to 
                        prenatal and early child development.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                           RECORDS AND AUDITS

    Sec. 647. (a) [Each recipient of] Each Head Start agency, 
Head Start center, or Early Head Start center receiving 
financial assistance under this subchapter shall keep such 
records as the Secretary shall prescribe, including records 
which fully disclose the amount and disposition by such 
recipient of the proceeds of such financial assistance, the 
total cost of the project or undertaking in connection with 
which such financial assistance is given or used, the amount of 
that portion of the cost of the project or undertaking supplied 
by other sources, and such other records as will facilitate an 
effective audit.
    (b) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (c) Each Head Start agency, Head Start center, or Early 
Head Start center receiving financial assistance under this 
subchapter shall maintain, and annually submit to the 
Secretary, a complete accounting of its administrative 
expenses, including expenses for salaries and compensation 
funded under this subchapter and provide such additional 
documentation as the Secretary may require.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                   TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING

    Sec. 648. (a) The Secretary shall provide, directly or 
through grants or other arrangements (1) technical assistance 
to communities in developing, conducting, and administering 
programs under this subchapter; and (2) training for 
specialized or other personnel needed in connection with Head 
Start programs, in accordance with the process, and the 
provisions for allocating resources, set forth in subsections 
[(b) and (c)] (b), (c), and (d).
    (b) The Secretary shall make available funds set aside in 
section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) to support a regional or State system 
of early childhood education training and technical assistance 
that improves the capacity of Head Start programs to deliver 
services in accordance with the standards described in section 
641A(a)(1), with particular attention to the standards 
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such section. The 
Secretary shall--
          (1) ensure that agencies with demonstrated expertise 
        in providing high quality training and technical 
        assistance to improve the delivery of Head Start 
        services, including the State Head Start Associations, 
        State agencies, migrant and seasonal Head Start 
        programs, and other entities providing training and 
        technical assistance in early education, for the region 
        or State are included in the planning and coordination 
        of the system; and
          (2) encourage States to supplement the funds 
        authorized in section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) with Federal, 
        State, or local funds other than Head Start funds, to 
        expand training and technical assistance activities 
        beyond Head Start agencies to include other providers 
        of other early childhood services within a region or 
        State.
    [(b)] (c) The process for determining the technical 
assistance and training activities to be carried out under this 
section shall--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    [(c)] (d) In allocating resources for technical assistance 
and training under this section, the Secretary shall--
          (1) give priority consideration to--
                  (A) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  (B) assisting Head Start agencies in--
                          (i) ensuring the school readiness of 
                        children; and
                          (ii) meeting the [educational 
                        performance measures] measures 
                        described in section 641A(b)(4);
          (2) supplement amounts provided under section 
        640(a)(3)(C)(ii) in order to address the training and 
        career development needs of classroom staff (including 
        instruction for providing services to children with 
        disabilities and for activities described in section 
        1221(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6371(b)(3))) and nonclassroom 
        staff, including home visitors and other staff working 
        directly with families, including training relating to 
        increasing parent involvement and service designed to 
        increase family literacy and improve parenting skills;

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (5) assist Head Start agencies and programs in 
        conducting and participating in communitywide strategic 
        planning and needs assessment, including assessing the 
        needs of homeless children and their families;

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (10) assist Head Start agencies in developing 
        innovative program models, including mobile and home-
        based programs[; and];
          (11) provide support for Head Start agencies 
        (including policy councils and policy committees, as 
        defined in regulation) that meet the standards 
        described in section 641A(a) but that have, as 
        documented by the Secretary through reviews conducted 
        pursuant to section 641A(c), significant programmatic, 
        quality, and fiscal issues to address[.]; and
          (12) assist Head Start agencies and programs in 
        increasing the program participation of eligible 
        homeless children.
    [(d)](e) The Secretary may provide, either directly or 
through grants to public or private nonprofit entities 
including community-based organizations,, training for Head 
Start personnel in the use of the performing and visual arts 
and interactive programs using electronic media to enhance the 
learning experience of Head Start children. Special 
consideration shall be given to entities that have demonstrated 
effectiveness in educational programming for preschool children 
that includes components for parental involvement, care 
provider training, and developmentally appropriate related 
activities.
    [(e)](f) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 
through grants or other arrangements, funds from programs 
authorized under this subchapter to support an organization to 
administer a centralized child development and national 
assessment program leading to recognized credentials for 
personnel working in early childhood development and child care 
programs, training for personnel providing services to non-
English language background children (including services to 
promote the acquisition of the English language), or providing 
services to children determined to be abused or neglected, 
training for personnel providing services to children referred 
by entities providing child welfare services or receiving child 
welfare services, training for personnel in helping children 
cope with community violence, and resource access projects for 
personnel working with disabled children.
    (g) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or through 
grants or other arrangements, funds for training of Head Start 
personnel in addressing the unique needs of migrant and 
seasonal farmworking families, families with limited English 
proficiency, and homeless families.
    (h) Funds used under this section shall be used to provide 
high quality, sustained, and intensive, training and technical 
assistance in order to have a positive and lasting impact on 
classroom instruction. Funds shall be used to carry out 
activities related to 1 or more of the following:
          (1) Education and early childhood development.
          (2) Child health, nutrition, and safety.
          (3) Family and community partnerships.
          (4) Other areas that impact the quality or overall 
        effectiveness of Head Start programs.
    (i) Funds used under this section for training shall be 
used for needs identified annually by a grant applicant or 
delegate agency in its program improvement plan, except that 
funds shall not be used for long-distance travel expenses for 
training activities--
          (1) available locally or regionally; or
          (2) substantially similar to locally or regionally 
        available training activities.
    (j)(1) To support local efforts to enhance early language 
and preliteracy development of children in Head Start programs, 
and to provide the children with high-quality oral language 
skills, and environments that are rich in literature, in which 
to acquire language and preliteracy skills, each Head Start 
agency, in coordination with the appropriate State office and 
the relevant State Head Start collaboration office, shall 
ensure that all of the agency's Head Start teachers receive 
ongoing training in language and emergent literacy (referred to 
in this subsection as ``literacy training''), including 
appropriate curricula and assessments to improve instruction 
and learning. Such training shall include training in methods 
to promote phonological and phonemic awareness and vocabulary 
development in an age-appropriate and culturally and 
linguistically appropriate manner.
    (2) The literacy training shall be provided at the local 
level in order--
          (A) to be provided, to the extent feasible, in the 
        context of the Head Start programs of the State 
        involved and the children the program serves; and
          (B) to be tailored to the early childhood literacy 
        background and experience of the teachers involved.
    (3) The literacy training shall be culturally and 
linguistically appropriate and support children's development 
in their home language.
    (4) The literacy training shall include training in how to 
work with parents to enhance positive language and early 
literacy development at home.
    (5) The literacy training shall include specific methods to 
best address the needs of children who are English language 
learners, have speech and language delays, including problems 
with articulation, or have other disabilities.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 648A. STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (A) Classroom Teachers.--
          (1) Professional requirements.--* * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          [(2) Degree requirements.--
                  [(A) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure 
                that not later than September 30, 2003, at 
                least 50 percent of all Head Start teachers 
                nationwide in center-based programs have--
                          [(i) an associate, baccalaureate, or 
                        advanced degree in early childhood 
                        education; or
                          [(ii) an associate, baccalaureate, or 
                        advanced degree in a field related to 
                        early childhood education, with 
                        experience in teaching preschool 
                        children.
                  [(B) Progress.--The Secretary shall require 
                Head Start agencies to demonstrate continuing 
                progress each year to reach the result 
                described in subparagraph (A).]
          (2) Degree requirements.--
                  (A) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure 
                that--
                          (i) not later than September 30, 
                        2009, all Head Start teachers in 
                        center-based programs have at least--
                                  (I)(aa) an associate degree 
                                (or equivalent coursework) 
                                relating to early childhood; or
                                  (bb) an associate degree in a 
                                related educational area and, 
                                to the extent practicable, 
                                coursework relating to early 
                                childhood; and
                                  (II) demonstrated teaching 
                                competencies, as determined by 
                                the program director involved 
                                (including, at a minimum, an 
                                appropriate level of literacy, 
                                a demonstrated capacity to be 
                                highly engaged with children, 
                                and a demonstrated ability to 
                                effectively implement an early 
                                childhood curriculum); and
                          (ii) not later than September 30, 
                        2007, all Head Start curriculum 
                        specialists and education coordinators 
                        in center-based programs have--
                                  (I) the capacity to offer 
                                assistance to other teachers in 
                                the implementation and 
                                adaptation of curricula to the 
                                group and individual needs of a 
                                class; and
                                  (II)(aa) a baccalaureate or 
                                advanced degree relating to 
                                early childhood; or
                                  (bb) a baccalaureate or 
                                advanced degree and coursework 
                                equivalent to a major relating 
                                to early childhood;
                          (iii) not later than September 30, 
                        2007, all Head Start teaching 
                        assistants in center-based programs 
                        have--
                                  (I) at least a child 
                                development associate 
                                credential;
                                  (II) enrolled in a program 
                                leading to an associate or 
                                baccalaureate degree; or
                                  (III) enrolled in a child 
                                development associate 
                                credential program to be 
                                completed within 2 years; and
                          (iv) not later than September 30, 
                        2010, 50 percent of all Head Start 
                        teachers in each center-based program 
                        have a baccalaureate degree relating to 
                        early childhood or a related 
                        educational area (or equivalent 
                        coursework), and demonstrated teaching 
                        competencies, as determined by the 
                        program director involved (including, 
                        at a minimum, an appropriate level of 
                        literacy, a demonstrated capacity to be 
                        highly engaged with children, and a 
                        demonstrated ability to effectively 
                        implement an early childhood 
                        curriculum).
                  (B) Progress.--
                          (i) Report.--The Secretary shall--
                                  (I) require Head Start 
                                agencies to--
                                          (aa) demonstrate 
                                        continuing progress 
                                        each year to reach the 
                                        result described in 
                                        subparagraph (A);
                                          (bb) submit to the 
                                        Secretary a report 
                                        indicating the number 
                                        and percentage of 
                                        classroom instructors 
                                        in center-based 
                                        programs with child 
                                        development associate 
                                        credentials or 
                                        associate, 
                                        baccalaureate, or 
                                        graduate degrees; and
                                  (II) compile and submit a 
                                summary of all program reports 
                                described in subclause (I)(bb) 
                                to the Committee on Education 
                                and the Workforce of the House 
                                of Representatives and the 
                                Committee on Health, Education, 
                                Labor, and Pensions of the 
                                Senate.
                  (C) Service requirements.--The Secretary 
                shall establish requirements to ensure that, in 
                order to enable Head Start agencies to comply 
                with the requirements of subparagraph (A), 
                individuals who receive financial assistance 
                under this subchapter to pursue a degree 
                described in subparagraph (A) shall--
                          (i) teach or work in a Head Start 
                        program for a minimum of 3 years after 
                        receiving the degree; or
                          (ii) repay the total or a prorated 
                        amount of the financial assistance 
                        received based on the length of service 
                        completed after receiving the degree.
          [(3) Alternative credentialing requirements.--The 
        Secretary shall ensure that, for center-based programs, 
        each Head Start classroom that does not have a teacher 
        that meets the requirements of clause (i) or (ii) of 
        paragraph (2)(A) is assigned one teacher who has--
                  [(A) a child development associate credential 
                that is appropriate to the age of the children 
                being served in center-based programs;
                  [(B) a State-awarded certificate for 
                preschool teachers that meets or exceeds the 
                requirements for a child development associate 
                credential; or
                  [(C) a degree in a field related to early 
                childhood education with experience in teaching 
                preschool children and a State-awarded 
                certificate to teach in a preschool program.
          [(4) Waiver.--
                  [(A) In general.--On request, the Secretary 
                shall grant a 180-day waiver of the 
                requirements of paragraph (3), for a Head Start 
                agency that can demonstrate that the agency has 
                unsuccessfully attempted to recruit an 
                individual who has a credential, certificate, 
                or degree described in paragraph (3), with 
                respect to an individual who--
                          [(i) is enrolled in a program that 
                        grants any such credential, 
                        certificate, or degree; and
                          [(ii) will receive such credential, 
                        certificate, or degree under the terms 
                        of such program not later than 180 days 
                        after beginning employment as a teacher 
                        with such agency.
                  [(B) Limitation.--The Secretary may not grant 
                more than one such waiver with respect to such 
                individual.]
          ``(3) Waiver.--
                  (A) In general.--On request, the Secretary 
                may grant a waiver of the postsecondary degree 
                requirements of paragraph (2) for 1 or more 
                Head Start agencies, either individually, 
                statewide, or throughout a region, that can 
                demonstrate--
                          (i) that continuing aggressive 
                        statewide and national efforts have 
                        been unsuccessful at recruiting an 
                        individual to serve as a Head Start 
                        teacher or curriculum specialist or 
                        education coordinator who meets the 
                        requirements of paragraph (2)(A);
                          (ii) limited access to degree 
                        programs (including quality distance 
                        learning programs), due to the remote 
                        location of the program involved; or
                          (iii) that Head Start staff members 
                        are, as of the day the waiver is 
                        granted, is enrolled in a program 
                        that--
                                  (I) grants the required 
                                degree; and
                                  (II) will be completed within 
                                1 year.
                  (B) Limitation.--An agency that receives a 
                waiver under subparagraph (A) shall ensure that 
                Head Start teachers for the agency, as of the 
                day the waiver is granted, who have not met the 
                postsecondary degree requirements of paragraph 
                (2) but are otherwise highly qualified and 
                competent shall be directly and appropriately 
                supervised by a teacher who has met or exceeded 
                the requirements of this subchapter.
                  (C) Duration.--The Secretary may not grant a 
                waiver under subparagraph (A) for a period that 
                exceeds 1 year.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (c) Family Service Workers.-- * * *
          (1) * * *
          (2) promote the development of model curricula (on 
        subjects including parenting training and family 
        literacy) designed to ensure the attainment of 
        appropriate competencies by individuals working or 
        planning to work in the field of early childhood and 
        family services; [and]
          (3) promote the establishment of a credential that 
        indicates attainment the competencies and that is 
        accepted nationwide[.] ; and
          (4) promote the use of appropriate strategies to meet 
        the needs of special populations (including limited 
        English proficient populations).
    (d) Head Start Fellowships.--
          (1) Authority.-- * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (3) Assignments of fellows.--
                  (A) * * *
                  (B) * * *
                  (C) No placement in lobbying organizations.--
                Head Start Fellowship positions may not be 
                located in any agency, including a center, 
                whose primary purpose, or one of whose major 
                purposes, is to influence Federal, State, or 
                local legislation.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (e) Model Staffing Plans.-- * * *
  (f) Professional Development Plans.--Every Head Start agency 
and center shall create, in consultation with employees of the 
agency or center (including family service workers), a 
professional development plan for employees who provide direct 
services to children, including a plan for classroom teachers, 
curriculum specialists, and education coordinators to meet the 
requirements set forth in subsection (a).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 648B. TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY-HEAD START PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to promote 
social competencies and school readiness in Indian children.
    (b) Tribal College or University-Head Start Partnership 
Program.--
          (1) Grants.--The Secretary is authorized to award 
        grants, for periods of not less than 5 years, to Tribal 
        Colleges and Universities to--
                  (A) implement education programs that include 
                education concerning tribal culture and 
                language and increase the number of associate, 
                baccalaureate, and graduate degrees in early 
                childhood education and related fields that are 
                earned by Indian Head Start agency staff 
                members, parents of children served by such an 
                agency, and members of the tribal community 
                involved;
                  (B) develop and implement the programs under 
                subparagraph (A) in technology-mediated 
                formats; and
                  (C) provide technology literacy programs for 
                Indian Head Start agency staff members and 
                children and families of children served by 
                such an agency.
          (2) Staffing.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
        American Indian Programs Branch of the Head Start 
        Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services 
        shall have staffing sufficient to administer the 
        programs under this section and to provide appropriate 
        technical assistance to Tribal Colleges and 
        Universities receiving grants under this section
    (c) Application.--Each Tribal College or University 
desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application 
to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require, including a 
certification that the Tribal College or University has 
established a partnership with 1 or more Indian Head Start 
agencies for the purpose of conducting the activities described 
in subsection (b).
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
to be appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may be necessary for each of 
fiscal years 2005 through 2008.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
          (2) Tribal college or university.--The term ``Tribal 
        College or University''--
                  (A) has the meaning given such term in 
                section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 1059c); and
                  (B) means an institution determined to be 
                accredited or a candidate for accreditation by 
                a nationally recognized accrediting agency or 
                association.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 649. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUATION.

    (a) In General--
          (1) Requirement; general purposes.--* * *
                  (A) * * *
                  (B) use the Head Start programs to develop, 
                test, and disseminate new ideas and approaches 
                for addressing the needs of low-income 
                preschool children (including children with 
                disabilities and children determined to be 
                abused or neglected and their families and 
                communities (including demonstrations of 
                innovative noncenter-based program models such 
                as home-based and mobile programs), and 
                otherwise to further the purposes of this 
                subchapter.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (d) Specific Objectives.-- * * *
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (8) promote exploration of areas in which knowledge 
        is insufficient, and that will otherwise contribute to 
        fulfilling the purposes of this subchapter; and
          [(9) study the experiences of small, medium, and 
        large States with Head Start programs in order to 
        permit comparisons of children participating in the 
        programs with eligible children who did not participate 
        in the programs, which study--
                  [(A) may include the use of a data set that 
                existed prior to the initiation of the study; 
                and
                  [(B) shall compare the educational 
                achievement, social adaptation, and health 
                status of the participating children and the 
                eligible nonparticipating children; and]
          [(10)] (9) provide for--
                  (A) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  (E) * * *
[The Secretary shall ensure that an appropriate entity carries 
out a study described in paragraph (9), and prepares and 
submits to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
containing the results of the study, not later than September 
30, 2002.]

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (g) National Head Start Impact Research.--
          (1) Expert panel.--
                  (A) In general.--The Secretary shall appoint 
                an independent panel consisting of experts in 
                program evaluation and research, education, and 
                early childhood programs--
                          [(i) to review, and make 
                        recommendations on, the design and plan 
                        for the research (whether conducted as 
                        a single assessment or as a series of 
                        assessments) described in paragraph 
                        (2), within 1 year after the date of 
                        enactment of the Coats Human Services 
                        Reauthorization Act of 1998;]
                          [(ii)] (i) to maintain and advise the 
                        Secretary regarding the progress of the 
                        research; and
                          [(iii)] (ii) to comment, if the panel 
                        so desires, on the interim and final 
                        research reports submitted under 
                        paragraph (7).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (7) Reports.--
                  (A) Submission of interim reports.-- * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  (C) Transmittal of reports to congress.--
                          (i) In general.--The Secretary shall 
                        transmit, to the committees described 
                        in clause (ii), the first interim 
                        report by September 30, [1999] 2003, 
                        the second interim report by September 
                        30, [2001] 2005, and the final report 
                        by September 30, [2003] 2006.
                          (ii) Committees.--The committees 
                        referred to in clause (i) are the 
                        Committee on Education and the 
                        Workforce of the House of 
                        Representatives and the Committee on 
                        [Labor and Human Resources] Health, 
                        Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
                        Senate.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    [(h) Quality Improvement Study.--
          [(1) Study.--the Secretary shall conduct a study 
        regarding the use and effects of use of the quality 
        improvement funds made available under section 
        640(a)(3) since fiscal year 1991.
          [(2) Report.--The Secretary shall prepare and submit 
        to Congress not later than September 2000 a report 
        containing the results of the study, including 
        information on--
                  [(A) the types of activities funded with the 
                quality improvement funds;
                  [(B) the extent to which the use of the 
                quality improvement funds has accomplished the 
                goals of section 640(a)(3)(B);
                  [(C) the effect of use of the quality 
                improvement funds on teacher training, 
                salaries, benefits, recruitment, and retention; 
                and
                  [(D) the effect of use of the quality 
                improvement funds on the development of 
                children receiving services under this 
                subchapter.]
  (h) National Academy of Sciences Study.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into a 
        contract with the Board on Children, Youth, and 
        Families of the National Research Council, the Board on 
        Testing and Assessments, and the Institute of Medicine, 
        of the National Academy of Sciences to establish an 
        independent panel of experts to review and synthesize 
        research and theories in the social, behavioral, and 
        biological sciences regarding early childhood, and make 
        recommendations with regard to each of the following:
                  (A) Age- and developmentally appropriate Head 
                Start academic requirements and outcomes, 
                including the standards described in section 
                641A(a)(1)(B)(ii).
                  (B) Differences in the type, length, mix, and 
                intensity of services that are necessary to 
                ensure that children from challenging family or 
                social backgrounds (including low-income 
                children, children with disabilities, and 
                limited English proficient children) enter 
                kindergarten ready to succeed.
                  (C) Appropriate assessments of young children 
                for the purposes of improving instruction, 
                services, and program quality, including--
                          (i) formal and systematic 
                        observational assessments in a child's 
                        natural environment;
                          (ii) assessments of children's 
                        development through parent and provider 
                        interviews;
                          (iii) assessments of appropriate 
                        accommodations for children with 
                        disabilities;
                          (iv) appropriate assessments for 
                        children with disabilities, limited 
                        English proficient children, and 
                        children from different cultural 
                        backgrounds; and
                          (v) other assessments used in Head 
                        Start programs.
                  (D) Identification of existing, or 
                recommendations for the development of, 
                scientifically-based, valid and reliable 
                assessments that are capable of measuring child 
                outcomes in the domains important to school 
                readiness, including language skills, 
                prereading ability, premathematics ability, 
                cognitive ability, scientific ability, social 
                and emotional development, and physical 
                development;
                  (E) Appropriate use and application of valid 
                and reliable assessments for Head Start 
                programs identified in accordance with 
                subparagraph (D).
          (2) Composition.--
                  (A) In general.--The panel described in 
                paragraph (1) shall consist of multiple experts 
                in each of the following areas:
                          (i) Child development (including 
                        cognitive, social, emotional, and 
                        physical development) and child 
                        education (including approaches to 
                        learning).
                          (ii) Professional development, 
                        including preparation of individuals 
                        who teach young children.
                          (iii) Assessment of young children 
                        (including children with disabilities 
                        and limited English proficient 
                        children), including screening, 
                        diagnostic, and classroom-based 
                        instructional assessment.
                  (B) Representatives.--The panel described in 
                paragraph (1) shall be selected and appointed 
                by the National Academy of Sciences and shall 
                include, to the extent practicable, 
                representatives of--
                          (i) the Department of Health and 
                        Human Services, including 
                        representatives of--
                                  (I) the Centers for Disease 
                                Control and Prevention;
                                  (II) the National Institute 
                                of Mental Health; and
                                  (III) the National Institute 
                                of Child Health and Human 
                                Development;
                          (ii) the National Association for the 
                        Education of Young Children;
                          (iii) the National Center for 
                        Learning Disabilities;
                          (iv) the American Academy of 
                        Pediatrics;
                          (v) the Institute of Education 
                        Sciences of the Department of 
                        Education;
                          (vi) the General Accounting Office; 
                        and
                          (vii) other entities with noted 
                        experts in the fields of early care and 
                        early childhood education, including 
                        additional representatives of Federal 
                        agencies.
          (3) Timing.--
                  (A) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days 
                after the date of enactment of the Head Start 
                Improvements for School Readiness Act, the 
                Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the 
                National Research Council, the Board on Testing 
                and Assessments, and the Institute of Medicine, 
                of the National Academy of Sciences shall 
                establish the panel described in paragraph (1), 
                including selecting and appointing the members 
                of the panel. Representatives described in 
                paragraph (2) shall be selected and appointed 
                after consultation with the Secretary.
                  (B) Recommendations.--Not later than 1 year 
                after the panel described in paragraph (1) is 
                established, the panel shall complete, and 
                submit to the Secretary a report containing, 
                the recommendations described in paragraph (1). 
                The Secretary shall not implement the 
                amendments made to section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) by 
                the Head Start Improvements for School 
                Readiness Act until the panel submits the 
                report.
          (4) Application of panel report.--The Secretary shall 
        use the results of the review and recommendations 
        described in paragraph (1) to (where appropriate) 
        develop, inform, and revise--
                  (A) the educational standards, and the 
                performance measures, described in section 
                641A; and
                  (B) the assessments utilized in the Head 
                Start programs.
          (5) Contract.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
        contract referred to in paragraph (1) provides that--
                  (A) the National Academy of Sciences shall 
                receive through the contract--
                          (i)(I) a total amount if the panel 
                        described in paragraph (1) submits the 
                        report described in paragraph (3)(B) 
                        not later than the date that is 1 year 
                        after the panel is established; or
                          (II) \1/2\ of the total amount if the 
                        panel submits the report later than 
                        that date; and
                          (ii)(I) not more than \1/2\ of the 
                        total amount, prior to the date on 
                        which the panel is established; and
                          (II) the remainder of the sum 
                        described in subclause (I) or (II) of 
                        clause (i), as appropriate, after the 
                        panel submits the report; and
                  (B) the Secretary may require additional 
                penalties, including repayment of funds, as 
                appropriate, for failure to submit the report 
                or to carry out other duties under this 
                subsection.
  (i) Services to Limited English Proficient Children and 
Families.--
          (1) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a study on 
        the status of limited English proficient children and 
        their families in Head Start or Early Head Start 
        programs.
          (2) Report.--The Secretary shall prepare and submit 
        to Congress, not later than September 2008, a report 
        containing the results of the study, including 
        information on--
                  (A) the demographics of limited English 
                proficient children from birth through age 5, 
                including the number of such children receiving 
                Head Start or Early Head Start services and the 
                geographic distribution of children described 
                in this subparagraph;
                  (B) the nature of Head Start or Early Head 
                Start services provided to limited English 
                proficient children and their families, 
                including the types, content, duration, 
                intensity, and costs of family services, 
                language assistance, and educational services;
                  (C) procedures in Head Start programs for the 
                assessment of language needs and the transition 
                of limited English proficient children to 
                kindergarten, including the extent to which 
                Head Start programs meet the requirements of 
                section 642A for limited English proficient 
                children;
                  (D) the qualifications and training provided 
                to Head Start and Early Head Start teachers 
                serving limited English proficient children and 
                their families;
                  (E) the rate of progress made by limited 
                English proficient children and their families 
                in Head Start programs and Early Head Start 
                programs, including--
                          (i) the rate of progress of the 
                        limited English proficient children 
                        toward meeting the additional 
                        educational standards described in 
                        section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) while 
                        enrolled in Head Start programs, 
                        measured between 1990 and 2003;
                          (ii) the correlation between such 
                        progress and the type of instruction 
                        and educational program provided to the 
                        limited English proficient children; 
                        and
                          (iii) the correlation between such 
                        progress and the health and family 
                        services provided by Head Start 
                        programs to limited English proficient 
                        children and their families; and
                  (F) the extent to which Head Start programs 
                make use of funds under section 640(a)(3) to 
                improve the quality of Head Start services 
                provided to limited English proficient children 
                and their families.''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 650. REPORTS.

    (a) Status of Children.--At least once during every 2-year 
period, the Secretary shall prepare and submit, to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on [Labor and Human 
Resources] Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate, a report concerning the status of children (including 
disabled and non-English language background children) in Head 
Start programs, including the number of children and the 
services being provided to such children. Such report shall 
include--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (8) information concerning children participating in 
        programs that receive Head Start funding,including 
        information on family income, racial and ethnic 
        background, homelessness, disability, and receipt of 
        benefits under part A of title IV of the Social 
        Security Act;

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                         COMPARABILITY OF WAGES

    Sec. 653. [The Secretary shall take] (a) The Secretary 
shall take such action as may be necessary to assure that 
persons employed in carrying out programs financed under this 
subchapter shall not receive compensation at a rate which is 
(1) in excess of the average rate of compensation paid in the 
area where the program is carried out to a substantial number 
of the persons providing substantially comparable services, or 
in excess of the average rate of compensation paid to a 
substantial number of the persons providing substantially 
comparable services in the area of the person's immediately 
preceding employment, whichever is higher; [or (2)] (2) in 
excess of the salary of the Secretary, in the case of an 
individual compensated with funds awarded under this subchapter 
or the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et 
seq.); or (3) less than the minimum wage rate prescribed in 
section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The 
Secretary shall encourage Head Start agencies to provide 
compensation according to salary scales that are based on 
training and experience.
    (b) If in any fiscal year the restriction described in 
subsection (a)(2) is violated, the Secretary shall withhold 
from the base grant of the Head Start agency involved (as 
defined in section 641A(f)(1)) for the next fiscal year, an 
amount equal to the aggregate amount by which the salary that 
resulted in the violation exceeded the salary of the Secretary.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


         LIMITATION WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES

    Sec. 655. No individual employed or assigned by or in any 
Head Start agency or other agency assisted under this 
subchapter shall, pursuant to or during the performance of 
services rendered in connection with any program or activity 
conducted or assisted under this subchapter by such Head Start 
agency or such other agency, plan, initiate, participate in, or 
otherwise aid or assist in the conduct of any unlawful 
demonstration, rioting, or civil disturbance.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                         [POLITICAL ACTIVITIES


    [Sec. 656. (a) For purposes of]

[SEC. 656. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.

    (a) State or Local Agency._For purpose of chapter 15 of 
title 5, United States Code, any agency which assumes 
responsibility for planning, developing, and coordinating Head 
Start programs and receives assistance under this subchapter 
shall be deemed to be a State or local agency. For purposes of 
clauses (1) and (2) of section 150(2)(a) of such title, any 
agency receiving assistance under this subchapter shall be 
deemed to be a State or local agency.
    [(b) Programs assisted under this subchapter shall not be 
carried on in a manner involving the use of program funds, the 
provision of services, or the employment or assignment of 
personnel in a manner supporting or resulting in the 
identification of such programs with (1) any partisan or 
nonpartisan political activity or any other political activity 
associated with a candidate, or contending faction or group, in 
an election for public or party office; (2) any activity to 
provide voters or prospective voters with transportation to the 
polls or similar assistance in connection with any such 
election; or (3) or any voter registration activity. The 
Secretary, after consultation with the Office of Personnel 
Management, shall issue rules and regulations to provide for 
the enforcement of this section, which shall include provisions 
for summary suspension of assistance or other action necessary 
to permit enforcement on an emergency basis.]
  (b) Restrictions.--
          (1) In general.--A program assisted under this 
        subchapter, and any individual employed by, or assigned 
        to, a program assessed under this subchapter (during 
        the hours in which such individual is working on behalf 
        of such program), shall not engage in--
                  (A) any partisan or nonpartisan political 
                activity or any other political activity 
                associated with a candidate, or contending 
                faction or group, in an election for public or 
                party office;
                  (B) any activity to provide voters or 
                prospective voters with transportation to the 
                polls or similar assistance in connection with 
                any such election; or
                  (C) any voter registration activity.
          (2) Rules and regulations.--The Secretary, after 
        consultation with the Director of the Office of 
        Personnel Management, may issue rules and regulations 
        to provide for the enforcement of this section, which 
        may include provisions for summary suspension of 
        assistance or other action necessary to permit 
        enforcement on an emergency basis.

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    Sec. 657. * * *

SEC. 657A. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR NONEMERGENCY INTRUSIVE 
                    PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS.

  (a) Definition.--The term ``nonemergency intrusive physical 
examination'' means, with respect to a child, a physical 
examination that--
          (1) is not immediately necessary to protect the 
        health or safety of the child or the health or safety 
        of another individual; and
          (2) requires incision or is otherwise invasive, or 
        involves exposure of private body parts.
  (b) Requirement.--A Head Start agency shall obtain written 
parental consent before administration of, or referral for, any 
health care service provided or arranged to be provided, 
including any nonemergency intrusive physical examination of a 
child in connection with participation in a program under this 
subchapter.
  (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to prohibit agencies from using established methods, 
for handling cases of suspected or known child abuse and 
neglect, that are in compliance with applicable Federal, State, 
or tribal law.

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