[Senate Report 109-131]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 200
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-131
======================================================================
HEAD START IMPROVEMENTS FOR SCHOOL READINESS ACT
_______
August 31, 2005.--Ordered to be printed
Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of July 29, 2005
Mr. Enzi, from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1107]
The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, to
which was referred the bill (S. 1107) to reauthorize the Head
Start Act, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably and recommends that the bill (as amended) 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.........................4
IV. Explanation of bill and committee views..........................6
V. Cost Estimate...................................................41
VI. Application of law to the legislative branch....................44
VII. Regulatory impact statement.....................................44
VIII.Section-by-section analysis.....................................44
IX. Changes in existing law.........................................64
I. Purpose and Summary of the Bill
The Head Start Improvements for School Readiness Act of
2005 reauthorizes and makes improvements in the Head Start
program in order to ensure that children in the program make
measurable progress toward developing the skills they need to
enter school ready to learn. In order to accomplish this, the
bill focuses on four areas: (1) improved academic,
developmental, and educational outcomes for children, (2)
improved teacher competencies and high quality opportunities
for professional development, (3) better coordination and
collaboration with other programs in the State (including child
care, State preschool programs, and the local public schools),
and (4) greater accountability for the management of Head Start
programs; and (5) enhanced support for infants and toddlers
through the Early Head Start program.
The bill authorizes $7.2 billion for fiscal year 2006, $7.5
billion for fiscal year 2007, $7.8 billion for fiscal year
2008, 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, improvement in
the PRISM reviews through increased inter-rater reliability
training, 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 18 percent in
fiscal year 2010.
II. Background and Need for Legislation
Head Start was created in 1965 and today stands as one of
the nation's most well regarded domestic programs. Head Start's
mission to promote school readiness among the Nation's low-
income children reflects a comprehensive approach to supporting
children and families. Because school readiness depends upon
the interdependent relationship between cognitive,
intellectual, 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
the child and family's needs.
Children in Head Start enter the program with a number of
factors that put them at risk of school failure, such as
extreme poverty, family economic and housing instability, and
limited family education attainment. The overwhelming majority
of Head Start children are from families earning less than 100
percent of the Federal poverty level, $18,850 for a family of
four (2004 HHS Poverty Guidelines), and in most Head Start
families, neither parent hold more than a high school degree or
general equivalency degree (GED). Research shows that Head
Start clearly makes a difference for children living in
poverty, yet experience has shown that the program itself
cannot eradicate the overwhelming effects of poverty on
children and their families.
By its nature, Head Start requires community input in order
to be responsive to community needs. Head Start programs have
successfully reached out to community partners to help foster
school readiness and transitions to school, provide health
care, increase access to social services for families, and
provide full-day, full-year services for children. Local
programs may adapt their services to serve Indian tribes or
migrant and seasonal farm worker communities, target homeless
children or children of drug-addicted parents or help families
transitioning off welfare. 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 1 million low-income
preschool children in order to help prepare for and increase
the success of Head Start participants in school. Head Start
program currently provides services to children from a diverse
population of eligible families, including migrant and Native
American children, through nearly 19,000 centers and 829 home-
based programs in all 50 States, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, and the United States territories. The committee
encourages consideration of this diversity to meet the goals of
Head Start programs.
Unlike other Federal social service 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 2,100, may contract with other organizations,
called delegate agencies, to run all or part of their programs.
Grantees had contracts with approximately 622 delegate agencies
in fiscal year 2004. 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 the program, Head Start has
continuously improved the quality of the services it provides.
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. By fiscal year 2004, Head Start was funded at
more than double that of 1995, where it received $6.8 billion
in funding and supported programs in every State.
The committee also recognizes that the face of poverty has
changed dramatically since Head Start was created 40 years ago.
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; 36 percent of all African American children, and 30
percent of all Hispanic children, come from families earning
less that the Federal poverty threshold (U.S. Census, 2003).
Recognizing the harmful impacts of poverty on later
educational attainment it is critical we prepare all children
to enter school ready to learn in order to provide for their
later success in school and to close the achievement gap.
Studies document a wide gap between lower and higher income
children before they enter kindergarten which, if unaddressed,
often persists into later years in schooling and despite
significant Federal investment, this gap persists. Research
also shows that lower-income children are far less likely than
their higher-income peers to participate in early childhood
education programs before beginning elementary school. If we do
not prepare all children to succeed and become lifelong
learners, our global competitiveness in the 21st century
economy will be jeopardized.
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. The committee believes
that the program can be strengthened to build upon that success
and lead to increased outcomes for Head Start children. Long-
term positive outcomes and cost-savings improved school
performance to also include more positive behavior, reduced
special education placement, lower in-grade retention and
dropout rates, and increased lifelong earning potential.
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 of the
Head Start Act in 1994 and 1998 enhanced teacher qualifications,
increased attention to cognitive areas of development, created the
Early Head Start program, and led to program standards and the Outcomes
Framework that guide Head Start programs in their curriculum planning,
instruction, and delivery of services, as well as in the ongoing
assessment of the progress and accomplishments of children.
The Head Start Improvements for School Readiness Act of
2005 builds on the original foundation of the Head Start
program and on past reauthorizations, by increasing the focus
on continued program quality and the achievement of important
educational and other outcomes for children across the range of
developmental domains critical to ensuring their school
readiness.
III. Legislative History and Committee Action
On May 25, 2005, the Senate Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions met in executive session and favorably
reported the bill with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute unanimously.
Hearings and testimony--summary of witnesses
The Subcommittee on Education and Early Childhood
Development held a hearing on April 5, 2005 at 9:30 a.m.
entitled ``Head Start: Ensuring Dollars Benefit the Children''.
The hearing focused on the Government Accountability Office's
(GAO) recent report entitled ``Head Start: Comprehensive
Approach to Identifying and Addressing Risks Could Help Prevent
Grantee Financial Management Weaknesses.'' The GAO study was
requested in late 2003 by Senator Enzi, Senator Alexander,
Senator Gregg, Congressman Boehner, and Congressman Castle
following reports of alleged financial impropriety by Head
Start executives in more than a dozen United States cities.
Between January 2003 and the first months of 2005, multiple
accounts from numerous communities across the country alleged
serious financial abuses and irregularities by local
individuals and/or entities entrusted with the responsibility
of managing Federal Head Start funds meant to serve poor and
at-risk children. The incidents identified involved the use of
tens of millions in Federal Head Start funds that were intended
to serve more than 10,000 disadvantaged U.S. children. The
Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the program
found a significant percent of local Head Start operators
surveyed in 2000 had some form of financial irregularity, a
portion of which were serious deficiencies. Three years later
GAO found that more than half of those operators still had
recurring financial management problems, and recommended more
timely follow up, and enhanced training and technical
assistance to develop the capacity of agencies to address such
problems. GAO urged the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) to develop a better system to identify local centers with
financial problems. The Department of Health and Human Services
has the oversight responsibility for Head Start grantees. This
is a challenge considering there are almost 1,700 grantees,
with over 20,000 centers containing more than 48,000
classrooms. HHS's current system of accountability may not have
the capacity for this oversight and the committee during this
hearing examined ways to improve program monitoring by HHS and
what other oversight and accountability alternatives exist.
The following witnesses testified:
Dr. Wade Horn, Assistant Secretary for the Head Start
Bureau Administration for Children, Youth and Families, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 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.
Additionally, he testified about the importance of monitoring
to measure the quality of Head Start programs. He also
described several efforts ACF has implemented to improve
monitoring and accountability.
Dr. Marnie S. Shaul, Director of Educating and Protecting
Children, United States Government Accountability Office (GAO),
Washington, DC, testified in regard to GAO's recent report on
Head Start risk management which the committee requested. She
discussed the Administration on Children and Families (ACF)
processes to assess financial risks, specifically in regard to
how these processes can be improved to ensure accuracy and
reliability. In addition, she discussed the effectiveness of
approaches ACF uses to make sure Head Start grantees address
any financial management weaknesses in a timely manner. GAO had
many recommendations including suggesting the ACF take steps to
compete grants if the grantee fails to meet programmatic or
financial management requirements.
Mayor A.C. Wharton, Mayor of Shelby County, Memphis, TN,
testified on Shelby County's ongoing efforts, as well as some
of their planned efforts, to improve program oversight and
stewardship. Several of GAO's findings mirrored weaknesses
Shelby County had identified and were actively working to
resolve in local Head Start programs.
Yvonne Gates, Clark County Commissioner, Las Vegas, NV,
discussed the promise of the Head Start Program and its goals
to erase inequities among citizens and to give all children a
level playing field for their future academic success.
Therefore, she recommended that the committee expand local
oversight of the chosen grantees. She testified about the
importance of local government and the need for them to be more
actively engaged in the local review and evaluative process for
the use of these Federal programs. Local government is closer
to the people, and has the opportunity to provide technical
assistance to local agency partners, and additionally may be
able to provide other resources to expand the scope of services
of these programs.
Jim Caccamo, Director, Metropolitan Council on Early
Learning, Kansas City, MO, testified in regard to the financial
and governance problem with the Kansas City Head Start grantee
KCMC. The financial and governance problems at KCMC began to
surface 4 years ago, in April 2001. The Controller/Chief
Financial Officer was engaged in a kickback scheme and in
February of 2002, pled guilty to bribery and money laundering.
He was sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay over
$800,000. Mr. Caccamo suggested that the fiscal mismanagement,
excessive salaries, and the employee kickback problems could
have been avoided with tighter oversight on the part of the
Executive Director and Board.
Olivia Golden, Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute,
Washington, DC, testified primarily on effective strategies for
building the strongest possible Federal oversight role to
support high-quality, fiscally accountable, programmatically
successful, and well-managed Head Start programs across the
country. She described GAO's recommendations as practical and
thought they would be useful and that thoughtful implementation
of these recommendations would help Head Start programs attain
the highest level of accountability. Additionally, Ms. Golden
discussed the GAO report findings that contributed to this
effort by identifying gaps in Federal oversight particularly in
regard to Federal monitoring.
IV. Explanation of the Bill and Committee Views
Enhancing the school readiness of Head Start children
School readiness has always been central to Head Start's
mission, and should continue to be a primary goal of Head Start
programs. The committee's intent in the Head Start Improvements
for School Readiness Act is to assist Head Start programs with
further meeting the goal of promoting school readiness and
closing the achievement gap among Head Start children.
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.
Researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development
Center, 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).
The academic, cognitive, and social competencies that
define school readiness begin developing long before children
enter the elementary classroom. Knowledge about children's
development and learning has increased 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; and
demonstrating the importance of early intervention for at-risk
infants and their parents, and the opportunity presented in
early infancy for strengthening families. From birth through
age 5, children rapidly develop the capabilities on which
subsequent development builds. According to child development
expert T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., ``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.''
The committee recognizes that the areas of a young child's
development are strongly correlated with later school success
are foundational in nature. Standards for early learning
should, as much as practicable, seek to address the cognitive,
social, emotional, physical, language development, and
motivation influencing a young child's development. To
accomplish this goal of ensuring that children participating in
the Head Start program develop the cognitive, social, and
emotional competencies necessary to succeed, the Head Start
Improvements for School Readiness Act significantly enhances
Head Start's emphasis on positive outcomes for school readiness
in all domains, especially in cognitive development, while
retaining the commitment to providing comprehensive social
services.
Studies indicate that children enrolled in Head Start make
progress while in the program. Based on data from the 2000
Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), children enter
Head Start with cognitive, social, and emotional skills well
below the National norm of most children their same age. 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. With only 9 months of
participation in the program, FACES data demonstrate a
reduction in the school readiness gap between disadvantaged
children and their peers with meaningful gains in their
vocabulary, letter recognition, and writing skills. Children
also improved in other cognitive, social, and emotional skills,
demonstrating a reduction in problem behaviors, aggressive
behaviors, hyperactive behaviors, and withdrawn behaviors.
Physically, children showed 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 FACES show that, as compared to 1997, Head
Start children show greater gains in book knowledge, letter
recognition, and print conventions. According to such data,
children previously participating in Head Start programs meet
National norms by the end of their kindergarten year.
Despite these gains, however, data show Head Start children
still lag behind the National average in school readiness when
they enter kindergarten. A 2003 publication by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ``Strengthening
Head Start: What the Research Shows'', provides an analysis of
outcomes for children and families served by the Head Start
program. The HHS analysis concludes that both lower and higher
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).
The first year preliminary findings for the Head Start
Impact Study released in June of 2005 provide further evidence
of the importance of Head Start for low-income children and
families. The study found that 3-year-olds in Head Start got
the most benefits from the program. Results found that within 6
to 8 months, both 3- and 4-year-olds, showed small to moderate
improvements in pre-reading, pre-writing, vocabulary, and
parental reports of children's literacy skills as compared to
children not enrolled in Head Start programs. This report
indicated that Head Start programs had small to moderate impact
on the 5,000 preschoolers in the study. The committee is
encouraged that within a year Head Start was able to cut in
half the achievement gap that would have been expected if the
children had not attended a Head Start program. Neither age
group, showed a significant improvement in oral comprehension
or early math skills, nor data also showed children leaving
Head Start perform below National norms. The Impact Study
follows children until they complete the first grade, and the
committee is waiting for the final report in 2007 and hopes to
see that the reduction in the achievement gap continues for the
participants in the study.
Because data indicate that many Head Start children enter
kindergarten without the knowledge proven to be an excellent
predictor of school success, the committee seeks to ensure that
all children participating in Head Start receive the maximum
benefit of its programs and services. The challenges that so
many Head Start children face later in their academic careers
begin well before they enter school. As such, the committee
recognizes the importance of Head Start's services in helping
children make gains toward achieving academic parity with their
peers that are not eligible for the program, and to enter
school ready to learn.
Early literacy is one facet of children's learning and
development that is critical to school readiness. The committee
recognizes and applauds the work of Head Start programs to
provide a more enriched literacy experience and instruction to
children. Children who read well in the early grades are far
more successful later in school, and scientific based research
demonstrates the importance of a strong foundation for children
before they are given formal reading instruction in
kindergarten and first grade. Head Start's attention to the
development of early language and literacy skills is key to
helping children advance reading skills in the later grades.
Head Start programs should provide children from low-income
families a high quality, oral language and literature rich
environment and establish appropriate literacy goals for
children that are tied to instructional strategies adapted to
their individual level of learning and development. The
committee encourages Head Start to continue its pivotal role in
promoting early literacy, consistent with scientific based
research, such as the Early Reading First initiative. In
addition to caring for the emotional and social needs of
children under their care, Head Start programs must also
encourage and promote cognitive development activities along
with professional development for teachers and staff based on
scientific based research in reading.
Children who have limited preliteracy skills (i.e. weak
phonological 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 and consistently 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.
Research consistently confirms 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 words are made up of letters,
which correspond to sounds.
The committee also recognizes the importance of other
skills critical to the school readiness of young children. For
example, promoting premathematics and prescience knowledge and
skills are 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; and watching ice melt in different environments.
The Head Start Improvements for School Readiness Act
updates the Head Start program quality standards and
performance measures to reflect 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 help facilitate children's
development of 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 also focusing on the other
requirements for children in the program.
The statutory improvements of the committee bill are
expected to promote the acquisition of skills and competencies
Head Start children need to enter school ready to learn. The
committee also requires that the results based performance
measures be reviewed and updated as needed, no less than every
4 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 forstaff to support each child's positive
development and educational growth. Care must be taken to ensure that
curricula and other practices used in Head Start programs serve as a
foundation for later learning in school. Studies show that many
children, including and especially children from low-income families,
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 building on Head
Start's mission of school readiness to ensure that the program provides
the foundation children will need to reach high standards later in
school. The committee also urges greater coordination between preschool
programs, including Head Start, and local educational agencies to
appropriately align expectations and curricula and facilitate a smooth
transition from Head Start into school.
Because many children in Head Start enter the program with
less exposure to print and to a wide-ranging vocabulary, Head
Start's attention to all domains of child development and
learning is necessary to ensure positive gains in cognitive
development, including early literacy. Early development of
language and literacy skills provide children with the
foundation needed to later become proficient readers at their
grade level. The No Child Left Behind Act authorizes
significant funds for reading programs such as Early Reading
First and Reading First, which 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 and literacy skills for continued success in
school. The committee intends to strengthen the ability of Head
Start, local schools, and other preschool programs to provide a
positive continuum of early literacy experiences and
instruction.
The Language Enrichment Activities Program (LEAP),
developed by the Margaret H. Cone Head Start Center in Dallas,
Texas has demonstrated that intensive professional development
with a strong early literacy 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, while in the program, they 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, intensive
teachers training, and onsite monitoring and support of teacher
instruction and interaction with children.
Like other complex skills, reading and writing are outcomes
that result from the continual interaction of development and
learning, and therefore a range of individual variation is to
be expected in the rate and pace at which children gain
literacy skills. The committee recognizes that effective
curricula and training programs are available that promote the
development of language and early literacy knowledge and skills
among Head Start children, and encourages Head Start to make
use of such curricula, materials, and instructional practices.
The committee intends, to the extent possible, that
scientifically-based curricula and training programs be
utilized.
The committee recognizes Head Start's mission is to prepare
the Nation's most disadvantaged children to enter and later
succeed in school. Therefore, the Head Start Improvements for
School Readiness Act requires that Head Start curricula and
assessments be aligned with the Head Start Child Outcomes
Framework and, as appropriate, State early learning standards.
In referencing the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework and
Indicators (2000), the committee further recognizes that Head
Start has pre-established, researched-based, and appropriate
standards and outcomes for the program developed by independent
experts and practitioners to help guide teachers and staff with
curricula and assessments in all domains of child development.
Research reports of the National Research Council such as
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, Eager to
Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers, and From Neurons to
Neighborhoods state that standards and outcomes for young
children must address a wide range of domains: cognitive,
social, emotional, physical, language development, approaches
to learning, as well as content areas of arts, literacy,
mathematics, science, and social studies. The committee intends
that Head Start's curricula, assessments, and services continue
to be aligned to address all such domains, consistent with the
Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.
The committee also makes changes in the Head Start
Improvements for School Readiness Act to ensure appropriate and
greater alignment of Head Start services to early learning
standards for preschool age children in respective States in
which Head Start programs operate. The committee recognizes the
benefits of alignment to State early learning standards and
acknowledges that many States have developed early learning
standards for preschool age children. However, some State
standards do not cover the full range of child development and
learning.
In providing for the appropriate alignment under the Act,
it is the committee's view that any alignment of standards to
Head Start should recognize the continuity between early
learning standards and standards for elementary and secondary
grades. Curricula and assessments for preschool age children
should be consistent with developmental and age appropriate
standards, and address all areas of children's development and
learning.
The committee bill updates the Head Start educational
standards regarding the skills children need to later succeed
in school and intends such standards be consistent with the
latest scientifically based research.
The committee bill 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 early childhood 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 coordinating with other
programs to provide comprehensive child development and support
services to young children and families with incomes at far
below the poverty level receive the health, nutrition, and
educational supports that they need to be successful and
prepared to enter school ready to learn. The committee
anticipates overtime that Head Start and Early Head Start
programs will increase coordination with schools, child care,
and other preschool programs to help meet the needs to working
families and to create more cross-sector communication.
In recent years, States have begun to expand their own
early childhood development initiatives. The National Institute
for Early Education Research reported in 2004 using data from
fiscal year 2003, that 17 States used their own funds to
supplement Head Start. States sponsoring preschool programs
have expanded greatly over the past 30 years. In 1970, only
seven States funded preschool programs. According to the
National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) 40
States and the District of Columbia had some form of State-
sponsored prekindergarten program in the 2002-03 school year.
These 40 States provided early education to approximately
738,000 of the Nation's 7.8 million 3- and 4-year-olds in
prekindergarten programs, and spent over $2.54 billion to
finance these programs.
With so many different early childhood programs providing
services to the same target population, some States have sought
to improve coordination and collaboration among the programs in
order to create a cohesive system that is more responsive to
the needs of working parents, and 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 a fragmented service
delivery system and uncoordinated programs can hinder program
improvement and prevent needy children and families from
obtaining the full array of available services for which they
qualify and could benefit.
The committee has also addressed the importance of
collaboration by further expanding the current role of the Head
Start Collaborator in each State to not only collaborate and
coordinate service delivery but also to promote alignment of
Head Start services with State early learning standards, the
Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, and State regulations for
school readiness goals. 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
standards, the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, and State
regulations for school readiness goals, provide for greater
opportunities for professional development for Head Start
staff, and promote partnerships between Head Start and other
organizations. With these changes, the committee also intends
to reduce the duplication of services, prevent under
enrollment, and allow gaps in services for Head Start children
and families to be more easily addressed.
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, 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, expertise, and
resources of a variety of organizations and individuals.
The committee encourages the Secretary, in awarding
collaboration grants to the States, to award funds for
designation of a Migrant and Seasonal Farm worker 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
The committee recognizes the importance of bolstering
coordination and collaboration among Head Start and other early
childhood education programs through the establishment of a
State Advisory Council.
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 center-based 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
periodic Statewide assessment of early care and education
programs for children from birth to school entry; 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 a professional development system with a
career ladder plan for early care and education in the State;
making recommendations for a Statewide, unified data collection
system; and reviewing and approving a strategic plan to better
serve children in Head Start programs. 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.
The committee recognizes the use of Nationally established
data fields for collecting data on the child care supply.
Utilizing the data collected would strengthen the coordination
of early childhood education and maximize the existing capacity
of early childhood education in the United States. Efforts to
develop a unified State data collection system for early care
and education should incorporate child care data systems, such
as those of child care resource and referral agencies.
The committee intends to work further to strengthen the
coordination and collaboration of early care and education
programs for all needy children and families.
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 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 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 to conferences and events may be
necessary but only as such conferences relate to the overall
effectiveness and quality of Head Start programs and outcomes.
Excessive travel to Head Start conferences and events,
especially those outside the continental United States, is
generally not the most appropriate or effective use of Federal
training and technical assistance 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. The committee urges the Secretary to ensure
that expenditures are 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 by
both Head Start agencies and the Department. The committee
urges the Department 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 purpose. 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.
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.
Quality Head Start 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 success in school and
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. 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.
Therefore, the committee continues to place a significant
emphasis on program quality and requires 30 percent of new
funds for fiscal year 2006, and 40 percent for each of fiscal
years 2007 through 2010 to be set aside for quality
improvement. These funds are 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
recognizes that financial resources are needed to reach these
new goals for teacher quality. The bill begins to address this
need by ensuring that of the funds reserved (beyond those funds
necessary to adjust programs for inflation) not less than half
of all quality funds 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 outreach to families and external partners.
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 the Head Start program cannot be accomplished
without well qualified Head Start teachers who are trained in
scientifically-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 throughout their careers to strengthen their
knowledge and skills for promoting children's language,
prereading and early writing, as well as other cognitive areas.
Head Start research and evaluation
There is an ongoing need for high quality research about
the effectiveness of Head Start. During the 1998
reauthorization, Congress took a giant step forward by
commissioning a National study on the impact of Head Start
services to provide valuable data comparing the outcomes of
children in Head Start programs with similar children who do
not participate in the program. In June, 2005, Department of
Health and Human Services published the first year preliminary
findings of the Head Start Impact Study. The committee looks
forward to the final report of the Head Start Impact Study in
2007, which will be useful for the committee in helping reform
the program so that all grantees can have a positive impact on
children in the program.
In 1997, Head Start launched the Family and Child
Experiences Survey (known as FACES) to provide valuable
information on child outcomes and program performance quality
over time. FACES is a study of a National random sample of Head
Start programs, but is not designed to compare Head Start
participants to other children in other preschool programs
serving a similar population or other situations if not
enrolled in a Head Start program. Plans are currently underway
by the Department of Health and Human Services for the third
round of data under the FACES study. 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 programs 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.
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 (NAS), to facilitate greater information
and recommendations on their further development,
appropriateness, and application. Once NAS completes its report
and recommendations, the Department of Health and Human
Services will use 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.
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. The committee hopes that recommendations of
this panel will be used by the Secretary to inform and guide
the development and implementation of the recommended
educational standards for Head Start program participants.
The committee notes with some concern there is insufficient
research focusing on American Indian and Alaska Native Head
Start programs, thus limiting the availability of
scientifically based research 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 program
participants. 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
Efforts to improve family literacy also are an important
component of the Head Start program. Family literacy
activities, including financial literacy services, are critical
to ensure the cohesive delivery of services to families and to
enhance parental involvement in their child's education, which
is significantly challenged if parents themselves cannot read.
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.
Since the 1998 reauthorization of Head Start, grantees have
received exemplary services and nearly 50,000 children's books
have been placed in Head Start classrooms. In addition, nearly
2,000 Head Start parent-mentors have received training to
better prepare them to support their child's language and
literacy development and to encourage other parents to do the
same. 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 will be better prepared for school and Head Start
parents will be better able to fulfill their role as their
child's first and best teacher.
Father involvement
The committee hopes that Head Start agencies will take
appropriate steps to encourage fathers and other adult role
models (as appropriate) to participate in the academic, social,
and emotional development of children enrolled in Head Start
programs. The committee has included language requiring Head
Startprograms to extend outreach to fathers, in appropriate
cases, and feels that the involvement of both parents is crucial to the
education of young children, and to the success of the Head Start
program. The committee feels strongly that parent involvement provides
a more stable learning environment and increased long-term emotional,
social and health benefits.
Underserved and at-risk populations
While all children served by the Head Start program are
economically in need there are some subgroups of the eligible
Head Start population that are particularly at risk, and often
underserved. According to a study conducted by the Department
of Health and Human Services in 2001, less than 19 percent of
the eligible children of migrant and seasonal workers receive
Head Start services. Similarly, the Indian Head Start program
serves only 16 percent of eligible children. The committee bill
attempts to increase the participation of these children by
increasing the percentage set aside for Indian Head Start and
for Migrant and Seasonal Head Start to 4 and 5 percent
respectively.
In an effort to address the unique challenges faced by
American Indian and Alaska Native children, 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 children will allow for a better understanding of their
unique needs.
Homeless children 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
limited program capacity and availability, transportation, and
immunizations and residency requirements as representing
significant barriers within the Head Start program for homeless
children to access Head Start services. 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 have 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.
Homeless children in Head Start programs
Over 40 percent of children living in homeless shelters are
under the age of 5, and are at an age where early childhood
education can have a significant positive impact on their
development and future academic achievement. Homeless children
experience more developmental delays, health problems, and
other challenges, which make enrollment and access to Head
Start programs important for success in school.
Many barriers have limited homeless children's access to
and participation in Head Start, including high mobility, lack
of required documentation, lack of transportation, and lack of
coordination. In order to overcome these barriers the committee
urges Head Start grantees to increase their outreach,
recruitment, and enrollment of families in homeless situations;
to provide appropriate services to meet their needs; and to
collaborate with relevant community agencies.
To eliminate these barriers to homeless families'
participation in Head Start, the Head Start Improvements for
School Readiness Act includes many provisions specifically
designed to increase the participation of homeless families in
Head Start programs. It is the committee's intent that when the
Secretary issues regulations to implement these provisions of
the act that consideration is given to procedures that will
eliminate and address the identified barriers to homeless
families' participation in Head Start programs. The committee
recognizes the Head Start Bureau's historical encouragement of
local Head Start grantees to target homeless families whenever
possible to address the challenges such families experience.
Research has demonstrated the importance of early childhood
education for homeless children, offering the stability and
supports needed for a child to cope with his or her situation.
In general, when a grantee works on its community needs
assessment, it should ensure that it accounts for homeless
families. The mean income of homeless families is 46 percent of
the poverty line; homeless families are often so poor and so
mobile that they are not accounted for in standard census
measures. For this reason, extra efforts should be made to
include homeless families in calculations of the concentration
of low-income families in a geographic area. The Secretary may
require that grantees in their community needs assessment take
into account the percentage of homeless pre-school age children
in the service area. Grantees should be particularly cognizant
of all underserved populations in their community such as
homeless children, children in foster care, and children with
disabilities. The Secretary should ask grantees to report on
efforts to remove barriers, facilitate enrollment, and
prioritize children who are most in need of Head Start services
in their community. Family transportation needs of underserved
populations should be addressed in Head Start planning efforts.
The goal of reducing underenrollment should not discourage
grantees from serving underserved populations, including
homeless children. Therefore, regulations should clarify that
provisions designed to reduce under-enrollment are not meant to
prohibit or discourage Head Start grantees from serving
homeless children. If a homeless child moves out of the
program's service area, to the extent feasible and at the
request of the parent, such child can continue to participate
in such program until the end of the year.
Documentation for homeless children continues to be a
barrier. The committee recognizes the difficulty in securing
documents (e.g. proof of age, proof of residency, birth
certificates, and immunization and other medical records) for
homeless children and should be able to demonstrate that they
are in the process of obtaining such documents from a relevant
agency. Homeless families, when appropriate, should be allowed
to produce alternative proofs of residency and evidence of such
documents. To facilitate effective transitions, grantees should
request records from previous service providers and transfer
the records of former program participants in a timely manner.
The committee encourages States and localities to review laws,
policies, or regulations that act as barriers to the enrollment
of homeless children in Head Start programs, in particular in
respect to relevant documentation and records. It is the
committee's intent that when the Secretary develops
regulations, the Secretary considers such State or local
reviews, especially with respect to documentation policies.
It is important to the committee that better and more
consistent data relating to homeless children and families is
obtained. Therefore, the committee urges the Secretary to
include a specific analysis of the status of homeless children
and children in foster care in the report on the status of
children participating in Head Start programs.
Limited English proficient children and families
Approximately 28 percent of the children served by Head
Start speak a language other than English at home and come to
Head Start centers with limited English skills. 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
immigrantcommunity, the number of children who will come to the
Head Start program speaking a language other than English will only
increase in the foreseeable 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 children through
linguistically appropriate approaches so that such children
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 children 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 children.
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.
Currently, children with disabilities comprise 13 percent of
the total Head Start population.
Today, over 134,000 children with disabilities participate
in Head Start and Early Head Start programs, including children
with speech and language impairments, autism, orthopedic
impairments, mental retardation, developmental delays, and
learning disabilities. Within Head Start programs, children
with disabilities receive individualized services in an
inclusive, integrated environment that prepares them to enter
their neighborhood school. The population of children with
disabilities served in Head Start has increased by 26,000
children since 1997.
The committee recognizes the important role that 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 training
and technical assistance specifically related to those who care
for children with disabilities.
Assessments of young children
Recent research on child development and learning has shown
integrating a child's cognitive development with his or her
social, emotional, and physical development promotes greater
school readiness. Consistent with that research, Head Start
programs are currently guided in their curriculum and program
practice by the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, which
provides guidance toward an integrated approach of child
development and learning, with a variety of indicators within
each area of child development (i.e., social, emotional,
physical, cognitive, etc.). The Framework also is helpful to
programs in their efforts to analyze and use data on child
outcomes in program self-assessment and continuous improvement.
Recent reports conducted by the National Academy of
Sciences, such as Neurons to Neighborhoods and Eager to Learn:
Educating Our Preschoolers, 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 and reliable 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 ongoing need to consult and rely on
recommendations from independent experts in the development and
application of such outcomes and assessments. The committee
expects that Head Start agencies will have a process to assess
each of the elements important to a child's school readiness
and later performance in school, including cognitive abilities,
motor and sensory development. The Head Start agency may choose
the assessment so long as it is valid and reliable and meets
recognized technical standards.
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 achievement of children and the
knowledge, skills, and competency of classroom teachers.
Teachers in Head Start programs must be adequately trained and
educated, particularly in effectively providing prereading,
language, and premathematics instruction as well as social,
emotional, and physical development.
While Nationally, the Head Start program has met the
requirement that 50 percent of its teachers have at least an
Associates degree, the committee believes that improvements can
be made. Nationally among existing State prekindergarten
programs, about 75 percent of classroom teachers have either a
bachelor's degree (BA) with specialized training in early
childhood or a master's degree (MA) (Gilliam, 2005). In order
to promote the highest quality instruction and learning
environment as possible, the committee has taken a number of
steps to strengthen the educational requirements for Head Start
teachers.
Over the next 5 years (by September 30, 2010), all Head
Start teachers in center-based programs must have at least an
Associate's Degree (AA) relating to early childhood development
or an AA in a related educational area with coursework related
to early childhood development; and, demonstrated teaching
competencies as determined by the Head Start director.
Over the next 3 years (by September 30, 2008), all Head
Start curriculum specialists and education coordinators in
center-based programs must have a Bachelor's Degree (BA)
relating to early childhood development or a BA or advanced
degree and coursework equivalent to a minor relating to early
childhood development.
Over the next 3 years (by September 30, 2008), all Head
Start assistant teachers in center-based programs must have a
Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or be enrolled in
a CDA program to be completed within 2 years.
Over the next 6 years (by September 30, 2011), at least 50
percent of all Head Start teachers in each center-based program
must have a BA relating to early childhood education or a BA
with specialized training for prekindergarten and demonstrated
teacher competencies.
Head Start agencies in States with more rigorous standards
for teaching prekindergarten must meet those standards.
Head Start agencies must demonstrate continued progress
each year in hiring more highly educated teaching staff for
Head Start classrooms.
The committee strongly believes that continuing
professional development is also an important element to
improving the Head Start teaching workforce. Each Head Start
teacher shall have at least 15 clock hours of
professionaldevelopment per year. Such professional development shall
be high quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom focused in order
to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction.
The committee believes that encouraging current Head Start
staff to return to school is an important goal. If Head Start
funds are used to provide financial assistance to pursue a
degree in higher education, the Head Start employee must remain
employed with Head Start for at least 3 years after receiving
the degree or repays the total or prorated amount.
The committee understands that there are State and Federal
student financial aid programs available to Head Start
personnel to pursue higher education degrees. It is the
committee's intent that, to the extent possible, these sources
of financial aid should be accessed to assist Head Start
personnel to meet the teacher quality and staff qualification
requirements under this act.
The committee's primary objective is to improve outcomes
for children in Head Start programs by strengthening the
quality of the programs serving these children. According to
the National Institute for Early Education Research, ``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. The
National Adult Literacy Survey found that literacy and verbal
skill levels are clearly linked to formal educational
attainment levels and individuals who have earned a Bachelor's
degree have a broader vocabulary than individuals who have an
Associates degree.
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. The challenges in securing and maintaining
teaching staff with advanced degrees is particularly acute for
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs, Indian Head Start
programs and programs that require bilingual teaching staff,
and rural grantees. The committee acknowledges that many of the
challenges faced by these programs are systemic by virtue of
how and where they operate and urges the Secretary to assist
grantees in meeting these challenges.
Upon request by the Head Start grantee, the Secretary may
grant a waiver of the Head Start teacher requirements. The
committee has given the Secretary broad waiver authority for
grantees, including rural and seasonal programs that can
demonstrate continued aggressive statewide and National efforts
have been unsuccessful at recruiting staff to satisfy the
degree requirements as provided in the committee bill. This
authority provides for a renewable 1 year waiver to such
grantees that are unable to meet the degree requirements.
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 views the teacher requirements as an
important goal for all Head Start center-based programs.
However, in implementing the requirements of this section, the
Secretary shall not impose penalties or sanctions on individual
Head Start programs or staff in the Head Start monitoring
process, as a result of failing to meet the levels of teachers
holding such credentials prescribed under this section.
Early Head Start
Neurological research demonstrates that during the first 3
years of life 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 first 3
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
4.
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 the Early
Head Start program 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 which
currently serves three percent of eligible children, increasing
the current 10 percent set aside of total Head Start
appropriations to 18 percent by 2010. The committee provides
for such increase, so long as these increases will not reduce
services for preschool age children in the Head Start programs.
Services for parents to support their role as parents are a
critical component of the Early Head Start program. According
to the National Academy of Sciences, 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 concluded that Early Head Start
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 achievement and success of Early Head Start.
The committee expects that Early Head Start programs will
continue to offer required 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.
Because so many infants and toddlers are in the care of
relatives, friends, or neighbors, the committee intends that
Early Head Start programs provide home-based services to family
child care homes and kith and kin caregivers caring for infants
and toddlers who also participate in Early Head Start services.
These home-based services will enhance the ability of kith and
kin caregivers to provide continuity in supporting children's
physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development. The
committee intends that Early Head Start should be able to
implement successful models for kith and kin care emerging from
the Department of Health and Human Service's Enhanced Home
Visiting Project. The committee also feels that while training
and services may be provided directly to other caregivers when
parents are unable to attend, services under this section
should also continue to be provided to children's immediate
families.
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.
Further, it is critical that training for Early Head Start
programs focus on the unique social and emotional development
of infants and toddlers. Attending to the social and emotional
development of very young children is important to their
overall functioning, their ability to form and maintain
relationships, their ability to learn, and their future success
in school and life.
Designation and competition of Head Start agencies
It is the committee's intent with this bill to improve the
accountability, quality, and outcomes of Head Start programs
for children and their families. This goal is accomplished in
two ways: by ensuring that the funding for those grantees with
significant or recurring deficiencies is suspended or
terminated; and by assisting grantees in improving their
performance through training and technical assistance.
All grantees, even those with priority designation, are
required to submit an application for funding every 5 years.
For initial designation as a Head Start grantee, an entity must
demonstrate the power, authority, and capability to administer
a Head Start program, and shall establish program goals for
improving the school readiness of Head Start children. Current
grantees that are eligible to apply are those that have met or
are making progress toward meeting program goals, the Head
Start performance standards, and the Head Start Child Outcomes
Framework. However, only those high performing grantees that
are currently receiving funding, have met or exceeded program
and financial requirements, have no unresolved deficiencies and
have not had findings of deficiencies during their last
triennial review, and can demonstrate active collaboration with
other State or local providers of services to children, are
eligible to receive priority designation. The committee
believes expanding the universe of organizations eligible to
compete and operate Head Start programs may result in improved
program performance and stronger Head Start programs overall.
The committee recognizes that all grantees, even high
performing grantees, and ultimately the children will benefit
from ongoing continuous improvement of the program.
The committee understands the significance of a priority
designation for grantees in the open competition process.
Therefore, language in the bill clearly defines what
constitutes a deficiency and an area of unresolved
noncompliance. A deficiency is defined as a systemic or
substantial failure of an agency in an area of performance that
the Secretary determines involves: a threat to the health,
safety, or civil rights of children or staff; a denial to
parents to exercise their full roles and responsibilities
related to program operations; a failure to comply with
standards related to early childhood development and health
services, family and community partnerships, or program design
and management; the misuse of funds under this subchapter; loss
of legal status or financial viability, loss of permits,
debarment from receiving Federal grants or contracts, or the
improper use of Federal funds; or the failure to meet any other
Federal or State requirement that the agency has shown an
unwillingness or inability to correct, after notice from the
Secretary.
An agency can also be deemed deficient by: a systemic
failure of the board of directors if it fails to fully exercise
its legal and fiduciary responsibilities; a substantial failure
of an agency to meet the administrative requirements of section
644(b); the failure of an agency to demonstrate that it has
attempted to meet the coordination and collaboration
requirements with entities described in section
640(a)(5)(D)(iii)(I); or, having an area of unresolved
noncompliance. By using the term systemic or substantial in
nature, a deficiency is reserved for serious failure to conform
to Head Start performance standards.
The committee was very concerned with some of the findings
of the GAO's February 28, 2005 report entitled Head Start:
Comprehensive Approach to Identifying and Addressing Risks
Could Help Prevent Grantee Financial Management Weaknesses.
This report determined that 53 percent of grantees identified
with noncompliance were again cited for noncompliance in their
next reviews.
The committee recognizes that a noncompliance is not the
same level of severity as a deficiency. However, it was
unsatisfactory to the committee that programs failed to correct
a noncompliance in a timely manner. The committee defined the
term unresolved area of noncompliance as a failure of a program
to correct a noncompliance within 120 days or within additional
time as authorized by the Secretary. A program failing to
resolve an area of noncompliance within 120 days will be deemed
deficient.
The committee recognizes that some non-compliances are
procedural in nature, and as such cannot be ``undone.'' In
these cases, the committee expects that resolution of the
noncompliance will involve the implementation of policies and
procedures that will ensure future compliance with the Head
Start statute and regulations.
All grantees with a current deficiency or a deficiency
identified in the last triennial review will be subject to an
open competition without priority designation. Any eligible
grantee that has had a deficiency is encouraged to compete for
designation. If a Head Start agency resolves deficiencies and
areas of non-compliance within the timeframe of the quality
improvement plan, such agencies shall receive special
consideration in such open competition. The committee also
expects that the current practice of self-certification
regarding the resolution of findings of noncompliance will be
continued.
The committee anticipates high performing grantees will be
awarded a subsequent grant for 5 years and remain Head Start
grantees because consistency is very important for the Head
Start program especially for the children served by these
grants. The committee also recognizes that many Head Start
grantees are doing a very good job administering their grants.
In the case of Indian Head Start programs, the committee
intends that any grant awarded for these purposes will go to an
Indian Head Start grantee. In the event that an eligible Indian
Head Start grantee is not available, children shall continue to
receive services until an Indian Head Start grantee becomes
available and designated.
Head Start performance standards, educational standards and measures
As a National laboratory for early childhood development,
the Head Start program has always been concerned with the
quality of its programs and its effects on children and
families. Since 1975, the Head Start program 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 3 years.
Process indicators will continue to be important to the Head
Start program because of the belief that the quality and
quantity of services provided are inextricably linked to the
effects of the program.
Head Start's performance standards are also critical to
maintaining the highest quality of services in Head Start
centers. Such standards include mandatory regulations for Head
Start grantees and prescribe the characteristics 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 comprehensive services such as
immunizations, health services, nutrition, education, and the
involvement of parent programs. The committee recognizes that
the gains in development and school readiness outcomes made by
Head Start children are closely associated with Head Start's
performance standards.
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 the Head Start
program 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, have not
generally been applied to local grantees until the 1998
reauthorization; rather, they have provided a snapshot of Head
Start program quality.
The national reporting system and assessment
In 1998, the committee included and Congress passed a
provision requiring results-based national performance measures
to be applied locally and specifically to all programs, 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 the Head
Start program. In addition to the assessments, currently
administered in the Head Start program, to measure child
outcomes, the Department of Health and Human Services
hasdeveloped the National Reporting System to fulfill the results based
performance measurement requirement under this act.
The NRS is a 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 4 and 5 years old
in the Head Start program. At this time, the National Reporting
System does not assess the other six domains of child
development.
Children are assessed regularly in every Head Start program
around the country. 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 to
improve instruction, services, and overall program quality. In
some cases, while data from these assessments may be useful to
inform the instructional needs of individual children at the
local level, they cannot be used to evaluate and compare rates
of progress and the readiness of children in Head Start
programs nationwide. The National Reporting System is not
designed to replace any of the current assessments used by
local programs.
The bill directs an independent panel of experts to make
recommendations to the Secretary regarding assessment and
outcomes for Head Start programs, including the following:
1. The development of additional performance measures
(including social-emotional development) to assess the
achievement of children in the Head Start program, and
provide information on how the results will be used to
improve the quality and accountability of the Head
Start program, as well as targeted training and
technical assistance; and
2. the process by which validity and reliability will
be incorporated.
The committee encourages the Secretary to examine the
impact of such assessments on Head Start practices and
instruction, and how such assessments and data analysis will be
conducted, including training for teachers. The committee does
not intend that the results of National assessments be used as
the sole measure to evaluate Head Start programs.
It is the committee's view that a stronger accountability
system is needed to ensure that Head Start children are
prepared for school. The committee intends to give further
consideration to the administration, implementation, and use of
the National Reporting 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 31
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
The committee recognizes that, according to the latest
monitoring report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 85 percent of current Head Start grantees are
providing quality services. However, 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. Over the past 10 years the
Department has terminated approximately 170 Head Start
grantees.
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
committee bill 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 receiving
priority in designation of their Head Start grant. All grantees
are required to reapply every 5 years consistent with the terms
for financial assistance under the Head Start Improvements for
School Readiness Act.
Governing body
The committee believes that there needs to be an entity
with fiscal and legal liability that can be held accountable
for program operations and oversight. The committee recognizes
that, under current Head Start regulations, the Governing Body
has fiscal and legal liability for Head Start programs. The
committee believes that by establishing the roles and
responsibilities of the Governing Body or Board in the Head
Start statute, grantees structure will be strengthened and
clarified. Policy Councils do not currently have fiscal and
legal liability and the committee agrees that they are not the
appropriate entity for such responsibilities. The Head Start
Improvements for School Readiness Act takes a number of steps
to ensure that Head Start agency has a Governing Body or Board
that is actively engaged and can provide more effective
oversight, which the committee believes is an important role
given their fiscal and legal responsibility and liability for
the program.
The bill makes additional requirements regarding the
composition of the Board. The Board must reflect the community
being served, including at least one person with experience in
fiscal management, and at least one person with experience in
early childhood development. If feasible, the Board should
include at least one individual with knowledge of the Head
Start program and its performance standards. In the event that
individuals with experience in fiscal management and early
childhood development are not serving on the Board, the Board
is encouraged to obtain help in these areas from consultants.
The committee also intends for public agencies operating Head
Start programs be permitted to make use of existing employees
who have such expertise.
The committee believes that the Board is responsible for
developing internal controls to safeguard Federal funds and to
comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The Board's
role is to establish policies and procedures to detect or
prevent program noncompliance, and develop procedures to
facilitate meaningful consultation and collaboration.
By strengthening the role of the Board in Head Start
programs, the committee by no means is abolishing the Policy
Councils and intends for Policy Councils to continue in their
role and capacity of support for quality Head Start programs.
Parents have long played a central role in the operations of
Head Start programs. The committee is clear in its intent by
requiring the Board to consult with the Policy Council in the
areas set forth in the act, as well as for the Policy Council
to have its own appropriate roles and responsibilities. The
committee expects the Board to consult with the Policy Council,
and has prescribed impasse procedures for when the Board and
the Policy Council disagree, in order to resolve such disputes.
The committee also encourages parents and others in the
community in which Head Start operates to actively serve on the
Board.
To facilitate oversight and Head Start agency
accountability, the Board shall receive regular and accurate
information from the Head Start agency about program planning,
policies and operations, including PIR and audit reports.
The committee intends that training and technical
assistance to be provided to the members of the Board and
Policy Councils, if appropriate, to ensure that theyunderstand
their oversight responsibilities and can effectively oversee the
programs.
Oversight and Monitoring
At least once every 3 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
factor in ensuring that Head Start grantees meet the guidelines
established for their program. Appropriate oversight ensures
that program effectiveness 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.
The committee believes that the PRISM reviews need to be
conducted, to the greatest extent possible, in a consistent and
reliable manner. It is the committee's intent that the conduct
of such reviews of Head Start grantees provide for greater
consistency across all variables such as time, reviewers and
geographical location. No Head Start program should be
recompeted without all the same advantages of a program in good
standing simply because inconsistencies in the review process
led to them being given a more severe evaluation than other
similar programs. As such, amendments to the act ensure that a
portion of the technical and training assistance dollars are
allocated to provide training and improve the inter-rater
reliability of the PRISM reviews.
The committee recognizes that the monitoring process has
new consequences associated with it because grantees can lose
their priority designation in the recompetition process if they
are found to be deficient. In order to ensure the integrity of
the monitoring process by ACF, the committee has added
provisions regarding interrater reliability.
The committee also defines interrater reliability to mean
the extent to which two different raters or observers
consistently obtain the same result when using the same
assessment.
The committee bill allows the Department to contract out
for activities associated with the monitoring of Head Start
grantees. In order to ensure the integrity of the monitoring
process, the committee believes the Department 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. The committee intends for the change to
maintain the integrity of the monitoring process and prevent
undue influence by personal relationships between grantees and
the regional offices.
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 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
access to program services by eligible low-income children. The
committee is concerned about reports indicating that some Head
Start grantees have experienced 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 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 with
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 after 9
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
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 redirect such amounts to
other Head Start agencies.
Financial audits
In addition to conducting on-site inspections, regional ACF
staff also monitors 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 look out for 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. During the 108th Congress, the Subcommittee on Children
and Families 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 such
parents 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, 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
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 the Head Start program, the
committee further encourages the Secretary to recommend a
sufficient number of children's books for each Head Start
classroom.
The committee also recognizes the importance of enhancing
linkages between Head Start programs and libraries. As such,
the bill encourages Head Start programs to collaborate with
local libraries, where available, that are interested in that
collaboration, to develop innovative programs to excite
children about the world of books. Such programs may 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; to supplement
the collection with books on various themes of the week or, 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 the Centers of Excellence in
Early Childhood, which was originally proposed by Senator
Alexander on July 28, 2003.
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 built 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 school
system and other State-run social service programs, such as
Medicaid and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
program, centers that have the potential to drive effective
collaboration within their State would be nominated by their
Governor.
The Secretary of HHS would select 146 Centers of Excellence
from among nominations submitted by the Governors. The
Secretary would name an additional 54 centers, with a goal of
having at least one Center of Excellence in each State, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico. It is also the committee's
intent that one or more Indian Head Start, and Migrant and
Seasonal Head Start programs will be recognized as Centers of
Excellence. The bill permits exemplary Indian Head Start
programs and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs to be
nominated by their respective regional office (region 11 and
region 12) instead of the Governor.
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.
When making bonus grants the Secretary shall give a
priority to programs that demonstrate that they are of
exceptional quality and would serve as exemplary models for
programs in their geographic region. The Secretary may also
consider the population served by the applicant especially if
they are serving an underserved population. Programs that have
a record of doing an exceptional job of serving underserved
populations should be given this priority as well.
Head Start programs identified as Centers of Excellence
would receive a Federal bonus grant of at least $200,000 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 when 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 to:
1. 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. coordinate all early childhood services in their
community;
3. offer training and support to all professionals
working with at-risk children;
4. track these families and ensure seamless
continuity of services from birth to age 8, with an
emphasis on working in partnership with public schools
to ensure that Head Start children succeed in school;
5. 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. 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 intends that a Center for Excellence that
uses its bonus grant for activities related to infants and
toddlers must demonstrate existing expertise in providing
services to this age group. The developmental needs of infants
and toddlers are unique and require teachers that have
knowledge of infant and toddler development.
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.
Funding
The committee bill authorize the Head Start program at
$7.215 billion for fiscal year 2006, $7.515 billion for fiscal
year 2007, $7.815 billion for fiscal year 2008, and such sums
for fiscal years 2009 and 2010. By increasing the authorization
level in the Head Start program by $300 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 due in large part 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. The committee
felt it was important to retain the 100 percent Federal poverty
level in determining the formula allocation to States under the
Head Start Program. However, the committee has raised the
eligibility level from 100 percent to 130 percent of the
Federal poverty level consistent with eligibility for the free
school lunch, school breakfast and special milk programs. The
committee intends for such policy to help families that strive
to move off welfare to continue to access the Head Start
program and to provide additional opportunities for
participation of working poor families in Head Start programs.
The 130 percent is intended to permit programs to serve
children up to 130 percent of the Federal poverty level just as
programs are currently allowed to serve 10 percent of over
income children. The 130 percent would not count toward the 10
percent of over income children served by programs. The
committee does not intend that the 130 percent be taken into
account when determining eligible children for the purpose of
the formula or allotment of funds.
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 four percent of
the Head Start annual appropriation, enabling them to serve
only 19 percent of eligible migrant and seasonal children,
compared to 50 percent of the eligible population served by the
regular Head Start program. Indian Head Start programs serve
over 23,000 children each year; however that number represents
only 16 percent of eligible children. The committee recognizes
the need to expand services to additional eligible children.
The committee has taken steps to address this issue by
directing the Secretary to allocate five percent of the funds
reserved under section 640a(2) to Migrant and Seasonal Head
Start programs. The committee has also directed the Secretary
to allocate four percent of the reserved funds to Indian Head
Start programs. The committee intends that all new money
available from the Secretary's 13 percent set aside under
increases in annual appropriations for Head Start reserved by
the Secretary under section 640a(2) be directed to such
programs in a proportionate manner until the five percent
allocations are achieved. The committee ensures that the
programs do not reduce the number of children served in
existing Head Start programs. The committee further intends
that funding increases allow current programs to expand the
number of children served, as well as establish new programs in
areas that lack services to these populations of children.
Priority funding and regular Head Start expansion grants
The committee bill provides any remaining funds after
maintaining required reservations in section 640 and adjusting
current Head Start programs for inflation shall be used for
quality improvement funds. In fiscal year 2006, 30 percent of
such funds shall be used for quality improvement activities and
40 percent shall be used for each fiscal year 2007 through 2010
for these purposes. The committee intends the remaining
percentages be used for program expansion grants.
In allocating the 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. Up to this
point Head Start funds were not allocated through a formula. At
the time the formula was instituted currently funded grantees
were provided a hold harmless to ensure that they did not see a
reduction in their funding.
The result of the hold harmless is that 22 States receive
funds above their share of child poverty population. For
example, 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. The committee has
taken steps to address this problem and ensure that States
ability to serve their eligible population has not been
compromised.
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 under
funded (based on the percentage of eligible children being
served in that State.) The committee intends for the Secretary
in implementing this provision shall assign a priority to the
28 States adversely affected by the 1978 hold harmless
provision and shall distribute such funds in accordance with
the current formula allocation in the Head Start Act. The
remaining 35 percent of expansion funds shall be allocated
among all States based upon the current formula. Although the
committee acknowledges this is not a full resolution to the
funding discrepancies between the States it begins to remedy
this situation.
V. Cost Estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 7, 2005.
Hon. Mike Enzi,
Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1107, the Head Start
Improvements for School Readiness Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kathleen
FitzGerald.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth M. Robinson,
(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
Enclosure.
S. 1107--Head Start Improvements for School Readiness Act
Summary: S. 1107 would reauthorize the Head Start program
through 2010. The program was authorized through 2003 by Coats
Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-285)
and has since been extended through annual appropriation acts.
CBO estimates that the bill would authorize additional
appropriations of $7.3 billion in 2006 and about $39.1 billion
over the 2006-2010 period, assuming that annual levels are
adjusted for inflation when specific annual appropriation
levels are not provided. (Without such inflation adjustments,
the authorizations would total about $38.7 billion over the
2006-2010 period.) CBO estimates that appropriation of the
authorized levels would result in additional outlays of $35.2
billion over the 2006-2010 period, assuming annual adjustments
for inflation (and about $34.9 billion without adjustments for
inflation). Enacting S. 1107 would not affect direct spending
or receipts.
S. 1107 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
Any costs to state, local, or tribal governments would result
from complying with conditions for receiving federal
assistance.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 1107 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 500
(education, training, employment, and social services).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-----------------------------------------------
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2020
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Head Start Spending Under Current Law:
Budget Authority 1.......................................... 6,843 1,400 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays........................................... 6,810 3,735 765 96 14 0
Proposed Changes:
Head Start:
Estimated Authorization Level........................... 0 7,215 7,515 7,815 7,958 8,102
Estimated Outlays....................................... 0 4,113 7,170 7,605 7,885 8,033
Bonus Grants to Centers for Excellence in Early Childhood:
Authorization Level..................................... 0 90 90 90 90 90
Estimated Outlays....................................... 0 5 51 87 89 90
Administrative Costs for Centers for Excellence in Early
Childhood:
Authorization Level..................................... 0 3 3 3 3 3
Estimated Outlays....................................... 0 * 1 2 2 3
Research Activities for Centers for Excellence in Early
Childhood:
Authorization Level..................................... 0 2 2 2 2 2
Estimated Outlays....................................... 0 * 1 2 2 2
Tribal Colleges and Universities Head Start Partnerships:
Estimated Authorization Level........................... 0 10 10 10 11 11
Estimated Outlays....................................... 0 1 7 9 10 10
Total Proposed Changes:
Estimated Authorization Level....................... 0 7,320 7,620 7,920 8,063 8,207
Estimated Outlays................................... 0 4,118 7,230 7,706 7,988 8,138
Total Spending Under S. 1107:
Estimated Authorization Level............................... 6,843 8,720 7,620 7,920 8,063 8,207
Estimated Outlays........................................... 6,810 7,853 7,995 7,802 8,002 8,138
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 2005 level is the amount appropriated for the Head Start program including an advance of $1.389 billion
for the 2004-2005 academic year. The 2006 level is the amount appropriated in an advance appropriation for the
2005-2006 academic year.
Notes: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. * = less than $500,000.
Basis of estimate: S. 1107 would reauthorize the Head Start
program through 2010. The program is currently authorized
through September 30, 2005, by the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2005 (Public Law 108-447). For this estimate, CBO assumes
that the bill will be enacted near the start of fiscal year
2006, that the estimated amounts shown in the table will be
appropriated for each year, and that outlays will follow
historical spending patterns.
CBO estimates that S. 1107 would authorize total funding of
$39.1 billion over the 2006-2010 period assuming that ``such
sums'' amounts provided after 2006 reflect adjustments for
inflation. If the authorized amounts are appropriated, outlays
would increase by $4.1 billion in 2006 and by $35.2 billion
over the 5-year period.
The above table presents CBO's estimates for the different
components of the bill. For the overall Head Start program, the
bill would specify authorized amounts for fiscal years 2006
through 2008 and would authorize the appropriation of such sums
as may be necessary in 2009 and 2010. CBO's estimate of
authorized levels in 2009 and 2010 is the authorized amount for
2008 adjusted for inflation. The amounts authorized for bonus
grants, administration, and research for the Centers of
Excellence in Early Childhood are specified in each year. For
the Tribal Colleges and Universities Head Start Partnerships
program, the bill specifies a 2006 level, and CBO's estimate of
the authorizations from 2007 through 2010 is that amount
inflated.
Head Start
S. 1107 would revise and reauthorize the Head Start program
through 2010. The Head Start program provides comprehensive
child development services to low-income children. Services
include education, health, nutrition, and social services with
the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young
children in low-income families.
The bill would authorize the appropriation of $7.215
billion in 2006 (in addition to the $1.4 billion already
appropriated for that year), $7.515 billion in 2007, $7.815
billion in 2008, and such sums as may be necessary in 2009 and
2010. CBO estimates that the total authorizations for the 2006-
2010 period would be about $38.6 billion, assuming adjustments
for inflation, with resulting outlays of $34.8 billion over
those 5 years.
Funding for this program currently is provided on a
program-year basis through appropriations in two separate
fiscal years: a current fiscal year appropriation and an
advance appropriation available October 1 of the next fiscal
year. Although the program has been funded by two separate
appropriations since 2001, funding does not need to be
authorized separately because all of the funds for a program
year could be provided in one appropriation.
Centers for Excellence in Early Childhood
The bill would permanently authorize appropriations of
about $95 million a year for a new Centers for Excellence in
Early Childhood grant program. The Secretary of Health and
Human Services (HHS) could designate 200 exemplary Head Start
agencies as such Centers of Excellence. These centers would
receive bonus grants to carry out various activities including
enrolling additional children and providing training to
teachers. The Secretary also would be authorized to make a
grant to an independent organization to conduct research on the
ability of centers to improve school readiness of the children
receiving Head Start services and to measure the success of the
centers. The bill would authorize $90 million a year for bonus
grants, $2.5 million annually for HHS administrative costs, and
$2 million a year for research. CBO estimates that providing
these amounts would result in outlays of $338 million over the
next 5 years.
Tribal colleges and universities Head Start partnerships
S. 1107 would create a new Tribal Colleges and Universities
Head Start Partnership program and authorize the appropriation
of $10 million in 2006 and such sums as may be necessary from
2007 through 2010. The bill would authorize the Secretary of
HHS to award 5-year grants to tribal colleges and universities
to create education programs on tribal culture and language, to
increase the number of Indian Head Start staff members and
parents with advanced degrees in early childhood education and
related fields, and for other purposes. CBO estimates that
providing the necessary amounts would result in outlays of $37
million over the 2006-2010 period.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1107
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined by UMRA. The bill would authorize over $7 billion
annually for fiscal years 2006 through 2010 to support Head
Start and Early Head Start program activities, including new
standards for the education and professional development of
teachers serving program participants. Any costs incurred by
State, local, or tribal governments would result from complying
with conditions for receiving Federal assistance.
Previous CBO estimate: On June 2, 2005, CBO transmitted a
cost estimate for H.R. 2123, the School Readiness Act of 2005,
as ordered reported by the House Committee on Education and the
Workforce on May 18, 2005. That bill would authorize the
overall Head Start program from 2006 through 2011 (as opposed
to 2006 through 2010) and would authorize slightly less funding
in those years than S. 1107. The Senate bill will authorize two
new grant programs that are not included in the House bill.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Kathleen FitzGerald;
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Lisa Ramirez-
Branum; Impact on the Private Sector: Meena Fernandes.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
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 in prereading, 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 637(20) defines ``deficiency'' as a systemic or
substantial failure of an agency in an area of performance that
the Secretary determines involves: a threat to the health,
safety, or civil rights of children or staff; a denial to
parents to exercise their full roles and responsibilities
related to program operations; a failure to comply with
standards related to early childhood development and health
services, family and community partnerships, or program design
and management; the misuse of funds under this subchapter; loss
of legal status or financial viability, loss of permits,
debarment from receiving Federal grants or contracts, or the
improper use of Federal funds; or the failure to meet any other
Federal or State requirement that the agency has shown an
unwillingness or inability to correct, after notice from the
Secretary. A systemic failure of the board of directors if it
fails to fully exercise its legal and fiduciary
responsibilities. A substantial failure of an agency to meet
the administrative requirements of section 644(b). A failure of
an agency to demonstrate that is has attempted to meet the
coordination and collaboration requirements and entities
described in section 640(a)(5)(D)(iii)(I). An agency having an
area of unresolved noncompliance.
Section 637 (21) defines ``unresolved area of
noncompliance'' means failure to correct a noncompliance item
within 120 days or within such additional time (if any)
authorized by the Secretary, after receiving from the Secretary
notice of such noncompliance item, pursuant to section 641A(d).
Section 637 (22) defines ``inter-rater reliability'' means
the extent to which two different raters or observers
consistently obtain the same result when using the same
assessment
Section 4. Financial assistance for Head Start programs
This section amends section 638 to reauthorize financial
assistance to Head Start agencies for 5 years.
Section 5. Authorization of appropriations
This section amends section 639 to reauthorize the Head
Start Act at $7.215 billion for fiscal year 2006, $7.515
billion for fiscal year 2007, $7.815 billion for fiscal year
2008, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2009
and 2010.
From the amount appropriated, the Secretary can make
available up to $20 million for fiscal year 2006 to carry out
research, demonstration, and evaluation activities including
longitudinal studies under Section 649, and such sums for
fiscal years 2007-10, of which no more than $7 million used for
impact studies under Section 649(g) for fiscal years 2006-10.
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, except that 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 Head Start
programs have received 4 percent and 5 percent respectively,
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 million
shall be made available to carry out the activities described
in section 648(d)(4). In order to provide assistance, this
section requires the Secretary to reserve 30 percent of such
excess amount for fiscal year 2006, and 40 percent of such
excess amount for each fiscal year 2007-10.
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 sections 644(a) and 653 to ensure that
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. Quality improvement funds may be used for salary
increases to assist with implementation of quality programs and
improve staff qualifications; 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, as well as additional
skills identified in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii); and encourage
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.
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 standards, the Head Start
Child Outcomes Framework, and State regulations for school
readiness; 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 familyagencies
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 1 year after the
date of enactment of this act, the Director must conduct an assessment
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;
health care professionals; child development specialists; a
representative of the State agency responsible for assisting
children with developmental disabilities; a representative of
the State agency responsible for programs under part C of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education 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 section 645A(a) of this
subchapter 11 percent for fiscal year 2006, 13 percent for
fiscal year 2007, 15 percent for fiscal year 2008, 17 percent
for fiscal year 2009, and 18 percent for fiscal year 2010, 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 affected Head 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 they must establish program
goals for improving school readiness of children, including
goals for meeting the performance and educational standards as
described in section 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 toward 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 or standards
described in section 641(a)(1), has no unresolved deficiencies
and has not had findings of deficiencies during the last
triennial review under section 641A(c), and can demonstrate,
through agreements such as memoranda of understanding, active
collaboration with the State or local community 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).
The Secretary shall designate a Head Start agency from
among qualified applicants in such community after conducting
an open competition.
This section includes a rule of construction that State not
withstanding any other provisions of law, under no condition
may a non-Indian Head Start agency receive a grant to carry out
an Indian Head Start program.
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 section 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 either directly or through
referral family literacy services, parenting skills training,
counseling (such as substance abuse and mental health
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 children with
disabilities; (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; (13) to meet the needs of homeless children and
children in foster care; and (14) the plan of such applicant to
recruit and retain qualified staff.
Section 8. Quality standards; monitoring of Head Start agencies and
programs
This section amends section 641A by requiring additional
educational performance 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 and speaking 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 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 toward
acquisition of the English language while making meaningful
progress in attaining the knowledge, skills, abilities, and
development described 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;
section (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 not less
than every 4 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 for
health and safety 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 extent practicable, the diverse
needs of eligible children and LEP children and their families.
Review will include 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
section645. 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 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, 1 year after the plan is
implemented and under-enrollment persists the Secretary shall
continue to provide technical assistance where determined
appropriate. After 9 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 (including
Early Head Start agencies, Indian Head Start agencies, and
migrant and seasonal Head Start agencies) as Centers of
Excellence in Early Childhood, with at least one designee per
State and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as well as
not less than one Indian Head Start program and not less than
one migrant and seasonal Head Start program, for a 5-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 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 $200,000 a 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 from birth
through age 8, including pregnant mothers, 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.
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.
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 2005 and is to
be submitted to the Secretary and Congress.
Under this section, $9 million is appropriated for fiscal
year 2006 and each subsequent year to make bonus grants to
centers of excellence including $2.5 million to pay for the
Secretary's administrative costs in carrying out this section
and $2 million 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, an agency 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 ofsuch 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; (11) provide participating
families a family needs assessment that includes consultation with such
parents (including foster parents and grandparents, where applicable)
about the benefits of parent involvement; (12) consider providing
services to assist younger siblings of Head Start children to obtain
health services from other sources; (13) perform community outreach to
encourage volunteers for the Head Start program; (14) inform custodial
parents in single parents families that participate in programs and
activities about the availability of child support services for
purposes of establishing paternity and acquiring child support, and
refer eligible parents to the child support offices of State and local
governments; (15) provide parents of limited English proficient
children outreach and information in an understandable and uniform
format and, to the extent practicable, in a language that the parents
can understand; and (16) at the option of an agency, partner with an
institution of higher education and a nonprofit organization to provide
college students with the opportunity to serve as mentors or reading
coaches to Head Start participants.
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
collaborate and coordinate activities with the local
educational agency or other prekindergarten program and
providers of prekindergarten, 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 non-educational 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 section
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 times 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 a systematic
procedure for transferring, with parental consent, Head Start
program records for each participating child to the school
which such child will enroll; (2) establish ongoing channels of
communication 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 the services provided in the Head Start
program with the education services, including services related
to language, numeracy, and literacy 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 Head Start and migrant and
seasonal Head Start programs. The timeline for a State Governor
approval or disapproval has been shortened from 45 days to 30
days of such submission.
Section 13. Participation in Head Start programs
This section amends section 645(a)(1)(A) by allowing Head
Start programs to serve children whose families are below 130
percent of the poverty line.
This section also deems a homeless child eligible for Head
Start services.
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 section 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. This section 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,
2010, all teachers providing direct services to Early Head
Start children and families have aminimum 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. Appeals, notice, and hearing and records and audits
This section amends section 646(a) by terminating or
reducing financial assistance and an application for refunding
may be denied after the recipient has been afforded reasonable
notice and opportunity for a full and fair hearing.
Additionally, this section amends the timelines for a full and
fair hearing to include a right to file a notice of appeal of a
decision to termination within 30 days of notice of the
decision from the Secretary; and access to a full and fair
hearing of the appeal, not later than 120 days from receipt by
the Secretary of the notice of appeal.
This section prohibits a Head Start agency from expending
financial assistance awarded for the purpose of paying legal
fees pursuant to an appeal, except that such fees shall be
reimbursed by the Secretary if the agency prevails in their
appeal.
This section allows the Secretary to suspend funds to a
grantee in the case of a grantee having multiple and recurring
deficiencies for a period of 6 months and has not made
substantial and significant progress toward meeting the goals
of the grantee's quality improvement plan or eliminating all
deficiencies.
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 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 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. In addition to
including the assessment of the needs of homeless children and
their families when conducting and participating in
communitywide strategic planning and needs assessment.
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 overall
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 training activities. 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, 2010.
This section also requires all center-based Head Start
curriculum specialists and education coordinators to 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, 2008.
By September 30, 2008, 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 alignment, by September 30, 2011,
with State prekindergarten teacher requirements where teacher
requirements for State prekindergarten programs are
established. If a State's teacher requirements for
prekindergarten program is less than those required by the Head
Start program. In addition, in States that do not have an
established State prekindergarten program or in States that do
not have established teacher requirements for their State
prekindergarten programs, 50 percent of all Head Start teachers
in each center-based program must have a baccalaureate degree
relating to early childhood and demonstrated teaching
competencies.
This section also requires each Head Start teacher to
attend an average of not less than 15 clock hours of
professional development per 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.
The Secretary is to require Head Start agencies to
demonstrate continued progress and to submit an annual report
indicating the number and percentage ofcenter-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. A Head Start agency may demonstrate progress by partnering
with institutions of higher education or other programs that recruit,
train, place, and support college students to deliver an innovative
early learning program to preschool children.
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 that 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 post-secondary
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. The
Secretary may not grant a waiver that exceeds 1 year, however
the grant is renewable.
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 develop and implement
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 must submit 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 million to carry out this section
for fiscal year 2006 and such sums for fiscal years 2007-10.
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
independent panel of experts 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 areas 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 and child education, professional development,
assessments of young children (including children with
disabilities and limited English proficient children),
including screening, diagnostic, and classroom based
instructional assessments, and this panel shall be selected and
appointed by the National Academy of Sciences, after
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The panel will be established no later than 90 days after
the enactment of this Act and not later than 1 year after the
panel is established shall it complete and submit such
recommendations to the Secretary. Amendments made to section
641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) 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
standards and the performance measures, and assessments
utilized in the Head Start programs.
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, 2009 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 2004;
(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.
Section 20. Reports
Section 650(a) is amended so that the Secretary will also
consider homelessness, children in foster care in 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. 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) The term ``child with a disability'' means--
(A) * * *
(B) * * *
(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.
(3) * * *
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(C) Parent literacy, including financial
literacy, training that leads to economic self-
sufficiency.
* * * * * * *
(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) 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 a Native American, Alaska
Native, or a native resident of a United State
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.
(20) The term ``deficiency'' means--
(A) a systemic or substantial failure of an
agency in an area of performance that the
Secretary determines involves--
(i) a threat to the health, safety,
or civil rights of children or staff;
(ii) a denial to parents of the
exercise of their full roles and
responsibilities related to program
operations;
(iii) a failure to comply with
standards related to early childhood
development and health services, family
and community partnerships, or program
design and management;
(iv) the misuse of funds under this
subchapter;
(v) loss of legal status or financial
viability, loss of permits, debarment
from receiving Federal grants or
contracts, or the improper use of
Federal funds; or
(vi) failure to meet any other
Federal or State requirement that the
agency has shown an unwillingness or
inability to correct, after notice from
the Secretary, within the period
specified;
(B) system failure of the board of directors
of an agency to fully exercise its legal and
fiduciary responsibilities;
(C) substantial failure of an agency to meet
the administrative requirements of section
644(b);
(D) failure of an agency to demonstrate that
the agency attempted to meet the coordination
and collaboration requirements with entities
described in section 640(a)(5)(D)(iii)(I); or
(E) having an unresolved area of
noncompliance.
(21) The term ``unresolved area of noncompliance''
means failure to correct a noncompliance item within
120 days, or within such additional time (if any)
authorized by the Secretary, after receiving from the
Secretary notice of such noncompliance item, pursuant
to section 641A(d).
(22) The term ``interrater reliability'' means the
extent to which 2 different raters or observers
consistently obtain the same result when using the same
assessment tool.
* * * * * * *
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 2006, $7,515,000,000 for fiscal
year 2007, $7,815,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and such sums
as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010.
(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 2006, and such sums as may be
necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010, of which
not more than $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through
2010 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 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 paragraph as covered programs), on a nationwide
basis, a sum that is the total of 4 percent of the
amount appropriated under section 639 for that fiscal
year (for Indian Head Start programs), and 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;
(B)* * *
* * * * * * *
[(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 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 use directly, or by
establishing local or regional agreements with
community experts, colleges and universities,
or private consultants, for any of the
following training and technical assistance
activities, including--
(I) activities that ensure that Head
Start programs meet or exceed the
program performance standards described
in section 641A(a)(1);
(II) activities that ensure that Head
Start programs have adequate numbers of
trained, qualified staff who have
skills in working with children and
families, including children and
families who are limited English
proficient and children with
disabilities;
(III) activities to pay expenses,
including direct training for expert
consultants working with any staff, to
improve the management and
implementation of Head Start services
and systems;
(IV) activities that help ensure that
Head Start programs have qualified
staff who can promote language skills
and literacy growth of children and who
can provide children with a variety of
skills that have been identified as
predictive of later reading
achievement, school success, and other
educational skills described in section
641A;
(V) activities to improve staff
qualifications and to assist with the
implementation of career development
programs and to encourage the staff to
continually improve their skills and
expertise, including developing
partnerships with programs that
recruit, train, place, and support
college students in Head Start centers
to deliver an innovative early learning
program to preschool children;
(VI) activities that help local
programs ensure that the arrangement,
condition, and implementation of the
learning environments in Head Start
programs are conducive to providing
effective program services to children
and families;
(VII) activities to provide training
necessary to improve the qualifications
of Head Start staff and to support
staff training, child counseling,
health services, and other services
necessary to address the needs of
children enrolled in Head Start
programs, including children from
families in crises, children who
experience chronic violence or
homelessness, and children who
experience substance abuse in their
families, and children under 3 years of
age, where applicable;
(VIII) activities to provide classes
or in-service-type programs to improve
or enhance parenting skills, job
skills, adult and family literacy,
including financial literacy, or
training to become a classroom aide or
bus driver in a Head Start program;
(IX) additional activities deemed
appropriate to the improvements of Head
Start agencies' programs, as determined
by the agencies' technical assistance
and training plans; or
(X) any other activities regarding
the use of funds as determined by the
Secretary;
(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);
(D) discretionary payments made by the Secretary
(including payments for all costs (other than
compensation of Federal employees) of reviews of Head
Start agencies and programs under section 641A(c), and
of activities carried out under paragraph (1), (2), or
(3) of section 641A(d) related to correcting
deficiencies and conducting proceedings to terminate
the designation of Head Start [agencies;] agencies);
and
(E) * * *
No funds reserved under this paragraph or paragraph (3) may be
combined with funds appropriated under any other Act if the
purpose of combining funds is to make a single discretionary
grant or a single discretionary payment, unless such funds
appropriated under this subchapter are separately identified in
such grant or payment and are used for the purposes of this
subchapter. No Freely Associated State may receive financial
assistance under this subchapter after fiscal year 2002. In no
case shall the Secretary use funds reserved under this
paragraph to expand or create additional slots for services in
non-Indian and non-migrant and seasonal Head Start programs
until the 4 and 5 percent amounts specified in subparagraph (A)
are reached. The Secretary shall assure that any additional
funding appropriated in any of fiscal years 2006 through 2010
that is available to the Secretary under the authority of this
paragraph shall be used to increase the funding levels of
migrant and seasonal Head Start programs and Indian Head Start
programs until such point as migrant and seasonal Head Start
programs are receiving not less than 5 percent of the total
funds appropriated under section 639 and Indian Head Start
programs are receiving not less than 4 percent of the total
funds appropriated under section 639. After ensuring that the 4
and 5 percent amounts described in subparagraph (A) and the 2
percent amount described in subparagraph (C) have been reached
and after allotting the funds reserved under paragraph (3)(A)
as specified in paragraph (3)(D), the Secretary may distribute
any remaining funds available to the Secretary under this
paragraph to covered programs, and if the Secretary decides to
distribute such remaining funds available under this paragraph
to covered programs, the Secretary shall distribute the funds
by distributing 65 percent of the remainder by giving priority
to grant recipients in the States serving the smallest
percentages (as determined by the Secretary) of children less
than 5 years of age from families whose income is below the
poverty line, and distributing 35 percent of the remainder on a
competitive basis. The Secretary shall require each Head Start
agency to report at the end of each budget year on how funds
provided to carry out subparagraph (C)(i) were used.
(3)(A)(i) * * *
(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, 30 percent of such excess amount for
fiscal year 2006, and 40 percent of such excess amount
for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010; and
* * * * * * *
(B) * * *
(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 in foster care, 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 the 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, as
well as additional skills identified in section
641A(a)(1)(B)(ii); 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
(vi) * * *
[(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.]
(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) Making such other improvements in the quality
of such programs as the Secretary may designate.]
(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) to promote the acquisition of the
English language for non-English background
children and families;]
(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;
(III) * * *
[(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, homeless children, children in
foster care, children referred to Head
Start programs by child welfare
agencies, and children who are exposed
to chronic violence or substance abuse.
(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.
(iv) * * *
(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.
(viii) To partner with institutions of higher
education and nonprofit organizations, including
community-based organizations, that recruit, train,
place, and support college students to serve as mentors
and reading coaches to preschool children in Head Start
programs.
(ix) To upgrade the qualifications and skills of
educational personnel to meet the professional
standards described in section 648AA(a)(1), including
certification and licensure as bilingual education
teachers and for other educational personnel who serve
limited English proficient students.
[(vi)](x) Such other activities as the Secretary may
designate.
* * * * * * *
(4) ***
(A) each State receives an amount which is equal to
the amount the State received for fiscal year [1998]
2005; 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.]
(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 serve the same number of children
in Head Start programs in each State as were
served on the date 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 (as
determined by the Secretary) of
children less than 5 years of age from
families whose income is below the
poverty line; 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, nd 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. 1431-1444,
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 describe
in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall provide, from the
reserved sums, supplemental funding 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, including the Head Start Child Outcomes
Framework;
(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, other early
childhood programs and services for limited
English proficient children and homeless
children, and services provided for children in
foster care and children referred to Head Start
programs by child welfare agencies, including
agencies and State officials responsible for
such services;
(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 Heat 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 subclauses (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, including prekindergarten teacher
professional standards, certification standards,
certification, and licensing, where applicable;
(VII) a representative of the State agency
responsible for child care;
(VIII) early childhood education professionals,
including professionals with expertise in second
language acquisition and instructional strategies in
teaching limited English proficient children;
(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 council 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 resource and referral agencies;
(XVII) a representative of community-based
organizations;
(XVIII) a representative of the 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 carrier 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)(i) The Secretary shall--
(I) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(F)](G) As used in this paragraph, the term ``low-
income'', used with respect to children or families, shall not
be considered to refer only to children or families that meet
the low-income criteria prescribed pursuant to section
645(a)(1)(A).
(6)(A) From amounts reserved and allotted pursuant to
paragraphs (2) and (4), the Secretary shall use, the 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).] 11
percent for fiscal year 2006, 13 percent for fiscal year 2007,
15 percent for fiscal year 2008, 17 percent for fiscal year
2009, and 18 percent for fiscal year 2010, of the amount
appropriated pursuant to section 639(a).
[(B)(i) If the Secretary does not submit an interim report
on the preliminary findings 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 program 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) * * *
(2) For the purpose of expanding Head Start programs, in
allocating funds to an applicant within a State, from amounts
allotted to a State pursuant to subsection (a)(4), the
Secretary shall take into consideration--
(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 homes 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, children in foster care, 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;
(F) * * *
(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) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(3) In carrying out this subchapter, the Secretary shall
continue the administrative arrangement responsible for meeting
the needs of children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and
Indian children and shall ensure that appropriate funding is
provided to meet such needs.]
(3) In carrying out this subchapter, the Secretary shall
continue the administrative arrangement at the national or
regional level for meeting the needs of Indian children and
children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and shall ensure--
(A) that appropriate funding is provided to meet such
needs, including training and technical assistance
provided by staff with knowledge of and experience in
working with such populations; and
(B) the appointment of a national migrant and
seasonal Head Start program collaboration director and
a national Indian Head Start collaboration director.
(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 homeless children in Head Start programs. Such
regulations shall require Head Start agencies to--
(1) implement policies and procedures to ensure that
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; 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 developmentally and
linguistically based (to the extent practicable), and age
appropriate. Parents shall have the opportunity to examine any
such curricula or instructional materials funded under this
subchapter.
* * * * * * *
[DESIGNATION OF HEAD START AGENCIES
[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 from 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.
1431-1444, 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
[(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 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 Heat 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, including a community-based 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 Head Start Child
Outcomes Framework, State early learning standards (if
applicable), and 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).
(4) Governing body.--
(A) In general.--
(i) Ensuring high quality programs.--
In order to be designated as a Head
Start agency, an entity described in
paragraph (1) shall have a governing
body--
(I) with legal and fiscal
responsibility for
administering and overseeing
programs under this subchapter;
and
(II) that fully participates
in the development, planning,
implementation, and evaluation
of the programs to ensure the
operation of programs of high
quality.
(ii) Ensuring compliance with laws.--
The governing body shall be responsible
for ensuring compliance with Federal
laws and regulations, including the
performance standards described in
section 641A, as well as applicable
State, Tribal, and local laws and
regulations, including laws defining
the nature and operations of the
governing body.
(B) Composition of governing body.--
(i) In general.--The governing body
shall be composed as follows:
(I) Not less than 1 member of
the governing body shall have a
back-ground in fiscal
management.
(II) Not less than 1 member
of the governing body shall
have a background in early
childhood development.
(III) Membership that
reflects the community to be
served.
(ii) Consultants.--In the case that
persons described in clause (i) are not
available to serve as members of the
governing body, the governing body
shall make use of consultants in the
areas described in clause (i) to work
directly with the governing body.
(iii) Conflict of interest.--Members
of the governing body shall--
(I) not have a conflict of
interest with the Head Start
agency or delegate agencies;
and
(II) not receive compensation
for service to the Head Start
agency.
(C) Responsibilities.--
(i) In general.--The governing body
shall be responsible, in consultation
with the policy council or the policy
committee of the Head Start agency,
for--
(I) the selection of delegate
agencies and such agencies'
service areas;
(II) establishing criteria
for defining recruitment,
selection, and enrollment
priorities;
(III) all funding
applications and amendments to
funding applications for
programs under this subchapter;
(IV) the annual self-
assessment of the Head Start
agency or delegate agency's
progress in carrying out the
programmatic and fiscal intent
of such agency's grant
application, including planning
or other actions that may
result from the review of the
annual audit, self-assessment,
and findings from the Federal
monitoring review;
(V) providing guidance for
the composition of the policy
council or the policy committee
of the Head Start agency;
(VI) developing procedures
for how members of the policy
council or the policy committee
of the Head Start agency are
selected, including procedures
for how parents of children
currently participating in a
Head Start or Early Head Start
program are selected to serve
on the policy council or the
policy committee of the Head
Start agency;
(VII) audits, accounting, and
reporting;
(VIII) personnel policies and
procedures including decisions
with regard to salary scales
(and changes made to the
scale), salaries of the
Executive Director, Head Start
Director, the Director of Human
Resources, and the Chief Fiscal
Officer, and decisions to hire
and terminate program staff;
and
(IX) the community
assessment, including any
updates to such assessment.
(ii) Conduct of responsibilities.--
The governing body shall--
(I) develop an internal
control structure to facilitate
these responsibilities in order
to--
(aa) safeguard
Federal funds;
(bb) comply with laws
and regulations that
have an impact on
financial statements;
(cc) detect or prevent
non-compliance with
this subchapter; and
(dd) receive audit
reports and direct and
monitor staff
implementation of
corrective actions; and
(II) develop procedures to
facilitate meaningful
consultation and collaboration
and solicit input from the
policy council or the policy
committee of the Head Start
agency regarding matters of
recruitment, enrollment,
funding applications, and
programmatic design, including
processes to resolve internal
disputes.
(D) Receipt of information.--To facilitate
oversight and Head Start agency accountability,
the governing body shall receive regular and
accurate information about program planning,
policies, and Head Start agency operations,
including--
(i) monthly financial statements
(including detailed credit card account
expenditures for any employee with a
Head Start agency credit card or who
seeks reimbursement for charged
expenses):
(ii) monthly program information
summaries;
(iii) program enrollment reports,
including attendance reports for
children whose care is partially
subsidized by another public agency;
(iv) monthly report of meals and
snacks through programs of the
Department of Agriculture;
(v) the annual financial audit;
(vi) the annual self-assessment,
including any findings related to the
annual self-assessment;
(vii) the community assessment of the
Head Start agency's service area and
any applicable updates; and
(viii) the program information
reports.
(E) Training and technical assistance.--
Appropriate training and technical assistance
shall be provided to the members of the
governing body to ensure that the members
understand the information the members receive
and can effectively oversee and participate in
the programs of the Head Start agency.
(b) Communities.--For purposes of this subchapter, a
community may be a city, county, or multicity or multi-county
unit within a State, an Indian reservation (including Indians
in an 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 Head Start agency
or delegate agency that is high performing, as determined by
meeting each of the following criterion.
(1) Is receiving assistance under this subchapter.
(2) Meets or exceeds program and financial management
requirements or standards described in section
641A(a)(1).
(3) Has no unresolved deficiencies and has not had
findings of deficiencies during the last triennial
review under Section 641A(c).
(4) Can demonstrate, through agreements such as
memoranda of understanding, active collaboration with
the State or local community 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 conducing an open competition,
designate a Head Start agency from among qualified applicants
in such community.
(e) Rule of Construction.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, under no condition may a non-Indian Head
Start agency receive a grant to carry out an Indian Head Start
program.
(f) Effectiveness.--In selecting from among qualified
applicants for designation as 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 programs that use scientifically based
research 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 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,
including through providing transportation
costs;
(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;
(15) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of
homeless children and children in foster care,
including the transportation needs of such children;
and
(16) the plan of such applicant to recruit and retain
qualified staff.
(g) Interim Basis.--If there is not a qualified applicant
in a community for designation as a Head Start agency, 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.
(h) Involvement of Parents and Area Residents.--The
Secretary shall continue the practice of involving parents and
area residents who are affected by programs under this
subchapter in the selection of qualified applicants for
designation as Head Start agencies.
(i) Priority.--In selecting from among qualified applicants
for designation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall
give priority to applicants that have demonstrated capacity in
providing effective, comprehensive, and well-coordinated early
childhood services to children and their families.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 641A. QUALITY STANDARDS; MONITORING OF HEAD START AGENCIES AND
PROGRAMS.
(a) Quality Standards.--
(1) Establishment of standards.-- * * *
(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 an 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;
(cc) 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
problem-solving 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);
(C) * * *
(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; and
* * * * * * *
(2) Considerations in developing standards.-- * * *
(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;
(iii) developments concerning best
practices with respect to early
childhood education and development,
children with disabilities, homeless
children, children in foster care,
family services, program
administration, and financial
management;
* * * * * * *
(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
(including children in foster care and
the number of homeless 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;
(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; and
(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).
(3) Standards relating to obligations to delegate
agencies.-- * * *
(4) Evaluations and corrective actions for delegate
agencies.--
(A) Procedures.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clause
(ii), 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
appending a defunding decision
relating to a delegate agency.
(ii) Termination.--The Head Start
agency may not terminate a delegate
agency's contract or reduce a delegate
agency's service area without showing
cause or demonstrating the cost-
effectiveness of such a decision.
(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 agencies
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) Results-Based Performance Measures.--
(1) In general.-- * * *
[(2) Characteristics of measures.--] (2)
Characteristics and use of measures._The performance
measures developed under this subsection shall--
(A) * * *
(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
as 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 subparagraph (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.
* * * * * * *
[(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 for health and safety reasons, as
appropriate.
(D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (C),
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);
(ii) a review of programs with
citations that include findings of
deficiencies not later than 6 months
after the date of such citation; and
(iii) followup reviews that
incorporate a monitoring 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.
[(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 program;
[(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
Heat 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); and
[(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 other
entities carrying out early childhood education
and child care programs in the community.]
(2) Conduct of reviews.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure
that reviews described in paragraph (1)--
(i) are performed, to the maximum
extent practicable, by employees of the
Department of Health and Human Services
who are knowledgeable about Head Start
programs;
(ii) 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, homeless children,
and children in foster care) and
limited English proficient children and
their families, and personnel
management, financial accountability,
and systems development and monitoring;
(iii) 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);
(iv) 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;
(v) 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;
(vi) 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
(vii) 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.
(B) Training; quality and consistency.--The
Secretary, from funds available under section
640(a)(2)(C)(ii), shall provide periodic
training for supervisors and members of review
teams in such topics as program management and
financial audit performance. The Secretary
shall ensure the quality and consistency across
and within regions of PRISM reviews and non-
compliance and deficiency determinations by
conducting periodic interrater reliability
checks.
(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), or fails to address the
community needs and strategic plan identified in
section 640(g)(2)(C), the Secretary shall--
(A) inform the agency of the deficiencies
that shall be corrected and identify the
technical assistance to be provided consistent
with paragraph (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) Self-Assessments.--
(1) In general.--Not less frequently than once each
program year, with the consultation and participation
of policy groups and, as appropriate, other community
members, each agency receiving funds under this
subchapter shall conduct a comprehensive self-
assessment of the effectiveness and progress in meeting
programs goals and objectives and in implementing and
complying with Head Start program performance
standards.
(2) Report and improvement plans.--
(A) Report.--An agency conducting a self-
assessment shall report the findings of the
self-assessment to the relevant policy council,
policy committee, governing body, and regional
office of the Administration for Children and
Families of the Department of Health and Human
Services. Each self-assessment shall identify
areas of strength and weakness.
(B) Improvement plan.--The agency shall
develop an improvement plan approved by the
governing body of the agency to strengthen any
areas identified in the self-assessment as
weaknesses or in need of improvement.
(3) Ongoing monitoring.--Each Head Start agency,
Early Head Start agency, and delegate agency shall
establish and implement procedures for the ongoing
monitoring of their Head Start and Early Head Start
programs, to ensure that the operations of the programs
work toward meeting program goals and objectives and
Head Start performance standards.
(4) Training and technical assistance.--Funds may be
made available, through section 648(d)(13), for
training and technical assistance to assist agencies in
conducting self-assessments.
(g) 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
out-reach, 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 9 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, withold, 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 children, homeless children,
children in foster care, 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 requirement; 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) Redistribution of funds.--
(A) 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 funding enrollment
indicated in the grant agreement of a Head
Start agency receiving redistributed amounts
under this paragraph.
(h) Contract With Nonprofit Intermediary Organization.--
From funds reserved under clause (i) or (ii) of section
640(a)(2)(C) or from whatever other resources the Secretary
determines appropriate, in carrying out the provisions of this
section, the Secretary or a Head Start agency may contract with
a nonprofit intermediary organization that--
(1) provides evaluations and technical assistance to
improve overall performance management; and
(2) has an exclusive focus of improving the
performance management and the use of technology in
assessing performance and meeting Head Start
regulations and can provide on-site, hands-on guidance
with the implementation of the recommendations.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 641B. CENTERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD.
(a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``center of
excellence'' means a Center for 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, Indian
Head Spirit agencies, and migrant and seasonal 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), except
as provided in clause (ii), 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
Indian Head Start agency or a migrant
or seasonal Head Start agency, to be
eligible to receive designation as a
center of excellence under subsection
(b), such an agency shall be nominated
by the head of the appropriate regional
office of the Department and Health and
Human Services 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 receives,
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 among the Head Start
agency, the State (or a State agency),
and other early care and education
providers in the local community
involved;
(v) a nomination letter from the
Governor, or appropriate regional
office, 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 only
childhood services to children and
families in the community served by the
agency.
(vi) information demonstrating the
existence of 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 provisions of services
to, eligible children and other at-
risk-children, and their families; and
(vii) a description of how the
Center, in order to expand
accessibility and continuity of quality
early care and education, will
coordinate the early care and education
activities assisted under this section
with--
(I) program carried out under
the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 9858 et seq.);
(II) other programs carried
out under this subchapter,
including the Early Head Start
programs carried out under
section 645A;
(III)(aa) Early Reading First
and Even Start programs carried
out 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.);
(bb) other preschool programs
carried out under title I of
that Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et
seq.); and
(cc) the Ready-to-Learn
Television program carried out
under subpart 3 of part D of
title II of that Act (20 U.S.C.
6775 et seq.);
(IV) programs carried out
under part C of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.);
(V) State prekindergarten
programs; and
(VI) other early care and
education programs.
(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, an Indian Head
Start program, a migrant and seasonal Head Start
program, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(3) Priority.--In making bonus grant determinations
under this section, the Secretary shall give priority
to programs that, through their applications,
demonstrate that they are of exceptional quality and
would serve as exemplary models for programs in the
same geographic region. The Secretary may also consider
the population served by the applicant, such as
programs that serve large proportions of limited
English proficient students or other underserved
populations, and may make bonus grants to programs that
do an exceptional job meeting the needs of such
children.
(4) 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).
(5) 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 eligible for Head Start services
in the community involved. The Secretary shall, subject
to the availability of funding, make such a bonus grant
in an amount of not less than $200,000 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 further coordinate early childhood and
social services available in the community
served by the center for at-risk children
(birth through age 8), their families, and
pregnant women;
(E) to provide training and cross training
for Head Start teachers and staff, child care
providers, public and private preschool and
elementary school teachers, and other providers
of early childhood services, and training and
cross training 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
agencis, 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;
(G) to develop or maintain partnerships with
institutions of higher education and nonprofit
organizations, including community-based
organizations, that recruit, train, place, and
support college students to serve as mentors
and reading coaches to preschool children in
Head Start programs; and
(H) 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 bonus
grant involved.
(2) Involvement of other head start agencies and
providers.--A center that receives a bonus grant under
subsection (b), 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.
(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 2006 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 for 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 subchapter, 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 programs 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 with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. 1431-1444, 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. 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 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 (including foster
parents and grandparents, where applicable) 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;
(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;
(16) provide parents of limited English proficient
children outreach and information in an understandable
and uniform format and, to the extent practicale, in a
language that the parents can understand; and
(17) at the option of such agency, partner with an
institution of higher education and a nonprofit
organization to provide college students with the
opportunity to serve as mentors or reading coaches to
Head Start participants.
(c) Transition Activities To Facilitate Continued
Progress.--
(1) In general.--Each Head Start agency shall
collaborate with the entities listed in this
subsection, to the maximum extent possible, to ensure
the successful transition of Head Start children to
school, so that such children are able to build upon
the developmental and educational gains achieved in
Head Start programs 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.),
other entities carrying out early childhood
education and development programs, and the
agencies responsible for administering section
106 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment
Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a), parts B and E of title
IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 620 et
seq. and 670 et seq.), 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.
(f) Technical Assistance and Training Plan.--In order to
receive funds under this subchapter, a Head Start agency shall
develop an annual technical assistance and training plan. Such
plan shall be based on the agency's self-assessment, the
community needs assessment, and the needs of parents to be
served by such agency.
* * * * * * *
[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 staff 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. 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, homeless children, children in foster
care, 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, of other assistance has
been submitted to the chief executive officer of the State, and
such plan has not been disapproved by such officer within [45]
30 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 persons 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 participation 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
(B) pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary
shall prescribe, that--
(i) programs assisted under this subchapter
may include, to a reasonable extent,
participation of children in the area served
who would benefit from such programs but whose
families do not meet the low-income criteria
prescribed pursuant to subparagraph (A); and
(ii) a child who has been determined to meet
the low-income criteria and who is
participating in a Head Start program in a
program year shall be considered to continue to
meet the low-income criteria through the end of
the succeeding program year.
In determining for purposes of this paragraph, whether a child
who has applied for enrollment in a Head Start program meets
the low-income criteria, an entity may consider evidence of
family income during the 12 months preceding the month in which
the application is submitted, or during the calendar year
preceding the calendar year in which the application is
submitted, whichever more accurately reflects the needs of the
family at the time of application. A homeless child shall be
deemed eligible for Head Start services.
(2) Whenever a Head Start program is operated in a
community with a population of 1,000 or less individuals 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 of 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.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(b) Scope and Design of Programs.--In carrying out a
program described in subsection (a), an entity receiving
assistance under this section shall--
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
(3) * * *
(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) where appropriate and in conjunction with
services provided under this section to the children's
immediate families (or as approved by the Secretary),
provide home-based services to family child care homes
and kin caregivers caring for infants and toddlers who
also participate in Early Head Start programs, to
provide continuity in supporting the children's
physical, social, emotional, and intellectual
development;
[5](6) 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 and homeless
infants and toddlers) to ensure a comprehensive array
of services such as health and mental health services,
and family support services);
[6](7) ensure formal linkages with local Head Start
programs in order to provide for continuity of services
for children and families;
(8) 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;
(9) 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](10) 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](11) 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 Individuals 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
parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 620 et seq. and 670 et seq.); and
[9](12) meet such other requirements concerning
design and operation of the program described in
subsection (a) as the Secretary may establish.
* * * * * * *
(d) Eligible Service Providers.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(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.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(2) Training and technical assistance account.--
(A) In general.-- * * *
(B) Activities.--Funds in the account may be
used by the Secretary for purposes including--
(i) * * *
(ii) * * *
(iii) * * *
[(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
participating 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, 2010, 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, including use
of research-based strategies to support
the development of literacy and
language skills for children who are
limited English proficient;
(v) health, vision, hearing, and
development 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.
* * * * * * *
APPEALS, NOTICE, AND HEARING
Sec. 646. (a) The Secretary shall prescribe procedures to
assure that--
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
[(3) financial assistance under this subchapter shall
not be terminated or reduce, an application for
refunding shall not be denied, and a suspension of
financial assistance shall not be continued for longer
than 30 days, unless the recipient has been afforded
reasonable notice and opportunity for a full and fair
hearing; and
[(4) the Secretary shall develop and publish
procedures (including mediation procedures) to be used
in order to--
[(A) resolve in a timely manner conflicts
potentially leading to adverse action between--
[(i) recipients of financial
assistance under this subchapter; and
[(B) avoid the need for an administrative
hearing on an adverse action].
(3) financial assistance under this subchapter may be
terminated or reduced, and an application for refunding
may be denied, after the recipient has been afforded
reasonable notice and opportunity for a full and fair
hearing, including--
(A) a right to file a notice of appeal of a
decision within 30 days of notice of the
decision from the Secretary; and
(B) access to a full and fair hearing of the
appeal, not later than 120 days from receipt by
the Secretary of the notice of appeal;
(4) the Secretary shall develop and publish
procedures (including mediation procedures) to be used
in order to--
(A) resolve in a timely manner conflicts
potentially leading to an adverse action
between--
(i) recipients of financial
assistance under this subchapter; and
(ii) delegate agencies or Head Start
Parent Policy Councils;
(B) avoid the need for an administrative
hearing on an adverse action; and
(C) prohibit a Head Start agency from
expending financial assistance awarded under
this subchapter for the purpose of paying legal
fee pursuant to an appeal under paragraph (3),
except that such fees shall be reimbursed by
the Secretary if the agency prevails in such
decision; and
(5) the Secretary may suspend funds to a grantee
under this subchapter--
(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B),
for not more than 30 days; or
(B) in the case of a grantee under this
subchapter that has multiple and recurring
deficiencies for a period of 6 months and has
not made substantial and significant progress
toward meeting the goals of the grantee's
quality improvement plan or eliminating all
deficiencies identified by the Secretary,
during the hearing of an appeal described in
paragraph (3), for any amount of time,
including permanently.
* * * * * * *
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) The Secretary and the Comptroller General of the United
States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall
have access for the purpose of audit and examination to any
books, documents, papers, and records of the recipients that
are pertinent to the financial assistance received under this
subchapter.
(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) activities to correct program and
management deficiencies identified through
reviews carried out pursuant to section 641A(c)
(including the provision of assistance to local
programs in the development of quality
improvement plans under section 641A(d)(2));
and
(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 services designed to
increase family literacy and improve parenting skills;
(3) * * *
(4) * * *
(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;
(6) * * *
(7) * * *
(8) * * *
(9) * * *
(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[.];
(12) assist Head Start agencies and programs in
increasing the program participation of homeless
children;
(13) provide training and technical assistance to
members of governing bodies to ensure that the members
can fulfill the functions described in section
641(a)(4);
(14) provide training and technical assistance to
Head Start agencies to assist such agencies in
conducting self-assessments; and
(15) assist Head Start agencies and Head Start
programs in improving outreach to, and quality of
services available to, limited English proficient
children and their families, including such services to
help such families learn English, particularly in
communities that have experienced a large percentage
increase in the population of limited English
proficient individuals, as measured by the Bureau of
the Census.
[(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 received
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 or are limited English proficient.
(6) The literacy training shall include specific methods to
best address the needs of children who 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,
2010, 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,
2008, 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,
2008, 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,
2011--
(I) in States that have
established teacher
requirements for State
prekindergarten programs, all
Head Start teachers in center-
based programs--
(aa) if such
requirements are not
less than those
requirements described
in subclause (II), meet
such teacher
requirements for State
prekindergarten
programs; and
(bb) if such
requirements are less
than those requirements
described in subclause
(II), meet the
requirements described
in subclause (II); and
(II) in States that do not
have an established State
prekindergarten program or in
States that do not have
established teacher
requirements for their State
prekindergarten programs, 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 a
baccalaureate degree that meets
State specialized training
requirements for
prekindergarten teachers, such
as State licensure,
endorsement, or certification
for prekindergarten or other
early childhood area), 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) Teacher in-service requirement.--Each
Head Start teacher shall attend an average of
not less than 15 clock hours of professional
development per year. Such professional
development shall be high quality, sustained,
intensive, and classroom-focused in order to
have a positive and lasting impact on classroom
instruction and the teacher's performance in
the classroom, and regularly evaluated for
effectiveness.
(C) 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.
(ii) Demonstrate progress.--A Head
Start agency may demonstrate progress
by partnering with institutions of
higher education or other programs that
recruit, train, place, and support
college students to deliver an
innovative early learning program to
preschool children.
(D) 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 Had 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, 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.
(b) Mentor Teachers.--
* * * * * * *
(c) Family Service Workers.--In order to improve the
quality and effectiveness of staff providing in-home and other
services (including needs assessment, development of service
plans, family advocacy, and coordination of service delivery)
to families of children participating in Head Start programs,
the Secretary, in coordination with concerned public and
private agencies and organizations examining the issues of
standards and training for family service workers, shall--
(1) review and, as necessary, revise or develop new
qualification standards for Head Start staff providing
such services;
(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 or a credential that
indicates attainment of 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) Placement sites.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(C) No placement in lobbying organization.--
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 an
agency, and members of the tribal community
involved.
(B) develop and implement the programs under
subparagraph (A) in technology-mediated
formats, including providing the programs
through such means as distance learning and use
of advanced technology, as appropriate; 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 2006 and such sums may be necessary for each of
fiscal years 2007 through 2010.
(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 Hither
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 institition determined to be
accredited or a candidate for accreditation by
a national recognized accrediting agency or
association.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 649. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUATION.
(a) In General.--
(1) Requirement; general purposes.--The Secretary
shall carry out a continuing program of research,
demonstration, and evaluation activities, in order to--
(A) foster continuous improvement in the
quality of the Head Start programs under this
subchapter and in their effectiveness in
enabling participating children and their
families to succeed in school and otherwise;
and
(B) use the Head Start programs to develop,
test, and disseminate new ideas and approaches
for addressing the needs of low-inome preschool
children (including chilren with disabilities,
children determined to be abused or neglected,
homeless children, and children in foster care)
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.
(b) Conduct of Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation
Activities.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Consultation and Collaboration.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(d) Specific Objectives.--The research, demonstration, and
evaluation activities under this chapter shall indicate
components designed to--
(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) * * *
(B) * * *
(C) * * *
(D) * * *
(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.]
(e) Longitudinal Studies.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(f) Ownership of Results.-- * * *
* * * * * * *
(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.-- * * *
(B) Submission of final report.-- * * *
(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, the
second interim report by September 30,
2001, and the final report by September
30, [2003] 2007.
(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) appropriate accommodations for
children with disabilities and limited
English proficient children;
(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, after
consultation with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services.
(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.
(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 2009, 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 641(a)(1)(B)(ii) while enrolled
in Head Start programs, measured
between 1990 and 2004;
(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 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) a statement for the then most recently concluded
fiscal year specifying--
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(8) information concerning children participating in
programs that receive Head Start funding, including
information on family income, racial and ethnic
background, homelessness, children in foster care,
disability, and receipt of benefits under part A of
title IV of the Social Security Act;
* * * * * * *
(14) * * *
Promptly after submitting such report 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, the Secretary shall publish
in the Federal Register a notice indicating that such report is
available to the public and specifying how such report may be
obtained.
(b) Facilities.--At least once during every 5-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
condition, location, and ownership of facilities used, or
available to be used, by Indian Head Start agencies (including
Native Alaskan Head Start agencies) and Native Hawaiian Head
Start agencies.
* * * * * * *
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(g)(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 purposes 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) 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 regulaltions.--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.
* * * * * * *
ADVANCE FUNDING
Sec. 657. For the purpose of affording adequate notice of
funding available under this subchapter, appropriations for
carrying out this subchapter are authorized to be included in
an appropriation Act for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal
year for which they are available for obligation.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 657A. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR NON-EMERGENCY 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.
* * * * * * *