IB 

Union Calendar No. 92

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2210

[Report No. 108–184] 

To reauthorize the Head Start Act to improve the school readiness of 

disadvantaged children, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2003

Mr. CASTLE (for himself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. REGULA, Mr. WILSON of South 

Carolina, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. MCKEON, 

and Mr. BROWN of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

JUNE 26, 2003

Additional sponsors: Mr. OSBORNE and Mr. BALLENGER

JUNE 26, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 22, 2003] 

A BILL

To reauthorize the Head Start Act to improve the school 

readiness of disadvantaged children, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Readiness Act 

3 of 2003’’. 

4 TITLE I—HEAD START REAU5 THORIZATION AND PROGRAM 

6 IMPROVEMENTS 

7 SEC. 101. PURPOSE. 

8 Section 636 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831) 

9 is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

11 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote school 

12 readiness by enhancing the development of low-income chil13 dren, through educational instruction in prereading skills, 

14 premathematics skills, and language, and through the pro15 vision to low-income children and their families of health, 

16 educational, nutritional, social and other services that are 

17 determined, based on family needs assessments, to be nec18 essary.’’. 

19 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

20 Section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832) 

21 is amended as follows: 

22 (1) In paragraph (17) by striking ‘‘, but for fis23 cal years’’ and all that follows down to the period. 

24 (2) By adding the following at the end thereof: 

25 ‘‘(18) The term ‘eligible entities’ means an insti26 tution of higher education or other agency with exper-
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1 tise in delivering training in early childhood develop2 ment, family support, and other assistance designed 

3 to improve the quality of early childhood educations 

4 programs. 

5 ‘‘(19) The term ‘homeless children’ has the mean6 ing given such term in subtitle B of title VII of the 

7 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 11431 et seq.).’’. 

9 SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION. 

10 Section 639 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9834) 

11 is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 639. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro14 priated for carrying out the provisions of this subchapter 

15 $6,870,000,000 for the fiscal year 2004 and such sums as 

16 may be necessary for fiscal years 2005 through 2008. 

17 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC PROGRAMS.—From the amount appro18 priated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 

19 available not more than $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, 

20 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

21 2005 through 2008, to carry out such other research, dem22 onstration, and evaluation activities, including longitu23 dinal studies, under section 649. 
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1 ‘‘(1) not more than $7,000,000 for each of fiscal 

2 years 2004 through 2008 to carry out impact studies 

3 under section 649(g); and 

4 ‘‘(2) not more than $13,000,000 for fiscal year 

5 2004, and such sums as may be necessary for each of 

6 fiscal years 2005 through 2008, to carry out other re7 search, demonstration, and evaluation activities, in8 cluding longitudinal studies, under section 649. 

9 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—There are author10 ized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

11 2004 through 2008 to assist participating States with the 

12 administrative expenses associated with implementing a 

13 program under section 643A.’’. 

14 SEC. 104. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS; LIMITATIONS ON ASSIST15 ANCE. 

16 Section 640 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835) 

17 is amended as follows: 

18 (1) In subsection (a)(2): 

19 (A) By striking ‘‘1998’’ in subparagraph 

20 (A) and inserting ‘‘2003’’. 

21 (B) By amending subparagraph (B) to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘(B) payments, subject to paragraph (7) to 

24 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
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1 Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of 

2 the United States;’’. 

3 (2) By striking the last sentence of paragraph 

4 (2) of subsection (a). 

5 (3)(A) By amending subsection (a)(2)(C) to read 

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(C) training and technical assistance activities 

8 that are sufficient to meet the needs associated with 

9 program expansion and to foster program and man10 agement improvement as described in section 648 of 

11 this subchapter, in an amount for each fiscal year 

12 which is not less than one percent, and shall not ex13 ceed 2 percent, of the amount appropriated for such 

14 fiscal year, of which—

15 ‘‘(i) not less than 50 percent shall be made 

16 available to local Head Start agencies to comply 

17 with the standards described in section 

18 641A(a)(1), of which not less than 50 percent 

19 shall be used to comply with the standards de20 scribed in section 641A(a)(1)(B) and for the uses 

21 described in clauses (iii), (iv), and (vii) of sub22 section (a)(3)(B); 

23 ‘‘(ii) not less than 30 percent shall be made 

24 available to support a State system of early
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1 childhood education training and technical as2 sistance; 

3 ‘‘(iii) not less than 20 percent shall be made 

4 available to the Secretary to assist local pro5 grams in meeting the standards described in sec6 tion 641A(a)(1); and 

7 ‘‘(iv) not less than $3,000,000 of the amount 

8 in clause (iii) appropriated for such fiscal year 

9 shall be made available to carry out activities 

10 described in section 648(c)(4);’’. 

11 (B) By inserting the following at the end of sub12 section (a)(2): 

13 ‘‘If less than 2 percent of the amount appropriated for such 

14 fiscal year is made available for the activities authorized 

15 in subparagraph (C), then the Secretary is authorized to 

16 use at least 25 percent of such funds to fund migrant and 

17 seasonal Head Start programs for expansion of services. If 

18 sufficient migrant and seasonal eligible children are not 

19 available to use such funds, then enrollment priority shall 

20 be given to other disadvantaged populations referred to in 

21 subparagraph (A).’’. 

22 (4) In subsection (a)(3)(A) by inserting at the 

23 end thereof: 

24 ‘‘(iii) After the reservation of amounts under para25 graph (2)(including the 2 percent amount referred to in 
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1 paragraph (2)(C)) and the 60 percent amount referred to 

2 in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, a portion of the 

3 remaining funds shall be made available to expand services 

4 to underserved populations, such as children receiving serv5 ices under the Early Head Start and Migrant and Seasonal 

6 Head Start programs.’’. 

7 (5) In subsection (a)(3)(A)(i)(I) by striking 

8 ‘‘1999’’ and all that follows down to the semicolon 

9 and inserting ‘‘2004 through 2008’’. 

10 (6) By amending subsection (a)(3)(B) to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) Funds reserved under this paragraph (referred to 

13 in this paragraph as ‘quality improvement funds’) shall be 

14 used to accomplish any or all of the following goals: 

15 ‘‘(i) Ensuring that Head Start programs meet or 

16 exceed standards pursuant to section 641A(a)(1). 

17 ‘‘(ii) Ensuring that such programs have ade18 quate numbers of qualified staff, and that such staff 

19 is furnished adequate training, including developing 

20 skills to promote the development of language skills, 

21 premathematic skills, and prereading in young chil22 dren and in working with children with non-English 

23 language background, children referred by child wel24 fare services, and children with disabilities, when ap25 propriate. 
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1 ‘‘(iii) Developing and financing the salary scales 

2 described under section 644(a) and section 653, in 

3 order to ensure that salary levels and benefits are ade4 quate to attract and retain qualified staff for such 

5 programs. 

6 ‘‘(iv) Using salary increases to improve staff 

7 qualifications, and to assist with the implementation 

8 of programs specifically designed to enable lead in9 structors to become more effective educators, for the 

10 staff of Head Start programs, and to encourage the 

11 staff to continually improve their skills and expertise 

12 by informing the staff of the availability of Federal 

13 and State incentive and loan forgiveness programs for 

14 professional development. 

15 ‘‘(v) Improving community-wide strategic plan16 ning and needs assessments for such programs and 

17 collaboration efforts for such programs, including col18 laborations to increase program participation by un19 derserved populations of eligible children. 

20 ‘‘(vi) Ensuring that the physical environments of 

21 Head Start programs are conducive to providing ef22 fective program services to children and families, and 

23 are accessible to children with disabilities and their 

24 parents. 
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1 ‘‘(vii) Ensuring that such programs have quali2 fied staff that can promote language skills and lit3 eracy growth of children and that can provide chil4 dren with a variety of skills that have been identified, 

5 through scientifically based reading research, as pre6 dictive of later reading achievement. 

7 ‘‘(viii) Providing assistance to complete post-sec8 ondary course work needed to attain baccalaureate de9 grees in early childhood education. 

10 ‘‘(ix) Making such other improvements in the 

11 quality of such programs as the Secretary may des12 ignate. 

13 ‘‘(x) To promote the regular attendance and sta14 bility of highly mobile children, including migrant 

15 and homeless children.’’. 

16 (7) By amending subsection (a)(3)(C) to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(C) Quality improvement funds shall be used to carry 

19 out any or all of the following activities: 

20 ‘‘(i)(I) Not less than one-half of the amount re21 served under this paragraph, to improve the com22 pensation (including benefits) of classroom teachers 

23 and other staff of Head Start agencies providing in24 structional services and thereby enhancing recruit25 ment and retention of qualified staff, including re-
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1 cruitment and retention pursuant to achieving the re2 quirements set forth in section 648A(a). The expendi3 ture of funds under this clause shall be subject to sec4 tion 653. Salary increases, in excess of cost-of-living 

5 allowance, provided with such funds shall be subject 

6 to the specific standards governing salaries and sal7 ary increases established pursuant to section 644(a). 

8 ‘‘(II) If a Head Start agency certifies to the Sec9 retary for such fiscal year that part of the funds set 

10 aside under subclause (I) to improve wages cannot be 

11 expended by such agency to improve wages because of 

12 the operation of section 653, then such agency may 

13 expend such part for any of the uses specified in this 

14 subparagraph (other than wages). 

15 ‘‘(III) From the remainder of the amount re16 served under this paragraph (after the Secretary car17 ries out subclause (I)), the Secretary shall carry out 

18 any or all of the activities described in clauses (ii) 

19 through (vii), placing the highest priority on the ac20 tivities described in clause (ii). 

21 ‘‘(ii) To train classroom teachers and other staff 

22 to meet the education standards described in section 

23 641A(a)(1)(B), through activities—
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1 ‘‘(I) to promote children’s language and 

2 prereading growth, through techniques identified 

3 through scientifically based reading research; 

4 ‘‘(II) to promote the acquisition of the 

5 English language for non-English background 

6 children and families; 

7 ‘‘(III) to foster children’s school readiness 

8 skills through activities described in section 

9 648A(a)(1); and 

10 ‘‘(IV) to educate and provide training nec11 essary to improve the qualifications particularly 

12 with respect to such assistance to enable more in13 structors to meet the degree requirements under 

14 section 648A(a)(2)(A) and to support staff train15 ing, child counseling, and other services nec16 essary to address the problems of children par17 ticipating in Head Start programs, including 

18 children from dysfunctional families, children 

19 who experience chronic violence in their commu20 nities, and children who experience substance 

21 abuse in their families. 

22 ‘‘(iii) To employ additional Head Start staff, in23 cluding staff necessary to reduce the child-staff ratio 

24 lead instructors who meet the qualifications of section 

25 648A(a) and staff necessary to coordinate a Head 
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1 Start program with other services available to chil2 dren participating in such program and to their fam3 ilies. 

4 ‘‘(iv) To pay costs incurred by Head Start agen5 cies to purchase insurance (other than employee bene6 fits) and thereby maintain or expand Head Start 

7 services. 

8 ‘‘(v) To supplement amounts provided under 

9 paragraph (2)(C) to provide training necessary to 

10 improve the qualifications of the staff of the Head 

11 Start agencies, and to support staff training, child 

12 counseling, and other services necessary to address the 

13 problems of children participating in Head Start pro14 grams, including children from dysfunctional fami15 lies, children who experience chronic violence in their 

16 communities, and children who experience substance 

17 abuse in their families. 

18 ‘‘(vi) To conduct outreach to homeless families in 

19 an effort to increase the program participation of eli20 gible homeless children. 

21 ‘‘(vii) Such other activities as the Secretary may 

22 designate. 

23 ‘‘(viii) To conduct outreach to migrant and sea24 sonal farm-working families and families with chil25 dren with a limited English proficiency.’’. 
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1 (8) In subsection (a)(4) by striking ‘‘1998’’ in 

2 subparagraph (A) and inserting ‘‘2003’’. 

3 (9) In subsection (a)(5)(B)—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘shall’’; and 

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘early childhood edu7 cation’’ after ‘‘regarding’’. 

8 (10) By amending subsection (a)(5)(C) to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(C) In order to improve results for children, a State 

11 that receives a grant under subparagraph (B) shall—

12 ‘‘(i) appoint an individual to serve as the State 

13 Director of Collaboration between—

14 ‘‘(I) the appropriate regional office of the 

15 Administration for Children and Families; 

16 ‘‘(II) the State educational agency; 

17 ‘‘(III) the State Department of Health and 

18 Human Services; 

19 ‘‘(IV) the State agency that oversees child 

20 care; 

21 ‘‘(V) the State agency that assists children 

22 with developmental disabilities; 

23 ‘‘(VI) the State Head Start Association; 

24 ‘‘(VII) the State network of child care re25 source and referral agencies; 
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1 ‘‘(VIII) local educational agencies; 

2 ‘‘(IX) community-based and faith-based or3 ganizations; 

4 ‘‘(X) State representatives of migrant and 

5 seasonal Head Start programs; 

6 ‘‘(XI) State representatives of Indian Head 

7 Start programs; 

8 ‘‘(XII) State and local providers of early 

9 childhood education and child care; and 

10 ‘‘(XIII) other entities carrying out pro11 grams serving low-income children and families 

12 in the State; 

13 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the State Director of Collabora14 tion holds a position with sufficient authority and ac15 cess to ensure that the collaboration described in sub16 paragraph (B) is effective and involves a range of 

17 State agencies; 

18 ‘‘(iii) involve the entities described in section 

19 clause (i) to develop a strategic plan for the coordi20 nated outreach to identify eligible children and imple21 mentation strategies based on a needs assessment con22 ducted by the Office of the State Director of Collabo23 ration which shall include an assessment of the avail24 ability of high quality prekindergarten services for 

25 low-income children in the State. Such assessment 
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1 shall be completed within one year after the date of 

2 enactment of the ‘School Readiness Act of 2003’ and 

3 be updated on an annual basis and shall be made 

4 available to the general public within the State; 

5 ‘‘(iv) ensure that the collaboration described in 

6 subparagraph (B) involves coordination of Head 

7 Start services with health care, welfare, child care, 

8 child protective services, education, and community 

9 service activities, family literacy services, activities 

10 relating to children with disabilities (including co11 ordination of services with those State officials who 

12 are responsible for administering part C and section 

13 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

14 Act), and services for homeless children (including co15 ordination of services with the Office of Coordinator 

16 for Education of Homeless Children and Youth des17 ignated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKin18 ney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improve19 ments Act of 2001; 

20 ‘‘(v) consult with the chief State school officer, 

21 local educational agencies, and representatives of local 

22 Head Start agencies and providers of early childhood 

23 education and care in unified planning regarding 

24 early care and education services at both the State
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1 and local levels, including collaborative efforts to de2 velop school readiness standards; and 

3 ‘‘(vi) consult with the chief State school office4r, 

4 local educational agencies, State child care adminis5 trators, State human services administrators, rep6 resentatives of local resource and referral agencies, 

7 local early childhood councils, providers of early 

8 childhood education and care and other relevant State 

9 and local agencies, and representatives of the State 

10 Head Start Associations to plan for the provision of 

11 full-working-day, full calendar year early care and 

12 education services for children.’’. 

13 (11) By amending clause (i) of subsection 

14 (a)(5)(D) by inserting ‘‘and providers of services sup15 porting early childhood education and child care’’ 

16 after ‘‘Associations’’. 

17 (12) By amending subsection (a)(6)(A) to read 

18 as follows: 

19 ‘‘(A) From amounts reserved and allotted pursuant to 

20 paragraphs (2) and (4), the Secretary shall use, for grants 

21 for programs described in section 645A(a) of this sub22 chapter, a portion of the combined total of such amounts 

23 equal to at least 10 percent for fiscal years 2004 through 

24 2008, of the amount appropriated pursuant to section 

25 639(a), except as provided in subparagraph (B).’’
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1 (13) By inserting the following before the period 

2 at the end of subsection (f): ‘‘, including models that 

3 leverage the existing capacity and capabilities of the 

4 delivery system of early childhood education and child 

5 care’’. 

6 (14) By inserting the following after ‘‘manner 

7 that will’’ in subsection (g)(2)(G): ‘‘leverage the exist8 ing delivery systems of such services and’’. 

9 (15) By amending subsection (g)(2)(C) to read 

10 as follows: 

11 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the applicant has un12 dertaken community-wide strategic planning and 

13 needs assessments involving other community organi14 zations and public agencies serving children and fam15 ilies (including organizations and agencies providing 

16 family support services and protective services to chil17 dren and families, and organizations serving families 

18 in whose homes English is not the language custom19 arily spoken), and organizations and public entities 

20 serving children with disabilities and homeless chil21 dren (including the local educational agency liaison 

22 designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 

23 McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Im24 provements Act of 2001);’’. 
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1 (16) By inserting in subsection (g)(2)(H) after 

2 ‘‘serving the community involved’’ the following: ‘‘, 

3 including the liaison designated under section 

4 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

5 Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001,’’. 

6 (17) By adding the following new subsections at 

7 the end thereof: 

8 ‘‘(m) ENROLLMENT OF HOMELESS CHILDREN.—The 

9 Secretary shall by regulation prescribe policies and proce10 dures to remove barriers to the enrollment and participa11 tion of eligible homeless children in Head Start programs. 

12 Such regulations shall require Head Start agencies to: 

13 ‘‘(1) implement policies and procedures to ensure 

14 that eligible homeless children are identified and 

15 prioritized for enrollment, 

16 ‘‘(2) allow homeless families to apply to, enroll 

17 in and attend Head Start programs while required 

18 documents, such as proof of residency, immunization 

19 and other medical records, birth certificates and other 

20 documents, are obtained within a reasonable time 

21 frame, and 

22 ‘‘(3) coordinate individual Head Start centers 

23 and programs with efforts to implement subtitle VII–

24 B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. 
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1 ‘‘(n) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this Act shall 

2 be construed to require a State to establish a program of 

3 early education for children in the State, to require any 

4 child to participate in a program of early education, to at5 tend school, or to participate in any initial screening prior 

6 to participation in such program, except as provided under 

7 section 612(a)(3), (consistent with section 614(a)(1)(C)), of 

8 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 

9 ‘‘(o) MATERIALS.—All curricula and instructional 

10 materials funded under this subchapter shall be scientif11 ically based and age appropriate. Parents shall have the 

12 ability to inspect, upon request, any curricula or instruc13 tional materials.’’. 

14 SEC. 105. DESIGNATION OF AGENCIES. 

15 Section 641 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836) 

16 is amended as follows: 

17 (1) In subsection (a)—

18 (A) by inserting after ‘‘community’’ in the 

19 first place it appears ‘‘, including a community20 based or faith-based organization’’; 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; 

22 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

23 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

24 and 
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1 (D) by adding the following at the end 

2 thereof: 

3 ‘‘(2) In order to be designated as a Head Start agency 

4 and to receive a grant under this subchapter, a grantee shall 

5 establish grantee-determined goals for improving the school 

6 readiness of children participating in a program under this 

7 subchapter, which shall include goals for—

8 ‘‘(A) educational instruction in prereading, 

9 premathematical, and language skills; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the provision of health, educational, nutri11 tional, social, and other services. 

12 ‘‘(3) In order to receive a grant subsequent to the ini13 tial grant provided following the date of enactment of this 

14 subchapter, the grantee shall demonstrate that it has met 

15 the goals described in paragraph (2). 

16 ‘‘(4) Progress in meeting such goals shall not be meas17 ured primarily or solely by the results of assessments.’’

18 (2) By amending subsection (c) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(c) In the administration of the provisions of this sec21 tion, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the chief exec22 utive officer of the State involved if such State expends non23 Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs, give pri24 ority in the designation of Head Start agencies to any local 

25 public or private nonprofit or for-profit agency which is
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1 receiving funds under any Head Start program on the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act that fulfills the program and 

3 financial management requirements, standards described in 

4 section 641A(a)(1), results-based performance measures de5 veloped by the Secretary under section 641A(b), or other 

6 requirements established by the Secretary.’’. 

7 (3) By amending subsection (d) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(d) If no entity in a community is entitled to the 

10 priority specified in subsection (c), then the Secretary may 

11 designate a Head Start agency from among qualified appli12 cants in such community. In selecting from among quali13 fied applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the 

14 Secretary shall give priority to any qualified agency that 

15 functioned as a Head Start delegate agency in the commu16 nity and carried out a Head Start program that the Sec17 retary determines met or exceeded such performance stand18 ards and such results-based performance measures. In se19 lecting from among qualified applicants for designation as 

20 a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall consider the effec21 tiveness of each such applicant to provide Head Start serv22 ices, based on—

23 ‘‘(1) any past performance of such applicant in 

24 providing services comparable to Head Start services, 
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1 including how effectively such applicant provided 

2 such comparable services; 

3 ‘‘(2) the capacity of such applicant to serve eligi4 ble children with scientifically-based programs that 

5 promote school readiness of children participating in 

6 the program; 

7 ‘‘(3) the plan of such applicant to meet stand8 ards set forth in section 641A(a)(1), with particular 

9 attention to the standards set forth in subparagraphs 

10 (A) and (B) of such section; 

11 ‘‘(4) the plan of such applicant to provide com12 prehensive health, nutritional, educational, social, 

13 and other services needed to prepare children to suc14 ceed in school; 

15 ‘‘(5) the plan of such applicant to coordinate the 

16 Head Start program it proposes to carry out with 

17 other preschool programs, including Early Reading 

18 First and Even Start programs under title I, part B, 

19 subparts 1 and 2 of the Elementary and Secondary 

20 Education Act of 1965; other preschool programs car21 ried out under title I of the Act; programs under part 

22 C and section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities 

23 Education Act; State prekindergarten programs; and 

24 with the educational programs such children will 

25 enter at the age of compulsory school attendance; 
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1 ‘‘(6) the plan of such applicant to coordinate the 

2 Head Start program it proposes to carry out with 

3 private entities with resources available to assist the 

4 Head Start Program meet its program needs; 

5 ‘‘(7) the plan of such applicant—

6 ‘‘(A) to seek the involvement of parents of 

7 participating children in activities (at home and 

8 in the center involved where practicable) de9 signed to help such parents become full partners 

10 in the education of their children; 

11 ‘‘(B) to afford such parents the opportunity 

12 to participate in the development, conduct, and 

13 overall performance of the program at the local 

14 level; 

15 ‘‘(C) to offer (directly or through referral to 

16 local entities, such as entities carrying out Even 

17 Start programs under part B of chapter 1 of 

18 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.), pub20 lic and school libraries, and family support pro21 grams) to such parents—

22 ‘‘(i) family literacy services; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) parenting skills training; 

24 ‘‘(D) to offer to parents of participating 

25 children substance abuse counseling (either di-
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1 rectly or through referral to local entities), in2 cluding information on drug-exposed infants and 

3 fetal alcohol syndrome; 

4 ‘‘(E) at the option of such applicant, to 

5 offer (directly or through referral to local enti6 ties) to such parents—

7 ‘‘(i) training in basic child develop8 ment; 

9 ‘‘(ii) assistance in developing commu10 nication skills; 

11 ‘‘(iii) opportunities for parents to 

12 share experiences with other parents; or 

13 ‘‘(iv) any other activity designed to 

14 help such parents become full partners in 

15 the education of their children; 

16 ‘‘(F) to provide, with respect to each par17 ticipating family, a family needs assessment that 

18 includes consultation with such parents about 

19 the benefits of parent involvement and about the 

20 activities described in subparagraphs (C), (D), 

21 and (E) in which such parents may choose to be22 come involved (taking into consideration their 

23 specific family needs, work schedules, and other 

24 responsibilities); and 
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1 ‘‘(G) to extend outreach to fathers in order 

2 to strengthen the role of fathers in families by 

3 working directly with fathers and father-figures 

4 through such activities as including fathers in 

5 home visits; implementing father outreach efforts, 

6 providing opportunities for direct father-child 

7 interactions; and targeting increased male par8 ticipation in the program; 

9 ‘‘(8) the ability of such applicant to carry out 

10 the plans described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4); 

11 ‘‘(9) other factors related to the requirements of 

12 this subchapter; 

13 ‘‘(10) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

14 needs of non-English background children and their 

15 families, including needs related to the acquisition of 

16 the English language; 

17 ‘‘(11) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

18 needs of children with disabilities; 

19 ‘‘(12) the plan of such applicant who chooses to 

20 assist younger siblings of children who will partici21 pate in the proposed Head Start program to obtain 

22 health services from other sources; 

23 ‘‘(13) the plan of such applicant to collaborate 

24 with other entities carrying out early childhood edu-
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1 cation and child care programs in the community; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(14) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

4 needs of homeless children.’’. 

5 SEC. 106. QUALITY STANDARDS; MONITORING OF HEAD 

6 START AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS. 

7 Section 641A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a) 

8 is amended as follows: 

9 (1) In subsection (a)(1)(B) by amending clause 

10 (ii) to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(ii) additional education standards to en12 sure that the children participating in the pro13 gram, at a minimum develop and demonstrate—

14 ‘‘(I) language skills; 

15 ‘‘(II) prereading knowledge and skills, 

16 including interest in and appreciation of 

17 books, reading and writing either alone or 

18 with others; 

19 ‘‘(III) premathematics knowledge and 

20 skills, including aspects of classification, se21 riation, number, spatial relations, and 

22 time; 

23 ‘‘(IV) cognitive abilities related to aca24 demic achievement;
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 ‘‘(V) social and emotional development 

2 important for environments constructive for 

3 child development, early learning, and 

4 school success; and 

5 ‘‘(VI) in the case of limited-English 

6 proficient children, progress toward acquisi7 tion of the English language.’’. 

8 (2) By amending subsection (a)(2)(B) to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(B) take into consideration—

11 ‘‘(i) past experience with use of the 

12 standards in effect under this subchapter on 

13 October 27, 1998; 

14 ‘‘(ii) changes over the period since Oc15 tober 27, 1998, in the circumstances and 

16 problems typically facing children and fam17 ilies served by Head Start agencies; 

18 ‘‘(iii) developments concerning best 

19 practices with respect to early childhood 

20 education and development, children with 

21 disabilities, family services, program ad22 ministration, and financial management; 

23 ‘‘(iv) projected needs of an expanding 

24 Head Start program; 
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 ‘‘(v) guidelines and standards cur2 rently in effect or under consideration that 

3 promote child health services, and projected 

4 needs of expanding Head Start programs; 

5 ‘‘(vi) changes in the population of chil6 dren who are eligible to participate in Head 

7 Start programs, including the language 

8 background and family structure of such 

9 children; 

10 ‘‘(vii) the need for, and state-of-the-art 

11 developments relating to, local policies and 

12 activities designed to ensure that children 

13 participating in Head Start programs 

14 make a successful transition to schools; and 

15 ‘‘(viii) the unique challenges faced by 

16 individual programs, including those that 

17 are seasonal or short term, and those that 

18 serve rural populations; and’’. 

19 (3) In subsection (a)(2)(C)(ii) by striking all 

20 that follows ‘‘in effect on’’ down to the period and in21 serting ‘‘October 27, 1998’’. 

22 (4) By amending subsection (b)(2) to read as fol23 lows: 
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 ‘‘(2) CHARACTERISTICS OF MEASURES.—The 

2 performance measures developed under this subsection 

3 shall—

4 ‘‘(A) be used to assess the impact of the var5 ious services provided by Head Start programs 

6 and, to the extent the Secretary finds appro7 priate, administrative and financial manage8 ment practices of such programs; 

9 ‘‘(B) be adaptable for use in self-assessment, 

10 peer review, and program evaluation of indi11 vidual Head Start agencies and programs; 

12 ‘‘(C) be developed for other program pur13 poses as determined by the Secretary; 

14 ‘‘(D) be appropriate for the population 

15 served; and 

16 ‘‘(E) be reviewed no less than every 4 years, 

17 based on advances in the science of early child18 hood development. 

19 The performance measures shall include the perform20 ance standards described in subsection (a)(1)(A) and 

21 (B).’’. 

22 (5) By amending subsection (b)(4) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(4) EDUCATIONAL MEASURES.—Results based 

25 measures shall be designed for the purpose of pro-
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 moting the competencies of children participating in 

2 Head Start programs specified in subsection 

3 (a)(1)(B)(ii), with an emphasis on measuring those 

4 competencies that have a strong scientifically-based 

5 predictability of a child’s school readiness and later 

6 performance in school.’’. 

7 (6) In subsection (c)(1)(C) by striking ‘‘the 

8 standards’’ and inserting ‘‘one or more of the per9 formance measures developed by the Secretary under 

10 subsection (b)’’. 

11 (7) By amending subsection (c)(2) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF REVIEWS.—The Secretary 

14 shall ensure that reviews described in subparagraphs 

15 (A) through (C) of paragraph (1)—

16 ‘‘(A) that incorporate a monitoring visit, do 

17 so without prior notice of the visit to the local 

18 agency or program; 

19 ‘‘(B) are conducted by review teams that 

20 shall include individuals who are knowledgeable 

21 about Head Start programs and, to the max22 imum extent practicable, the diverse (including 

23 linguistic and cultural) needs of eligible children 

24 (including children with disabilities) and lim-
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 ited-English proficient children and their fami2 lies; 

3 ‘‘(C) include as part of the reviews of the 

4 programs, a review and assessment of program 

5 effectiveness, as measured in accordance with the 

6 results-based performance measures developed by 

7 the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b) and 

8 with the standards established pursuant to sub9 paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1); 

10 ‘‘(D) seek information from the commu11 nities and the States involved about the perform12 ance of the programs and the efforts of the Head 

13 Start agencies to collaborate with other entities 

14 carrying out early childhood education and child 

15 care programs in the community; 

16 ‘‘(E) seek information from the communities 

17 where Head Start programs exist about innova18 tive or effective collaborative efforts, barriers to 

19 collaboration, and the efforts of the Head Start 

20 agencies and programs to collaborate with the 

21 entities carrying out early childhood education 

22 and child care programs in the community; 

23 ‘‘(F) include as part of the reviews of the 

24 programs, a review and assessment of whether a 

25 program is in conformity with the income eligi-
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 bility requirements, as defined in section 645 

2 and regulations promulgated thereunder; 

3 ‘‘(G) include as part of the reviews of the 

4 programs, a review and assessment of whether 

5 programs have adequately addressed the popu6 lation and community needs (including popu7 lations of children with a limited English pro8 ficiency and children of migrant and seasonal 

9 farm-working families); and 

10 ‘‘(H) include as part of the review the ex11 tent to which the program addresses the commu12 nity needs and strategic plan identified in sec13 tion 640(g)(2)(C).’’. 

14 (8) By amending so much of subsection (d)(1) as 

15 precedes subparagraph (A) to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary deter17 mines, on the basis of a review pursuant to subsection 

18 (c), that a Head Start agency designated pursuant to 

19 section 641 fails to meet the standards described in 

20 subsection (a) or results-based performance measures 

21 developed by the Secretary under subsection (b), or 

22 fails to adequately address the community needs and 

23 strategic plan identified in 640(g)(2)(C), the Sec24 retary shall—’’
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 (9) By amending subsection (d)(2) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(2) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—

4 ‘‘(A) AGENCY AND PROGRAM RESPONSIBIL5 ITIES.—In order to retain a designation as a 

6 Head Start agency under this subchapter, or in 

7 the case of a Head Start Program, in order to 

8 continue to receive funds from such agency, a 

9 Head Start agency, or Head Start program that 

10 is the subject of a determination described in 

11 paragraph (1) (other than an agency or program 

12 required to correct a deficiency immediately or 

13 during a 90-day period under clause (i) or (ii) 

14 of paragraph (1)(B)) shall—

15 ‘‘(i) develop in a timely manner, a 

16 quality improvement plan which shall be 

17 subject to the approval of the Secretary, or 

18 in the case of a program, the sponsoring 

19 agency, and which shall specify—

20 ‘‘(I) the deficiencies to be cor21 rected; 

22 ‘‘(II) the actions to be taken to 

23 correct such deficiencies; and 
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 ‘‘(III) the timetable for accom2 plishment of the corrective actions 

3 specified; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) eliminate each deficiency identi5 fied, not later than the date for elimination 

6 of such deficiency specified in such plan 

7 (which shall not be later than 1 year after 

8 the date the agency or program received no9 tice of the determination and of the specific 

10 deficiency to be corrected). 

11 ‘‘(B) SECRETARIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Not 

12 later than 30 days after receiving from a Head 

13 Start agency a proposed quality improvement 

14 plan pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Sec15 retary shall either approve such proposed plan or 

16 specify the reasons why the proposed plan cannot 

17 be approved. 

18 ‘‘(C) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRO19 GRAM IMPROVEMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

20 after receiving from a Head Start program, a 

21 proposed quality improvement plan pursuant to 

22 subparagraph (A), the sponsoring agency shall 

23 either approve such proposed plan or specify the 

24 reasons why the proposed plan cannot be ap25 proved.’’. 
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1 (10) In subsection (d)(3) by inserting ‘‘and pro2 grams’’ after ‘‘agencies’’. 

3 (11) Subsection (e) is amended to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(e) SUMMARIES OF MONITORING OUTCOMES.—Not 

6 later than 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, the 

7 Secretary shall publish a summary report on the findings 

8 of reviews conducted under subsection (c) and on the out9 comes of quality improvement plans implemented under 

10 subsection (d), during such fiscal year. Such information 

11 shall be made available to all parents with students receiv12 ing assistance under this Act in an understandable and 

13 uniform format, and to the extent practicable, provided in 

14 a language that the parents can understand, and in addi15 tion, make the information widely available through public 

16 means such as distribution through public agencies, and at 

17 a minimum posting such information on the Internet im18 mediately upon publication.’’. 

19 SEC. 107. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGEN20 CIES. 

21 Section 642 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837(b)) 

22 is amended as follows: 

23 (1) By amending subsection (b) to read as fol24 lows: 
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 ‘‘(b) In order to be so designated, a Head Start agency 

2 shall also—

3 ‘‘(1) establish a program with standards set forth 

4 in section 641A(a)(1), with particular attention to 

5 the standards set forth in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

6 of such section; 

7 ‘‘(2) demonstrate capacity to serve eligible chil8 dren with scientifically-based curricula and other 

9 interventions that help promote the school readiness of 

10 children participating in the program; 

11 ‘‘(3) establish effective procedures by which par12 ents and area residents concerned will be enabled to 

13 directly participate in decisions that influence the 

14 character of programs affecting their interests; 

15 ‘‘(4) provide for their regular participation in 

16 the implementation of such programs; 

17 ‘‘(5) provide technical and other support needed 

18 to enable parents and area residents to secure on their 

19 own behalf available assistance from public and pri20 vate sources; 

21 ‘‘(6) seek the involvement of parents of partici22 pating children in activities designed to help such 

23 parents become full partners in the education of their 

24 children, and to afford such parents the opportunity 
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 to participate in the development, conduct, and over2 all performance of the program at the local level; 

3 ‘‘(7) conduct outreach to schools in which Head 

4 Start children enroll, local educational agencies, the 

5 local business community, community-based organi6 zations, faith-based organizations, museums, and li7 braries to generate support and leverage the resources 

8 of the entire local community in order to improve 

9 school readiness; 

10 ‘‘(8) offer (directly or through referral to local 

11 entities, such as entities carrying out Even Start pro12 grams under part B of chapter 1 of title I of the Ele13 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)), to parents of participating chil15 dren, family literacy services and parenting skills 

16 training; 

17 ‘‘(9) offer to parents of participating children 

18 substance abuse counseling (either directly or through 

19 referral to local entities), including information on 

20 drug-exposed infants and fetal alcohol syndrome; 

21 ‘‘(10) at the option of such agency, offer (directly 

22 or through referral to local entities), to such par23 ents—

24 ‘‘(A) training in basic child development;
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 ‘‘(B) assistance in developing communica2 tion skills; 

3 ‘‘(C) opportunities to share experiences with 

4 other parents; 

5 ‘‘(D) regular in-home visitation; or 

6 ‘‘(E) any other activity designed to help 

7 such parents become full partners in the edu8 cation of their children; 

9 ‘‘(11) provide, with respect to each participating 

10 family, a family needs assessment that includes con11 sultation with such parents about the benefits of par12 ent involvement and about the activities described in 

13 paragraphs (4) through (7) in which such parents 

14 may choose to be involved (taking into consideration 

15 their specific family needs, work schedules, and other 

16 responsibilities); 

17 ‘‘(12) consider providing services to assist young18 er siblings of children participating in its Head Start 

19 program to obtain health services from other sources; 

20 ‘‘(13) perform community outreach to encourage 

21 individuals previously unaffiliated with Head Start 

22 programs to participate in its Head Start program 

23 as volunteers; and 

24 ‘‘(14)(A) inform custodial parents in single-par25 ent families that participate in programs, activities, 
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 or services carried out or provided under this sub2 chapter about the availability of child support serv3 ices for purposes of establishing paternity and acquir4 ing child support; and 

5 ‘‘(B) refer eligible parents to the child support 

6 offices of State and local governments.’’. 

7 (2) Amend subsection (c) to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(c) The head of each Head Start agency shall coordi9 nate and collaborate with the State agency responsible for 

10 administering the State program carried out under the 

11 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

12 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and other early childhood education 

13 and development programs, including programs under sub14 title VII–B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 11431–11435), Even Start programs under part 

16 B of chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.), and pro18 grams under part C and section 619 of the Individuals with 

19 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431–1445, 1419), 

20 and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 5106a), serving the children and families served by 

22 the Head Start agency to carry out the provisions of this 

23 subchapter.’’. 

24 (3) In subsection (d) by redesignating para25 graphs (2) through (4) as paragraph (3) through (5) 
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 and inserting the following new paragraph after 

2 paragraph (1): 

3 ‘‘(2) In communities where both public prekinder4 garten programs and Head Start programs operate, a Head 

5 Start agency shall coordinate with the local educational 

6 agency or other public agency responsible for the operation 

7 of the prekindergarten program and providers of prekinder8 garten, including for outreach to identify eligible children.’’. 

9 (4) In paragraph (3) (as redesignated) of sub10 section (d), strike ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph 

11 (A) and insert the following after subparagraph (A) 

12 and redesignate subparagraph (B) as (C): 

13 ‘‘(B) collaborating to increase the program 

14 participation of underserved populations of eligi15 ble children; and’’. 

16 SEC. 108. HEAD START ALIGNMENT WITH K–12 EDUCATION. 

17 Section 642A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837a) 

18 is amended as follows: 

19 (1) The heading is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 642A. HEAD START ALIGNMENT WITH K–12 EDU21 CATION.’’. 

22 (2) In paragraph (2) after ‘‘social workers,’’ in23 sert the following: ‘‘McKinney-Vento liaisons as estab24 lished under section 722 (g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKin-
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•HR 2210 RH 

1 ney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improve2 ments Act of 2001,’’. 

3 (3) Add the following new paragraph after para4 graph (2) and redesignate paragraphs (3) through (7) 

5 as (4) through (8): 

6 ‘‘(3) developing continuity of developmentally 

7 appropriate curricula between Head Start and local 

8 educational agencies to ensure an effective transition 

9 and appropriate shared expectations for children’s 

10 learning and development as they make such transi11 tion to school;’’. 

12 (4) Paragraph (6)(as redesignated by paragraph 

13 (3) of this section) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(6) developing and implementing a family out15 reach and support program in cooperation with enti16 ties carrying out parental involvement efforts under 

17 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

18 Act of 1965 and family outreach and support efforts 

19 under subtitle VII–B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

20 Assistance Act;’’. 

21 (5) In paragraph (7)(as redesignated by para22 graph (3) of this section) by inserting ‘‘and con23 tinuity in parental involvement activities’’ after ‘‘de24 velopmental continuity’’. 
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1 (6) Strike ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (7)(as 

2 redesignated by paragraph (3) of this section) and 

3 strike the period at the end of paragraph (8)(as redes4 ignated by paragraph (3) of this section) and insert 

5 a semicolon. 

6 (7) Add the following after paragraph (8): 

7 ‘‘(9) helping parents to understand the impor8 tance of parental involvement in a child’s academic 

9 success while teaching them strategies for maintain10 ing parental involvement as their child moves from 

11 Head Start to elementary school; and 

12 ‘‘(10) developing and implementing a system to 

13 increase program participation of underserved popu14 lations of eligible children.’’. 

15 SEC. 109. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND STAND16 ARDS. 

17 Section 644 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9839) 

18 is amended in subsection (f)(2) by redesignating subpara19 graphs (A) through (E) as (B) through (F) and inserting 

20 the following new subparagraph before subparagraph (B) 

21 (as so redesignated): 

22 ‘‘(A) a description of the consultation conducted 

23 by the Head Start agency with the providers in the 

24 community demonstrating capacity and capability to 

25 provide services under this Act, and of the potential
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1 for collaboration with such providers and the cost ef2 fectiveness of such collaboration as opposed to the cost 

3 effectiveness of the purchase of a facility;’’

4 SEC. 110. ELIGIBILITY. 

5 Section 645(a) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843) 

6 is amended as follows: 

7 (1) By striking ‘‘to a reasonable extent’’ in para8 graph (1)(B)(i) and inserting ‘‘not to exceed 10 per9 cent of the total enrollment’’ and by striking ‘‘benefit 

10 from such programs’’ and inserting ‘‘benefit from 

11 such programs, including children referred by child 

12 welfare services,’’ . 

13 (2) By adding the following new paragraph at 

14 the end thereof: 

15 ‘‘(3) The amount of a basic allowance provided under 

16 section 403 of title 37, United States Code, on behalf of an 

17 individual who is a member of the uniformed services for 

18 housing that is acquired or constructed under the authority 

19 of subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United States 

20 Code, or any other related provision of law, shall not be 

21 considered to be income for purposes of determining the eli22 gibility of a child of the individual for programs assisted 

23 under this subchapter.’’. 
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1 SEC. 111. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 645A of the Head Start Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 9643) is amended as follows: 

4 (1) By amending paragraphs (4) and (5) of sub5 section (b) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(4) provide services to parents to support their 

7 role as parents (including parenting skills training 

8 and training in basic child development) and to help 

9 the families move toward self-sufficiency (including 

10 educational and employment services as appropriate); 

11 ‘‘(5) coordinate services with services (including 

12 home-based services) provided by programs in the 

13 State and programs in the community (including 

14 programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities) to 

15 ensure a comprehensive array of services (such as 

16 health and mental health services, and family support 

17 services);’’. 

18 (2) By amending paragraph (8) of subsection (b) 

19 to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(8) ensure formal linkages with the agencies 

21 and entities described in section 644(b) of the Indi22 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

23 1444(b)) and providers of early intervention services 

24 for infants and toddlers with disabilities under the 

25 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

26 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) and the agency responsible for 
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1 administering the Section 106 of the Child Abuse Pre2 vention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a); and’’. 

3 (3) In subsection (g)(2)(B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

4 the end of clause (iii), by striking the period at the 

5 end of clause (iv) and inserting ‘‘; and’’ and by in6 serting the following at the end: 

7 ‘‘(v) providing professional develop8 ment designed to increase program partici9 pation for underserved populations of eligi10 ble children.’’. 

11 (b) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL PROGRAMS.—Section 

12 645A(d)(1) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9643(d)(1)) 

13 is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(1) entities operating Head Start programs 

15 under this subpart, including migrant and seasonal 

16 Head Start programs; and’’. 

17 (c) COMMUNITY- AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZA18 TIONS.—Section 645A(d)(2) of the Head Start Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 9643(d)(21)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including 

20 community- and faith-based organizations’’ after ‘‘entities’’ 

21 in the second place it appears. 

22 SEC. 112. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. 

23 Section 648 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843) 

24 is amended as follows: 
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1 (1) By inserting the following new subsection 

2 after subsection (a) and redesignating subsections (b) 

3 through (e) as subsections (c) through (f): 

4 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall make available to each State 

5 the money reserved in section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) to support 

6 a State-based system delivering training and technical as7 sistance that improves the capacity of Head Start programs 

8 within a State to deliver services in accordance with the 

9 Head Start standards in section 641A(a)(1), with par10 ticular attention to the standards set forth in subpara11 graphs (A) and (B) of such section. The Secretary shall—

12 ‘‘(1) ensure eligible entities within a State are 

13 chosen by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

14 State Collaboration Board described in section 

15 640(a)(5)(C)(i), through a competitive bid process; 

16 ‘‘(2) ensure that existing agencies with dem17 onstrated expertise in providing high quality training 

18 and technical assistance to improve the delivery of 

19 Head Start services, including the State Head Start 

20 Association, State agencies, migrant and seasonal 

21 Head Start programs operating in the State, and 

22 other entities currently providing training and tech23 nical assistance in early education, be included in the 

24 planning and coordination of the State system of 

25 training and technical assistance; and 
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1 ‘‘(3) encourage States to supplement the funds 

2 authorized in section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) with State, 

3 Federal, or local funds other than Head Start funds, 

4 to expand activities beyond Head Start agencies to 

5 include other providers of other early childhood serv6 ices within a State.’’. 

7 (2) In subsection (d) (as redesignated): 

8 (A) In paragraph (2), after ‘‘disabilities’’ 

9 insert ‘‘and for activities described in section 

10 1221(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 

11 Education Act of 1965’’. 

12 (B) In paragraph (5) after ‘‘assessment’’ in13 sert ‘‘, including the needs of homeless children 

14 and their families’’. 

15 (C) By striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para16 graph (10), by striking the period at the end of 

17 paragraph (11) and inserting ‘‘; and’’ and by 

18 inserting the following at the end: 

19 ‘‘(12) assist Head Start agencies and programs 

20 in increasing program participation of eligible home21 less children.’’. 

22 (3) In subsection (e) (as redesignated by para23 graph (1)) by inserting ‘‘, including community- and 

24 faith-based organizations’’ after ‘‘entities’’.
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1 (4) By amending subsection (f) (as redesignated 

2 by paragraph (1)) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 

4 through grants or other arrangements, funds from programs 

5 authorized under this subchapter to support an organiza6 tion to administer a centralized child development and na7 tional assessment program leading to recognized credentials 

8 for personnel working in early childhood development and 

9 child care programs, training for personnel providing serv10 ices to non-English language background children (includ11 ing services to promote the acquisition of the English lan12 guage), training for personnel providing services to children 

13 determined to be abused or neglected, training for personnel 

14 providing services to children referred by or receiving child 

15 welfare services, training for personnel in helping children 

16 cope with community violence, and resource access projects 

17 for personnel working with disabled children.’’. 

18 (5) Insert at the end of the section: 

19 ‘‘(g) HELPING PERSONNEL BETTER SERVE MIGRANT

20 AND SEASONAL FARM-WORKING COMMUNITIES AND HOME21 LESS FAMILIES.—The Secretary shall provide, either di22 rectly or through grants, or other arrangements, funds for 

23 training of Head Start personnel in addressing the unique 

24 needs of migrant and seasonal working families, families 

25 with a limited English proficiency, and homeless families. 
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1 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The majority of 

2 funds expended under this section shall be used to provide 

3 high quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused 

4 training and technical assistance in order to have a positive 

5 and lasting impact on classroom instruction. Funds shall 

6 be used to carry out activities related to any or all of the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(1) Education and early childhood development. 

9 ‘‘(2) Child health, nutrition, and safety. 

10 ‘‘(3) Family and community partnerships. 

11 ‘‘(4) Other areas that impact the quality or over12 all effectiveness of Head Start programs. 

13 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Funds under 

14 this subchapter used for training shall be used for needs 

15 identified annually by a grant applicant or delegate agency 

16 in their program improvement plan, except that funds shall 

17 not be used for long-distance travel expenses for training 

18 activities available locally or regionally or for training ac19 tivities substantially similar to locally or regionally avail20 able training activities. 

21 ‘‘(j) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

22 term ‘eligible entities’ means an institution of higher edu23 cation or other entity with expertise in delivering training 

24 in early childhood development, family support, and other 
50

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1 assistance designed to improve the delivery of Head Start 

2 services.’’. 

3 SEC. 113. STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT. 

4 Section 648A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a) 

5 is amended as follows: 

6 (1) By amending paragraph (2) of subsection (a) 

7 to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(2) DEGREE REQUIREMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en10 sure that not later than September 30, 2008, at 

11 least 50 percent of all Head Start teachers na12 tionwide in center-based programs have—

13 ‘‘(i) a baccalaureate, or advanced de14 gree in early childhood education; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) a baccalaureate, or advanced de16 gree in a field related to early childhood 

17 education, with experience in teaching pre18 school children. 

19 ‘‘(B) PROGRESS.—Each Head Start agency 

20 shall provide to the Secretary a report indicating 

21 the number and percentage of classroom instruc22 tors with child development associate credentials 

23 and associate, baccalaureate, or advanced de24 grees. The Secretary shall compile all program 

25 reports and make them available to the Com-
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1 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the 

2 United States House of Representatives and the 

3 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

4 Pensions of the United States Senate. 

5 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT FOR NEW HEAD START

6 TEACHERS.—Within 3 years after the date of en7 actment of this clause, the Secretary shall require 

8 that all Head Start teachers nationwide in cen9 ter-based programs hired following the date of 

10 enactment of this subparagraph—

11 ‘‘(i) have an associate, baccalaureate, 

12 or advanced degree in early childhood edu13 cation; 

14 ‘‘(ii) have an associate, baccalaureate, 

15 or advanced degree in a field related to 

16 early childhood education, with experience 

17 in teaching preschool children; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) be currently enrolled in a pro19 gram of study leading to an associate degree 

20 in early childhood education and agree to 

21 complete degree requirements within 3 years 

22 from the date of hire. 

23 ‘‘(D) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec24 retary shall establish requirements to ensure that 

25 individuals who receive financial assistance 
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1 under this Act in order to comply with the re2 quirements under section 648A(a)(2) shall subse3 quently teach in a Head Start center for a pe4 riod of time equivalent to the period for which 

5 they received assistance or repay the amount of 

6 the funds.’’. 

7 (2) By adding the following at the end thereof: 

8 ‘‘(f) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS.—Every 

9 Head Start agency and program shall create, in consulta10 tion with an employee, a professional development plan for 

11 all full-time employees who provide direct services to chil12 dren.’’. 

13 SEC. 114. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUATION. 

14 Section 649 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9844) 

15 is amended as follows: 

16 (1) By amending subsection (a)(1)(B) to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(B) use the Head Start programs to de19 velop, test, and disseminate new ideas and ap20 proaches for addressing the needs of low-income 

21 preschool children (including children with dis22 abilities and children determined to be abused or 

23 neglected) and their families and communities 

24 (including demonstrations of innovative non-cen25 ter based program models such as home-based
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1 and mobile programs), and otherwise to further 

2 the purposes of this subchapter.’’. 

3 (2) By striking paragraph (9) of subsection (d) 

4 and inserting ‘‘(9) REPEALED.—’’. 

5 (3) By striking clause (i) of subsection (g)(1)(A) 

6 and redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses (i) 

7 and (ii). 

8 (4) In subsection (g)(7)(C)(i) by striking ‘‘1999’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘2003’’, striking ‘‘2001’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘2005’’, and striking ‘‘2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2006’’. 

11 (5) By amending subsection (h) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(h) NAS STUDY.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use 

15 funds allocated in section 640(a)(2)(C)(iii) to con16 tract with the National Academy of Sciences for the 

17 Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the Na18 tional Research Council to establish an independent 

19 panel of experts to review and synthesize research, 

20 theory and applications in the social, behavioral and 

21 biological sciences and shall make recommendations 

22 on early childhood pedagogy with regard to each of 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) Age and developmentally appropriate 

25 Head Start academic requirements and out-
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1 comes, including but not limited to the domains 

2 in 641A(a)(B). 

3 ‘‘(B) Differences in the type, length, mix 

4 and intensity of services necessary to ensure that 

5 children from challenging family and social 

6 backgrounds including: low-income children, 

7 children of color, children with special needs, 

8 and children with limited English proficiency 

9 enter kindergarten ready to succeed. 

10 ‘‘(C) Appropriate assessments of young chil11 dren for the purposes of improving instruction, 

12 services, and program quality, including system13 atic observation assessment in a child’s natural 

14 environment, parent and provider interviews, 

15 and accommodations for children with disabil16 ities and appropriate assessments for children 

17 with special needs, including English language 

18 learners. 

19 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The panel shall consist of 

20 multiple experts in each of the following areas: 

21 ‘‘(A) Child development and education, in22 cluding cognitive, social, emotional, physical, ap23 proaches to learning, and other domains of child 

24 development and learning. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Professional development, including 

2 teacher preparation, to individuals who teach 

3 young children in programs. 

4 ‘‘(C) Assessment of young children, includ5 ing screening, diagnostic and classroom-based in6 structional assessment; children with special 

7 needs, including children with disabilities and 

8 limited English proficient children. 

9 ‘‘(3) TIMING.—The National Academy of 

10 Sciences and the Board shall establish the panel not 

11 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

12 paragraph. The panel should complete its rec13 ommendations within 18 months of its convening. 

14 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF PANEL REPORT.—The re15 sults of the panel study shall be used as guidelines by 

16 the Secretary to develop, inform and revise, where ap17 propriate, the Head Start education performance 

18 measures and standards and the assessments utilized 

19 in the Head Start program.’’. 

20 SEC. 115. REPORTS. 

21 Section 650 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9845) 

22 is amended as follows: 

23 (1) The first sentence of subsection (a) is amend24 ed to read as follows: ‘‘At least once during every 2-

25 year period, the Secretary shall prepare and submit, 
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1 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of 

2 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

3 Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate, 

4 a report concerning the status of children (including 

5 disabled, homeless, and non-English language back6 ground children) in Head Start programs, including 

7 the number of children and the services being pro8 vided to such children.’’. 

9 (2) Paragraph (8) of subsection (a) is amended 

10 by inserting ‘‘, homelessness’’ after ‘‘background’’. 

11 SEC. 116. HEAD START NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS. 

12 Section 654 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9849) 

13 is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 654. NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS. 

15 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary shall not provide financial as16 sistance for any program, project, or activity under this 

17 subchapter unless the grant or contract with respect thereto 

18 specifically provides that no person with responsibilities in 

19 the operation thereof will discriminate with respect to any 

20 such program, project, or activity because of race, creed, 

21 color, national origin, sex, political affiliation, or beliefs. 

22 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a recipient of 

23 financial assistance under this subchapter that is a reli24 gious corporation, association, educational institution, or 

25 society, with respect to the employment of individuals of
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1 a particular religion to perform work connected with the 

2 carrying on by such corporation, association, educational 

3 institution, or society of its activities. Such recipients shall 

4 comply with the other requirements contained in this sub5 section. 

6 ‘‘(b) No person in the United States shall on the 

7 ground of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied 

8 the benefits of, be subjected to discrimination under, or be 

9 denied employment in connection with any program or ac10 tivity receiving assistance under this subchapter. The Sec11 retary shall enforce the provisions of the preceding sentence 

12 in accordance with section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 

13 1964. Section 603 of such Act shall apply with respect to 

14 any action taken by the Secretary to enforce such sentence. 

15 This section shall not be construed as affecting any other 

16 legal remedy that a person may have if such person is ex17 cluded from participation in, denied the benefit of, subjected 

18 to discrimination under, or denied employment (except as 

19 provided in subsection (a)(2)), in the administration of any 

20 program, project, or activity receiving assistance under this 

21 subchapter. 

22 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall not provide financial assist23 ance for any program, project, or activity under this sub24 chapter unless the grant or contract relating to the financial 

25 assistance specifically provides that no person with respon-
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1 sibilities in the operation of the program, project, or activ2 ity will discriminate against any individual because of a 

3 handicapping condition in violation of section 504 of the 

4 Rehabilitation Act of 1973, except as provided in subsection 

5 (a)(2).’’. 

6 SEC. 117. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 The amendments made by this Act shall be effective 

8 with respect to fiscal years beginning on and after October 

9 1, 2003. 

10 TITLE II—STATE 

11 DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM 

12 SEC. 201. STATE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

13 The Head Start Act is amended by inserting after sec14 tion 643 the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 643A. STATE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

16 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

18 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE STATES.—In the case of 

19 each eligible State that submits to the Secretary 

20 an application that fulfills the requirements of 

21 this section, the Secretary, from amounts appro22 priated under section 639(a), shall make a grant 

23 to the State to carry out a State demonstration 

24 program under this section, except that the Sec-
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1 retary shall not make such grants to more than 

2 8 eligible States. 

3 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary shall 

4 make awards to those States that demonstrate—

5 ‘‘(i) that the State standards generally 

6 meet or exceed the standards that ensure the 

7 quality and effectiveness of programs oper8 ated by Head Start agencies; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the capacity to deliver high qual10 ity early childhood education services to 

11 prepare children, including low-income chil12 dren, for school; and 

13 ‘‘(iii)–success in improving the school 

14 readiness of children. 

15 ‘‘(2) STATE ELIGIBILITY.—A State shall be eligi16 ble to participate in the program under this section 

17 if it meets each of the following criteria: 

18 ‘‘(A) The State has an existing State sup19 ported system providing public prekindergarten 

20 to children prior to entry into kindergarten. 

21 ‘‘(B) The State has implemented standards 

22 for school readiness that include standards for 

23 language, prereading and premathematics devel24 opment for prekindergarten that are aligned 

25 with State kindergarten through twelfth grade 
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1 academic content standards and which shall 

2 apply to all programs receiving funds under this 

3 part or provides an assurance that such stand4 ards will be aligned by the end of the second fis5 cal year of participation. 

6 ‘‘(C) State and locally appropriated funds 

7 for prekindergarten services and Head Start 

8 services in the fiscal year immediately preceding 

9 the fiscal year for which the State applies for the 

10 program under this section shall not be less than 

11 50 percent of the Federal funds that the grantees 

12 in the State received under this Act in the imme13 diately preceding fiscal year for services to Head 

14 Start eligible children, excluding amounts for 

15 services provided under section 645A. 

16 ‘‘(D) The State has established a means for 

17 inter-agency coordination and collaboration in 

18 the development of the plan under subsection (h). 

19 ‘‘(b) LEAD AGENCY.—A program under this section 

20 shall be administered by a State governmental entity des21 ignated by the Chief Executive Officer of the State as the 

22 lead State agency. 

23 ‘‘(c) STATE OPERATION OF PROGRAM.—The State may 

24 conduct all or any part of the program under this section 
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1 (including the activities specified in subsection (g)) directly 

2 or by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. 

3 ‘‘(d) TRANSITION.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For 36 months after the ef5 fective date of this section, the State shall continue to 

6 provide funds to each local grantee who—

7 ‘‘(A) was receiving funds under this sub8 chapter, as in effect prior to the date of enact9 ment of this section, and 

10 ‘‘(B) is serving the geographic area covered 

11 by the plan in section 643A(h). 

12 Such continuing grants shall be made in accordance 

13 with the terms of the grant made to the local grantee 

14 immediately prior to such date of enactment. This 

15 paragraph shall not apply to a grant applicant who 

16 has experienced substantial uncorrected deficiencies 

17 on Department of Health and Human Services moni18 toring reports during any year of the most recent 5-

19 year period, or to a grantee that, as determined by 

20 the State, does not comply with the State plan de21 scribed in subsection 643A(h) submitted to the Sec22 retary. 

23 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

24 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION OF FEDERAL ALLOTMENTS TO

25 STATE PROGRAMS.—From each total amount de-
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1 scribed in paragraph (2) allotted to a State for a fis2 cal year, the Secretary shall pay to a State with a 

3 program approved under this section for such fiscal 

4 year an amount equal to—

5 ‘‘(A) if the State program is statewide, 100 

6 percent of such total amount; and 

7 ‘‘(B) if the State program is limited to a 

8 geographic area or areas, the sum of—

9 ‘‘(i) an amount equal to the amount 

10 received by grantees in such geographic area 

11 or areas for the Federal fiscal year pre12 ceding the first fiscal year of the State pro13 gram under this section; plus 

14 ‘‘(ii) an amount bearing the same 

15 ratio to the excess (if any) above the total 

16 amount for such preceding fiscal year as the 

17 number of children less than 5 years of age 

18 from families whose income is below the 

19 poverty line in the geographic area or areas 

20 included in the program bears to the total 

21 number of such children in the State (as de22 termined using the same data used pursu23 ant to section 640(a)(4)(B)). 

24 ‘‘(2) FUNDS ALLOCATED.—For purposes of para25 graph (1), amounts described in this paragraph are:
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1 ‘‘(A) BASIC STATE ALLOTMENTS.—Amounts 

2 allotted to States pursuant to section 640(a)(4), 

3 including amounts reserved pursuant to section 

4 640(a)(5), excluding amounts for services pro5 vided under section 645A. 

6 ‘‘(B) STATE ALLOTMENTS OF EXPANSION

7 FUNDS.—Amounts allotted to States pursuant to 

8 section 640(a)(3)(D)(i)(I) for program expan9 sion. 

10 ‘‘(C) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT FUNDS.—

11 Quality improvement funds (if any) reserved 

12 pursuant to section 640(a)(3). 

13 ‘‘(D) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSIST14 ANCE FUNDS.—An amount bearing the same 

15 ratio to the amount set aside for training and 

16 technical assistance activities pursuant to section 

17 640(a)(2)(C)(i) and (ii) as the State’s share of 

18 amounts allotted under section 640(a)(4)(B) 

19 bears to the total amount so allotted (and for 

20 purposes of subparagraph (A), such amount shall 

21 be considered an amount allotted to the State for 

22 the fiscal year). 

23 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL MATCH.—(A) In determining 

24 the amount of Federal and non-Federal contributions 

25 for purposes of this section, the amounts required to 
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1 be expended by the State under subsection (h)(14)(B) 

2 (relating to maintenance of effort) shall be excluded. 

3 ‘‘(B) Financial assistance made available to a 

4 State under this subchapter shall be in an amount 

5 equal to 95 percent of the total amount expended for 

6 such programs. The Secretary shall require non-Fed7 eral contributions in an amount equal to 5 percent of 

8 the total amount expended under this subchapter for 

9 such programs. 

10 ‘‘(C) Non-Federal contributions may be made in 

11 cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, 

12 equipment, or services. 

13 ‘‘(4) COMBINED OPERATIONS WITH OTHER EARLY

14 CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—A State may 

15 combine funds for a program under this section with 

16 funds for other early childhood programs serving chil17 dren in the same age group, as long as all applicable 

18 requirements of this subchapter are met with respect 

19 to either—

20 ‘‘(A) the entire combined program; or 

21 ‘‘(B) each child served in such combined 

22 program for whom the services provided are 

23 funded from appropriations under this sub24 chapter or non-Federal matching contributions 

25 under this subchapter. 
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1 ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS WITHOUT REGARD TO AL2 LOTMENT PURPOSES.—A State may use funds re3 ceived pursuant to this section for any program pur4 pose set forth in section 636, without regard to the 

5 purposes for such funds specified in section 640. 

6 ‘‘(6) OTHER FUNDS.—Funds received under this 

7 section shall not supplant any non-Federal, State or 

8 local funds that would otherwise be used for activities 

9 authorized under this section or similar activities car10 ried out in the State. 

11 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION AND CHOICE.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State demonstration Pro13 gram shall be coordinated with the education pro14 grams of local educational agencies in the State to en15 sure that the program is effectively designed to de16 velop in children in the program the knowledge and 

17 behaviors necessary to transition successfully to kin18 dergarten and to succeed in school. 

19 ‘‘(2) PROGRAMS CONCERNED.—

20 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED PROGRAMS.—Such coordi21 nation shall occur regarding the implementation 

22 of the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) The Early Reading First and 

24 Even Start programs under title I, part B, 

25 subparts 2 and 3 of the Elementary and 
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1 Secondary Education Act of 1965, and 

2 other preschool programs carried out under 

3 title I of that Act. 

4 ‘‘(ii) State prekindergarten programs. 

5 ‘‘(iii) The Ready-to-Learn Television 

6 Program under subpart 3 of part D of title 

7 II of the Elementary and Secondary Edu8 cation Act. 

9 ‘‘(B) OPTIONAL PROGRAMS.—Such coordi10 nation may occur regarding the implementation 

11 of the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) Programs under the Child Care 

13 and Development Block Grant Act. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Other publicly funded early child15 hood education programs. 

16 ‘‘(3) PARENTAL CHOICE.—The program shall 

17 allow parents to choose the preschool program for 

18 their child. 

19 ‘‘(g) REQUIRED SERVICES.—With funds under this 

20 section, the State shall provide services described in section 

21 641A at least as extensive as were provided, and to at least 

22 as many low-income children and families in each fiscal 

23 year as were provided such services, with such funds in the 

24 base year in the State (or, if applicable, in the geographic 

25 area included in the State program). A program under this 
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1 section shall include the following comprehensive activities 

2 designed to promote school readiness and success in school: 

3 ‘‘(1) CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION.—

4 Activities with enrolled children that promote—

5 ‘‘(A) cognitive development, language devel6 opment, prereading, and premathematics knowl7 edge and skills; 

8 ‘‘(B) physical development, health, and nu9 trition (including through coordination with, 

10 and referral of children and families to local 

11 health service entities; and 

12 ‘‘(C) social development important for envi13 ronments constructive for child development, 

14 early learning, and school success. 

15 ‘‘(2) PARENT EDUCATION AND INVOLVEMENT.—

16 Activities with the parents of enrolled children di17 rected at enhancing and encouraging—

18 ‘‘(A) involvement in, and ability to support, 

19 their children’s educational development; 

20 ‘‘(B) parenting skills and understanding of 

21 child development; and 

22 ‘‘(C) ability to participate effectively in de23 cisions relating to the education of their chil24 dren.
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1 ‘‘(3) SOCIAL AND FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES.—

2 Activities directed at securing appropriate social and 

3 family support services for enrolled children and their 

4 families, primarily through referral and coordination 

5 with local, State, and Federal entities that provide 

6 such services. 

7 ‘‘(4) HEAD START SERVICES.—For purposes of 

8 paragraph (1) Head Start services furnished in a 

9 State program under this section shall include all 

10 Head Start services, other than—

11 ‘‘(A) Indian Head Start programs and mi12 grant and seasonal Head Start programs sup13 ported with funds reserved under section 

14 640(a)(2)(A); and 

15 ‘‘(B) Early Head Start services provided 

16 under section 645A. 

17 ‘‘(h) STATE PLAN.—A State proposing to administer 

18 a program under this section shall submit a State plan to 

19 the Secretary. The State plan shall include the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) LEAD STATE AGENCY.—The plan shall iden21 tify the entity designated by the Chief Executive Offi22 cer of the State as the lead State agency. 

23 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC AREA.—The plan shall specify 

24 whether the program is statewide, and, if it is not, 

25 identify the geographic area or areas covered by the 
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1 plan. A geographic area may be a city, county, stand2 ard metropolitan statistical area, or such other geo3 graphic area in the State. 

4 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM PERIOD.—A State program under 

5 this section shall be in effect for 5 Federal fiscal 

6 years. 

7 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.—The plan shall 

8 describe the services under subsection (f) to be pro9 vided in the program and arrangements the State 

10 proposes to use to provide the services specified in 

11 subsection (g), including how the State will leverage 

12 existing delivery systems for such services. 

13 ‘‘(5) NEEDS ASSESSMENT.—The plan shall de14 scribe the results of a State needs assessment and 

15 shall provide an assurance that the State will use the 

16 results to identify the needs for early childhood edu17 cation services within a State or geographic area to 

18 be served and is targeting services to those areas of 

19 greatest need and to expand and improve services to 

20 disadvantaged children in the State. 

21 ‘‘(6) ASSURANCE OF COMPLIANCE.—The plan 

22 shall provide an assurance that the State program 

23 will comply with the requirements of this section, in24 cluding each of the following: 
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1 ‘‘(A) PRIORITY FOR LOW-INCOME CHIL2 DREN.—Requirements established pursuant to 

3 section 645(a) concerning the eligibility and pri4 ority of individuals for participation in Head 

5 Start programs. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONTINUATION FOR EXISTING PRO7 VIDERS.—An applicant who received funds 

8 under this subchapter in prior fiscal years and 

9 has not corrected any substantial deficiencies 

10 identified in the past 5 years shall not be eligible 

11 to receive any grants, contract, or cooperative 

12 agreements under this section. 

13 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN WITH

14 DISABILITIES.—Requirements pursuant to sec15 tion 640(d) concerning Head Start enrollment 

16 opportunities and services for children with dis17 abilities. 

18 ‘‘(D) PROVISIONS CONCERNING FEES AND

19 COPAYMENTS.—The provisions of section 645(b) 

20 concerning the charging of fees and the cir21 cumstances under which copayments are permis22 sible. 

23 ‘‘(E) FEDERAL SHARE; STATE AND LOCAL

24 MATCHING.—The provisions of section 640(b) 

25 limiting Federal financial assistance for Head 
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1 Start programs, and providing for non-Federal 

2 contributions. 

3 ‘‘(F) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The provi4 sions of section 644(b) limiting the share of pro5 gram funds that may be used for developing and 

6 administering a program. 

7 ‘‘(G) FEDERAL PROPERTY INTEREST.—Ap8 plicable provisions of this subchapter regarding 

9 the Federal Government interest in property (in10 cluding real property) purchased, leased, or ren11 ovated with Federal funds. 

12 ‘‘(7) IDENTIFICATION OF BARRIERS.—The plan 

13 shall identify barriers in the State to the effective use 

14 of Federal, State, and local public funds, and private 

15 funds, for early education and care that are available 

16 to the State on the date on which the application is 

17 submitted. 

18 ‘‘(8) STATE GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL READI19 NESS.—The plan shall include—

20 ‘‘(A) a State definition of school readiness; 

21 ‘‘(B) a description of the State’s general 

22 goals for school readiness, including how the 

23 State intends to—

24 ‘‘(i) promote and maintain ongoing 

25 communication and collaboration between 
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1 providers of early care and education and 

2 local educational agencies in the State; 

3 ‘‘(ii) align early childhood and kinder4 garten curricula to ensure program con5 tinuity; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) ensure that children successfully 

7 transition to kindergarten. 

8 ‘‘(9) TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS.—The plan shall 

9 assure that the qualifications and credentials for 

10 early childhood teachers meet or exceed the standards 

11 in section 648A(a)(2)(A), (B), and (C). 

12 ‘‘(10) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The plan 

13 shall provide a description of the State plan for as14 suring the ongoing professional development of early 

15 childhood educators and administrators including 

16 how the State intends to—

17 ‘‘(A) improve the competencies of early 

18 childhood educators in meeting the cognitive and 

19 other developmental needs of young children 

20 through effective instructional strategies, meth21 ods, and skills; 

22 ‘‘(B) develop and implement initiatives to 

23 effectively recruit and promote the retention of 

24 well-qualified early childhood educators;
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1 ‘‘(C) encourage institutions of higher edu2 cation, providers of community-based training, 

3 and other qualified providers to develop high4 quality programs to prepare students to be early 

5 childhood education professionals; and 

6 ‘‘(D) improve the quality of professional de7 velopment available to meet the needs of teachers 

8 that serve preschool children. 

9 ‘‘(11) QUALITY STANDARDS.—The State shall de10 scribe the State’s standards, applicable to all agencies, 

11 programs, and projects that receive funds under this 

12 subchapter, including a description of—

13 ‘‘(A) standards with respect to services re14 quired to be provided, including health, parental 

15 involvement, nutritional, social, transition ac16 tivities described in section 642(d) of this sub17 chapter, and other services; 

18 ‘‘(B)(i) education standards to promote the 

19 school readiness of children participating in a 

20 State program under Title II of this subchapter; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) additional education standards to en23 sure that the children participating in the pro24 gram, at a minimum develop and demonstrate—

25 ‘‘(I) language skills; 
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1 ‘‘(II) prereading knowledge and skills, 

2 including interest in and appreciation of 

3 books, reading and writing either alone or 

4 with others; 

5 ‘‘(III) premathematics knowledge and 

6 skills, including aspects of classification, se7 riation, number, spatial relations, and 

8 time; 

9 ‘‘(IV) cognitive abilities related to aca10 demic achievement; 

11 ‘‘(V) social development important for 

12 environments constructive for child develop13 ment, early learning, and school success; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(VI) in the case of limited-English 

16 proficient children, progress toward acquisi17 tion of the English language; 

18 ‘‘(C) the State’s minimum standards for 

19 early childhood teacher credentials and qualifica20 tions; 

21 ‘‘(D) the student-teacher ratio for each age22 group served; 

23 ‘‘(E) administrative and financial manage24 ment standards; 
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1 ‘‘(F) standards relating to the condition 

2 and location of facilities for such agencies, pro3 grams, and projects; and 

4 ‘‘(G) such other standards as the State finds 

5 to be appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(12) STATE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State plan shall—

8 ‘‘(i) ensure that individual providers 

9 are achieving results in advancing the 

10 knowledge and behaviors identified by the 

11 State as prerequisites for kindergarten suc12 cess; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) specify the measures the State 

14 will use to evaluate the progress toward 

15 achieving such results and the effectiveness 

16 of the State program under this section, and 

17 of individual providers in such program. 

18 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION OF RESULTS.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

20 (ii), the results shall be made publicly 

21 available in the communities served by the 

22 program. 

23 ‘‘(ii) CONFIDENTIALITY SAFE24 GUARDS.—The system shall have in effect 

25 privacy safeguards ensuring that informa-
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1 tion on children included in data and re2 sults made public in accordance with clause 

3 (i) shall be in aggregated form, and shall 

4 not include information allowing identifica5 tion of individual children. 

6 ‘‘(13) TRANSITION PLAN.—The initial State plan 

7 shall make provision for transition from the direct 

8 Federal program under section 640 to the demonstra9 tion program. 

10 ‘‘(14) COOPERATION WITH RESEARCH STUD11 IES.—The plan shall provide assurances that the 

12 State will cooperate with research activities described 

13 in section 649. 

14 ‘‘(15) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—The State 

15 plan shall—

16 ‘‘(A) contain a commitment to provide 

17 data, at such times and in such format as the 

18 Secretary requires, concerning non-Federal ex19 penditures and numbers of children and families 

20 served in preschool and Head Start programs 

21 during the base year and each fiscal year covered 

22 under the State plan, sufficient to satisfy the 

23 Secretary that the State program will meet its 

24 obligation with respect to the maintenance of ef25 fort requirement under subparagraph (B); and 
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1 ‘‘(B) assure that the resources (which may 

2 be cash or in-kind) contributed by the State gov3 ernment to child care for preschool-aged children 

4 and other preschool programs, including Head 

5 Start, in the State (or, if applicable, in the geo6 graphic area included in the State program) for 

7 each fiscal year in which the program under this 

8 section is in effect shall be in an amount at least 

9 equal to the total amount of such State govern10 mental resources contributed to support such 

11 programs in the State (or geographic area) for 

12 the base year. 

13 ‘‘(16) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

14 The State plan shall describe the training and tech15 nical assistance activities that shall provide high 

16 quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused 

17 training and technical assistance in order to have a 

18 positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction. 

19 ‘‘(i) RECORDS, REPORTS AND AUDITS.—The State 

20 agency administering the State program, and each entity 

21 participating as a Head Start service provider, shall main22 tain such records, make such reports, and cooperate with 

23 such audits as the Secretary may require for oversight of 

24 program activities and expenditures. 
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1 ‘‘(j) INAPPLICABILITY OF PROVISIONS CONCERNING

2 PRIORITY IN AGENCY DESIGNATION.—The provisions of 

3 subsections (c) and (d) of section 641 (concerning priority 

4 in designation of Head Start agencies, successor agencies, 

5 and delegate agencies) shall not apply to a State program 

6 under this section. 

7 ‘‘(k) CONSULTATION.—A State proposing to admin8 ister a program under this section shall submit, with the 

9 plan under this section, assurances that the plan was devel10 oped through timely and meaningful consultation with ap11 propriate public and private sector entities, including—

12 ‘‘(1) representatives of agencies responsible for 

13 administering early education and care programs in 

14 the State, including Head Start providers; 

15 ‘‘(2) parents; 

16 ‘‘(3) the State educational agency and local edu17 cational agencies; 

18 ‘‘(4) early childhood education professionals; 

19 ‘‘(5) kindergarten teachers and teachers in 

20 grades 1 through 4; 

21 ‘‘(6) child welfare agencies; 

22 ‘‘(7) child care resource and referral agencies; 

23 ‘‘(8) child care providers; and
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1 ‘‘(9) a wide array of persons interested in and 

2 involved with early care and early education issues in 

3 the State, such as representatives of—

4 ‘‘(A) health care professionals; 

5 ‘‘(B) the State agency with responsibility 

6 for the special supplemental nutrition program 

7 for women, infants, and children established by 

8 section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; 

9 ‘‘(C) institutions of higher education; 

10 ‘‘(D) community-based and faith-based or11 ganizations; 

12 ‘‘(E) the business community; 

13 ‘‘(F) State legislators and local officials; 

14 ‘‘(G) museums and libraries; 

15 ‘‘(H) other relevant entities in the State; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(I) other agencies that provide resources 

18 for young children. 

19 ‘‘(l) STATE PLAN SUBMISSION.—An application shall 

20 be submitted by a State pursuant to this section to the Sec21 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, 

22 and shall be deemed to be approved by the Secretary unless 

23 the Secretary makes a written determination, prior to the 

24 expiration of a reasonable time beginning on the date on 
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1 which the Secretary received the application, that the appli2 cation is not in compliance with this section. 

3 ‘‘(m) TREATMENT OF FUNDS.—If a State or local gov4 ernment contributes its own funds to supplement activities 

5 carried out under the applicable programs, the State or 

6 local government has the option to separate out the Federal 

7 funds or commingle them. If the funds are commingled, the 

8 provisions of this subchapter shall apply to all of the com9 mingled funds in the same manner, and to the same extent, 

10 as the provisions apply to the Federal funds. 

11 ‘‘(n) FEDERAL OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY; CORRECTIVE

12 ACTION; WITHDRAWAL OF APPROVAL.—

13 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary shall 

14 retain the authority to oversee the operation of the 

15 State program under this section, including through 

16 review of records and reports, audits, and onsite in17 spection of records and facilities and monitoring of 

18 program activities and operations. 

19 ‘‘(2) CORRECTION OF DEFICIENCIES.—If the Sec20 retary determines that a State program under this 

21 section substantially fails to meet the requirements of 

22 this section, the Secretary shall notify the State of the 

23 deficiencies identified and require corrective action as 

24 follows: 
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1 ‘‘(A) DEFICIENCIES CAUSING IMMEDIATE

2 JEOPARDY.—The Secretary shall require imme3 diate corrective action to eliminate a deficiency 

4 that the Secretary finds threatens the health or 

5 safety of staff or program participants or poses 

6 a threat to the integrity of Federal funds. 

7 ‘‘(B) OTHER DEFICIENCIES.—The Sec8 retary, taking into consideration the nature and 

9 magnitude of a deficiency not described in sub10 paragraph (A), and the time reasonably required 

11 for correction, may—

12 ‘‘(i) require the State to correct the de13 ficiency within 90 days after notification 

14 under this paragraph; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) require the State to implement a 

16 quality improvement plan designed to cor17 rect the deficiency within one year from 

18 identification of the deficiency. 

19 ‘‘(3) WITHDRAWAL OF APPROVAL.—If the defi20 ciencies identified under paragraph (2) are not cor21 rected by the deadlines established by the Secretary, 

22 the Secretary shall initiate proceedings to withdraw 

23 approval of the State program under this section. 

24 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURAL RIGHTS.—A State subject to 

25 adverse action under this subsection shall have the 
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1 same procedural rights as a Head Start agency sub2 ject to adverse action under section 641A. 

3 ‘‘(o) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall contract 

5 with an independent organization outside of the De6 partment to design and conduct a multi-year, rig7 orous, scientifically valid, quantitative evaluation of 

8 the State demonstration program. 

9 ‘‘(2) PROCESS.—The Secretary shall award a 

10 contract within 180 days of the date of enactment of 

11 the School Readiness Act of 2003, to an organization 

12 that is capable of designing and carrying out an 

13 independent evaluation described in this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(3) ANALYSIS.—The evaluation shall include an 

15 analysis of each State participating in the State dem16 onstration program, including—

17 ‘‘(A) A quantitative description of the State 

18 prekindergarten program and Head Start pro19 grams within such State, as such programs ex20 isted prior to participation in the State dem21 onstration program, including—

22 ‘‘(i) data on the characteristics of the 

23 children served, including the overall num24 ber and percentages of children served 
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1 disaggregated by socioeconomic status, race 

2 and ethnicity of those served; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the quality and characteristics of 

4 the services provided to such children; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) the education attainment of in6 structional staff. 

7 ‘‘(B) A quantitative and qualitative de8 scription of the State program after each year of 

9 participation in the State demonstration, which 

10 shall include each of the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) A description of changes in the ad12 ministration of the State program, includ13 ing the Head Start program, within such 

14 State. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The rate of progress of the State 

16 in improving the school readiness of dis17 advantaged children in the key domains of 

18 development. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Data as described in subpara20 graph (A), as updated annually. 

21 ‘‘(iv) The extent to which each State 

22 has met the goals established by such State 

23 with respect to annual goals as described 

24 under section 643(h)(10). 
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1 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—(A) The Secretary shall provide 

2 an interim report on the progress of such evaluation 

3 and of the progress of States participating in the 

4 State demonstration in increasing the availability of 

5 high-quality prekindergarten services for low-income 

6 children not later than October 1, 2006, to the Com7 mittee on Education and the Workforce in the House 

8 of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 

9 Education, Labor, and Pensions in the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall provide a final report 

11 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce in 

12 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

13 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in the Sen14 ate, not later than October 1, 2007, which shall in15 clude an overall evaluation of the State demonstration 

16 program, including an assessment of its success in in17 creasing the overall availability of high-quality pre18 kindergarten services for low-income children in each 

19 of the participating States as compared to a rep20 resentative sample of non-participating States. 

21 ‘‘(p) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

22 term ‘base year’ means the fiscal year 2003.’’.

Union Calendar No. 92

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2210

[Report No. 108–184] 

A BILL

To reauthorize the Head Start Act to improve the 

school readiness of disadvantaged children, and for other purposes. 

JUNE 26, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

and ordered to be printed