I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1755 

To award grants to States to establish, enhance, or expand high-quality 

preschool programs for children ages 3 through 5 in rural areas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2009 

Mr. HARE (for himself, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. LOEBSACK, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To award grants to States to establish, enhance, or expand 

high-quality preschool programs for children ages 3 

through 5 in rural areas. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FACTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Rural Early Education Access Act’’. 

6 (b) FACTS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Investing in early childhood programs can 

8 yield positive gains for children and rural commu9 nities, such as— 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
2 

•HR 1755 IH

1 (A) academic achievement and progression; 

2 (B) decreased cost to local governments for 

3 expensive social services, such as special edu4 cation; 

5 (C) a skilled and productive workforce; and 

6 (D) economic development. 

7 (2) The 2007 National Center for Education 

8 Statistics report ‘‘Status of Education in Rural 

9 America’’ found that rural areas maintain the lowest 

10 level of enrollment in preschool programs when com11 pared with urban and suburban school districts. 

12 (3) In 2006, an estimated 2.69 million children 

13 between the ages of three and five were living in 

14 rural areas, and only half had access to ‘‘center15 based preschool’’. 

16 (4) Students in rural districts have been found 

17 to be fifteen percent less likely to begin kindergarten 

18 with key early literacy skills and fifty percent less 

19 likely to possess beginning sounds recognition than 

20 urban and suburban children. 

21 (5) Rural children are sixty percent more likely 

22 to require special education placement than children 

23 from non-rural areas. 

24 (6) Rural communities face significant obstacles 

25 in providing access to high quality preschool proVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:25 Mar 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1755.IH H1755

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
3 

•HR 1755 IH

1 grams needed to mitigate these problems, such as 

2 limited financial resources, scarcity of qualified 

3 teachers, deficient training and professional develop4 ment opportunities, inadequate facilities, and lack of 

5 transportation options. 

6 (7) In spite of increasing State investments, ac7 cess to high-quality preschool programs varies widely 

8 among urban, suburban, and rural areas within a 

9 State due to the lack of capacity in rural commu10 nities. 

11 (8) Head Start offers the only option for high 

12 quality early education in rural communities, how13 ever, many low-income children living in rural set14 tings do not qualify, and many who do qualify are 

15 not being served. 

16 (9) Given rural challenges and limited access to 

17 preschool programs in rural communities, Federal 

18 investments are necessary in order for children in 

19 rural areas to benefit from the research-proven gains 

20 offered by high-quality early learning programs. 

21 (10) On March 10, 2009, President Obama 

22 called on Congress to enact the Early Learning 

23 Challenge Grant to help States raise the quality of 

24 early learning programs. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
4 

•HR 1755 IH

1 (11) Federal funding for preschool programs 

2 that require States to compete for funds and then 

3 allows them to create a formula to provide grants to 

4 rural providers will increase the availability of high 

5 quality early childhood education opportunities. 

6 SEC. 2. RURAL EARLY EDUCATION GRANTS. 

7 (a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—From the amounts 

8 made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall 

9 make grants to States to establish, enhance, or expand 

10 high-quality preschool programs provided by rural pre11 school providers. 

12 (b) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

13 (1) INITIAL GRANTS.—An initial grant under 

14 this Act shall be for a period of 5 years. 

15 (2) ADDITIONAL GRANTS.—An initial grant 

16 under this Act may be renewed under section 11. 

17 SEC. 3. STATE ACTIVITIES. 

18 (a) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—Except as provided 

19 in subsection (b), a State shall use funds received under 

20 this Act to carry out a program to award subgrants to 

21 rural preschool providers in accordance with the applica22 tion requirements under section 4 and the formula re23 quirements under section 5. 

24 (b) ALLOWABLE USE OF FUNDS.—A State that re25 ceives a grant under this Act may use up to 5 percent 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
5 

•HR 1755 IH

1 of the grant to perform one or more of the following State 

2 activities: 

3 (1) Providing consultation to administrators of 

4 rural preschool providers on strategies to combine 

5 services with local Head Start agencies to expand 

6 enrollment or to provide additional services to chil7 dren enrolled in programs provided by the rural pre8 school providers. 

9 (2) Creating partnerships between rural pre10 school providers and institutions of higher education 

11 in order to enable participating teachers and para12 professionals to obtain a bachelor’s degree as non13 traditional students by expanding a State-funded 

14 professional development program (or other existing 

15 program) to include a program for preschool teach16 ers who are employed in rural areas. 

17 (3) Providing relief for student loans and other 

18 incentives for preschool teachers who are employed 

19 by rural preschool providers after receiving a bach20 elor’s degree in early childhood education. 

21 (4) Establishing a monitoring system to ensure 

22 that all rural preschool providers awarded a grant 

23 under this Act demonstrate progress toward imple24 menting high-quality preschool programs. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
6 

•HR 1755 IH

1 (5) Developing and implementing statewide pro2 cedures to promote coordination between rural pre3 school providers and local educational agencies. 

4 (6) Disseminating information about the finan5 cial management of rural preschool providers, in6 cluding financial management strategies that com7 bine Federal, State, local, and private funds. 

8 SEC. 4. STATE APPLICATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring to receive a grant 

10 under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary 

11 at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 

12 reasonably require. 

13 (b) REQUIRED CONTENTS.—The application referred 

14 to in subsection (a) shall include— 

15 (1) a description of how the funding formula in 

16 section 5 will ensure that funds are received only by 

17 eligible rural preschool providers in such State; 

18 (2) a plan for measuring the progress dem19 onstrated by rural preschool providers in such State 

20 toward implementing high-quality preschool pro21 grams; 

22 (3) an assurance that the State, at a minimum, 

23 will ensure that the total expenditure by the State 

24 and its political subdivisions to support such pro25 grams for the fiscal year for which the grant is 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
7 

•HR 1755 IH

1 made is equal to, or greater than, such expenditure 

2 for the preceding fiscal year; 

3 (4) how the State will— 

4 (A) promote coordination between rural 

5 preschool providers and the local educational 

6 agencies in such State; 

7 (B) ensure that institutions of higher edu8 cation in such State will receive funds for ac9 tivities pursuant to section 3(b)(2), if applica10 ble; 

11 (C) ensure that partnerships between rural 

12 preschool providers and Head Start programs 

13 under section 7(b) in such State will enhance 

14 the quality or the availability of resources pro15 vided to children served by the Head Start 

16 agency; and 

17 (D) determine that rural preschool pro18 viders in such State fulfill the minimum eligi19 bility requirements of section 6; and 

20 (5) a description of the lead agency in such 

21 State, designated by the Governor of such State, to 

22 administer and to supervise the implementation of 

23 programs authorized under this Act. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
8 

•HR 1755 IH

1 SEC. 5. ALLOTMENT TO RURAL PRESCHOOL PROVIDERS. 

2 Each State shall create a formula to award subgrants 

3 to rural preschool providers that considers— 

4 (1) factors that impede the implementation of a 

5 high-quality preschool program, including geo6 graphical barriers, local poverty rates, and scarcity 

7 of professional development opportunities for teach8 ers; 

9 (2) the educational needs of children enrolled in 

10 the rural preschool program provided by a rural pre11 school provider, including children with learning dis12 abilities and limited English proficiency; and 

13 (3) the current availability of rural preschool 

14 program opportunities. 

15 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL PRESCHOOL PROVIDERS. 

16 (a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—In order to re17 ceive a subgrant under this Act, a rural preschool provider 

18 must demonstrate that it— 

19 (1) maintains a maximum classroom size of 20 

20 children per classroom; 

21 (2) maintains a teacher-to-student ratio of 10 

22 to 1 or lower; 

23 (3) implements a program that adheres to com24 prehensive early learning standards; 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
9 

•HR 1755 IH

1 (4) provides at least one highly nutritious meal 

2 for each child for every 3 hours of program partici3 pation per day; and 

4 (5) provides at least one highly nutritious snack 

5 for each child participating in the program for up to 

6 3 hours per day. 

7 (b) WAIVER.—A rural preschool provider that ex8 ceeds the classroom size and ratio requirements in para9 graphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) due to smaller enroll10 ments or geographic barriers may apply to have such re11 quirements waived in order to receive a subgrant under 

12 this Act. The State shall designate an appropriate agency 

13 with expertise in early childhood education to review and 

14 to approve such applications. 

15 SEC. 7. LOCAL USE OF FUNDS. 

16 (a) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—A rural preschool 

17 provider that receives a subgrant under this Act shall use 

18 funds to meet one or more of the following program re19 quirements: 

20 (1) Providing one highly competent assistant 

21 teacher per classroom of more than 10 children. 

22 (2) Providing not less than 15 hours of partici23 pation in a high-quality professional development 

24 program for each teacher per school year. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
10 

•HR 1755 IH

1 (3) Providing health screening and referral 

2 services for children enrolled in the preschool pro3 gram, including regular dental and vision screenings. 

4 (4) Providing resources and qualified staff nec5 essary to serve children with disabilities. 

6 (5) Providing resources and qualified staff nec7 essary to serve children of limited English pro8 ficiency. 

9 (6) Coordinating with local educational agen10 cies. 

11 (b) HEAD START-PRESCHOOL PARTNERSHIP.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to fulfill the re13 quirements of subsection (a), a rural preschool pro14 vider may use grant funds to form a partnership 

15 with a local Head Start agency. Such partnerships 

16 shall pay for the services needed to serve preschool 

17 students not eligible for a Head Start program, 

18 which may include services, such as— 

19 (A) facilities, including classroom space; 

20 (B) health screening and referral services; 

21 (C) materials and supplies used in a pre22 school or Head Start program; and 

23 (D) highly competent teachers and assist24 ant teachers. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
11 

•HR 1755 IH

1 (2) LIMITATION.—The provision of services 

2 through a partnership with a local Head Start agen3 cy shall not reduce the quality or availability of re4 sources provided to eligible children served by the 

5 Head Start agency. 

6 (c) ALLOWABLE USE OF FUNDS.—Rural preschool 

7 providers that have satisfied any one requirement in sub8 section (a) may use the remaining funds to— 

9 (1) establish partnerships with local community 

10 colleges and institutions of higher education to en11 able teachers and staff to participate as nontradi12 tional students in degree programs that award a 

13 bachelor’s degree, or higher credential, in early 

14 childhood education; 

15 (2) recruit more highly competent preschool 

16 teachers and provide incentives to retain such teach17 ers, including salary enhancements and enhanced 

18 employee benefits packages; 

19 (3) provide resources necessary to enroll more 

20 children and offer the full range of services provided 

21 by the rural preschool provider to newly enrolled 

22 children; 

23 (4) provide safe and efficient transportation to 

24 and from the program provided by the rural pre25 school provider; 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
12 

•HR 1755 IH

1 (5) extend part-day programs to full-day pro2 grams and part-week programs to full-week pro3 grams; 

4 (6) implement programs to encourage parents 

5 to support their children’s early education, such as 

6 after school reading programs and regular home vis7 its by preschool teachers with students and their 

8 families; and 

9 (7) promote coordination with local educational 

10 agencies. 

11 SEC. 8. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS. 

12 The Secretary shall not make a grant to a State 

13 under this Act unless the State agrees to the following: 

14 (1) In the case of a State that provides funding 

15 to rural preschool providers to carry out a program 

16 that, in addition to the requirements under sections 

17 6 and 7, meets the following requirements, the non18 Federal share of the cost of the activities under this 

19 Act will be 40 percent: 

20 (A) Provide an assistant teacher with an 

21 associate’s degree in early childhood education 

22 or a child development associate’s credential in 

23 every classroom of more than 10 children; and 

24 (B) Adopt a plan for requiring that, within 

25 5 years after the State first receives a grant 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
13 

•HR 1755 IH

1 under this Act, all lead teachers employed by a 

2 rural preschool provider hold a bachelor’s de3 gree in early childhood education or in a related 

4 field with specialized training in early childhood 

5 education. 

6 (2) In the case of a State that provides funding 

7 to rural kindergarten providers to carry out a pro8 gram that meets the requirements under sections 6 

9 and 7, the non-Federal share of the cost of the ac10 tivities under this Act will be 50 percent. 

11 (3) In the case of a State that does not provide 

12 any funding for rural preschool providers, the non13 Federal share of the cost of the activities under this 

14 Act will be 60 percent. 

15 SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

16 Each State that receives a grant under this Act shall 

17 report the following to the Secretary annually: 

18 (1) The progress of each local preschool pro19 vider in implementing high-quality preschool pro20 grams. 

21 (2) The number of rural preschool providers re22 ceiving funding. 

23 (3) Such information as the Secretary may rea24 sonably require regarding State and local partnerVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:25 Mar 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1755.IH H1755

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
14 

•HR 1755 IH

1 ships with higher education institutions that are 

2 supported with funds awarded under this Act. 

3 (4) The number of rural preschool programs 

4 that have extended from part-day to full-day and 

5 part-week to full-week. 

6 (5) The number of rural preschool programs 

7 that have formed partnerships with local Head Start 

8 providers pursuant to section 7(b). 

9 (6) The number of students in average daily at10 tendance at programs provided by rural preschool 

11 providers, and the net increase or decrease of such 

12 attendance per year. 

13 (7) State activities to disseminate information 

14 and to provide consultation about program financing 

15 among administrators of rural preschool programs, 

16 pursuant to section 3(b). 

17 (8) Progress in promoting coordination between 

18 rural preschool providers and local educational agen19 cies. 

20 SEC. 10. SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT. 

21 Funds made available under this Act may be used 

22 only to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, 

23 State, local, or private funds that would, in the absence 

24 of the funds made available under this Act, be made avail25 able for early childhood programs. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
15 

•HR 1755 IH

1 SEC. 11. RENEWAL PROCEDURE. 

2 Five years after receiving an initial grant under this 

3 Act, a State may apply to renew the grant for an addi4 tional 5-year period, by providing to the Secretary— 

5 (1) the information reported under section 9; 

6 (2) a demonstration that the State and local 

7 share of per-child expenditures on rural preschool 

8 providers receiving funds under this Act has in9 creased at a rate equal or greater to the rate of in10 flation over the 5-year period of the previous grant 

11 award; 

12 (3) a demonstration that State investments in 

13 other forms of early childhood education and care 

14 have not decreased as a consequence of increased in15 vestments in rural preschool programs; 

16 (4) information sufficient to determine such 

17 State’s eligibility for matching funds under section 

18 8; and 

19 (5) any additional information that the Sec20 retary may reasonably require. 

21 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

23 (1) COMPREHENSIVE EARLY LEARNING STAND24 ARDS.—The term ‘‘comprehensive early learning 

25 standards’’ means standards that offer guidance to 

26 rural preschool providers and ensure that they cover 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
16 

•HR 1755 IH

1 the full range of areas essential to children’s learn2 ing and development, which standards shall include 

3 the following early learning domains: 

4 (A) Social-emotional development. 

5 (B) Approaches to learning. 

6 (C) Language development. 

7 (D) Cognition and general knowledge. 

8 (2) FULL-DAY.—The term ‘‘full-day’’, when 

9 used in reference to a rural preschool provider, 

10 means a provider with a minimum of a 6-hour 

11 schedule per day. 

12 (3) FULL-WEEK.—The term ‘‘full-week’’, when 

13 used in reference to a rural preschool provider, 

14 means a provider with a minimum of a 5-day sched15 ule per week. 

16 (4) HEAD START AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Head 

17 Start agency’’ means any local public or private non18 profit agency or for-profit agency that is designated 

19 as a Head Start agency under section 641 of the 

20 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836). 

21 (5) HEAD START PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Head 

22 Start program’’ means a program provided by a 

23 Head Start agency. 

24 (6) HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS MEAL.—The term 

25 ‘‘highly nutritious meal’’ means a meal that meets 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
17 

•HR 1755 IH

1 the component requirements prescribed by the Sec2 retary of Agriculture for the National School Lunch 

3 Program, pursuant to section 9(a) of the Richard B. 

4 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 1758(a)). 

6 (7) HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS SNACK.—The term 

7 ‘‘highly nutritious snack’’ means a snack that con8 sists of the component requirements prescribed by 

9 the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to section 17 

10 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(a)). 

12 (8) HIGH-QUALITY PRESCHOOL PROGRAM.— 

13 The term ‘‘high-quality preschool program’’, when 

14 used in this Act, refers to an educational program 

15 serving children ages 3 through 5 that— 

16 (A) adheres to comprehensive early learn17 ing standards that address all areas of early 

18 childhood development; 

19 (B) provides at least one highly nutritious 

20 meal for each child for every 3 hours of pro21 gram participation per day and one highly nu22 tritious snack for each child participating in 

23 less than 3 hours per day; 

24 (C) provides in every classroom, a lead 

25 teacher with a bachelor’s degree in early childVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:25 Mar 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1755.IH H1755

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
18 

•HR 1755 IH

1 hood education, or in a related field with spe2 cialized training in early childhood education; 

3 (D) provides an assistant teacher with an 

4 associate’s degree in early childhood education 

5 or a child development associate’s credential in 

6 every classroom of more than 10 children; 

7 (E) provides opportunities for teachers to 

8 participate in at least 15 hours of high-quality 

9 professional development per year; and 

10 (F) provides vision, hearing, and health 

11 screening and referral services to enrolled chil12 dren. 

13 (9) HIGH-QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP14 MENT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘high-quality profes15 sional development program’’, used in reference to 

16 professional development programs that serve pre17 school teachers, means a program that prepares 

18 teachers to— 

19 (A) teach with a high level of oral, written, 

20 and technological communication skills; 

21 (B) understand research and data relevant 

22 to early childhood education and to use develop23 mentally appropriate instructional techniques, 

24 including techniques that are based on an unVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:25 Mar 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1755.IH H1755

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
19 

•HR 1755 IH

1 derstanding of comprehensive early learning 

2 standards; and 

3 (C) identify children with developmental 

4 disabilities and provide appropriate referral 

5 services for such children. 

6 (10) HIGHLY COMPETENT.—The term ‘‘highly 

7 competent’’— 

8 (A) when used in reference to a lead teach9 er in a preschool classroom, means a teacher 

10 with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood edu11 cation who has demonstrated a high level of 

12 knowledge and use of developmentally appro13 priate research-based curricula for early child14 hood education; and 

15 (B) when used in reference to an assistant 

16 teacher in a preschool classroom, means an as17 sistant teacher with specialized education and 

18 training in development and education of young 

19 children from birth until entry into kinder20 garten, with— 

21 (i) an associate’s degree in early child22 hood education; or 

23 (ii) a child development associate’s 

24 credential recognized by a Head Start 

25 agency. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
20 

•HR 1755 IH

1 (11) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

2 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

3 meaning given such term in section 102 of the High4 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

5 (12) NONTRADITIONAL STUDENT.—The term 

6 ‘‘nontraditional student’’ has the meaning given in 

7 section 861(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161q(b)(3)). 

9 (13) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

10 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

11 such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

12 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

13 (14) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ 

14 means a geographic area served by a rural local edu15 cational agency. 

16 (15) RURAL LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 

17 The term ‘‘rural local educational agency’’ means a 

18 local educational agency having administrative con19 trol or direction of schools which meet a metro-cen20 tric locale code of 41, 42, or 43 as determined by 

21 the National Center for Education Statistics, in con22 junction with the Bureau of the Census, using the 

23 system of the National Center for Education Statis24 tics for classifying local educational agencies. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
21 

•HR 1755 IH

1 (16) RURAL PRESCHOOL PROVIDER.—The term 

2 ‘‘rural preschool provider’’ means a provider of a 

3 preschool program, a Head Start agency, a local 

4 educational agency that provides preschool services, 

5 or a provider of a child care program, a nonprofit 

6 or for-profit agency, that— 

7 (A) has met applicable State requirements 

8 governing the entities that receive State funds 

9 in order to carry out a preschool program; and 

10 (B) serves children who reside within a 

11 rural area. 

12 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

13 means the Secretary of Education. 

14 (18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean15 ing given such term in section 9101 of the Elemen16 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 7801). 

Æ 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS