[Senate Report 110-49]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 104
110th Congress Report
1st Session SENATE 110-49
_______________________________________________________________________
HEAD START FOR SCHOOL READINESS ACT
----------
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON
HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
to accompany
S. 556
April 10, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
Calendar No. 104
110th Congress Report
1st Session SENATE 110-49
_______________________________________________________________________
HEAD START FOR SCHOOL READINESS ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON
HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
to accompany
S. 556
April 10, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
-------
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
59-010 WASHINGTON : 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------
For sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800;
DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2250. Mail: Stop SSOP,
Washington, DC 20402-0001
Calendar No. 104
110th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 110-49
======================================================================
HEAD START FOR SCHOOL READINESS ACT
_______
April 10, 2007.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Kennedy, from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 556]
The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, to
which was referred the bill (S. 556) to reauthorize the Head
Start Act, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute 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..........................7
V. Cost Estimate...................................................43
VI. Application of Law to the Legislative Branch....................45
VII. Regulatory Impact Statement.....................................45
VIII.Section-by-Section Analysis.....................................46
IX. Changes in Existing Law.........................................54
I. Purpose and Summary of the Bill
The Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007
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. To accomplish this, the bill focuses on five
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); (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 $7.35 billion for fiscal year 2008,
$7.65 billion for fiscal year 2009, $7.99 billion for fiscal
year 2010, 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 the current 10 percent to 20 percent in
fiscal year 2012.
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 early childhood development, Head Start programs provide a
broad array of services determined to be necessary, based on an
assessment of the children and families' 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, $20,650 for a family of
four (2007 HHS Poverty Guidelines), and in most Head Start
families, neither parent holds 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 successful transitions to elementary
school, provide health care, increase access to social services
for families, and provide full-day, full-year services to
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 almost 1 million low-income
preschool children to help Head Start participants prepare for
and succeed in school. The Head Start program currently
provides services to children from a diverse population of
eligible families, including migrant and Native American
children, through nearly 19,800 centers and more than 800 home-
based programs in all 50 States, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories. The committee encourages
continued emphasis on serving all children 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,
numbering 1,604 nationwide, may contract with other
organizations, called delegate agencies, to run all or part of
their programs. Grantees had contracts with 604 delegate
agencies in fiscal year 2006. Grantees and delegate agencies
include public and private school systems, community action
agencies, faith-based organizations, 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 2006, Head Start was funded at
more than double that of 1995, when it received $6.8 billion in
funding and supported programs in every State, serving more
than 900,000 children and their families.
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. Nationally, one in five
children under the age of five in the United States live in
poverty. Disadvantaged children who are part of a racial or
ethnic minority group face even harsher realities; 37.9 percent
of all African-American children and 31.4 percent of all
Hispanic children come from families earning less that the
Federal poverty threshold (U.S. Census, 2006).
Recognizing the negative correlations of poverty to 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 life and to close the achievement
gap. Studies document a wide gap between lower and higher-
income children before they enter kindergarten which, if
unattended, often persists into later years in schooling.
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 may be compromised.
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 improved outcomes for Head Start children. Long-
term positive outcomes and cost-savings include: improved
school performance, more positive behavior, reduced special
education placement, lower in-grade retention and dropout
rates, and increased lifelong earnings 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 partnerships with other community
providers, including closer coordination with elementary
schools, States, and locally-sponsored programs, and including
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 early childhood development,
created the Early Head Start program, and led to program
standards and the Outcomes Framework that guide Head Start
programs in their curricular planning, instruction, and
delivery of services, as well as in the ongoing assessment of
the progress and accomplishments of children.
The Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 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 unanimously with an amendment in the nature
of a substitute. The reported bill was not considered by the
full Senate during the 109th Congress.
On February 14, 2007, the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions met in executive session and
favorably reported the bill, S. 556, The Head Start for School
Readiness Act, unanimously with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute. The committee's work on S. 556 was informed by
hearings held during the 108th and 109th Congresses.
HEARINGS AND TESTIMONY--SUMMARY OF WITNESSES
Hearings in the 108th Congress
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions held a hearing on July 23, 2003 at 10 a.m. entitled
Reauthorizing Head Start: Preparing Children to Succeed in
School and in Life. A panel of five witnesses testified on
topics related to improving the school readiness of Head Start
children, promoting State coordination and collaboration,
strengthening the Head Start workforce and determining the
effectiveness of Head Start. The witnesses included:
Windy Hill, Associate Commissioner for the Head
Start Bureau
G. Reid Lyons, Ph.D. Chief of the Child
Development and Behavior Branch of the National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development
Marnie Shaul, Ph.D, Director, Education, Workforce
and Income Security Issues, U.S. Government Accountability
Office
Amy Wilkins, Executive Director, Trust for Early
Education
Janis Santos, Executive Director of the Holyoke-
Chicope-Springfield Head Start Center, Springfield, MA.
Hearings in the 109th Congress
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)
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 cities across the United States.
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 GAO
report on the program found that 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, the 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. The GAO urged
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a
better system to identify local centers with financial
problems. HHS 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
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 HHS had implemented to improve
monitoring and accountability.
Dr. Marnie S. Shaul, Director of Educating and Protecting
Children, United States Government Accountability Office,
Washington, DC, testified in regard to the GAO's recent report
on Head Start risk management which the committee had
requested. She discussed the Administration on Children and
Families' (ACF) processes to assess financial risks,
specifically regarding how these processes could 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. The GAO had many recommendations including a
suggestion that ACF take steps to recompete grants if a grantee
fails to meet programmatic or financial management
requirements.
Mayor A.C. Wharton, Mayor of Shelby County, Memphis,
Tennessee, testified on Shelby County's ongoing efforts, as
well as some of its planned efforts, to improve program
oversight and stewardship. He testified about the need to
improve accountability for the Head Start program and ensure
that there was a clearly defined entity that was legally and
financially responsible for the program. Several of the GAO's
findings mirrored weaknesses Shelby County had identified and
which it was actively working to resolve in its local Head
Start programs.
Yvonne Gates, Clark County Commissioner, Las Vegas, Nevada
discussed the promise of the Head Start Program and its goals
to erase inequities among children and to give all children a
level playing field for their future academic success.
Therefore, she recommended that the committee expand local
oversight of grantees. She testified about the importance of
local governments and the need for them to be more actively
engaged in the local review and evaluative process for these
Federal programs. She also testified that because local
government is closer to the people, it is better positioned to
provide technical assistance to local agency partners. By
coordinating with other local resources, the scope of these
services could be expanded.
Jim Caccamo, Director Metropolitan Council on Early
Learning, Kansas City, Missouri, testified about the financial
and governance problems with the Kansas City Head Start grantee
KCMC. The financial and governance problems at KCMC began to
surface 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 the 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 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 literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and the
arts. Researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development
Center, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
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 its research, ``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, 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 five, 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
and 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 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, interventions and supports for disabilities, and
enrollment in health insurance plans. 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 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
received 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 literacy skills as compared to children not enrolled in
Head Start programs. 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. 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 and skills proven to be
strong predictors 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
comprehensive services in helping children make gains toward
achieving academic parity with their peers and 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 scientifically-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 essential
to helping children advance their 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 scientifically-based
research, such as is employed in 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 high-quality professional
development for teachers and staff based on scientifically-
based research in reading.
Children who have limited pre-literacy skills (e.g., weak
phonological and phonemic awareness) are more likely to
struggle in attaining age-appropriate reading proficiencies.
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 strategies for Head
Start teachers 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 pre-mathematics and pre-science knowledge
and skills is an important component of school readiness. These
competencies may be promoted through early science and math
experiences, including observing with senses, predicting,
inferring, defining and controlling variables, working in
teams, and communicating discoveries. Examples of science and
math experiences may include planting different seeds, with
various types of growing medium, light, and water; building
towers with various block sizes; employing ramps and different
balls; and watching ice melt in different environments.
The Head Start 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 will help
facilitate children's development of the following: language
skills; pre-literacy knowledge, including an interest in and
appreciation of books, reading and writing either alone or with
others; pre-mathematics 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 Head Start
grantees to further develop the language skills of limited
English proficient (LEP) children, 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 and toddler care through preschool programs to
kindergarten and into the primary grades, as teachers work
within a consistent framework across educational settings.
Comprehensive standards, curricula, teaching practices, and
assessments must be age, developmentally, and linguistically
appropriate for young children. These standards, curricula,
teaching practices, and assessments must be supported by
comprehensive services for children and by the professional
development for staff 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, 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 urges greater coordination between
programs serving infants, toddlers, and children (including
Head Start) and local educational agencies to appropriately
plan and align expectations and curricula and facilitate a
smooth transition 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 in the
elementary school grades. 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.
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 children in Head
Start programs can make demonstrable gains in early learning
when provided with a quality preschool experience that includes
an effective curriculum, intensive teacher training, and on-
site monitoring and support of teacher instruction and
interaction with children. The committee acknowledges 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 programs to make use of such materials and
practices. The committee intends, to the extent possible, that
programs make use of scientifically-based curricula and
training programs that are developmentally and linguistically
appropriate for children and that reflect all necessary domains
of child development and learning.
The committee recognizes the benefits of Head Start's
comprehensive services and mission to prepare the Nation's most
disadvantaged children to enter and later succeed in school.
Therefore, the Head Start for School Readiness Act promotes
alignment of Head Start services and curricula with the Head
Start Child Outcomes Framework and, as appropriate, State early
learning standards. The act also promotes better linkages
between Head Start agencies and other child and family agencies
providing necessary health, mental health, and other support
services to children.
In referencing the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework and
Indicators (2000), the committee recognizes the quality and
scope of Head Start services and acknowledges the researched-
based standards and outcomes (developed by independent experts
and practitioners) to help guide teachers and staff with
curricula, assessments, and services 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 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 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, because some State early
learning standards do not cover the full range of child
development and learning, the committee intends to promote
alignment to such standards only in the most developmentally-
appropriate context, to best address the needs of Head Start
children.
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 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 or reviewing early childhood standards and general
plans for the enhanced 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 to receive the health, nutrition, and
educational supports that they need to be successful and
prepared to enter school ready to learn. The committee
anticipates that over time Head Start and Early Head Start
programs will increase coordination with schools, child care,
and other preschool programs to help meet the needs of low-
income children and their families.
In recent years, States have begun to expand their own
early childhood development initiatives. The National Institute
for Early Education Research (NIEER) reported in March 2007,
using data from the 2005-2006 school year, that 16 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 NIEER 38 States and the District of Columbia had
some form of State-sponsored pre-kindergarten program in the
2005-2006 school year. These States provided early education to
942,766 or 20 percent of the Nation's 3- and 4-year-olds in
pre-kindergarten programs, and spent nearly $3.3 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 coherent system that is more responsive to
the needs of low-income 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 enhanced and clarified the current role
of the Head Start Collaboration Director and State Advisory
Councils. The committee intends to strengthen the role of the
Collaboration Director in each State to also promote alignment
of Head Start services with State early learning standards and
the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework. Each Head Start State
Collaboration Office will conduct a needs assessment of Head
Start agencies in the State with respect to the collaboration
and coordination of services for children, the professional
development opportunities for Head Start staff, and the
partnerships between Head Start and other organizations. With
these changes, the committee also intends to reduce the
duplication of services, prevent under-enrollment, and more
address gaps in services for Head Start children and families.
The committee feels strongly that the Head Start
Collaboration Director 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 low-income working families.
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 leverage the experience, expertise, and
resources of a variety of organizations and individuals.
The committee encourages the Secretary, in awarding
collaboration grants to States, to award funds for designation
of a Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Collaboration Project
Director 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 pre-literacy 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
pre-kindergarten 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 LEP populations. The committee is encouraged by
these practices and urges their continuation and expansion.
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 new
State Advisory Council in each State that receives a Head Start
collaboration grant.
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 pre-kindergarten programs and
public schools. In some cases, such coordination efforts have
taken the form of Councils or Governors' 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 pre-kindergarten programs. For States with
similar pre-existing councils or entities, the committee urges
inclusion of additional members--to the maximum extent
practicable--in order to meet the list of members suggested by
the Committee to serve on the State Advisory Council.
While the Head Start State Collaboration Director is
charged with assisting and improving the efforts of Head Start
agencies in the State, the committee intends for the State
Advisory Councils to encourage greater State level coordination
of efforts and understanding of shared goals for young children
from birth until school entry. In particular, the Council is
charged with developing a strategic report, based on a
statewide assessment of early care and education programs for
children from birth to school entry, which includes plans for
identifying barriers and opportunities for collaboration
between entities carrying out existing early care and education
programs; creating a professional development system and career
ladder for early childhood educators in the State; making
recommendations for a statewide, unified data collection
system; assisting institutions of higher education to develop
model programs for early childhood educators; and undertaking
efforts to develop and improve State early learning standards.
The committee requires each State Advisory Council to provide
opportunities for public input in both its needs assessment and
its recommendations, as well as to meet with sufficient
regularity to review and revise its plans and recommendations.
The committee also makes available $100 million for the
purpose of awarding one-time incentive grants to States that
choose to further develop and implement the recommendations and
plans for which the State Advisory Council is responsible. Such
grants shall be disbursed for a 3-year period and will be used
to facilitate the development of a high-quality system of early
care and education.
The committee recognizes the use of nationally established
data fields for collecting data on the supply of child care.
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 and to enhance the quality of such 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 2 percent in current law to
2 percent. The committee directs that half of those funds be
sent to local grantees so that programs have a reliable source
of funding for training and technical assistance activities.
The remaining 50 percent provides the Secretary with adequate
flexibility to conduct appropriate Federal training and
technical assistance activities to help individual programs
meet the Head Start quality standards. The committee encourages
the Secretary to maintain the long-standing set-aside for
training and technical assistance activities related to
providing services to children with disabilities.
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 assistance in HHS' regional
system 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 not
an appropriate 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. Recognizing
that some States encompass a significant geographic area, the
committee does not intend for the prohibition on long-distance
travel expenses to prevent travel within a State, regardless of
the distances incurred within the State. 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 HHS. The committee urges HHS 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
HHS 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 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. After funds have been allocated to
maintain grantees' current funded enrollment levels, the
committee intends that 30 percent of remaining funds for fiscal
year 2008, and 40 percent for each of fiscal year 2009 through
2012 be set aside for 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
affect 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.
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 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 may also 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.
The committee bill also includes an opportunity for a small
number of Head Start programs to receive incentives for
innovative approaches that expand and improve services for Head
Start children and families. Under these provisions, grantees
may retain a limited percentage of the administrative portion
of their grant on an on-going basis, if the grantee is able to
serve more children while also improving program quality and
outcomes.
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.
Quality improvement funds may be used to provide assistance for
staff completing postsecondary coursework and for other staff
development and training.
The committee recognizes that a well designed Head Start
classroom with an effective pre-literacy 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, pre-literacy, and early
literacy develops in children and how parental and classroom
instruction and involvement can optimize that development.
Teachers need professional development throughout their careers
to strengthen their knowledge and skills for promoting
children's language, pre-literacy, and early writing, as well
as other cognitive areas.
The committee feels that another important use of quality
improvement funds is in training staff to address the
challenges of children participating in Head Start programs.
Quality improvement funds should be utilized to conduct
outreach to these low-income populations including homeless
families, migrant and seasonal farmworking families, and
families with LEP children, and in developing partnerships with
institutions of higher education to recruit and train
individuals who may serve as mentors to Head Start children.
HEAD START RESEARCH, EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENTS OF YOUNG CHILDREN
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, HHS 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 help inform reform
efforts so that all grantees can have a positive effect 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. HHS continues data collection
efforts for 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 notes with some concern the 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.
The committee strongly supports the efforts of the National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review the current body of early
childhood research through the Developmental Outcomes and
Assessments for Young Children. Because academic outcomes and
assessments for young children are emerging areas of knowledge
and practice, the act also includes a review of Head Start
outcomes by the NAS, to facilitate greater information and
recommendations on their further development, appropriateness,
and application. Once the NAS completes its report and
recommendations, HHS will use the results of such study to
develop, inform, and revise Head Start outcomes and any
appropriate assessments. 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.
Recent research on child development and learning has shown
that 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 (e.g., social, emotional,
physical, cognitive). 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 NAS, 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 includes 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
and 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 is very aware of the need for better
information about the readiness of Head Start students to enter
school and to measure young children's learning and
development. However, the committee has concerns about the
current National Reporting System (NRS). The committee believes
that the existing NRS is inappropriate for use in the Head
Start program and accordingly requires the Secretary to halt
the implementation and any further development of the NRS. The
Secretary is required to incorporate the findings of the NAS
review into any new assessment or assessment system developed
for the Head Start program and may not reinstitute the NRS in
its current form.
LITERACY IN HEAD START PROGRAMS
Efforts to improve family literacy are an important
component of the Head Start program. Family literacy
activities, including financial literacy services, 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 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.
The committee views a literacy rich environment for
children as an important priority for Head Start programs. 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.
The committee encourages the Secretary to disseminate to
Head Start centers information on best practices for infusing
literacy and print activities into Head Start classrooms and
getting books into children's hands. It is vitally important
for young children's literacy development that a large number
and variety of high-quality, print-rich books be maintained in
each Head Start center and classroom and be easily accessible
to all children. The committee urges the Secretary to provide
best practices for Head Start professional development to
emphasize the importance of pre-k in establishing a foundation
for literacy and pre-reading skills; to encourage the creation
of physical environments that engage children in print
activities, entice children to play with, use and read books,
and that provide children better classroom (e.g., book nooks
and library corners) and out-of-classroom access to books
(e.g., classroom lending library); to train teachers in
effective read-along techniques and the selection of age
appropriate books; and to encourage Head Start programs to make
books and story reading a constant presence in everyday
classroom activities.
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 such
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; supplementing a center's collection with books on various
themes of the week or providing 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.
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 who are particularly at risk and often
underserved. According to a study conducted by the HHS in 2001,
less than 19 percent of the eligible children of migrant and
seasonal workers received Head Start services. Similarly, the
Indian Head Start program served 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 these
children's unique needs.
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; that
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 that 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.
The committee also recognizes the need for Head Start
programs to support children from immigrant, refugee, and
asylee families. In addition, consideration is given in the
bill to children from families in crisis, children in foster
care and those referred to Head Start by child welfare
services, and children who are exposed to chronic violence or
substance abuse. The committee specifically directs that Head
Start staff be adequately trained in addressing the challenges
of these children.
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 when early childhood
education can have a significant, positive effect 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.
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 addresses this issue by increasing efforts to
conduct outreach to homeless families and by leveraging the
experience of the homeless liaisons in public schools 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 Head Start for School Readiness Act encourages
enrollment of homeless children by providing categorical
eligibility for homeless children, as well as addressing the
other barriers limiting the access and participation of
homeless children. To overcome barriers such as high mobility,
documentation requirements, transportation challenges, and lack
of service coordination with other social service programs, 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.
The Head Start 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 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 homeless
families experience when enrolling and maintaining enrollment
in Head Start programs. 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 also be addressed in Head Start planning
efforts.
The goal of reducing under-enrollment 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 a program's
service area, to the extent feasible and at the request of the
parent, the child can continue to participate in such program.
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. The Head Start for School Readiness Act
models provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act that allow
homeless children to enroll in Head Start while those documents
are being obtained. Homeless families, if necessary, should be
allowed to produce alternative proof 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, and regulations that act as barriers
to the enrollment of homeless children in Head Start programs,
in particular with respect to relevant documentation and
records. It is the committee's intent that when the Secretary
develops regulations, the Secretary consider 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 are
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
immigrant community, 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 LEP children
and their families. The bill establishes a requirement that
grantees set policies to identify and serve LEP children
through linguistically appropriate approaches so that such
children and their families have a meaningful opportunity to
participate in Head Start programs, including the provision of
information to parents in an accessible manner. The committee
urges the Secretary and the Head Start Bureau to continue and
enhance activities to ensure that LEP 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 LEP 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
Head Start grantees are required to enroll and provide
comprehensive educational, medical, and social services to
children with disabilities, as defined under Part C and Section
619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
and their families. Since 1974, Congress has required that no
less than 10 percent of the children a grantee serves are
children with disabilities. Currently, children with
disabilities comprise about 13 percent of the total Head Start
population; 10.6 percent of enrolled Head Start children
receive services under IDEA.
Today, nearly 132,000 children with disabilities, including
over 114,000 children eligible for services under IDEA,
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, children with disabilities receive individualized
services in an inclusive, integrated environment that prepares
them to enter elementary school.
The committee recognizes the important role that Head Start
plays in seeking out and 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; refer
children to local educational agencies for evaluation and
determination of eligibility for IDEA services; collaborate
with local educational agencies to 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.
It is important to the committee that better and more
consistent data relating to children with disabilities are
obtained. Therefore, the committee urges the Secretary to
include a specific analysis of the status of children with
disabilities in the report on the status of children
participating in Head Start programs.
TEACHER QUALITY AND STAFF QUALIFICATIONS
The committee believes that well-educated and skilled
teachers are a key element 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 competencies of classroom teachers.
Teachers in Head Start programs must be adequately trained and
educated, particularly in effectively providing pre-literacy,
language, and pre-mathematics instruction, as well as social,
emotional, and physical development and approaches to learning.
Nationally, over 70 percent of Head Start program teachers
have at least an Associate's degree (AA); of the teachers with
degrees, over 50 percent have Bachelor's (BA) or advanced
degrees. To promote the highest quality instruction and
learning environment as possible, the committee has taken a
number of steps to strengthen the educational goals for Head
Start teachers.
Over the next 5 years (by September 30, 2012), it is a goal
for all Head Start teachers in center-based programs to have at
least an AA degree relating to early childhood development or
an AA degree 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, 2010), it is a goal
for all Head Start curriculum specialists and education
coordinators in center-based programs have a BA degree 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, 2010), it is a goal
for all Head Start assistant teachers in center-based programs
to 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, 2013), the goal is
for at least 50 percent of all Head Start teachers in each
State to have a BA degree relating to early childhood education
or a BA degree with specialized training for pre-kindergarten
and demonstrated teacher competencies. Currently, 38 percent of
Head Start teachers have at least a BA degree, and teachers and
programs across the Nation are striving to achieve this goal.
Each Head Start agency must report to the Secretary
annually on its progress toward meeting the goals of increasing
the educational attainment of Head Start staff. The Secretary
shall document the increasing percentages of Head Start staff
making progress toward these goals and compile and submit a
summary of the reports to Congress.
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 professional
development per year. Such professional development shall be
high-quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused in
order to have a positive and lasting effect 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 repay the total or prorated amount.
The committee recognizes the importance of recruiting and
retaining high quality teachers to the Head Start program and
that successful recruitment and retention mechanisms include a
myriad of incentives approaches. The committee views
differential and merit based programs and scholarships as
examples of such incentive programs.
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
NIEER, ``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).''
The committee understands that the goals set out in the
legislation for the number of individuals with BA degrees 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, 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.
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 provision 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 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 development goals
as important for all Head Start 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
The science of early childhood education and development
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 states that ``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 pre-kindergarten 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.
The committee believes that, given the importance of the
early years for healthy brain development and the demonstrated
effectiveness of the Early Head Start program, increasing the
number of infants and toddlers served by Early Head Start is
important for reducing the gap disadvantaged children face when
they enter preschool. Accordingly, the committee has added
amendments to expand the Early Head Start program which
currently serves 3 percent of eligible children, increasing the
current 10 percent set-aside of total Head Start appropriations
to at least 20 percent by 2012. The committee provides for such
increase, so long as these increases will not reduce services
for preschool age children in the Head Start programs.
The committee has also included provisions to allow
programs to convert funds used for preschool age children to
serve infants and toddlers under certain conditions and when a
community needs assessment indicates that such a conversion is
warranted. The committee is concerned that services provided as
a result of this conversion be of the same high quality as
those provided through existing Early Head Start programs, and
therefore directs the Secretary to condition the approval of
such conversions on ensuring that the eligibility criteria and
standards required under section 645A of the Head Start Act are
met.
Services for parents to support their role as parents are a
critical component of the Early Head Start program. According
to the NAS, considerable evidence supports 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
HHS' 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 changes in the committee bill to expand and
enhance the Early Head Start program, the committee supports
the maintenance of an Early Head Start director position within
the Federal Office of Head Start, to provide leadership to all
Early Head Start programs on essential issues of prenatal
development, infant and toddler development, and Early Head
Start programming.
The committee also intends for Early Head Start programs
and staff to continue to receive the ongoing training
opportunities and technical assistance necessary from
organizations with specialized expertise relating to infants,
toddlers, and families. To sustain the positive outcomes and
gains generated by Early Head Start, the committee believes
that it is critical for Early Head Start programs to access a
continuum of relevant training. Such organizations offer the
demonstrated capacity needed to provide direction and support
to the Head Start national and regional training and technical
assistance system to better serve Early Head Start grantees.
Further, it is critical that training for Early Head Start
programs focus on the unique social and emotional development
of infants and toddlers. Research demonstrates that attending
to the social and emotional development of very young children
is just as important as attending to components of linguistic
and cognitive competence and is essential to children's 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: (1) by ensuring that the funding for those grantees
with significant or recurring deficiencies is suspended or
terminated; and (2) 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 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 material 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 Head Start funds;
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; or having an area of unresolved noncompliance. In
addition, an agency may be deemed deficient for a failure to
demonstrate that it has attempted to meet the coordination and
collaboration requirements with other entities providing early
childhood programs and services. 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 is
unsatisfactory to the committee that programs failed to correct
a noncompliance finding 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 noncompliance findings
are procedural in nature and as such cannot be ``undone.'' In
these cases, the committee expects that resolution of the
noncompliance finding 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 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 noncompliance within the timeframe of the quality
improvement plan, such agencies shall be redesignated. 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. Head Start performance standards are critical to
maintaining the highest quality of services in Head Start
centers. Such standards include mandatory regulations for Head
Start grantees and prescribe the 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
performance standards.
The committee bill makes several additions to Head Start
educational performance standards to ensure that such standards
reflect the following essential areas of child development:
language skills related to listening, understanding, speaking,
and communicating; pre-literacy knowledge and skills; pre-
mathematics knowledge and skills; scientific abilities; social
and emotional development; physical development; and general
cognitive abilities related to development and achievement. The
committee views each of these areas as critical to the later
academic success of Head Start children in school and directs
the Secretary to adopt these additional educational standards
for Head Start programs, consistent with findings of the
forthcoming report by the NAS Panel on Developmental Outcomes
and Assessments for Young Children.
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 have assisted efforts by
Head Start agencies to shift focus from process to outcomes and
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. The
committee bill directs the Secretary to ensure that these
measures assess characteristics that are strongly predictive of
children's readiness for and later performance in school and
intends for such measures to be updated periodically based on
advances in the science of early childhood development. The
committee views these measures as essential to promoting the
success and assisting in the continual improvement of Head
Start programs.
TRANSITION
Successful transition from preschool into the K-12
education system is one of Head Start's primary objectives. The
committee has long recognized that transition activities are a
partnership in which the Head Start agency and local
educational 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 were disseminated to all Head Start grantees
that shared project results from successful demonstration
projects. 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.
However, the committee feels strongly that effective transition
activities should 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 HHS, the majority 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 HHS has terminated 170 Head Start grantees.
The committee believes that HHS should continue to improve
the current Head Start monitoring system 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 affected 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 the quality of 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 for School Readiness Act.
GOVERNANCE
The committee believes that Head Start agencies need strong
governance structures to ensure fiscal and legal compliance as
well as strong program operations and oversight. 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 in the Head Start statute, the structure of grantees 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 for School Readiness Act takes a number of steps
to ensure that Head Start agency has a Governing Body 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 Governing Body. The Governing Body must
reflect the community being served and include at least one
person with experience in fiscal management, at least one
person with experience in early childhood development, and a
licensed attorney with experience in matters that come before
the Governing Body. The Governing Body must also include at
least one individual with knowledge of the Head Start program
and its performance standards. In the event that individuals
with such experience are not serving on the Governing Body, the
Governing Body is encouraged to obtain assistance in these
areas from consultants. The committee also intends that public
agencies operating Head Start programs be permitted to make use
of existing employees who have such expertise.
The committee also requires that no member of the Governing
Body have a conflict of interest with the Head Start agency or
delegate agencies and that no member of the Governing Body
receive compensation for his or her participation as a member.
The committee also encourages parents and others in the
community in which Head Start operates to actively serve on the
Governing Body.
The committee believes that the Governing Body is
responsible for developing internal controls to safeguard
Federal funds and to comply with all applicable laws and
regulations. The Governing Body's role is to establish policies
and procedures to detect or prevent program noncompliance.
Together with the Policy Council, the Governing Body must
develop procedures to facilitate meaningful consultation and
collaboration between the two entities.
By strengthening the role of the Governing Body 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 key and central role in
the operations of Head Start programs. The committee is clear
in its intent by requiring the Governing Body to consult and
collaborate 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 Governing Body to consult and collaborate with the Policy
Council and has prescribed impasse procedures for when the
Governing Body and the Policy Council disagree, in order to
resolve such disputes.
As with the Governing Body, the committee believes it is
important to strengthen and clarify the role of the Policy
Council for Head Start agencies. The committee is clear that
the majority of the members of the Policy Council shall be
parents of children who are currently enrolled in Head Start
and who are elected by parents of currently enrolled children.
The remainder of the Policy Council shall consist of members of
the community which the Head Start agency or delegate agencies
serve, which could include parents of children who were
previously served by the Head Start agency. The committee is
clear that individuals serving on the Policy Council shall not
have a conflict of interest or be compensated to serve on the
council.
The committee intends that the Policy Council will be
responsible for program planning, including program design and
recruitment and budget planning. The Policy Council will also
be responsible for program operation and programs that support
parent involvement.
To facilitate oversight and Head Start agency
accountability, the Governing Body shall receive regular and
accurate information from the Head Start agency about program
planning, policies and operations, including Program
Information Reports (PIR) and audit reports.
The committee intends for training and technical assistance
to be provided to the members of the Governing Body and Policy
Council, if appropriate, to ensure that they understand their
oversight responsibilities and can effectively oversee the
programs.
The committee also requires each delegate agency to
establish a policy committee. Each policy committee will be
comprised of members from the community the agency serves,
including parents of children who are currently enrolled at the
agency. The purpose of each policy committee is to serve in an
advisory capacity to the delegate agency for the purposes of
program planning and operation and parent involvement.
OVERSIGHT AND MONITORING
The committee believes that oversight by the Secretary of
HHS 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 committee intends for Head Start programs to continue
to address all domains of child development while addressing
specific educational outcomes necessary for children to enter
school ready to learn. The committee bill adds educational
standards, based on the recommendations of the NAS to ensure
that Head Start curricula meet appropriate criteria and
children show progress toward meeting educational outcomes
related to all of the domains of child development. The
additional educational standards relate to language skills,
pre-literacy knowledge and skills, pre-mathematics knowledge
and skills, scientific abilities, and general cognitive
abilities. Furthermore, the committee bill emphasizes the
social and emotional development and physical development of
Head Start children as they relate to early learning and school
success. In the case of LEP children, the committee also adds
standards related to progress toward acquiring the English
language.
The committee clarifies the standards related to facilities
for Head Start programs in relation to compliance with State
and local licensing and other requirements and accessibility by
State and local authorities for monitoring such compliance.
The committee believes that in developing standards the
Secretary must consult with experts regarding promising
practices in early childhood education and development in
relation to all aspects of Head Start services. In addition,
the Secretary shall consider demographic changes and unique
challenges facing Head Start agencies such as changes in family
structure or language background, children with disabilities,
children in foster care, homeless children, and children in
rural areas who may be served by the seasonal programs when
developing standards for Head Start agencies.
Many Head Start grantees or agencies oversee delegate
agencies for which they are ultimately responsible. The
committee bill requires that each Head Start agency establish
procedures for evaluating delegate agencies, informing them of
any deficiencies, remedies to ensure corrective action
including defunding delegate agencies, and a process for
delegates to appeal defunding decisions. An agency may initiate
monitoring visits or pursue other actions until deficiencies
are corrected, but may not terminate a delegate agency's
contract without showing cause.
At least once every 3 years, each Head Start and Early Head
Start agency receives a comprehensive on-site review by HHS.
These monitoring reviews play a vital role in assuring that
Head Start agencies are providing high-quality services. The
committee intends that reviews reflect an assessment of
strengths and weaknesses of the program, as well as how well
the program has addressed family and community needs.
The PRISM monitoring of Head Start grantees undertaken by
HHS is critical to realizing the goals of adequate oversight of
the program. 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.
The committee recognizes that the monitoring process has
consequences associated with it. In order to ensure the
integrity of the monitoring process by HHS, the committee has
added provisions regarding inter-rater reliability, which means
the extent to which two or more independent reviewers
consistently obtain the same result when using the same
assessment.
The committee believes employees of HHS should, to the
extent practicable, continue to be included on teams sent out
to monitor and evaluate Head Start programs. Additional members
of the review team shall also include individuals knowledgeable
about Head Start and other early childhood programs. The
committee bill establishes provisions for training of
supervisors and members of review teams to ensure the quality
and consistency of the review process.
Due to strong concerns about the health and safety of
children in Head Start programs, the committee requires
unannounced site inspections of Head Start Centers for health
and safety reasons and prompt follow-up reviews for agencies
with findings of deficiencies. The committee clearly
articulates the definition of a deficiency and describes the
serious violations of health and safety, legal and fiscal
standards, or program failures that are considered a
deficiency. The monitoring process allows for programs to
correct areas of noncompliance with program standards and if
uncorrected to become a deficiency.
The committee bill allows programs time to correct
deficiencies and stipulates that only programs with unresolved
deficiencies will be subject to recompetition. The Secretary
shall provide technical assistance to programs found to have a
deficiency. The reports on the findings and the plans for
correcting deficiencies shall be made available to the public.
The committee believes that the self-assessment is an
essential tool for program improvement. Therefore, each Head
Start agency is required to conduct a comprehensive self-
assessment annually in consultation with the policy council
(and, if applicable, the policy committee), and community
members in order to assess progress in meeting program goals
and objectives and complying with Head Start program
performance standards. The findings, including program
strengths and weaknesses, shall be reported to the governing
structures of the program and the HHS regional office. Each
agency shall also develop an improvement plan to strengthen any
areas of weakness identified in the assessment and establish
procedures for the ongoing monitoring of their programs.
Training and technical assistance funds may be used to assist
agencies in conducting self-assessments.
UNDER-ENROLLMENT
As a general requirement of the Head Start Act, agencies
are expected to fully meet their funded enrollment and to
maintain a waiting list. However, it has come to the
committee's attention that some Head Start grantees have
experienced problems achieving and maintaining their full
funded enrollment while others experience shortfalls in their
capacity to provide or maintain services to eligible children.
The committee recognizes the existing efforts by the Secretary
to address this issue in regulation, yet believes a statutory
approach to addressing under-enrollment is warranted given the
significance of the issue.
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 affect 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
affect 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. In such cases, the Secretary shall use funds
recovered from the grantee to distribute to other Head Start
agencies within the State prepared to increase enrollment in
their respective programs.
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.
FINANCIAL AUDITS
In addition to conducting on-site inspections, regional HHS
staff also monitor grantees' compliance with regulations by
annually reviewing their financial audit reports. Auditors may
select and review samples of financial transactions to
determine whether a grantee has followed established procedures
and program regulations. If a grantee administers more than one
Federal grant, as is often the case with large nonprofit
agencies, school districts, and municipalities, relatively
small grants may not be reviewed in much detail.
In addition to a lack of detail, financial audit reports
may not provide timely information for monitoring current
grantee operations. Grantees have 9 months to submit financial
audit reports for any given year. It may take several
additional months before officials in the HHS Office of
Inspector General review the audit report, summarize the
findings, and submit the findings to the appropriate regional
officials. Grantees that are classified as ``high risk'' do not
face termination of their funding unless they are also
classified as deficient, which usually involves an on-site
inspection. As a result, HHS 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 has
therefore added to the bill a requirement that the Secretary
conduct an annual review of grantee financial status. The
committee believes grantees must be accountable for their
financial management and requires each center to maintain and
submit a complete accounting of its administrative expenses,
including salaries and compensation, to the Secretary.
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.
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 clearly define their procedures
for evaluating delegate agencies to minimize the circumstances
that would necessitate defunding and ensure that all of their
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 the
continuity of Head Start services for the children and families
affected.
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
The committee bill includes the Centers of Excellence in
Early Childhood as a separately authorized program to recognize
outstanding performance and promote the successes of effective
Head Start programs so that other Head Start programs, and
others, can learn from their peers.
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 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, so that there is
at least one Center of Excellence in each State, the District
of Columbia, and 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 by a State 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 of 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 authorizes the Head Start program at
$7.350 billion for fiscal year 2008, $7.650 billion for fiscal
year 2009, $7.995 billion for fiscal year 2010, and such sums
as may be necessary for fiscal year 2011 and 2012. The
committee's incremental increases in the authorization level of
the Head Start program affirms a commitment to improving and
enhancing program quality while also reasonably expanding the
program to reach additional eligible children and families
living in poverty.
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 expansion funds, the committee recognizes the
apparent discrepancy in the allocation of Head Start dollars
among the States and takes affirmative steps to address this
policy. The change in the committee bill responds to the
inclusion of a 1978 hold harmless provision that--since recent
shifts in demographics and poverty--has resulted in a disparity
in the allocation of resources to high-growth States, despite
past increases in Head Start appropriations.
In order to begin to remedy this situation, the Committee
has included the requirement that 65 percent of new program
expansion funds for Head Start would be allocated to those
States serving less than 60 percent of Head Start eligible
children, ages 3 or 4, living below the poverty line. In
establishing this policy, the committee intends for the
Secretary to prioritize funding to the 30 States adversely
affected by the 1978 hold harmless provision. The remaining 35
percent of expansion funds shall be allocated among all States,
based upon their relative share of Head Start eligible children
less than 5 years of age living below the poverty line. The
committee acknowledges these policy changes as only an initial
step toward addressing the funding discrepancies between States
in the Head Start program.
PARTICIPATION IN HEAD START PROGRAMS
The committee recognizes that children from some low-income
families earning a little above the Federal poverty level would
benefit from Head Start services are not able to participate in
the program because they are not income eligible. Furthermore,
the high cost of living in many States indicates that even
those slightly above the federal poverty level still require
assistance. 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, whose incomes may increase as they move from
welfare to work or attain better employment, to continue to
access the Head Start program and to provide additional
opportunities for participation of low-income working families
in Head Start programs. The 130 percent eligibility level would
not count toward the 10 percent of over-income children served
by programs under current law. 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. The committee intends for programs to first serve
families at 100 percent of the Federal poverty level and to
give programs to serve families with incomes of up to 130
percent, if they have sought to serve all families with incomes
below that level.
The committee also recognizes the particular needs of
homeless children and deems homeless children categorically
eligible for Head Start services. The needs of military
families are also recognized and the bill clarifies that
special pay for housing for any member of the uniformed
services shall not be considered income for purposes of
eligibility.
The committee believes that Head Start agencies should have
flexibility to respond to changing community needs. For this
reason, Head Start agencies are permitted to apply to the
Secretary to convert part-day sessions to full-day sessions and
to use grant funds to serve additional infants and toddlers,
consistent with rules and standards for Early Head Start. The
communitywide needs assessment which programs currently conduct
shall be used to determine eligibility for such conversions.
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 HHS in 2001, the Migrant
and Seasonal Head Start programs have consistently received
less than 4 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. The
current Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program at present
serves nearly 37,000 migrant children and nearly 2,500 seasonal
children annually, operating in 40 States.
Indian Head Start programs serve over 23,000 children each
year; however, that number represents only 16 percent of
eligible children. Only 188 of the federally recognized tribes
have Head Start programs. The committee recognizes the need to
expand services to additional eligible children. In addition,
the committee bill requires the Secretary to engage in
meaningful consultation and data collection related to the
Indian Head Start programs. The committee bill directs the
Secretary to consult with Indian tribes, American Indian and
Alaska Native experts in early childhood development, and
related organizations in reviewing and promulgating program
standards and measures.
The Committee has taken steps to address this issue by
directing the Secretary to allocate not less than 5 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 not less than 4 percent of the
reserved funds to Indian Head Start programs. The committee
intends that the Secretary shall not use funds appropriated
under this subchapter to create additional slots or services in
non-Indian or non-migrant and seasonal programs until the 4 and
5 percent allocations are achieved. The committee ensures that
additional funding for these programs does 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.
HHS has not collected data on the demand and availability
of Head Start services for migrant and seasonal families since
the aforementioned 2001 study. Therefore, the committee bill
directs the Secretary to work with the Migrant and Seasonal
Head Start community to develop a system that on an ongoing
basis can adequately account for the number of seasonal and
migrant children who are eligible for Head Start and determine
how many of these eligible children are receiving services. The
bill also directs the Secretary to work with the Migrant and
Seasonal Head Start community and other public and private
stakeholders to identify the barriers that prevent eligible
children from accessing services. In addition, the Secretary is
called upon to develop a system through which Migrant and
Seasonal Head Start programs can effectively work with children
and their families to track health records and educational
documents as a child moves from State to State.
TRANSPORTATION
The committee requires the Secretary to improve the safety
and security of Head Start children that use Head Start
transportation to get to the program. When a Head Start agency
develops a contract with a provider of transportation services,
the Committee requires that the contract include requirements
for background checks for individuals employed by the company.
Head Start children are young and vulnerable and we must ensure
their safety.
The committee has been made aware of difficulty in at least
one State in complying with safety requirements for the
transportation of Head Start students that were initially
promulgated by Secretary Donna Shalala on January 18, 2001. The
committee provides an additional two years for Head Start
grantees to come into compliance with safety requirements for
transportation of Head Start students if their currently owned
and operated vehicles do not meet the necessary and appropriate
requirements for a rear emergency door. While the committee
recognizes the validity and necessity of those requirements, it
is apparent that a few grantees have not been able to meet
those standards and need more time to do so. The committee does
not provide any additional authority for new, leased, rented,
or manufactured vehicles that fail to meet the rear emergency
door requirements to be used to transport Head Start children.
The Committee intends this to be the final waiver authorized by
Congress on this issue and will not support any efforts to
extend this waiver again.
The committee also orders the Secretary to modify Head
Start regulations, as appropriate and necessary, to reflect the
findings of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and its
currently pending study on Federal seat spacing requirements
and child restraint systems. If the FTA finds that its current
standards can be modified and that small, vulnerable children
can be allowed to be transported in different alternative
vehicles with appropriate child restraint systems, the
Secretary shall modify their regulations on this issue.
However, if the FTA finds that its current standards are
appropriate and necessary for the safety and welfare of small
children, the Secretary shall not modify the regulations, and
all Head Start grantees will immediately comply with the
regulations regarding the transportation of Head Start
children.
V. Cost Estimate
S. 556--Head Start for School Readiness Act
Summary: S. 556 would reauthorize the Head Start program
through 2012 and authorize two new, related grant programs.
Head Start was authorized through 2003 by the 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 $6.1 billion in 2008 and $38.6 billion over
the 2008-2012 period, assuming that annual authorizations are
adjusted for inflation when specific annual appropriation
levels are not provided. (Without such inflation adjustments,
the authorizations would total about $38.1 billion over the
2008-2012 period.) CBO estimates that appropriation of the
authorized levels would result in additional outlays of $34.5
billion over the 2008-2012 period, assuming annual adjustments
for inflation (and about $34.2 billion without adjustments for
inflation). Enacting S. 556 would not affect direct spending or
receipts.
S. 556 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. 556 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--
-----------------------------------------------------
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Head Start Spending Under Current Law:
Budget Authority \1\.................................. 6,889 1,389 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays..................................... 6,846 3,751 761 97 14 0
Proposed Changes:
Head Start:
Estimated Authorization Level..................... 0 5,961 7,650 7,995 8,147 8,307
Estimated Outlays................................. 0 3,398 6,745 7,736 8,054 8,230
Bonus Grants to Centers of Excellence in Early
Childhood:
Authorization Level............................... 0 90 90 90 90 90
Estimated Outlays................................. 0 5 51 87 89 90
Administrative Costs of Centers of Excellence in Early
Childhood:
Authorization Level............................... 0 1 1 1 1 1
Estimated Outlays................................. 0 * * * * 1
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
Partnership:
Estimated Authorization Level..................... 0 10 10 10 11 11
Estimated Outlays................................. 0 1 8 10 10 10
Total Proposed Changes:
Estimated Authorization Level................. 0 6,064 7,753 8,098 8,250 8,410
Estimated Outlays............................. 0 3,403 6,806 7,836 8,156 8,333
Total Spending Under S. 556:
Estimated Authorization Level......................... 6,889 7,453 7,753 8,098 8,250 8,410
Estimated Outlays..................................... 6,846 7,155 7,567 7,932 8,170 8,333
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 2007 level is the amount appropriated for the Head Start program, including an advance of $1.389 billion
for the 2006-2007 academic year. The 2008 level is the amount appropriated in an advance appropriation for the
2007-2008 academic year.
Notes.--Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. * = less than $500,000.
Basis of estimate: S. 556 would reauthorize the Head Start
program through 2012. The program is currently authorized
through September 30, 2007, by the Revised Continuing
Appropriations Resolution, 2007 (Public Law 110-5). For this
estimate, CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted before the
start of fiscal year 2008, that the estimated amounts shown in
the table will be appropriated for each year, and that outlays
will generally follow historical spending patterns.
Head Start
S. 556 would revise and reauthorize the Head Start program
through 2012. The Head Start program provides comprehensive
child development services to low-income children. Services
include education, health, nutrition, and social services with
the goal of increasing the school readiness of young children
in low-income families.
The bill would authorize the appropriation of $7.350
billion in 2008 (which includes the $1.389 billion already
appropriated for that year), $7.650 billion in 2009, $7.995
billion in 2010, and such sums as may be necessary in 2011 and
2012. CBO estimates that the total authorizations of additional
appropriations for the 2008-2012 period would be $38.1 billion,
assuming adjustments for inflation in 2011 and 2012, with
resulting outlays of $34.2 billion over those five years.
Funding for this program for a given fiscal year is
provided by both a regular appropriation for that fiscal year
and an advance appropriation provided earlier. 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 fiscal year could be provided in one
appropriation.
Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood
S. 556 would authorize appropriations of $92.5 million a
year for a new Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood grant
program. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) could
designate as many as 200 exemplary Head Start agencies as such
Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood. Those 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 those 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, $0.5 million annually for HHS
administrative costs, and $2 million a year for research. CBO
estimates that providing these amounts would result in outlays
of $331 million over the next five years. The outlay estimate
reflects the assumption that spending for these new centers
would occur over a two-year period rather than the four-year
span for current Head Start centers.
Tribal Colleges and Universities Head Start Partnership
S. 556 would create a new Tribal Colleges and Universities
Head Start Partnership program and authorize the appropriation
of $10 million in 2008 and such sums as may be necessary from
2009 through 2012. The bill would authorize the Secretary of
HHS to award grants for not less than five years 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 authorized amounts
would result in outlays of $39 million over the 2008-2012
period. The projected rate of spending is the average of the
rates for two similar programs, Child Welfare Training and
University Centers for Excellence in Developmental
Disabilities.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 556
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined by UMRA. Grant funds authorized by the bill would
benefit state, local, and tribal governments that participate
in the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Any costs they
incur from complying with increased management and oversight
responsibilities or from implementing standards for educational
performance would result from complying with conditions for
receiving federal assistance.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Jonathan Morancy.
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Lisa Ramirez-
Branum. Impact on the Private Sector: Paige Shevlin.
Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine, 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
Sec. 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the ``Head Start for School
Readiness Act.''
Sec. 2. Statement of purpose
This section modifies Section 636 by revising the statement
of purpose to read
It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote the school
readiness of low-income children by enhancing their cognitive
and social development--
(1) with a learning environment that supports cognitive
development (including the growth of language, pre-literacy,
and premathematics skills) and the growth of social, emotional
and physical skills.
(2) 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.
Sec. 3. Definitions
Amends Section 637 by adding community-based organizations
to the definition of potential delegate agencies, and adds
financial literacy as a component of family literacy services.
Section 637 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
also defines ``homeless child'' ``limited English proficient''
children, ``institution of higher education.'' The term
``deficiency'' and ``unresolved areas of non-compliance'' are
defined and later referred to in section 641A(d). The term
``interrater reliability'' is defined in relation to the Head
Start monitoring process.
Sec. 4. Financial assistance for Head Start programs
Amends Section 638 to authorize grants to Head Start
agencies for a 5-year period.
Sec. 5. Authorization of appropriations
Reauthorizes the Head Start Act at $7.35 million for fiscal
year 2008, $7.65 million for fiscal year 2009, $7.995 million
for fiscal year 2010, and such sums as may be necessary for
fiscal year 2011 and fiscal year 2012. From the amount
appropriated, the Secretary can make available up to $20
million for fiscal year 2008 to carry out research,
demonstration, and evaluation activities including longitudinal
studies under Section 649, and such sums for fiscal years 2009-
12,
Sec. 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 distribute the
remaining 35 percent on a competitive basis.
Section 640(a) is amended to provide not less than 2
percent of the amount appropriated under section 639 for
training and technical assistance activities, of which 50
percent shall be made available for Head Start agencies to use
directly for various activities, and of which 50 percent shall
be made available to the Secretary to provide directly, or
support a system of, early childhood education training and
technical assistance. Not less than $3 million of these funds
shall be made available to carry out activities described in
section 648(d)(4).
Subparagraph 640(a)(3)(A) stipulates Head Start quality
improvement funds, and is amended to provide an amount equal to
30 percent of such excess amounts in fiscal year 2008, and 40
percent of such excess amounts in fiscal year 2009 through
fiscal year 2012. Subparagraph 640(a)(3)(B) is amended to
provide greater detail regarding the goals for which such
quality improvement funds shall be used.
Subparagraph 640(a)(5) is amended to require the Secretary
to award a collaboration grant to each State and each national
administrative office serving Indian Head Start programs and
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs to facilitate
collaboration between Head Start agencies and entities that
carry out activities designed to benefit low-income families
and children. Grants shall be used to encourage Head Start
agencies to collaborate with other entities, coordinate with
other State agencies, promote alignment of Head Start with
State early learning standards, and promote better linkages
between Head Start and other child and family agencies. The
State Director of Head Start Collaboration shall conduct an
assessment that addresses the needs of Head Start agencies in
the State, and shall develop a strategic plan to address such
needs.
As a condition of receiving a grant under Subparagraph
640(a)(5), each State shall designate or establish a State
Advisory Council on early childhood care and education,
comprised of a diverse membership, which shall: conduct a
statewide needs assessment concerning early childhood care and
education; identify barriers to and opportunities for
collaboration; develop recommendations regarding data
collection in early childhood programs; develop a professional
development plan for the early childhood workforce; assess the
availability of pre-kindergarten services for children; and
assist institutions in developing model early childhood
education programs. The Secretary shall reserve $100 million
for fiscal year 2008 to award competitive, one-time start-up
grants to states to further develop and implement plans for a
high-quality system of early childhood care and education.
These funds shall remain available for obligation through
fiscal year 2012.
Subparagraph 640(a)(6) is amended to reserve amounts not
less than 12 percent for fiscal year 2008, 14 percent for
fiscal year 2009, 16 percent for fiscal year 2010, 18 percent
for fiscal year 2011, and 20 percent for fiscal year 2012 for
the Early Head Start program.
Section 640(l) is amended to address the needs and provide
access to Head Start services for Indian children and children
of migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Section 640(m) instructs
the Secretary to issue regulations to facilitate the enrollment
and participation of homeless children in Head Start programs.
Section 640(f) is amended to require the Secretary to
establish procedures for the conversion of part-day programs to
full-day programs as well as serving additional infants and
toddlers pursuant to Section 645(a)5.
Subparagraph 640(i)(1) requires background checks for
individuals transporting Head Start enrollees. Subparagraph
640(i)(2) provides for limited exceptions to the Vehicle Safety
Requirements.
Sec. 7. Designation of Head Start agencies
Section 641(a) provides the Secretary authority to
designate any local public or private non-profit or for-profit
organization within a community, including community-based
organizations, as a Head Start agency. To be so designated,
such agency must establish goals to meet Head Start's
performance standards and improve the school readiness of
children participating in Head Start programs. Such agency must
also establish a governing body with legal and fiscal
responsibility for administering and overseeing programs, and a
policy council with decision-making responsibility for program
planning and elements of program operation. Section 641(a) is
further amended to specify the composition and responsibilities
of the governing body and policy council, including policies
for information sharing between these two entities and shared
responsibility for establishment of processes to resolve
internal disputes. The composition of both entities must
include members of the community to be served, including
parents.
Section 641(c) is amended to redesignate any Head Start
agency or delegate agency receiving assistance under this
subchapter, that is high-performing as determined by meeting or
exceeding program requirements and standards, having no
unresolved deficiencies, demonstrating active collaboration
with the state or local communities in the provision of
services, and successfully completing the appropriate re-
application forms. If no entity is eligible for redesignation
according to these criteria, the Secretary shall designate a
Head Start agency from qualified applicants in an open
competition. Section 641(e) states the terms of effectiveness
which the Secretary shall consider in selecting from qualified
applicants in such a competition.
Sec. 8. Quality standards; monitoring of Head Start agencies and
programs
Amends Section 641A by adding educational standards, based
on the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences,
relating to language skills, pre-literacy knowledge and skills,
premathematics knowledge and skills, scientific abilities,
general cognitive abilities, social and emotional development,
physical development, and in the case of limited English
proficient children, progress toward acquiring the English
language.
Section 641A is further amended to include new procedures
for the evaluation and corrective action of delegate agencies,
including procedures for defunding, termination, and appeal.
Each Head Start agency shall evaluate its delegate agencies and
inform such agencies of deficiencies identified, and may
initiate monitoring visits or pursue other actions against such
agency until deficiencies are corrected.
Section 641A also provides for unannounced site inspections
of Head Start Centers for health and safety reasons, as
appropriate, and directs the Secretary to conduct prompt
follow-up reviews to agencies with findings of deficiencies.
Reviews of Head Start agencies shall be conducted by review
teams that include individuals who are knowledgeable about Head
Start and other early childhood programs, and shall reflect a
review and assessment of program effectiveness, which includes
strengths and weaknesses of programs. Reviews will seek
information from communities and States about innovative or
effective collaborative efforts, assess compliance with income
eligibility requirements and gauge whether programs have
adequately addressed the population and community needs, and
include data from the period child assessments conducted in
programs. The Secretary shall ensure the quality and
consistency of Head Start review across the nation, by
conducting periodic inter-rater reliability checks.
Section 641A is amended to require each Head Start agency
to conduct a comprehensive self-assessment of their
effectiveness and progress in meeting program goals and
objectives, and to develop an improvement plan to strengthen
any areas needing improvement as identified in the self-
assessment.
Section 641A establishes new rules for the reduction of
grants and redistribution of funds in cases of under-
enrollment, and requires each agency to report actual
enrollment monthly. In cases in which agencies are less than 95
percent enrolled, the Secretary shall develop a plan and
timetable with the agency 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, and shall provide timely and
ongoing technical assistance to such agency for the purpose of
correcting the under-enrollment. After 18 months, 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. The Secretary redistribute such amounts to other
Head Start agencies within the State.
Sec. 9. Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood
Establishes a new section 641B, creating a new competitive
grant program for the Secretary to recognize up to 200
exemplary Head Start agencies as Centers of Excellence in Early
Childhood, under a separate authorization of appropriations.
Subject to available funds, exemplary centers will receive
grants to model and disseminate best practices for achieving
early academic success and for promoting seamless service
delivery for eligible children and their families. Grants may
also be used to provide services to additional eligible
children, better meet the needs of working families, further
coordinate early childhood and social services for at-risk
children, provide training and cross-training for Head Start
teachers and staff, provide effective transitions between Head
Start and elementary school, develop partnerships with
institutions of higher education, and carry out other
activities. There are authorized to be appropriated $90 million
to award bonus grants under this section, including an
additional $4.5 million for related administrative costs and
research activities.
Sec. 10. Powers and functions of Head Start agencies
Section 642 is amended to specify conditions for
designation as a Head Start agency, which include authority
under a charter or applicable law to receive and administer
funds and contributions from private or local public sources to
be used in support of a Head Start program. Agencies must also
be empowered to transfer funds and delegate powers of its
governing board and its overall program responsibilities.
Delegate agencies must establish a policy committee comprised
of members of the community to be served, including parents.
Section 642(b) stipulates additional requirements for
designation as a Head Start agency. Head Start agencies are
also required to provide a family needs assessment, provide for
the regular participation of parents, perform community
outreach to encourage volunteers for the Head Start program,
inform single parents who participate in programs and
activities about the availability of child support services for
purposes of establishing paternity and acquiring child support,
refer eligible parents to the child support offices of State
and local governments, and provide parents of limited English
proficient children outreach and information in an
understandable format.
Head Start agencies will work with local educational
agencies and elementary schools to discuss strategies and
options and to ensure a smooth elementary school transition for
Head Start children. 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.
To promote parental involvement, this section requires Head
Start agencies to conduct training to inform parents of rights
and responsibilities regarding their children's education and
support active involvement of parents with schools.
Section 642(e) requires Head Start agencies to enroll 100
percent of its funded enrollment and maintain an active waiting
list.
Section 642(f) requires each Head Start agency to develop
an annual technical assistance and training plan.
Sec. 11. Head Start transition
Section 642A is amended to require Head Start agencies to
coordinate with local educational agencies and schools in which
Head Start children will enroll to: develop records
transferring procedures; establish communication channels
between Head Start staff and school counterparts to facilitate
program coordination; develop curricula continuity for
transition and shared expectations purposes; conduct parent--
teacher meetings; run transition training of school staff and
Head Start staff; develop family outreach and support programs
considering LEP families; enhance educational and developmental
continuity and continuity of parental involvement; help parents
understand the importance of parental involvement in a child's
academic success; develop system to increase participation of
underserved eligible children in program, and; coordination and
collaboration of development of Head Start curricula's
alignment with State early learning standards, as appropriate.
Sec. 12. Submission of plans to Governors
Section 643 is amended 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 for Indian, Migrant, or Seasonal Head Start programs.
Sec. 13. Costs of developing and administering a program
Section 644(b) is amended to permit up to 10 Head Start
agencies to expend an amount in excess of allowable direct
costs associated with developing and administering a program,
provided that the agency submits an assurance that they will
serve a greater percentage of children in the community
involved than was previously served without diminishing
services provided to currently enrolled children, and any such
excess amount does not exceed 5 percent of the total costs of
the program. Such applicant must also accomplish 3 of 5
improved outcomes related to Head Start programs.
Sec. 14. Participation in Head Start programs
Section 645 is amended to prescribe eligibility to children
from low-income families for Head Start services if their
family's income is below 130 percent of the poverty line, and
to deem homeless children eligible for Head Start services.
Head Start agencies are required to serve children at 100
percent of the poverty level first.
This section is also amended to clarify that special pay or
housing for any member of the uniformed services shall not be
considered to be income for the purposes of determining
eligibility for Head Start services.
Section 645 is amended to permit Head Start agencies to
apply to the Secretary to convert part-day sessions into full-
day sessions, or to use grant funds to serve additional infants
and toddlers consistent with the Early Head Start rules,
regulations, and standards, subject to the communitywide needs
assessment.
Sec. 15. 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 home-based services and family support
services. This Section also requires that Early Head Start
agencies develop a transitioning process for children and
parents from Early Head Start to 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 also defines ``eligible Head Start providers''
as tribal governments, migrant and seasonal Head Start
programs, as well as community-based organizations that meet
program standards.
Section 645A is amended to include new staff
qualifications, including requirements that Center-based
teachers providing direct services to Early Head Start children
and families have a minimum of a CDA or an AA and training in
early childhood development by September 30, 2012. It also
directs the Secretary to develop training and qualification
standards for home visitor staff.
Sec. 16. Appeals, notice, hearing and records and audits
Section 646(a) is amended to include timelines and
procedures for termination, reduction or suspension of
financial assistance, including clarified terms for filing an
appeal and for a full and fair hearing of such appeal.
Section 647(a) is amended by changing ``each recipient'' to
``each Head Start agency.'' It requires each center receiving
financial assistance to maintain and submit a complete
accounting of their administrative expenses including salaries
and compensation annually to the Secretary.
Sec. 17. Technical assistance and training
Section 648 is amended to make available funds to support a
State system of training and technical assistance related to
early childhood care and education for Head Start agencies. It
requires the Secretary to ensure that such training and
technical assistance is provided by agencies with demonstrated
expertise in improving the delivery of Head Start services, and
encourages the states to supplement funds provided under this
act for such purposes.
This section further clarifies instructions for the
Secretary in allocating resources for technical assistance and
training, and adds new priorities to such activities, including
local literacy training.
Sec. 18. Staff qualifications and development
Section 648A is amended to establish new staff
qualification goals for Head Start programs, to ensure that all
teachers nationwide in center-based programs have at least an
associate degree in early childhood education (or equivalent
coursework) by 2012, and to ensure that all Head Start
curriculum specialists and education have a baccalaureate or
advanced degree in early childhood education (or equivalent
coursework) by 2010. This section also includes a goal to
ensure that all Head Start teaching assistants have at least a
child development associate credential by 2010, and that half
of all Head Start teachers in each State have a baccalaureate
degree in early childhood education (or equivalent coursework)
by 2013. All Head Start teachers shall also attend not less
than 15 hours of professional development per year.
The Secretary shall document progress toward these goals,
including increasing percentages of Head Start staff making
progress toward these goals, and compile and submit a summary
of such reports to Congress.
This section also includes service requirements for
individuals who receive financial assistance under this act to
pursue an advanced degree, as well as requires each Head Start
agency to create and maintain a professional development plan
for employees providing direct services to children.
Sec. 19. Tribal colleges or university Head Start partnership program
Section 648B includes a new authorized discretionary grant
program of the Secretary to award 5-year grants to Tribal
colleges 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 members, parents of Head Start children, and members of
the tribal community involved in Indian Head Start.
Grants under this section may be used for technology
literacy programs for those served by and associated with
Indian Head Start. The Secretary will ensure that the Indian
Head Start Bureau is sufficiently staffed to administer the
programs in this section and to provide enough technical
assistance to the colleges and universities receiving grants.
To receive grants, tribal colleges and universities must submit
applications to the Secretary for consideration. This section
authorizes $10 million to carry out this program for fiscal
year 2008, and such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal
year 2009-12.
Sec. 20. Research, demonstrations, and evaluation
Section 649 is amended to direct the Secretary to identify
successful strategies that promote good oral health and quality
dental services for children participating in Head Start and
Early Head Start programs. The Secretary shall also consider
children who are abused or neglected when developing, testing
and disseminating new ideas for addressing the needs of low-
income children in Head Start programs.
Section 649 is further amended to require a review and
update of assessments, standards, and measures used in Head
Start programs by the Panel on Developmental Outcomes and
Assessments for Young Children of the National Academy of
Sciences. In developing or refining any assessment in Head
Start, the Secretary shall ensure consistency with nationally
recognizes professional and technical standards, validity and
reliability for all purposes for which assessments are used,
development and linguistic appropriateness of such assessments,
and use of such assessments to improve the quality of Head
Start programs.
Section 649 suspends implementation and terminates further
development and use of the National Reporting System by the
Secretary, and prohibits the use of any assessment to rank,
compare, or otherwise evaluate individual children or teachers
in Head Start programs, or to provide rewards or sanctions for
children or teachers.
This section is further amended to direct the Secretary to
study the status of limited English proficient children and
families in Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
Sec. 20. Reports
Section 650(a) is amended so that the Secretary will also
consider homeless children and children in foster care in
reports concerning the status of children.
Sec. 22. Comparability of wages
Section 653 is amended to direct that no Federal funds
shall be used to compensate an individual employed by Head
Start in an amount that exceeds the salary of the Secretary.
Sec. 23. Limitation with respect to certain unlawful activities
Section 655 is amended to forbid participation in civil
disturbance, rioting, or unlawful demonstration by individuals
in Head Start agencies.
Sec. 24. Political activities
Section 656 is amended to prohibit the participation of any
Head Start employee, while working on behalf of a Head Start
program, to engage in any political activity associated with a
candidate or contending faction in an election, as well as any
activity to provide transportation to voting polls.
Sec. 25. Parental consent requirement for health services
A new Section 657A is added to require written parental
consent before administration or referral of any health care
services or procedures, including non-emergency intrusive
physical examination of a child in connection with
participation in a program. The section also provides for
definition of the term ``nonemergency intrusive physical
examination''.
This section does not prohibit agencies from using
established methods for handling suspected or known 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 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.]
SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote the school
readiness of low-income children by enhancing their cognitive
and social development--
(1) with a learning environment that supports
cognitive development (including the growth of
language, pre-literacy, and premathematics skills) and
the growth of social, emotional, and physical skills;
and
(2) through the provision to low-income children and
their families of health, educational, nutritional,
social, and other services that are determined, based
on family needs assessments, to be necessary.
* * * * * * *
DEFINITIONS
Sec. 637. For purposes of this subchapter:
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(2) The term ``delegate agency'' means a public,
private nonprofit (including a community-based
organization, as defined in section 9101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7801)), 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.
(D) * * *
(4) * * *
* * * * * * *
(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. [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)(ii) 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.]
(18) The term ``deficiency'' means--
(A) a systemic or substantial material
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) systemic 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)(ii)(I); or
(E) having an unresolved area of
noncompliance.
(19) 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)).
(20) The term ``institution of higher education'' has
the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(21) The term ``interrater reliability'' means the
extent to which 2 or more independent raters or
observers consistently obtain the same result when
using the same assessment tool.
(22) The term ``limited English proficient'', used
with respect to a child, means a child--
(A) who is enrolled or preparing to enroll in
a Head Start program, Early Head Start program,
or other early care and education program;
(B)(i) who was not born in the United States
or whose native language is a language other
than English;
(ii)(I) who is a Native American, Alaska
Native, or a native resident of an outlying
area (as defined in section 9101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 7801)); 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 difficulties 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.
(23) 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).
* * * * * * *
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. AUTHORIZATLON OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated
for carrying out the provisions of this subchapter
$7,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $7,650,000,000 for fiscal
year 2009, $7,995,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, and such sums
as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012.
(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 2008, and such sums as may be
necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012, of which
not more than $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through
2012 shall be available to carry out impact studies under
section 649(g).
* * * * * * *
ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS; LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE
Sec. 640. (a)(1) * * *
(2) * * *
[(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 a
percentage specified by the Secretary that is not less
than 4 percent of the amount appropriated under section
639 for that fiscal year (for Indian Head Start
programs) and a percentage specified by the Secretary
that is not less than 5 percent of that appropriated
amount (for migrant and seasonal Head Start programs)
(referred to in this paragraph as the ``specified
percentages''), except that--
(i) if reserving the specified percentages
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 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) * * *
(i) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(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 any of
paragraphs (1) through (17) of section 648(d), in an
amount for each fiscal year that is not less than 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, institutions of higher
education, 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 the
skills, knowledge, abilities,
development, and progress described in
section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii);
(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, 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 determined
appropriate for the improvement 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--
(I) to provide directly training and
technical assistance on early childhood
education and care or to support,
through grants or other arrangements, a
State system of training and technical
assistance (which may include such a
system for a consortium of States
within a region); and
(II) 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
* * * * * * *
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
appropriated under this subchapter to expand or create
additional slots or services in non-Indian and non-
migrant and seasonal Head Start programs until the
amounts based on the specified percentages for Indian
Head Start programs and migrant and seasonal Head Start
programs pursuant to subparagraph (A) are reached. 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 2008, and 40 percent of
such excess amount for each of fiscal years
2009 through 2012; and
(II) * * *
(ii) * * *
(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 is 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, premathematics, and pre-literacy
skills 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 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 the skills,
knowledge, abilities, development, and
progress described in section
641A(a)(1)(B)(ii); and
(III) encourage the staff to
continually improve their skills and
expertise--
(aa) through the
implementation of career
development programs; and
(bb) through the completion
of postsecondary coursework in
early childhood education.
(v) Improving [community-wide] communitywide
strategic planning and needs assessments 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.
[(viii) Making such other improvements in the
quality of such programs as the Secretary may
designate.]
(vii) Providing assistance to complete
postsecondary coursework, to enable Head Start
teachers to improve competencies and the
resulting child outcomes, including informing
the teachers of the availability of Federal and
State incentive and loan forgiveness programs.
(viii) Promoting the regular attendance and
stability of all Head Start children with
particular attention to highly mobile children,
including children of migrant or seasonal
farmworkers 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 improvements 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 648(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) * * *
* * * * * * *
(ii) To train classroom teachers and
other staff to meet the [education
performance standards described in
section 641(a)(1)B)] standards and
measures described in section 641A,
through activities--
(I) to promote children's
language, pre-literacy, 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, abilities,
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
648(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 partners 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 648A(a)(1),
including certification and licensure
as bilingual education teachers,
teachers of English as a second
language, and for other educational
personnel who serve limited English
proficient children.
[(vi)] (x) Such other activities as
the Secretary may designate.
(D)(i) Funds reserved under subparagraph (A)
shall be allotted by the Secretary as follows:
(I) * * *
* * * * * * *
(ii) * * *
* * * * * * *
(4) Subject to section 639(b), the Secretary shall
allot the remaining amounts appropriated in each fiscal
year among the States, in accordance with latest
satisfactory data so that--
(A) each State receives an amount which is
equal to the amount the State received for
fiscal year [1998] 2007; 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 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), the Secretary shall
distribute the remaining balance, by--
(I) distributing 65 percent
of the balance among the States
serving less than 60 percent
(as determined by the
Secretary) of children who are
3 or 4 years of age from
families whose income is below
the poverty line, by allotting
to each of those States an
amount that bears the same
relationship to that 65 percent
as the number of children who
are less than 5 years of age
from families whose income is
below the poverty line
(referred to in this clause as
``young low-income children'')
in that State bears to the
number of young low-income
children in all those States;
and
(II) distributing 35 percent
of the balance among the
States, by allotting to each
State an amount that bears the
same relationship to that 35
percent as the number of young
low-income children in that
State bears to the number of
young low-income children in
all the States.
* * * * * * *
(5)(A) From amounts reserved and allotted pursuant to
paragraph (4) (and amounts reserved, before such
allotments, for national administrative offices), 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 in facilitate
collaboration regarding activities carried out in the
State under this subchapter, and other activities
carried out in, and by, the State that are designed to
benefit low-income children and families and to
encourage Head Start agencies to collaborate with
entities involved in State and local planning processes
(including the State lead agency administering the
financial assistance received under the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et
seq.) and the entities providing resource and referral
services in the State) in order to better meet the
needs of low-income children and families.
[(C) A State that receives a grant under subparagraph
(B) shall--
[(i) appoint an individual to serve as a
State liaison between--
[(I) the appropriate regional office
of the Administration for Children and
Families and agencies and individuals
carrying out Head Start programs in the
State; and
[(II) agencies (including local
educational agencies) and entities
carrying out programs serving low-
income children and families;
[(ii) involve the State Head Start
Association in the selection of the individual,
and involve the association in determinations
relating to the ongoing direction of the
collaboration;
[(iii) ensure that the individual holds a
position with sufficient authority and access
to ensure that the collaboration described in
subparagraph (B) is effective and involves a
range of State agencies;
[(iv) ensure that the collaboration described
in subparagraph (B) involves coordination of
Head Start services with health care, welfare,
child care, education, and community service
activities, family literacy services,
activities relating to children with
disabilities (including coordination of
services with those State officials who are
responsible for administering part C and
section 619 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431-
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
described 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 and to each
national administrative office serving Indian Head
Start programs and migrant and seasonal Head Start
programs to facilitate collaboration between Head Start
agencies and entities (including the State or national
administrative office) that carry out other activities
designed to benefit low-income families and children
from birth to school entry. The national administrative
offices shall use the funds made available through the
grants to carry out the authorities and
responsibilities described in subparagraphs (B) and
(C).
(ii) Grants described in clause (i) shall be used
to--
(I) assist 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) assist 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 resource 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 standards,
as appropriate, and 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, such
as services provided under section 619 or part
C of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);
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 childhood education and care to children in the
State, a State that receives a collaboration grant
under subparagraph (B) shall--
(i) appoint or designate an individual to
serve as, or carry out the responsibilities of,
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,
reporting to the State Advisory Council described in
subparagraph (E), shall--
(i) not later than 1 year after the State
receives a collaboration grant under
subparagraph (B), conduct an assessment that--
(I) addresses the needs of Head Start
agencies in the State with respect to
collaboration, coordination of
services, and alignment of services
with State early learning standards, as
appropriate, and the Head Start Child
Outcomes Framework;
(II) shall be updated on an annual
basis; and
(III) shall be made available to the
general public within the State;
(ii) 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 education and care (such as
child care or 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 education and
care 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 standards, as appropriate, and
the Head Start Child Outcomes
Framework; and
(IV) enable Head Start agencies in
the State to better access professional
development opportunities for Head
Start staff, such as by--
(aa) 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
(bb) enabling the State Head
Start agencies to better
conduct outreach to eligible
families;
(iii) promote partnerships between Head Start
agencies, State and local governments, and the
private sector to help ensure that children
from low-income families, who are in Head Start
programs or are preschool age, are receiving
comprehensive services to prepare the children
to enter school ready to learn;
(iv) consult with the chief State school
officer, local educational agencies, and
providers of early childhood education and
care, regarding early childhood education and
care at both the State and local levels;
(v) promote partnerships (such as the
partnerships involved with the Free to Grow
initiative) between Head Start agencies,
schools, law enforcement, relevant community-
based organizations, 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;
(vi) 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
(vii) 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--
(I) designate or establish a council to serve
as the State advisory council on collaboration
on early childhood education and care for
children from birth to school entry (in this
subchapter referred to as the ``State Advisory
Council''); and
(II) designate an individual to coordinate
activities of the State Advisory Council, as
described in clause (iv)(I).
(ii) The Governor may designate an existing entity to
serve as the State Advisory Council, if the entity
includes representatives consistent with 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 professional standards,
certification, and licensing for early
childhood educators;
(VII) a representative of the State agency
responsible for child care;
(VIII) early childhood educators, 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 section 619 or
part C of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);
(XIV) a representative of the State
interagency coordinating councils established
under section 641 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1441);
(XV) a representative of the State Head Start
Association (where appropriate), and other
representatives of Head Start programs in the
State;
(XVI) a representative of the State network
of child care resource and referral agencies;
(XVII) a representative of community-based
organizations;
(XVIII) a representative of State and local
providers of early childhood education and
child care;
(XIX) a representative of Indian Head Start
programs (where appropriate) and a
representative of migrant and seasonal 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 childhood
educators and child care providers;
(XXIV) a representative from the Office of
Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children
and Youths in the State;
(XXV) a State legislator; and
(XXVI) a representative of other entities
determined to be relevant by the Governor of
the State.
(iv)(I) The State Advisory Council shall be
responsible for, in addition to responsibilities
assigned to the council by the Governor of the State--
(aa) conducting a periodic statewide needs
assessment concerning early education and care
for children from birth to school entry;
(bb) identifying barriers to, and
opportunities for, collaboration and
coordination among entities carrying out
federally-funded and State-funded child
development, child care, and early childhood
education programs;
(cc) developing recommendations regarding
means of establishing a unified data collection
system for early childhood education and care
throughout the State;
(dd) developing a statewide professional
development and career ladder plan for early
childhood education and care in the State;
(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);
(ff) assessing the availability of high
quality prekindergarten services for low-income
children in the State;
(gg) assisting 2- and 4-year public and
private institutions of higher education to
develop articulation agreements;
(hh) awarding grants to assist institutions
of higher education to develop model programs
of early childhood education and care,
including practica or internships for students
to spend time in a Head Start or
prekindergarten program; and
(ii) undertaking collaborative efforts to
develop, and make recommendations for
improvements in, State early learning
standards.
(II) The State Advisory Council shall hold public
hearings and provide an opportunity for public comment
on the activities described in subclause (I). The State
Advisory Council shall submit a statewide strategic
report addressing the activities described in subclause
(I) to the State Director of Head Start Collaboration
and the Governor 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.
(F)(i)(I) Prior to carrying out paragraph (4), the
Secretary shall reserve a portion to carry out this
subparagraph for a fiscal year. The Secretary shall
reserve the portion from the amount (if any) by which
the funds appropriated under section 639(a) for the
fiscal year exceed the adjusted prior year
appropriation (as defined in paragraph (3)(A)(ii)),
without reducing the share available for quality
improvement funds described in paragraph (3)(B).
(II) To the extent consistent with subclause (I), the
Secretary shall reserve $100,000,000 for fiscal year
2008. Funds reserved under this subclause shall remain
available for obligation through fiscal year 2012.
(ii) The Secretary shall use the portion reserved
under clause (i) to award, on a competitive basis, one-
time startup grants of not less than $500,000 to
eligible States to enable such States to pay for the
Federal share of the cost of further developing and
implementing the recommendations and plans for which
the State's State Advisory Council is responsible under
subparagraph (E)(iv)(I). Such grants shall--
(I) facilitate the development of high-
quality systems of early childhood education
and care and activities designed to improve
school preparedness;
(II) increase and make effective use of
existing and new delivery systems and funds for
early childhood education and care; and
(III) enhance existing early childhood
education and care (in existence on the date on
which the grant involved is awarded).
(iii) To be eligible to receive a grant under this
subparagraph, a State shall prepare and submit to the
Secretary an application, for a 3-year period, at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information
as the Secretary shall require, including--
(I) a description of the State's State
Advisory Council's responsibilities under
subparagraph (E)(iv)(I);
(II) a description, for each fiscal year, of
how the State will make effective use of funds
available under this subparagraph, with funds
described in clause (iv), to create an early
childhood education and care system, by
developing or enhancing programs and activities
described in subparagraph (E)(iv)(I);
(III) a description of the State early
learning standards and the State's goals for
increasing the number of children entering
kindergarten ready to learn;
(IV) information identifying the agency or
joint interagency office and individual
designated to carry out the activities under
this subparagraph, which may be the individual
designated under subparagraph (E)(i)(II); and
(V) a description of how the State plans to
sustain activities under this subparagraph
beyond the grant period.
(iv) The Federal share of the cost described in
clause (ii) shall be 30 percent, and the State shall
provide the non-Federal share.
(v) Funds made available under this subparagraph
shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other
Federal, State, and local funds expended to carry out
activities related to early childhood education and
care in the State.
(vi) Not later than 18 months after the date a State
receives a grant under this subparagraph, the State
shall submit an interim report to the Secretary. A
State that receives a grant under this subparagraph
shall submit a final report to the Secretary at the end
of the grant period.
[(E)] (G)(i) The Secretary shall--
(I) review on an ongoing basis evidence of
barriers to effective collaboration between
Head Start programs and other Federal, State,
and local [child care and early childhood
education programs and resources] early
childhood education and care programs and
resources;
(II) * * *
* * * * * * *
(ii) In the case of a collaborative activity funded
under this subchapter and another provision of law
providing for [Federal child care or early childhood
education] Federal early childhood education or child
care, the use of equipment and nonconsumable supplies
purchased with funds made available under this
subchapter or such provision shall not be restricted to
children enrolled or otherwise participating in the
program carried out under that subchapter or provision,
during a period in which the activity is predominantly
funded under this subchapter or such provision.
[(F)] (H) 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, for
grants for programs described in section 645A(a), a
portion of the combined total of such amounts equal to
[7.5 percent for fiscal year 1999, 8 percent for fiscal
year 2000, 9 percent for fiscal year 2001, 10 percent
for fiscal year 2002, and 10 percent for fiscal year
2003, of the amount appropriated pursuant to section
639(a), except as provided in subparagraph (B).] not
less than 12 percent for fiscal year 2008, not less
than 14 percent for fiscal year 2009, not less than 16
percent for fiscal year 2010, not less than 18 percent
for fiscal year 2011, and not less than 20 percent for
fiscal year 2012, 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 programs carried out under section 645A, the
amount of the reserved portion for fiscal year 2003
that exceeds the reserved portion for fiscal year 2002,
if any, shall be used for quality improvement
activities described in section 640(a)(3) and shall not
be used to serve an increased number of eligible
children under section 645A.
[(iii) In this subparagraph:
[(I) The term ``appropriate committees''
means the Committee on Education and the
Workforce and the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
[(II) The term ``reserved portion'', used
with respect to a fiscal year, means the amount
required to be used in accordance with
subparagraph (A) for that fiscal year.]
[(C)] (B)(i) For any fiscal year for which the
Secretary determines that the amount appropriated under
section 639(a) is not sufficient to permit the
Secretary to reserve the portion described in
subparagraph (A) without reducing the number of
children served by Head Start programs or adversely
affecting the quality of Head Start services, relative
to the number of children served and the quality of the
services during the preceding fiscal year, the
Secretary may reduce the percentage of funds [required
to be] reserved for the portion described in
subparagraph (A) for the fiscal year for which the
determination is made, but not below the percentage
[required to be] so reserved for the preceding fiscal
year.
(ii) * * *
* * * * * * *
(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term
``State'' does not include Guam, American Samoa, the
Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia,
the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Palau.
(b) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(f) The] (f)(1) Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Head Start for School Readiness Act, 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 models that leverage the capacity and capabilities of
the delivery system of early childhood education and child
care.
(2) In establishing the procedures the Secretary shall
establish procedures to provide for--
(A) the conversion of part-day programs to full-day
programs or part-day slots to full-day slots; and
(B) serving additional infants and toddlers pursuant
to section 645(a)(5).
(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]
communitywide 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] early childhood education and
care 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 (existing as of the date of the
allocation decision) 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.
(3) * * *
* * * * * * *
(h) * * *
[(i)] (i)(1) 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. The regulations
shall also establish requirements to ensure the appropriate
supervision of, and appropriate background checks for,
individuals with whom the agencies contract to transport those
children.
(2)(A) For purposes of part 1310 of title 45, Code of
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of
the Head Start for School Readiness Act, any vehicle in use to
transport children for a Head Start program as of January 1,
2007, shall not be subject to a requirement under that part
regarding rear emergency exit doors for 2 years after that date
of enactment.
(B) The Secretary shall revise allowable alternate vehicle
standards described in that part 1310 (or any corresponding
similar regulation or ruling) to exempt from Federal seat
spacing requirements any vehicle used to transport children for
a Head Start program, if the vehicle is equipped with child
restraint systems consistent with that part 1310 (or any
corresponding similar regulation or ruling). Such revision
shall be made in a manner consistent with the findings of the
Federal Transit Administration of the Department of
Transportation, pursuant to its study on occupant protection on
Head Start transit vehicles, related to Government
Accountability Office report GAO-06-767R.
(j) * * *
(k)(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(l)(1) With funds made available under section 640(a)(2) to
migrant and seasonal Head Start programs, the Secretary shall
give priority to migrant and seasonal Head Start programs that
serve eligible children of migrant [and seasonal farmworker
families] or seasonal farmworkers whose work requires them to
relocate most frequently.
(2) * * *
[(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 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 Indian Head Start
collaboration director and a national migrant and
seasonal Head Start program 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
(including) 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 subsection (a)(2)(A), 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.
(5)(A) In order to increase access to Head Start services
for children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers, the Secretary
shall work in collaboration with providers of migrant and
seasonal Head Start programs, the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Education to--
(i) collect, report, and share data on farmworkers
and their families in order to adequately account for
the number of children of migrant or seasonal
farmworkers who are eligible for Head Start services
and determine how many of such children receive the
services; and
(ii) identify barriers that prevent children of
migrant and seasonal farmworkers who are eligible for
Head Start services from accessing Head Start services,
and develop a plan for eliminating such barriers,
including certain requirements relating to tracking,
health records, and educational documents.
(B) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
the Head Start for School Readiness Act, the Secretary shall
publish in the Federal Register a notice about how the
Secretary plans to carry out the activities identified in
subparagraph (A) and shall provide a period for public comment.
To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall consider
comments received before implementing any of the activities
identified in subparagraph (A).
(C) Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of
the Head Start for School Readiness Act, the Secretary shall
submit a report to the Committee on Education and Labor of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate detailing how the
Secretary plans to carry out the activities identified in
subparagraph (A).
(D) The Secretary shall take appropriate caution to ensure
the protection of the confidentiality of any personally
identifiable data, information, and records collected or
maintained regarding children and families served by migrant
and seasonal Head Start programs.
(E) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
authorize the development of a nationwide database of
personally identifiable data, information, or records on
individuals involved in studies or other collections of data
under this paragraph.
(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
childhood education and care for children in the State, to
require any child to participate in a program in order to
attend preschool, or to participate in any initial screening
prior to participation in a program of early childhood
education and care, 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 635(a)(5) of such Act
(20 U.S.C. 1435(a)(5)).
(o) Curricula.--All curricula funded under this subchapter
shall be scientifically based, developmentally and
linguistically based (to the extent practicable), and age
appropriate. The curricula shall reflect all areas of child
development and learning. 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
64lA(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 Head Start agencies be continued.
[(g) If the Secretary determines that a nonprofit agency
and a for-profit agency have submitted applications for
designation of equivalent quality under subsection (d), the
Secretary may give priority to the nonprofit agency. In
selecting from among qualified applicants for designation as a
Head Start agency under subsection (d), the Secretary shall
give priority to applicants that have demonstated 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 have the capacity to
plan, conduct, administer, and evaluate, 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--
(A) 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
the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, State
early learning standards (as appropriate), and
requirements and expectations for local public
schools; and
(B) have a governing body--
(i) with legal and fiscal
responsibility for administering and
overseeing programs under this
subchapter;
(ii) that fully participates in the
development, planning, and evaluation
of the programs to ensure the operation
of programs of high quality;
(iii) that is 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; and
(iv) that has procedures to
facilitate meaningful consultation and
collaboration about decisions of the
governing body and the policy council
established under paragraph (3).
(3) Establishment of policy council upon
designation.--Upon receiving designation as a Head
Start agency, the agency shall establish a policy
council that--
(A) in accordance with paragraph (5)(C),
shall make decisions that influence the
character of programs consistent with paragraph
(5)(F); and
(B) with the governing body, shall establish
processes to resolve internal disputes.
(4) 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 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)(A).
(5) Governing body and policy council.--
(A) Establishment of governing body.--Each
Head Start agency shall establish a governing
body in accordance with paragraph (2)(B).
(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
background in fiscal
management.
(II) Not less than 1 member
of the governing body shall
have a background in early
childhood development.
(III) Not less than 1 member
of the governing body shall be
a licensed attorney familiar
with issues that come before
the governing body.
(IV) Additional members shall
reflect the community to be
served, and include parents of
children who are currently, or
were formerly, enrolled in Head
Start programs.
(V) In the case in which the
governing body is a part of a
Head Start agency that is a
public agency, members of the
governing body shall include
elected or appointed public
officials.
(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 (including any delegate
agency); and
(II) not receive compensation
for the purposes of serving on
the governing body or for
providing services to the Head
Start agency.
(C) Responsibilities of governing body.--
(i) In general.--The governing body
shall be responsible for--
(I) the selection of delegate
agencies and such agencies'
service areas;
(II) establishing procedures
and criteria for recruitment,
selection, and enrollment;
(III) all funding
applications and amendments to
funding applications for
programs under this subchapter;
(IV) establishing procedures
and guidelines to access and
collect the information
described in paragraph (6);
(V) review and approval of--
(aa) the annual self-
assessment, financial
audit, and findings
from the Federal
monitoring review, of
the Head Start agency
(including any delegate
agency); and
(bb) such agency's
progress in carrying
out the programmatic
and fiscal intent of
such agency's grant
application;
(VI) developing procedures
for how members of the policy
council of the Head Start
agency are selected, consistent
with subparagraph (E)(ii);
(VII) financial audits,
accounting, and reporting;
(VIII) personnel policies and
procedures regarding hiring,
termination, salary scales (and
changes made to the scale), and
salaries of the Executive
Director, Head Start Director,
the Director of Human
Resources, the Chief Fiscal
Officer, and any equivalent
position; and
(IX) review and approval of
the community assessment,
including any updates to such
assessment.
(ii) Conduct of responsibilities.--
The governing body shall ensure the
development and approval of an internal
control structure to facilitate those
responsibilities in order to--
(I) safeguard Federal funds;
(II) comply with laws and
regulations that have an impact
on financial statements;
(III) detect or prevent
noncompliance with this
subchapter; and
(IV) receive financial audit
reports and direct and monitor
staff implementation of
corrective actions.
(iii) Committees.--The governing body
shall, to the extent practicable and
appropriate, establish--
(I) advisory committees to
oversee responsibilities
related to financial auditing
and finances of the Head Start
agency, as well as compliance
with Federal, State, and local
laws and regulations; and
(II) at the discretion of the
governing body, additional
advisory committees to study
and make recommendations on
areas related to the
improvement of the Head Start
program.
(D) Establishment of policy council.--Each
Head Start agency shall establish a policy
council in accordance with paragraph (3).
(E) Composition of policy council.--
(i) In general.--The policy council
shall consist of--
(I) parents of children
currently enrolled in the
programs of the Head Start
agency (including any delegate
agency), which shall constitute
a majority of the membership of
the policy council; and
(II) members at large of the
community served by the Head
Start agency, which may include
parents of children previously
enrolled in the programs of the
Head Start agency (including
any delegate agency).
(ii) Selection.--Parents serving on
the policy council shall be elected by
parents of children currently enrolled
in the programs of the Head Start
agency (including any delegate agency)
and shall represent, proportionately,
all program options and settings
operated by the Head Start agency
(including any delegate agency).
(iii) Conflict of interest.--Members
of the policy council shall--
(I) not have a conflict of
interest with the Head Start
agency (including any delegate
agency); and
(II) not receive compensation
for serving on the policy
council or for providing
services to the Head Start
agency.
(F) Responsibilities of policy council.--The
policy council shall be responsible for--
(i) program planning, including--
(I) program design, including
long and short term program
goals, all funding applications
and amendments to funding
applications, and objectives
based on the annual
communitywide assessment and
self-assessment;
(II) program recruitment,
selection, and enrollment
priorities; and
(III) budget planning for
program expenditures consistent
with subparagraph (C)(i)(VII),
including polices for
reimbursement and participation
in policy council activities;
(ii) program operation consistent
with subparagraph (C)(i)(VIII),
including implementation of standards
of conduct for program staff,
contractors, and volunteers and
criteria for the employment and
dismissal of program staff; and
(iii) activities to support the
active involvement of parents in
supporting program operations,
including policies to ensure that the
Head Start program is responsive to
community and parent needs.
(6) Information sharing.--The governing body and the
policy council shall share with each other regular and
accurate information for use by both entities about
program planning, policies, and Head Start agency
operations, including--
(A) 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);
(B) monthly program information summaries;
(C) program enrollment reports, including
attendance reports for children whose care is
partially subsidized by another public agency;
(D) monthly reports of meals and snacks
provided through programs of the Department of
Agriculture;
(E) the financial audit;
(F) the annual self-assessment, including any
findings related to the annual self-assessment;
(G) the community assessment of the Head
Start agency's service area and any applicable
updates;
(H) communication and guidance from the
Secretary; and
(I) the program information reports.
(7) Training and technical assistance.--Appropriate
training and technical assistance shall be provided to
the members of the governing body and the policy
council 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 multicounty
unit within a State, an Indian reservation (including Indians
in any off-reservation area designated by an appropriate tribal
government in consultation with the Secretary), or a
neighborhood or other area (irrespective of boundaries or
political subdivisions) that provides a suitable organizational
base and possesses the commonality of interest needed to
operate a Head Start program.
(c) Redesignation.--
(1) In general.--In administering the provisions of
this section, the Secretary shall, in consultation with
the Governor of the State involved, redesignate as a
Head Start agency any Head Start agency or delegate
agency that is high performing, as determined by
meeting each of the following criteria:
(A) Is receiving assistance under this
subchapter.
(B) Meets or exceeds program and financial
management requirements or standards described
in section 641A(a)(1).
(C) Has no unresolved deficiencies, including
having resolved any deficiencies found during
the last triennial review under section
641A(c).
(D) 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).
(E) Completes and submits the appropriate
reapplication forms as required by the
Secretary.
(2) Limitation.--A Head Start agency with a triennial
review under section 641A(c) scheduled not later than
18 months after the date of enactment of the Head Start
for School Readiness Act shall not be subject to the
criteria described in paragraph (1) for that review in
order to be redesignated. The Head Start agency shall
be subject to the criteria for any subsequent triennial
review.
(d) Designation When No Entity Is Redesignated.--If no
entity in a community is redesignated according to subsection
(c), the Secretary shall, after conducting an open competition,
designate a Head Start agency from among qualified applicants
in such community.
(f) Effectiveness.--In selecting from among qualified
applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the
Secretary shall consider the effectiveness of each such
applicant to provide Head Start services, based on--
(1) any past performance of such applicant in
providing services comparable to Head Start services,
including how effectively such applicant provided such
comparable services;
(2) the plan of such applicant to provide
comprehensive health, educational, nutritional, social,
and other services needed to aid participating children
in attaining their full potential, and to prepare
children to succeed in school;
(3) the capacity of such applicant to serve eligible
children with 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 of part B of
title I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6371 et seq.,
6381 et seq.);
(B) other preschool program under title I of
that Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);
(C) programs under section 619 and part C of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);
(D) State prekindergarten programs;
(E) child care programs;
(F) the educational programs that the
children in the Head Start program involved
will enter at the age of compulsory school
attendance; and
(G) 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 facilitate 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
(including foster parents and grandparents,
where applicable) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) 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 education and care to children and their families.
(h) 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.
(i) Prohibition Against Non-Indian Head Start Agency
Receiving a Grant for an Indian Head Start Program.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law except as provided in paragraph (2), under no
condition may a non-Indian Head Start agency receive a
grant to carry out an Indian Head Start program.
(2) Exception.--In a community in which there is no
Indian Head Start agency available for designation to
carry out an Indian Head Start program, a non-Indian
Head Start agency may receive a grant to carry out an
Indian Head Start program but only until such time as
an Indian Head Start agency in such community becomes
available and is designated pursuant to this section.
* * * * * * *
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
backgound 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;
(II) pre-literacy knowledge and
skills;
(III) premathematics knowledge and
skills;
(IV) scientific abilities;
(V) general cognitive abilities
related to academic achievement and
child development;
(VI) social and emotional development
related to early learning and school
success;
(VII) physical development; and
(VIII) in the case of limited English
proficient children, progress toward
acquisition of the English language
(which may include progress made with
linguistically appropriate
instructional services) while making
meaningful progress in attaining the
knowledge, skills, abilities, and
development described in subclauses (I)
through (VII);
* * * * * * *
(D) standards relating to the condition and
location of facilities for such agencies,
programs, and [projects; and] projects,
including regulations that require that the
facilities used by Head Start agencies
(including Early Head Start agencies and
including any 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.--
* * * * * * *
(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 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 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]
early childhood education and care,
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; and]
including changes in the language
background and family structure of such
children, and changes in the population
and number of such children who are in
foster care or are homeless children;
[(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; and]
(vii) 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 for School
Readiness Act; and
(D) consult with Indian tribes, American
Indian and Alaska Native experts in early
childhood education and care, 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) * * *
(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
appealing 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 agency
identifies a deficiency for a delegate agency
through the evaluation, the Head Start agency
shall take action, which may include--
(i) initiating procedures to
terminate the designation of the agency
unless the agency corrects the
deficiency;
(ii) conducting 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) releasing funds to such
delegate agency--
(I) only as reimbursements,
until all deficiencies are
corrected or the Head Start
agency decides to defund such
delegate agency; and
(II) only if there is
continuity of services for
children and families.
(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.--] Characteristics
and use of measures._ * * *
(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 be issued by regulation
and shall include the performance standards and
additional educational standards described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1).
(3) Use of measures.--The Secretary shall use the
performance measures developed pursuant to this
subsection--
(A) to identify strengths and weaknesses in
the operation of Head Start programs
nationally, regionally, and locally[; and];
(B) to identify problem areas that may
require additional training and technical
assistance resources[.]; and
(C) to enable Head Start agencies to
individualize programs of instruction to better
meet the needs of the child involved.
* * * * * * *
(c) Monitoring of Local Agencies and Programs.--
(1) In general.-- * * *
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(C) Followup reviews including prompt return
visits to agencies and programs that fail to
meet the standards.]
(C) Unannounced site inspections for health
and safety reasons, as appropriate.
(D) Followup reviews, including--
(i) prompt return visits as necessary
for failure to meet 1 or more of the
performance measures developed by the
Secretary under subsection (b);
(ii) a review of agencies and
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
or program 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 programs;
[(B) are supervised by such an employee at
the site of such Head Start agency;
[(C) are conducted by review teams that shall
include individuals who are knowledgeable about
Head Start programs and, to the maximum extend
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 programs
and other early childhood education and
care 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,
including strengths and weaknesses, 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 care
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 population and
community needs (including needs of
populations of limited English
proficient children and children of
migrant or seasonal farmworkers);
(vii) include as part of the reviews
of the programs, a review and
assessment of whether programs have
adequately addressed the needs of
children with disabilities;
(viii) 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
agency-determined school readiness
goals described in section
641(a)(2)(A); and
(ix) in the case of Early Head Start
agencies programs, are conducted by a
review team that includes individuals
who are knowledgeable about the
development of infants and toddlers.
(B) Training; quality and consistency.--The
Secretary, from funds available under section
640(a)(2)(D), 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 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
communitywide strategic plan and needs assessment
identified in section 640(g)(2)(C), the Secretary
shall--
(A) inform the agency of the deficiencies
that shall be corrected and identify the
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 Secreatry 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
parents with children receiving assistance under this
subchapter in an understandable and uniform format, and to the
extent practicable, 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 councils, and, as applicable, policy
committees, and, as appropriate, other community
members, each agency receiving funds under this
subchapter shall conduct a comprehensive self-
assessment of the agency's effectiveness and progress
in meeting program goals and objectives and in
implementing and complying with standards described in
subsection (a)(1).
(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. The
agency shall report the areas to the
appropriate regional office of the
Administration for Children and Families.
(3) Ongoing monitoring.--Each Head Start agency,
(including each Early Head Start agency and including
any delegate agency) shall establish and implement
procedures for the ongoing monitoring of their Head
Start (including 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), 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
award.
(2) Enrollment reporting requirement for current
fiscal year.--Each entity carrying out a Head Start
program shall report on a monthly basis to the
Secretary and the relevant Head Start agency--
(A) the actual enrollment in such program;
and
(B) if such actual enrollment is less than
the funded enrollment, any apparent reason for
such enrollment shortfall.
(3) Secretarial review and plan.--The Secretary
shall--
(A) on a semiannual basis, determine which
Head Start agencies are operating with an
actual enrollment that is less than the funded
enrollment based on not less than 4 consecutive
months of data;
(B) for each such Head Start agency operating
a program with an actual enrollment that is
less than 95 percent of its funded enrollment,
as determined under subparagraph (A), develop,
in collaboration with such agency, a plan and
timetable for reducing or eliminating under-
enrollment taking into consideration--
(i) the quality and extent of the
outreach, recruitment, and
communitywide 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 funds
made available under this subchapter 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 community served; 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 funded 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, withhold, or reduce
the base grant for the program by a
percentage equal to the percentage
difference between funded enrollment
and actual enrollment for the program
for the most recent year in which the
agency is determined to be under-
enrolled under paragraph (3)(A).
(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 children of migrant or
seasonal farmworkers, 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 requirements; effective
date.--The actions taken by the Secretary under
this paragraph with respect to a Head Start
agency shall take effect 1 day after the date
on which--
(i) the time allowed for appeal under
section 646(a) expires without an
appeal by the agency; or
(ii) the action is upheld in an
administrative hearing under section
646.
(7) 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)(B)(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)(B), 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), in the case of a Head Start agency
described in subparagraph (A)(ii), the
Secretary shall use amounts described in
subparagraph (A) to redirect funds to Head
Start agencies located in other States that
make the demonstration described in
subparagraph (A)(i)(II).
(C) Adjustment to funded enrollment.--The
Secretary shall adjust as necessary the
requirements relating to funded enrollment
indicated in the grant agreement of a Head
Start agency receiving redistributed amounts
under this paragraph.
(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 OF EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD.
(a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``center of
excellence'' means a Center of Excellence in Early Childhood
designated under subsection (b).
(b) Designation and Bonus Grants.--The Secretary shall,
subject to the availability of funds under this subchapter,
including under subsection (f), establish a program under which
the Secretary shall--
(1) designate not more than 200 exemplary Head Start
agencies (including Early Head Start agencies, Indian
Head Start 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 a 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 of 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 reviews,
and has no findings of deficiencies
with respect to the standards and
measures;
(iii) evidence that the program is
making progress toward meeting the
requirements described in section 648A;
(iv) evidence demonstrating the
existence of a collaborative
partnership 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 early
childhood education and care 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 provision 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 childhood education and care,
will coordinate activities assisted
under this section with--
(I) programs 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 section 619 and part C of
the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);
(V) State prekindergarten
programs; and
(VI) other programs of early
childhood education and care.
(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 or 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 populations served by the applicants, such as
programs that serve large proportions of limited
English proficient or other underserved populations,
and may make bonus grants to programs that do an
exceptional job meeting the needs of such children in
such populations.
(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)--
(A) shall use the funds made available
through the bonus grant to model and
disseminate, to other Head Start centers in the
State involved, best practices for achieving
early academic success, including--
(i) best practices for achieving
school readiness and developing pre-
literacy and premathematics skills for
at-risk children and achieving the
acquisition of the English language for
limited English proficient children;
and
(ii) best practices for providing
seamless service delivery for eligible
children and their families;
(B) may use the funds made available through
the bonus grant--
(i) to provide Head Start services to
additional eligible children;
(ii) 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;
(iii) to further coordinate early
childhood education and care and social
services available in the community
served by the center for at-risk
children (birth through age 8), their
families, and pregnant women;
(iv) 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 education and care, and
training and cross training to develop
agency leaders;
(v) to provide effective transitions
between Head Start programs and
elementary school, to facilitate
ongoing communication between Head
Start and elementary school teachers
concerning children receiving Head
Start services, and to provide training
and technical assistance to providers
who are public elementary school
teachers and other staff of local
educational agencies, child care
providers, family service providers,
and other providers of early childhood
education and care, to help the
providers described in this clause
increase their ability to work with
low-income, at-risk children and their
families;
(vi) 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 partners to preschool children
in Head Start programs; and
(vii) to carry out other activities
determined by the center to improve the
overall quality of the Head Start
program carried out by the agency and
the program carried out under the bonus
grant involved.
(2) Involvement of other head start agencies and
providers.--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 and several additional Head Start agencies
(especially agencies that are low-performing on the
standards or performance measures described in
subsection (a) or (b) of section 641(A), and other
providers of early childhood education and care 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,
award a grant or contract 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 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 each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012--
(1) $90,000,000 to make bonus grants to centers of
excellence under subsection (b) to carry out activities
described in subsection (d);
(2) $500,000 to pay for the administrative costs of
the Secretary in carrying out this section; and
(3) $2,000,000 for research activities described in
subsection (e).
* * * * * * *
[POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGENCIES
SEC. 642. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGENCIES.
[Sec. 642. (a)] (a) In General._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 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 it 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
D.S.C. 2741 et seq.)), to parents of participating
children, family literacy services and parenting skills
training.
[(6) offer to parents of participating children
substance abuse counseling (either directly or through
referral to local entities), including information on
drug-exposed infants and fetal alcohol syndrome;
[(7) at the option of such agency, offer (directly or
through referral: to local entities), to such parents--
[(A) training in basic child development;
[(B) assistance in developing communication
skills;
[(C) opportunities to share experiences with
other parents;
[(D) regular in-home visitation; or
[(E) any other activity designed to help such
parents become full partners in the education
of their children;
[(8) provide, with respect to each participating
family, a family needs assessment that includes
consultation with such parents about the benefits of
parent involvement and about the activities described
in paragraphs (4) through (7) in which such parents may
choose to be involved (taking into consideration their
specific family needs, work schedules, and other
responsibilities);
[(9) consider providing services to assist younger
siblings of children participating in its Head Start
program to obtain health services from other sources;
[(10) perform community outreach to encourage
individuals previously unaffiliated with Head Start
programs to participate in its Head Start program as
volunteers; and
[(11)(A) inform custodial parents in single-parent
families that participate in programs, activities, or
services carried out or provided under this subchapter
about the availability of child support services for
purposes of establishing paternity and acquiring child
support; and
[(B) refer eligible parents to the child support
offices of State and local governments.
[(c) The head of each Head Start agency shall coordinate
and collaborate with the State agency responsible for
administering the State program carried out under the Child
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et
seq.), and other early childhood education and development
programs, including Even Start programs under part B of chapter
1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.) and programs under part C and
section 619 of the Individuals 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
(includtng 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).]
(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) establish effective procedures, for determining
the needs of children, that include high quality
research based developmental screening tools that have
been demonstrated to be valid, reliable, and accurate
for children from a range of backgrounds;
(5) require each delegate agency to create a policy
committee, which shall--
(A) be comprised of members of the community
to be served, including parents of children who
are currently enrolled in the Head Start
programs of the Head Start agency; and
(B) serve in an advisory capacity to the
delegate agency, to make decisions and
recommendations regarding program planning and
operation and parental involvement.
(6) seek the involvement of parents, area residents,
and local business in the design and implementation of
the program;
(7) provide for the regular participation of parents
and area residents in the implementation of the
program;
(8) 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;
(9) establish effective procedures to carry out
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 641(f)(8);
(10) 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;
(11) establish effective procedures to carry out
section 641(f)(8)(C);
(12) establish effective procedures to carry out
section 641(f)(8)(D);
(13) establish effective procedures to carry out
section 641(f)(8)(E);
(14) establish effective procedures to carry out
section 641(f)(8)(F);
(15) consider providing services to assist younger
siblings of children participating in its Head Start
program, to obtain health services from other sources;
(16) perform community outreach to encourage
individuals previously unaffiliated with Head Start
programs to participate in its Head Start program as
volunteers;
(17)(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;
(18) 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
(19) 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 partners 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) collaborate with 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 providing early childhood
education and care, 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. 621 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, in appropriate
cases;
(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, 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, upon the
transition of their children to
school--
(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 or Evaluation.--Each Head Start agency shall
adopt, in consultation with experts in child development and
with classroom teachers, an assessment or evaluation to measure
whether classroom teachers have mastered the functions
described in section 648A(a)(1) and have 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
communitywide 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.
(a) In General.--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, which may include--
(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) establishing comprehensive transition policies
and procedures that support children transitioning to
school, including by engaging the local education
agency in the establishment of such policies;
(4) developing a continuity of developmentally
appropriate curricular objectives and practices between
the Head Start agency and local educational agency,
that reflect shared expectations for children's
learning and development for the transition to school;
(5) conducting outreach to parents, elementary school
(such as kindergarten) teachers, and Head Start
teachers to discuss the educational, developmental, and
other needs of individual children;
(6) organizing and participating in joint training,
including transition-related training of school staff
and Head Start staff;
(7) 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
parents of limited English proficient children;
(8) 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;
(9) 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;
(10) 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;
(11) helping parents understand the instructional and
other services provided by the school in which their
child will enroll after participation in the Head Start
program; and
(12) coordinating activities and collaborating to
ensure that curricula used in the Head Start program
are aligned with State early learning standards, as
appropriate, and the Head Start Child Outcomes
Framework with regard to cognitive development
(including language, pre-literacy, and premathematics
competencies), and social, emotional, and physical
competencies that children entering kindergarten are
expected to demonstrate.
(b) Construction.--In this section, a reference to a Head
Start agency, or its program, services, facility, or personnel,
shall not be construed to be a reference to an Early Head Start
agency, or its program, services, facility, or personnel.
* * * * * * *
SUBMISSION OF PLANS TO GOVERNORS
Sec. 643. In carrying out the provisions of this
subchapter, no contract, agreement, grant, or other assistance
shall be made for the purpose of carrying out a Head Start
program within a State unless a plan setting forth such
proposed contract, agreement, grant, or other assistance has
been submitted to the [chief executive officer] Governor 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 any institution of higher education in
existence on the date of the enactment of this Act. This
section shall not apply to contracts, agreements, grants,
loans, or other assistance for Indian Head Start programs and
migrant and seasonal Head Start programs.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 644. (a) * * *
(b) [Except] (1) Except as provided in subsection (f), no
financial assistance shall be extended under this subchapter in
any case in which the Secretary determines that the costs of
developing and administering a program assisted under this
subchapter exceed 15 percent of the total costs, including the
required non-Federal contributions to such costs, of such
program. The Secretary shall establish by regulation, criteria
for determining (1) the costs of developing and administering
such program; and (2) the total costs of such program. In any
case in which the Secretary determines that the cost of
administering such program does not exceed 15 percent of such
total costs but is, in the judgment of the Secretary,
excessive, the Secretary shall forthwith require the recipient
of such financial assistance to take such steps prescribed by
the Secretary as will eliminate such excessive administrative
cost, including the sharing by one or more Head Start agencies
of a common director and other administrative personnel. The
Secretary may waive the limitation prescribed by this
subsection for specific periods of time not be exceed 12 months
whenever the Secretary determines that such a waiver is
necessary in order to carry out the purposes of this
subchapter.
(2)(A) The limitation prescribed by paragraph (1) shall not
prohibit a Head Start agency from expending an amount in excess
of allowable direct costs associated with developing and
administering a program assisted under this subchapter, if--
(i) the agency submits an application for a grant
year containing an assurance that--
(I) the agency will serve a greater
percentage of children in the community
involved than were served in the preceding
grant year; and
(II) the agency will not diminish services
provided to currently enrolled children (as of
the date of the application), including the
number of hours and days such services are
provided;
(ii) any such excess amount does not exceed 5 percent
of the total costs, including the required non-Federal
contributions to such costs, of such program; and
(iii) in the event that the applicant applies to
expend any such excess amount in a subsequent grant
year, the applicant continues to serve the same number
of children as proposed in the initial application
submitted under this paragraph and accomplishes,
relative to the prior Head Start agency, at least 3 of
the 5 improved outcomes.
(B) In subparagraph (A), the term `improved outcome'
means--
(i) an increase in average teacher salary;
(ii) an increase in the number of qualified teachers;
(iii) a significant increase in the number of
children who receive full-day Head Start services;
(iv) a decrease in the caseload for family workers;
or
(v) an increase in transportation options for
families.
(C) The Secretary shall approve not more than 10
applications described in subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year,
and to the extent practicable shall ensure participation under
this paragraph of a diverse group of Head Start agencies,
including public, private nonprofit, and for-profit agencies
operating Head Start programs.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 645. (a)(1) The Secretary shall by 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 leigible for public assistance; and
(B) * * *
(i) * * *
(ii) * * *
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) * * *
* * * * * * *
(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 communitywide
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.
(5)(A) Consistent with a communitywide needs assessment, a
Head Start agency may apply to the Secretary to serve
additional infants and toddlers if the agency submits an
application to the Secretary containing--
(i) a description of how the needs of pregnant women,
infants, and toddlers will be addressed in accordance
with section 645A(b), and with regulations prescribed
by the Secretary pursuant to section 641A in areas
including the agency's approach to child development
and provision of health services, approach to family
and community partnerships, and approach to program
design and management;
(ii) a description of how the needs of eligible Head
Start children are being and will be served;
(iii) assurances that the agency will participate in
technical assistance activities (including a planning
period, start-up site visits, and national training
activities) in the same manner as recipients of grants
under section 645A; and
(iv) evidence that the agency meets the same
eligibility criteria as recipients of grants under
section 645A.
(B) In approving such applications, the Secretary shall
take into account the costs of serving persons under section
645A.
(C) Any Head Start agency designated under this section and
permitted to use grant funds under subparagraph (A) to serve
additional infants and toddlers shall be considered to be an
Early Head Start agency and shall be subject to the same rules,
regulations, and conditions as apply to recipients of grants
under section 645A for those grant funds.
* * * * * * *
(d)(1) An Indian tribe that--
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) * * *
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, an
Indian tribe that operates both an Early Head Start program
under section 645A and a Head start program may, at its
discretion, at any time during the grant period involved,
reallocate funds between the Early Head Start program and the
Head Start program in order to address fluctuations in client
population, including pregnant women and children birth to
compulsory school age. The reallocation of such funds between
programs by an Indian tribe shall not serve as the basis for
the Secretary to reduce a base grant (as defined in section
641A(g)(1)) for either program in succeeding years.
* * * * * * *
[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.* * *
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(4) [provide services to parents to support their
role as parents] provide additional services and
research-based activities 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
cognitive, social, emotional, and physical 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);
(7) ensure that children with documented behavioral
problems, including problems involving behavior related
to prior or existing trauma, receive appropriate
screening and deferral;
[(6)](8) ensure formal linkages with local Health
Start programs in order to provide for continuity of
services for children and families;
(9) develop and implement a systematic procedure for
transitioning children and parents from an Early Head
Start program to a Head Start program or another local
program of early childhood education and care;
(10) establish channels of communication between
staff of Early Head Start programs and staff of Head
Start programs or other local providers of early
childhood education and care, to facilitate the
coordination of programs;
[(7)](11) 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)](12) 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. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.);
and
[(9)](13) 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.--
(1) Requirement. * * *
(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) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(iv) providing professional
development and personnel enhancement
activities, including the provision of
funds to recipients of grants under
subsection (a) for the recruitment and
retention of qualified staff with an
appropriate level of education and
experience.]
(iv) providing professional
development and personnel enhancement
activities, including the provision of
funds to recipients of grants under
subsection (a), relating to--
(I) effective methods of
conducting parent education,
home visiting, and promoting
quality early childhood
development;
(II) recruiting and retaining
qualified staff; and
(III) increasing program
participation for underserved
populations of eligible
children.
(h) Staff Qualifications and Development.--
(1) Center-based staff.--The Secretary shall
establish staff qualification goals to ensure that, not
later than September 30, 2012, 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
with a focus on infant and toddler 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
developmental screenings;
(vi) strategies for helping families
coping with crisis; and
(vii) the relationship of health and
well-being of pregnant women to
prenatal and early child development.
* * * * * * *
APPEALS, NOTICE, AND HEARING
Sec. 646. (a) The Secretary shall prescribe procedures to
assure that--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(3) financial assistance under this subchapter shall
not be terminated or reduced, 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
[(ii) delegate agencies or Head Start
Parent Policy Councils; 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 not later than 30 days after notice of
the decision from the Secretary; and
(B) access to a full and fair hearing of the
appeal, not later than 120 days after 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 policy
councils of Head Start agencies;
(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
fees 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 180 days or more 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] RECORDS AND FINANCIAL AUDITS
Sec. 647. (a) [Each recipient of] Each Head Start center,
including each 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]
financial 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] financial 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 center, including each 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 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 State system of training
and technical assistance (which may include such a system for a
consortium of States within a region) 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, Indian Head Start agencies, migrant and
seasonal Head Start agencies, and other entities
providing training and technical assistance in early
childhood education and care, for the State (including
such a consortium of States within a region), are
included in the planning and coordination of the
system; and
(2) encourage States (including such consortia) to
supplement the funds authorized in section
640(a)(2)(C)(ii) with Federal, State, or local funds
other than funds made available under this subchapter,
to expand training and technical assistance activities
beyond Head Start agencies to include other providers
of other early childhood education and care within a
State (including such a consortium).
[(b)] (c) The process for determining the technical
assistance and training activities to be carried out under this
section shall--
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
(3) ensure the provision of technical assistance to
assist Head Start agencies, entities carrying out other
[child care and early childhood programs] early
childhood education and care programs, communities, and
States in collaborative efforts to provide quality
full-working-day, full calendar year services,
including technical assistance related to identifying
and assisting in resolving barriers to collaboration.
[(c)] (d) In allocating resources for technical assistance
and training under this section, the Secretary shall--
(1) * * *
(A) * * *
(B) assisting Head Start agencies in--
(i) ensuring the school readiness of
children; and
(ii) meeting the [educational
performance measures] measures
described in section 641A(b)(4);
(2) supplement amounts provided under section
640(a)(3)(C)(ii) in order to address the training and
career development needs of classroom staff (including
instruction for providing services to children with
disabilities and for activities described in section
1222(d) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6372(d))) 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) assist Head Start agencies in the development of
collaborative initiatives with States and other
entities within the States, to foster effective [early
childhood professional development systems]
professional development systems regarding early
childhood education and care;
(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) assist Head Start agencies in better serving the
needs of families with very young children;]
(7) assist Head Start agencies in better serving the
needs of families with very young children, including
providing support and program planning and
implementation assistance for Head Start agencies that
apply to serve or are serving additional infants and
toddlers with funds previously used for 3- and 4-year-
olds in accordance with section 645(a)(5);
(8) * * *
* * * * * * *
(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 in increasing the
program participation of homeless children;
(13) provide training and technical assistance to
members of governing bodies, policy councils, and, as
appropriate, policy committees, to ensure that the
members can fulfill their functions;
(14) provide training and technical assistance to
Head Start agencies to assist such agencies in
conducting self-assessments;
(15) assist Head Start agencies in improving outreach
to, and the 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;
(16) provide activities that help ensure that Head
Start programs have qualified staff who can promote
prevention of childhood obesity by integrating into the
programs developmentally appropriate research-based
initiatives that stress the importance of physical
activity and nutrition choices made by children and
family, through daily classroom and family routines;
and
(17) assist Indian Head Start agencies to provide on-
site and off-site training to staff, using approaches
that identify and enhance the positive resources and
strengths of Indian children and families, to improve
parent and family engagement and staff development,
particularly with regard to child and family
development.
[(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 childre. 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 programs leading to recognized credentials for
personnel working in [early childhood development and child
care programs] early childhood education and 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 farmworker 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
(including any delegate agency) in its program improvement
plan, except that funds shall not be used for long-distance
travel expenses for training activities--
(1) available locally or regionally; or
(2) substantially similar to locally or regionally
available training activities.
(j)(1) To support local efforts to enhance early language
and preliteracy development of children in Head Start programs,
and to provide the children with high-quality oral language
skills, and environments that are rich in literature, in which
to acquire language and preliteracy skills, each Head Start
agency, in coordination with the appropriate State office and
the relevant State Head Start collaboration office, shall
ensure that all of the agency's Head Start teachers receive
ongoing training in language and emergent literacy (referred to
in this subsection as ``literacy training''), including
appropriate curricula and assessments to improve instruction
and learning. Such training shall include training in methods
to promote phonological awareness (including 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 involved 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 limited English
proficient.
(6) The literacy training shall include training on how to
best address the language and literacy needs of children with
disabilities, including training on how to work with
specialists in language development.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 648A. STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Classroom Teachers.--
(1) Professional requirements.--* * *
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(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
establish staff qualification goals to ensure
that--
(i) not later than September 30,
2012, all Head Start teachers
nationwide 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);
(ii) not later than September 30,
2010, all Head Start curriculum
specialists and education coordinators
nationwide 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,
2010, all Head Start teaching
assistants nationwide 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,
2013, 50 percent of all Head Start
teachers in center-based programs in
each State (and geographic region for
Indian Head Start programs and for
migrant and seasonal Head Start
programs) have a baccalaureate degree
relating to early childhood (or a
related educational 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 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) describe
continuing progress
each year toward
achieving the goals
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
advanced degrees; and
(II) compile and submit a
summary of all program reports
described in subclause (I)(bb)
to the Committee on Education
and Labor 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 that
progress by partnering with
institutions of higher education or
other programs that recruit, train,
place, and support college students to
deliver an innovative program of early
childhood education and care 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 or
credential 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)] (i)
or (iv) of paragraph (2)(A) is assigned one teacher who
has--
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Family Service Workers.--* * *
(1) * * *
(2) promote the development of model curricula (on
subjects including parenting training and family
literacy) designed to ensure the attainment of
appropriate competencies by individuals working or
planning to work in the field of early childhood and
family services; [and]
(3) promote the establishment of a credential that
indicates attainment of the competencies and that is
accepted nationwide[.]; and
(4) promote the use of appropriate strategies to meet
the needs of special populations (including populations
of limited English proficient children).
(d) Head Start Fellowships.--
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
(3) Assignments of fellows.--
(A) Placement sites.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(C) No placement in lobbying organizations.--
Head Start Fellowship positions may not be
located in any agency, including a center,
whose primary purpose, or one of whose major
purposes, is to influence Federal, State, or
local legislation.
* * * * * * *
(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, and
teaching assistants to meet the requirements set forth in
subsection (a).
(g) Construction.--In this section, a reference to a Head
Start agency, or its program, services, facility or personnel,
shall not be considered to be a reference to an Early Head
Start agency, or its program, services, facility or personnel.
* * * * * * *
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 advanced degrees in early
childhood education and related fields that are
earned by Indian Head Start agency staff
members, parents of children served by such an
agency, and members of the tribal community
involved;
(B) develop and implement the programs under
subparagraph (A) in technology-mediated
formats, 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 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for each of
fiscal years 2009 through 2012.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning
given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(2) Tribal college or university.--The term ``Tribal
College or University''--
(A) has the meaning given such term in
section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1059c); and
(B) means an institution determined to be
accredited or a candidate for accreditation by
a nationally recognized accrediting agency or
association.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 649. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUATION.
(a) In General.--
(1) Requirement; general purposes.--* * *
(A) * * *
(B) use the Head Start programs to develop,
test, and disseminate new ideas and approaches
for addressing the needs of low-income
preschool children (including children with
disabilities, 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.
* * * * * * *
(d) Specific Objectives.-- * * *
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(4) * * *
(5) identify successful strategies that promote good
oral health and provide effective linkages to quality
dental services through pediatric dental referral
networks, for infants and toddlers participating in
Early Head Start programs and children participating in
other Head Start programs;
[(5)](6) permit comparisons of children and families
participating in Head Start programs with children and
families receiving other [child care, early childhood
education, or child development services] early
childhood education and care services and with other
appropriate control groups;
[(6)](7) * * *
[(7)](8) * * *
[(8)](9) promote exploration of areas in which
knowledge is insufficient, and that will other wise
contribute to fulfiling 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) * * *
* * * * * * *
[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.--* * *
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) as appropriate, permit comparison of children and
families participating in Head Start programs with
children and families receiving other [child care,
early childhood education, or child development
services] early childhood education and care services,
and with other appropriate control groups.
* * * * * * *
(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] and early
childhood education and care 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) * * *
[(iii)] (ii) * * *
(2) General authority.--After reviewing the
recommendations of the expert panel, the Secretary
shall make a grant to, or enter into a contract or
cooperative agreement with, an organization to conduct
independent research that provides a national analysis
of the impact of Head Start programs. The Secretary
shall ensure that the organization shall have expertise
in program evaluation[, and research, education, and
early childhood programs] and research, and early
childhood education and care programs.
* * * * * * *
(5) Analysis.--The Secretary shall ensure that the
organization conducting the research--
(A)(i) * * *
* * * * * * *
(D) * * *
(i) individuals who participate in
other [early childhood programs] early
childhood education and care programs
(such as public or private preschool
programs and day care); and
(ii) individuals who do not
participate in any other [early
childhood program] early childhood
education and care program.
* * * * * * *
(7) Reports.--
(A) Submission of interim reports.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(C) Transmittal of reports to congress.--
(i) In general.--The Secretary shall
transmit, to the committees described
in clause (ii), the first interim
report by September 30, 1999, the
second interim report by September 30,
2001, and the final report by September
30, [2003] 2008.
(ii) Committees.--The committees
referred to in clause (i) are the
Committee on [Education and the
Workforce] Education and Labor 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) Review of Assessments.--
(1) Application of study.--When the study on
Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young
Children by the National Academy of Sciences is made
available to the Secretary, the Secretary shall--
(A) incorporate the results of the study, as
appropriate and in accordance with paragraphs
(2) and (3), into each assessment used in the
Head Start programs; and
(B) use the results of the study to develop,
inform, and revise the standards and measures
described in section 641A.
(2) Development and refinement.--In developing and
refining any assessment used in the Head Start
programs, the Secretary shall--
(A) receive recommendations from the Panel on
Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for
Young Children of the National Academy of
Sciences; and
(B) with respect to the development or
refinement of such assessment, ensure--
(i) consistency with relevant,
nationally recognized professional and
technical standards;
(ii) validity and reliability for all
purposes for which assessments under
this subchapter are designed and used;
(iii) developmental and linguistic
appropriateness of such assessments for
children assessed, including children
who are limited English proficient; and
(iv) that the results can be used to
improve the quality of, accountability
of, and training and technical
assistance in, Head Start programs.
(3) Additional requirements.--The Secretary, in
carrying out the process described under paragraph (2),
shall ensure that--
(A) staff administering any assessments under
this subchapter have received appropriate
training to administer such assessments;
(B) appropriate accommodations for children
with disabilities and children who are limited
English proficient are made;
(C) the English and Spanish (and any other
language, as appropriate) forms of such
assessments are valid and reliable; and
(D) such assessments are not used to exclude
children from Head Start programs.
(4) Suspended implementation of national reporting
system.--The Secretary shall--
(A) suspend implementation and terminate
further development and use of the National
Reporting System; and
(B) incorporate, as appropriate,
recommendations under paragraph (2)(A) into any
assessment used in the Head Start programs.
(i) Special Rule.--The use of assessment items and data on
any assessment authorized under this subchapter by any agent of
the Federal Government to rank, compare, or otherwise evaluate
individual children or teachers, or to provide rewards or
sanctions for individual children or teachers is prohibited.
The Secretary shall not use the results of a single assessment
as the sole method for assessing program effectiveness or
making grantee funding determinations at the national,
regional, or local level under this subchapter.
(j) 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 (including Early Head
Start) programs.
(2) Report.--The Secretary shall prepare and submit
to Congress, not later than September 2011, 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 (including Early Head Start)
services and the geographic distribution of
children described in this subparagraph;
(B) the nature of Head Start (including 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 of and training
provided to Head Start (including 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 (including Early Head Start)
programs, including--
(i) the rate of progress of the
limited English proficient children
toward meeting the additional
educational standards described in
section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) while
enrolled in Head Start programs,
measured between 1990 and 2006;
(ii) the correlation between the
progress described in this subparagraph
and the type of instruction and
educational program provided to the
limited English proficient children;
and
(iii) the correlation between the
progress described in this subparagraph
and the health and family services
provided by Head Start programs to
limited English proficient children and
their families; and
(F) the extent to which Head Start programs
make use of funds under section 640(a)(3) to
improve the quality of Head Start services
provided to limited English proficient children
and their families.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 650. REPORTS.
(a) Status of Children.--At least once during every 2-year
period, the Secretary shall prepare and submit, to the
Committee on [Education and the Workforce] Education and Labor
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)]
(including children with disabilities, limited English
proficient children, and children participating in Indian Head
Start programs and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs) in
Head Start programs, including the number of children and the
services being provided to such children. Such report shall
include--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(8) information concerning children participating in
programs that receive Head Start funding, including
information on family income, racial and ethnic
background, homelessness, children in foster care,
disability, and receipt of benefits under part A of
title IV of the Social Security Act;
* * * * * * *
(14) a study of the delivery of Head Start programs
to Indian children living on and near Indian
reservations, to children of [Alaskan Natives] Alaska
Natives, and to children of [migrant and] migrant or
seasonal farmworkers.
Promptly after submitting such report to the Committee on
[Education and the Workforce] Education and Labor 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] Education and Labor 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 Health Start agencies (including [Native Alaskan] Alaska
Native 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) 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) No Federal funds shall be used to pay the compensation
of an individual employed by a Head Start agency in carrying
out programs under this subchapter, either as direct or
indirect costs or any proration of such costs, in an amount in
excess of an amount based on the rate payable for level II of
the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United
States Code.
* * * * * * *
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 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 or in, a program assisted 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; or
(B) any activity to provide voters or
prospective voters with transportation to the
polls or similar assistance in connection with
any such election.
(2) Rules and regulations.--The Secretary, after
consultation with the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management, may issue rules and regulations
to provide for the enforcement of this section, which
may include provisions for summary suspension of
assistance or other action necessary to permit
enforcement on an emergency basis.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 657. * * *
SEC. 657A. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR NONEMERGENCY INTRUSIVE
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS.
(a) Definition.--The term ``nonemergency intrusive physical
examination'' means, with respect to a child, a physical
examination that--
(1) is not immediately necessary to protect the
health or safety of the child or the health or safety
of another individual; and
(2) requires incision or is otherwise invasive, or
involves exposure of private body parts.
(b) Requirement.--A Head Start agency shall obtain written
parental consent before administration of, or referral for, any
health care service provided or arranged to be provided,
including any nonemergency intrusive physical examination of a
child in connection with participation in a program under this
subchapter.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit agencies from using established methods,
for handling cases of suspected or known child abuse and
neglect, that are in compliance with applicable Federal, State,
or tribal law.
* * * * * * *
United States Code
Title 42
Sec. 247b-1. Screenings, referrals, and education regarding lead
poisoning
* * * * * * *
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
* * * * * * *
Development and Implementation of Effective Data Management by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Pub. L. 106-310, Div. A, Title XXV, Sec. 2501(c), Oct. 17,
2000, 114 Stat. 1161, provided that:
(1) In general.--* * *
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(C) assist with the improvement of the
ability of State-based data management systems
and federally-funded means-tested public
benefit programs (including the special
supplemental food program for women, infants
and children (WIC) under section 17 of the
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786)
and the early head start program under section
645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
[9840a(h)] 9840a) to respond to ad hoc
inquiries and generate progress reports
regarding the lead blood level screening of
children enrolled in those programs;
* * * * * * *