II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4550 

To amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants to States for 

prekindergarten education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2024 

Mr. LEE (for himself and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants 

to States for prekindergarten education, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Head Start Improve5 ment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS. 

7 The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is 

8 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 635. SHORT TITLE. 

2 ‘‘This subchapter may be cited as the ‘Head Start 

3 Act’. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

5 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote the 

6 school readiness of low-income children by enhancing their 

7 cognitive, social, and emotional development in a learning 

8 environment that supports children’s growth in language, 

9 literacy, mathematics, science, social and emotional func10 tioning, creative arts, physical skills, and approaches to 

11 learning. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 637. DEFINITIONS. 

13 ‘‘For purposes of this subchapter: 

14 ‘‘(1) DELEGATE AGENCY.—The term ‘delegate 

15 agency’ means a public, private nonprofit (including 

16 a community-based organization, as defined in sec17 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), or for-profit 

19 organization or agency to which an eligible entity 

20 has delegated all or part of the responsibility of the 

21 grantee for administering funds under this sub22 chapter. 

23 ‘‘(2) EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT.—The 

24 term ‘education savings account’ means a savings 

25 account, authorized under State law, that is used by 


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1 a parent only for the educational expenses, including 

2 prekindergarten expenses, of the parent’s child. 

3 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en4 tity’ means the recipient of a subgrant under section 

5 639(d)(3)(A). 

6 ‘‘(4) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘fi7 nancial assistance’ includes assistance provided by 

8 grant, agreement, or contract, and payments may be 

9 made in installments and in advance or by way of 

10 reimbursement with necessary adjustments on ac11 count of overpayments or underpayments. 

12 ‘‘(5) GRANT RECIPIENT.—The term ‘grant re13 cipient’ means the recipient of a grant under section 

14 639(a). 

15 ‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

16 means any tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other orga17 nized group or community of Indians, including any 

18 Native village described in section 3(c) of the Alaska 

19 Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)) 

20 or established pursuant to such Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 

21 et seq.), that is recognized as eligible for the special 

22 programs and services provided by the United States 

23 to Indians because of their status as Indians. 

24 ‘‘(7) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

25 ‘local educational agency’ has the meaning given 


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1 such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

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

3 ‘‘(8) LOW-INCOME CHILD.—The term ‘low-in4 come child’ means a child who is 3, 4, or 5 years 

5 of age and is from a family with an income below 

6 100 percent of the poverty line for the most recent 

7 fiscal year for which satisfactory data are available. 

8 ‘‘(9) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘poverty line’ 

9 means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of10 fice of Management and Budget)— 

11 ‘‘(A) adjusted to reflect the percentage 

12 change in the Consumer Price Index For All 

13 Urban Consumers, issued by the Bureau of 

14 Labor Statistics, occurring in the 1-year period 

15 or other interval immediately preceding the date 

16 such adjustment is made; and 

17 ‘‘(B) adjusted for family size. 

18 ‘‘(10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

19 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

20 ‘‘(11) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State, 

21 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of 

22 Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Is23 lands of the United States, and the Commonwealth 

24 of the Northern Mariana Islands. The term includes 

25 the Republic of Palau, except during any period for 


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1 which a Compact of Free Association is in effect, 

2 contains provisions for early childhood education or 

3 development, and prohibits the assistance provided 

4 under this subchapter. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 638. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 this subchapter $10,613,095,000 for each of fiscal years 

8 2025 through 2034. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 639. BLOCK GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES AND IN10 DIAN TRIBES. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro12 vision of this subchapter, beginning on October 1 of the 

13 first fiscal year following the date of enactment of the 

14 Head Start Improvement Act, from the amounts appro15 priated to carry out this subchapter under section 638 for 

16 a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to eligible 

17 States and Indian tribes from allotments made under sub18 section (b) in accordance with this section. 

19 ‘‘(b) ALLOTMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall allot the 

21 amount appropriated under section 638 for a fiscal 

22 year among the eligible States and Indian tribes in 

23 proportion to the number of children, who are 3, 4, 

24 or 5 years of age, who are from families with in25 comes below 100 percent of the poverty line for the 


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1 most recent fiscal year for which satisfactory data 

2 are available and who are in an eligible State or In3 dian tribe, compared to the number of such children 

4 for that fiscal year who are in all eligible States or 

5 Indian tribes. 

6 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION.—For purposes of counting 

7 the number of children who are in an eligible State 

8 under paragraph (1), the children who are counted 

9 in an eligible Indian tribe in that State shall be ex10 cluded. 

11 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

12 under this section, a State or Indian tribe shall submit 

13 an application to the Secretary that includes the number 

14 of low-income children in the State or Indian tribe. 

15 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant recipient under 

17 this section shall use 100 percent of the grant 

18 funds— 

19 ‘‘(A) for prekindergarten education pro20 grams in the State or Indian tribe involved; 

21 ‘‘(B) for the administration of the pro22 grams described in subparagraph (A); and 

23 ‘‘(C) to provide direct technical assistance, 

24 oversight, monitoring, research, and training 


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1 with respect to the programs described in sub2 paragraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—The Governor, or other 

4 chief executive, of each grant recipient shall certify 

5 that all grant funds received under this section will 

6 be used to directly or indirectly provide comprehen7 sive education to low-income children. 

8 ‘‘(3) GRANT RECIPIENT RESPONSIBILITIES.—A 

9 grant recipient shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) award subgrants to eligible entities 

11 (as defined by the grant recipient) to enable 

12 such entities to provide, directly or through a 

13 delegate agency, prekindergarten education pro14 grams in the State or Indian tribe involved; 

15 ‘‘(B) establish rules and standards for the 

16 entities awarded subgrants under subparagraph 

17 (A); and 

18 ‘‘(C) monitor compliance by entities award19 ed subgrants under subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(4) FLEXIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any other 

21 provision of Federal law (other than this section)— 

22 ‘‘(A) to the extent permitted under State 

23 law, a grant recipient may use the grant funds 

24 to establish a portable voucher system that al25 lows a parent of a low-income child to use a 


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1 portion of the grant funds, other available pub2 lic funds, or private funds to pay some or all of 

3 the costs of attendance at a private prekinder4 garten education program; and 

5 ‘‘(B) to the extent permitted under State 

6 law, a grant recipient may use the grant funds 

7 to establish an education savings account that 

8 allows a parent of a low-income child to use a 

9 portion of the grant funds, or other available 

10 public or private funds added to the account, 

11 for expenses related to prekindergarten edu12 cation. 

13 ‘‘(5) MEMBERS OF INDIAN TRIBES.—A member 

14 of an Indian tribe who is eligible to receive services 

15 pursuant to a program funded under this section 

16 may elect to receive such services from any eligible 

17 entity for the State or Indian tribe in which the 

18 member resides. 

19 ‘‘(e) MATCHING FUNDS.—A grant recipient shall pro20 vide matching funds from non-Federal sources equal to 

21 20 percent of the amount of the grant to carry out the 

22 activities described in this section. 

23 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No eligible entity 

24 that receives a subgrant to provide a program under this 


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1 subchapter shall use more than 15 percent of the subgrant 

2 funds for the administrative costs of the program. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 640. LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE. 

4 ‘‘Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to re5 quire a grant recipient to establish a publicly funded pro6 gram of early childhood education and development, or to 

7 require any child to participate in such a publicly funded 

8 program, including a preschool program funded by a grant 

9 recipient, or to participate in any initial screening (other 

10 than a health screening) before participating in a publicly 

11 funded program of early childhood education and develop12 ment, except as provided under sections 612(a)(3) and 

13 635(a)(5) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

14 Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(3), 1435(a)(5)). 

15 ‘‘SEC. 641. GOALS; MONITORING. 

16 ‘‘(a) SELF-ASSESSMENTS.—Not less frequently than 

17 once each program year, each grant recipient shall conduct 

18 a comprehensive self-assessment of the effectiveness and 

19 progress of the grant recipient’s program under this sub20 chapter in meeting program goals established by the grant 

21 recipient. The self-assessment shall include a determina22 tion of the number of low-income children served by the 

23 program carried out by the grant recipient under this sub24 chapter. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—The grant recipient shall develop, 

2 and make available to the public, an online and searchable 

3 report containing the self-assessment, and an improve4 ment plan to strengthen any areas identified in the self5 assessment as weaknesses or in need of improvement. The 

6 report shall include the number of low-income children 

7 served by the program carried out by the grant recipient 

8 under this subchapter. 

9 ‘‘(c) ONGOING MONITORING.—Each grant recipient 

10 shall establish and implement procedures for the ongoing 

11 monitoring of the respective programs of each recipient, 

12 to ensure that the operations of the programs work toward 

13 meeting the program goals. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 642. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each grant recipient shall make 

16 available to the public a report published online at least 

17 once in each fiscal year that discloses the following infor18 mation, from the most recently concluded fiscal year, ex19 cept that reporting such information shall not reveal per20 sonally identifiable information about an individual child 

21 or parent: 

22 ‘‘(1) The total amount of Federal, State, local, 

23 and private funds received and the amount from 

24 each source. 


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1 ‘‘(2) An explanation of budgetary expenditures 

2 and proposed budget for the fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(3) The total number of children served, the 

4 average monthly enrollment (as a percentage of 

5 funded enrollment), and the percentage of eligible 

6 children served. 

7 ‘‘(4) The results of the most recent self-assess8 ment under section 641. 

9 ‘‘(5) Information about the grant recipient’s ef10 forts to prepare children for kindergarten. 

11 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than October 1 

12 following the first full fiscal year after the date of enact13 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

14 shall compile the information described in subsection(a), 

15 from the most recently concluded fiscal year, into a report 

16 and submit the report to Congress. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 643. RECORDS. 

18 ‘‘Each recipient of financial assistance under this 

19 subchapter shall keep records, including records which 

20 fully disclose the amount and disposition by such recipient 

21 of the proceeds of such financial assistance, the total cost 

22 of the program or activity in connection with which such 

23 financial assistance is given or used, and the amount of 

24 that portion of the cost of the program or activity supplied 

25 by other sources. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 644. RESEARCH. 

2 ‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

3 States shall conduct a study— 

4 ‘‘(1) of the different approaches and best prac5 tices used by States and Indian tribes in carrying 

6 out the program under this subchapter; and 

7 ‘‘(2) that is limited to the information provided 

8 in the online reports made available by grant recipi9 ents under sections 641 and 642. 

10 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of the 

11 fourth fiscal year after the date of enactment referred to 

12 in section 639(a), the Comptroller General shall submit 

13 a report containing the results of the study to the appro14 priate committees of Congress. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 645. NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS. 

16 ‘‘No grant recipient shall provide financial assistance 

17 for any program or activity under this subchapter unless 

18 the grant or contract relating to the financial assistance 

19 specifically provides that no person with responsibilities in 

20 the operation of the program or activity will discriminate 

21 with respect to any such program or activity because of 

22 race, creed, color, national origin, biological sex, political 

23 affiliation, or religion, or because of a disability in viola24 tion of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

25 U.S.C. 794). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 646. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. 

2 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTIONS.—A program assisted under this 

3 subchapter, and any individual employed by, or assigned 

4 to or in, a program assisted under this subchapter (during 

5 the hours in which such individual is working on behalf 

6 of such program), shall not engage in— 

7 ‘‘(1) any partisan or nonpartisan political activ8 ity or any other political activity associated with a 

9 candidate, or contending faction or group, in an 

10 election for public or party office; 

11 ‘‘(2) any activity to provide voters or prospec12 tive voters with transportation to the polls or similar 

13 assistance in connection with any such election; or 

14 ‘‘(3) assisting, promoting, or deterring union 

15 organization. 

16 ‘‘(b) REGISTRATION.—No funds appropriated under 

17 this subchapter may be used to conduct voter registration 

18 activities. Nothing in this subchapter prohibits the avail19 ability of Head Start facilities during hours of operation 

20 for the use of any nonpartisan organization to increase 

21 the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elec22 tions for Federal office. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 647. ADVANCE FUNDING. 

24 ‘‘For the purpose of affording adequate notice of 

25 funding available under this subchapter, appropriations 

26 for carrying out this subchapter are authorized to be inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Aug 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4550.IS S4550

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1 cluded in an appropriation Act for the fiscal year pre2 ceding the fiscal year for which they are available for obli3 gation. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 648. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

5 ‘‘Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to au6 thorize or permit the Secretary or any employee or con7 tractor of the Department of Health and Human Services 

8 to mandate, direct, or control, the selection of a cur9 riculum, a program of instruction, or instructional mate10 rials, for a prekindergarten education program carried out 

11 by an eligible entity.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 The amendment made by this Act shall apply begin14 ning on October 1 of the first fiscal year following the 

15 date of enactment of the Head Start Improvement Act. 

Æ 


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