II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1697 

To support early learning. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2013 

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. CASEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. COONS, Mr. 

KAINE, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. FRANKEN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To support early learning. 

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 ‘‘Strong Start for Amer5 ica’s Children Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—PREKINDERGARTEN ACCESS 

Subtitle A—Access to Voluntary Prekindergarten for Low- and ModerateIncome Families 

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Sec. 111. Purposes. 

Sec. 112. Definitions. 

Sec. 113. Program authorization. 

Sec. 114. Allotments and reservations of funds. 

Sec. 115. State eligibility criteria. 

Sec. 116. State applications. 

Sec. 117. State use of funds. 

Sec. 118. Performance measures and targets. 

Sec. 119. Matching requirements. 

Sec. 120. Eligible local entity applications. 

Sec. 121. Required subgrant activities. 

Sec. 122. Report and evaluation. 

Sec. 123. Prohibition of required participation or use of funds for assessments. 

Sec. 124. Coordination with Head Start programs. 

Sec. 125. Technical assistance in program administration. 

Sec. 126. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle B—Prekindergarten Development Grants 

Sec. 151. Prekindergarten development grants. 

TITLE II—EARLY LEARNING QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS 

Sec. 201. Purposes. 

Sec. 202. Early learning quality partnerships. 

TITLE III—CHILD CARE 

Sec. 301. State plan. 

TITLE IV—MATERNAL, INFANT, AND EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME 

VISITING PROGRAM 

Sec. 401. Sense of Senate. 

1 TITLE I—PREKINDERGARTEN 

2 ACCESS 

3 Subtitle A—Access to Voluntary 

4 Prekindergarten for Low- and 

5 Moderate-Income Families 

6 SEC. 111. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this subtitle are to— 

8 (1) establish a Federal-State partnership to 

9 provide access to high-quality public prekindergarten 

10 programs for all children from low-income and modmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 erate-income families to ensure that they enter kin2 dergarten prepared for success; 

3 (2) broaden participation in such programs to 

4 include children from additional middle-class fami5 lies; and 

6 (3) promote access to full-day kindergarten, 

7 and high-quality early childhood education programs 

8 and settings for children. 

9 SEC. 112. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this subtitle: 

11 (1) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

12 ‘‘child with a disability’’ has the meaning given the 

13 term in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil14 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

15 (2) COMPREHENSIVE EARLY LEARNING ASSESS16 MENT SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘comprehensive early 

17 learning assessment system’’— 

18 (A) means a coordinated and comprehen19 sive system of multiple assessments, each of 

20 which is valid and reliable for its specified pur21 pose and for the population with which it will 

22 be used, that organizes information about the 

23 process and context of young children’s learning 

24 and development in order to help early child25 hood educators make informed instructional 

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1 and programmatic decisions and that conforms 

2 to the recommendations of the National Re3 search Council reports on early childhood; and 

4 (B) includes, at a minimum— 

5 (i) child screening measures; 

6 (ii) child formative assessments; 

7 (iii) measures of environmental qual8 ity; and 

9 (iv) measures of the quality of adult10 child interactions. 

11 (3) DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 

12 ‘‘dual language learner’’ means an individual who is 

13 limited English proficient as defined in section 637 

14 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832). 

15 (4) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO16 GRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood education pro17 gram’’ has the meaning given the term under section 

18 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 1003). 

20 (5) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen21 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec22 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

24 (6) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION DATE.—The 

25 term ‘‘eligibility determination date’’ means the date 

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1 used to determine eligibility for public elementary 

2 school in the community in which the eligible local 

3 entity involved is located. 

4 (7) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligi5 ble local entity’’ means— 

6 (A) a local educational agency, including a 

7 charter school or a charter management organi8 zation that acts as a local educational agency, 

9 or an educational service agency in partnership 

10 with a local educational agency; 

11 (B) an entity that carries out an early 

12 childhood education program; or 

13 (C) a consortium of entities described 

14 under subparagraph (A) or (B). 

15 (8) FULL-DAY.—The term ‘‘full-day’’ means a 

16 day that is— 

17 (A) equivalent to a full school day at the 

18 public elementary schools in the State; and 

19 (B) not less than 5 hours a day. 

20 (9) HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDERGARTEN PRO21 GRAM.—The term ‘‘high-quality prekindergarten 

22 program’’ means a prekindergarten program sup23 ported by an eligible local entity that includes, at a 

24 minimum, the following elements based on nationally 

25 recognized standards: 

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1 (A) Serves children who— 

2 (i) are age 4 or children who are age 

3 3 or 4, by the eligibility determination date 

4 (including children who turn age 5 while 

5 attending the program); or 

6 (ii) have attained the legal age for 

7 State-funded prekindergarten. 

8 (B) Requires high staff qualifications, in9 cluding a requirement that a prekindergarten 

10 teacher— 

11 (i) has a bachelor’s degree in early 

12 childhood education or a related field with 

13 coursework that demonstrates competence 

14 in early childhood education; 

15 (ii)(I) has a bachelor’s degree in any 

16 field; 

17 (II) has demonstrated knowledge of 

18 early childhood education through passage 

19 of a State-approved assessment in early 

20 childhood education; 

21 (III) engages in on-going professional 

22 development in early childhood education 

23 for not less than 2 years; and 

24 (IV) is enrolled in a State-approved 

25 educator preparation program in which the 

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1 teacher receives on-going training and sup2 port in early childhood education and is 

3 making progress toward the completion of 

4 the program in not more than 3 years; or 

5 (iii) has a bachelor’s degree in any 

6 field with a credential, license, or endorse7 ment that demonstrates competence in 

8 early childhood education. 

9 (C) Maintains a maximum class size of 20 

10 children. 

11 (D) Maintains a child to instructional staff 

12 ratio that does not exceed 10 to 1. 

13 (E) Offers a full-day program. 

14 (F) Provides developmentally appropriate, 

15 evidence-based curricula and learning environ16 ments that are aligned with the State’s early 

17 learning and development standards. 

18 (G) Offers instructional staff salaries com19 parable to kindergarten through grade 12 

20 teaching staff. 

21 (H) Provides for ongoing monitoring and 

22 program evaluation to ensure continuous im23 provement. 

24 (I) Offers accessible comprehensive services 

25 for children that— 

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1 (i) include, at a minimum— 

2 (I) screenings for vision, dental, 

3 health (including mental health), and 

4 development and referrals, and assist5 ance obtaining services, when appro6 priate; 

7 (II) family engagement opportu8 nities (taking into account home lan9 guage), such as parent conferences 

10 (including parent input about their 

11 child’s development) and support serv12 ices, such as parent education; 

13 (III) nutrition services, including 

14 nutritious meals and snack options 

15 aligned with requirements set by the 

16 most recent Child and Adult Care 

17 Food Program guidelines promulgated 

18 by the Department of Agriculture as 

19 well as regular, age-appropriate, nu20 trition education for children and 

21 their families; 

22 (IV) programs coordinated with 

23 local educational agencies and entities 

24 providing programs authorized under 

25 section 619 and part C of the Individmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 uals with Disabilities Education Act 

2 (20 U.S.C. 1419 and 1431 et seq.); 

3 (V) physical activity programs 

4 aligned with evidence-based guide5 lines, such as those recommended by 

6 the Institute of Medicine, and which 

7 take into account and accommodate 

8 children with disabilities; and 

9 (VI) additional support services, 

10 as appropriate, based on the findings 

11 of the needs analysis as described in 

12 section 120; and 

13 (ii) are provided on-site. 

14 (J) Provides high-quality professional de15 velopment for staff, including regular in-class 

16 observation for teachers and teacher assistants 

17 by individuals trained in observation. 

18 (K) Meets the education performance 

19 standards in effect under section 641A(a)(1)(B) 

20 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 9836a(a)(1)(B)). 

22 (L) Maintains evidence-based health and 

23 safety standards. 

24 (10) HOMELESS CHILD.—The term ‘‘homeless 

25 child’’ means a child or youth described in section 

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1 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2). 

3 (11) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

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

5 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

7 (12) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘‘local education agency’’ has the meaning given the 

9 term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

11 (13) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘‘outlying 

12 area’’ means each of the United States Virgin Is13 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

14 of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic 

15 of Palau. 

16 (14) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

17 means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of18 fice of Management and Budget)— 

19 (A) adjusted to reflect the percentage 

20 change in the Consumer Price Index for all con21 sumers, issued by the Bureau of Labor Statis22 tics, occurring in the 1-year period or other in23 terval immediately preceding the date such ad24 justment is made; and 

25 (B) adjusted for family size. 

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1 (15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means the Secretary of Education. 

3 (16) STATE.—Except as otherwise provided in 

4 this subtitle, the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50 

5 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

6 of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying areas. 

7 (17) STATE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON EARLY

8 CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE.—The term 

9 ‘‘State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu10 cation and Care’’ means the State Advisory Council 

11 on Early Childhood Education and Care established 

12 under section 642B(b) of the Head Start Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 9837b(b)). 

14 SEC. 113. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 

16 carry out this subtitle, the Secretary, in consultation with 

17 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall award 

18 grants to States to implement high-quality prekinder19 garten programs, consistent with the purposes of this sub20 title. For each fiscal year, the funds provided under the 

21 grant shall equal the allotment determined for the State 

22 under section 114. 

23 (b) PREKINDERGARTEN FOR 3-YEAR-OLDS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that certifies to 

25 the Secretary that it provides access to universally 

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1 available, voluntary, high-quality prekindergarten 

2 programs for 4-year-old children who reside within 

3 the State and are from families with incomes at or 

4 below 200 percent of the poverty line, may use the 

5 State’s allotment under section 114(b) to provide 

6 high-quality prekindergarten programs for 3-year-old 

7 children who reside within the State and are from 

8 families with incomes at or below 200 percent of the 

9 poverty line. 

10 (2) SUBGRANTS.—In each State that has a city, 

11 county, or local educational agency that provides 

12 universally available, voluntary, high-quality pre13 kindergarten programs for 4-year-old children who 

14 reside within the State and are from families with 

15 incomes at or below 200 percent of the poverty line, 

16 the State may use amounts from the State’s allot17 ment under section 114(b) to award subgrants to el18 igible local entities to enable such entities to provide 

19 high-quality prekindergarten programs for 3-year-old 

20 children who are from families with incomes at or 

21 below 200 percent of the poverty line and who reside 

22 in such city, county, or local educational agency 

23 without diminishing access to 4-year-old children in 

24 other parts of the States. 

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1 SEC. 114. ALLOTMENTS AND RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS. 

2 (a) RESERVATION.—From the amount made avail3 able each fiscal year to carry out this subtitle, the Sec4 retary shall— 

5 (1) reserve not less than 1 percent and not 

6 more than 2 percent for payments to Indian tribes 

7 and tribal organizations (as such terms are defined 

8 under the Child Care and Development Block Grant 

9 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n)); 

(2) reserve 1 10 ⁄2 of 1 percent for the outlying 

11 areas to be distributed among the outlying areas on 

12 the basis of their relative need, as determined by the 

13 Secretary in accordance with the purposes of this 

14 subtitle; 

(3) reserve not more than 1 15 ⁄2 of 1 percent for 

16 eligible local entities that serve children in families 

17 who are engaged in migrant or seasonal agricultural 

18 labor; and 

19 (4) reserve not more than 1 percent or 

20 $30,000,000, whichever amount is less, for national 

21 activities, including administration, technical assist22 ance, and evaluation. 

23 (b) ALLOTMENTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount made 

25 available each fiscal year to carry out this subtitle 

26 and not reserved under subsection (a), the Secretary 

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1 shall make allotments to States in accordance with 

2 paragraph (2) that have submitted an approved ap3 plication. 

4 (2) ALLOTMENT AMOUNT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graph (B), the Secretary shall allot the amount 

7 made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal 

8 year among the States in proportion to the 

9 number of children who are age 4 who reside 

10 within the State and are from families with in11 comes at or below 200 percent of the poverty 

12 line for the most recent year for which satisfac13 tory data are available, compared to the num14 ber of such children who reside in all such 

15 States for that fiscal year. 

16 (B) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT AMOUNT.—No 

17 State receiving an allotment under subparagraph (A) may receive less than 1 18 ⁄2 of 1 percent 

19 of the total amount allotted under such sub20 paragraph. 

21 (3) REALLOTMENT AND CARRY OVER.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—If one or more States 

23 does not receive an allotment under this sub24 section for any fiscal year, the Secretary may 

25 use the amount of the allotments for such State 

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1 or States for either or both of the following, in 

2 such amounts as the Secretary determines ap3 propriate: 

4 (i) To increase the allotments of 

5 States with approved applications, con6 sistent with subparagraph (B). 

7 (ii) To carry over the funds to the 

8 next fiscal year. 

9 (B) REALLOTMENT.—From the total 

10 amount available under subparagraph (A)(i), if 

11 any, the Secretary shall allot to each State with 

12 an approved application an amount that bears 

13 the same relationship to that total amount, as 

14 the amount the State received under paragraph 

15 (2) for that fiscal year bears to the amount that 

16 all States received under paragraph (2) for that 

17 fiscal year. 

18 (4) STATE.—For purposes of this subsection, 

19 the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50 States, the 

20 District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 

21 Puerto Rico. 

22 (c) FLEXIBILITY.—The Secretary may make minimal 

23 adjustments to allotments under this subsection, which 

24 shall neither lead to a significant increase or decrease in 

25 a State’s allotment determined under subsection (b), based 

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1 on a set of factors, such as the level of program participa2 tion and the estimated cost of the activities specified in 

3 the State plan. 

4 SEC. 115. STATE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA. 

5 A State is eligible to receive a grant under this sub6 title if the State demonstrates that the State— 

7 (1) has established, or will establish, early 

8 learning and development standards that describe 

9 what children from birth to kindergarten entry 

10 should know and be able to do, are universally de11 signed and developmentally, culturally, and linguis12 tically appropriate, are aligned with the State’s chal13 lenging academic content standards and challenging 

14 student academic achievement standards, as adopted 

15 under section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and 

16 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

17 6311(b)(1)), and cover the essential domains of 

18 school readiness, which address— 

19 (A) physical well-being and motor develop20 ment; 

21 (B) social and emotional development; 

22 (C) approaches to learning, including cre23 ative arts expression; 

24 (D) developmentally appropriate oral and 

25 written language and literacy development; and 

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1 (E) cognition and general knowledge, in2 cluding early mathematics and early scientific 

3 development; 

4 (2) has the ability, or will develop the ability, 

5 to link prekindergarten data with its elementary 

6 school and secondary school data for the purpose of 

7 collecting longitudinal information, including 

8 through the use of a unique State-assigned student 

9 identifier number, for all children participating in 

10 the State’s high-quality prekindergarten program 

11 and any other federally funded early childhood pro12 gram; 

13 (3) offers State-funded kindergarten for chil14 dren who are eligible children for that service in the 

15 State; and 

16 (4) has established a State Advisory Council on 

17 Early Childhood Education and Care. 

18 SEC. 116. STATE APPLICATIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Governor, or chief executive 

20 officer, of a State that desires to receive a grant under 

21 this subtitle shall submit an application, in consultation 

22 with Indian tribes and tribal organizations (as such terms 

23 are defined under the Child Care and Development Block 

24 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n)), if there are tribes 

25 and organizations in the State, to the Secretary at such 

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1 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 

2 the Secretary may reasonably require. At a minimum, 

3 each such application shall include— 

4 (1) an assurance that the State— 

5 (A) will coordinate with and continue to 

6 participate in the programs authorized under 

7 section 619 and part C of the Individuals with 

8 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419 and 

9 1431 et seq.), the Child Care and Development 

10 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et 

11 seq.), and the maternal, infant, and early child12 hood home visiting programs funded under sec13 tion 511 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 711) for the duration of the grant; 

15 (B) will designate a State-level entity, se16 lected by the Governor or chief executive officer 

17 of the State, such as an agency or joint inter18 agency office, for the administration of the 

19 grant, which shall coordinate and consult with 

20 the State educational agency if the entity is not 

21 the State educational agency; and 

22 (C) will establish, or certify the existence 

23 of, program standards for all State prekinder24 garten programs consistent with the definition 

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1 of a high-quality prekindergarten program 

2 under section 112; and 

3 (2) a description of— 

4 (A) how the State will use funds received 

5 under this subtitle and the State’s matching 

6 funds to provide high-quality prekindergarten 

7 programs with open enrollment for all children 

8 in the State who— 

9 (i) are described in section 112(9)(A); 

10 and 

11 (ii) are from families with incomes at 

12 or below 200 percent of the poverty line; 

13 (B) how the State plans to develop or en14 hance a system for monitoring eligible local en15 tities that are receiving funds under this sub16 title for compliance with quality standards de17 veloped by the State and to provide program 

18 improvement support, which may be accom19 plished through the use of a State-developed 

20 system for quality rating and improvement; 

21 (C) the State’s plan, if applicable, to ex22 pand participation in the State’s high-quality 

23 prekindergarten programs to children from 

24 families with incomes above 200 percent of the 

25 poverty line; 

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1 (D) the State’s comprehensive early learn2 ing assessment system, or how the State plans 

3 to develop such a system, ensuring that any as4 sessments are culturally, developmentally, and 

5 age-appropriate and consistent with the rec6 ommendations from the study on Develop7 mental Outcomes and Assessments for Young 

8 Children by the National Academy of Sciences, 

9 consistent with section 649(j) of the Head Start 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 9844); 

11 (E) the State’s plan to develop, implement, 

12 and make publically available the measures and 

13 targets described in section 118; 

14 (F) the State’s plan to increase the num15 ber of teachers with bachelor’s degrees in early 

16 childhood education, or with bachelor’s degrees 

17 in another closely related field and specialized 

18 training in early childhood education, including 

19 how higher education will support increasing 

20 the number of teachers with such degrees and 

21 training, including through the use of assess22 ments of prior learning, knowledge, and skills 

23 to facilitate and expedite attainment of such de24 grees; 

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1 (G) how activities funded under this sub2 title will be coordinated and integrated with 

3 Federal, State, and local services and programs 

4 that support early childhood education and 

5 care, including programs supported under this 

6 subtitle, the Elementary and Secondary Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), 

8 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

9 (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), the Head Start Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the Community Serv11 ices Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.), 

12 the Child Care and Development Block Grant 

13 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), the tem14 porary assistance for needy families program 

15 under part A of title IV of the Social Security 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the State incentive 

17 grant program under section 14006 of the 

18 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 

19 2009 (Public Law 111–5), Federally funded 

20 early literacy programs, the maternal, infant, 

21 and early childhood home visiting programs 

22 funded under section 511 of the Social Security 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 711), health improvements to 

24 child care funded under title XIX of the Social 

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1 gram under subtitle B of title VII of the 

2 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.), the Investing In Innova4 tion program under section 14007 of the Amer5 ican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

6 (Public Law 111–5), programs authorized 

7 under part E of title IV of the Social Security 

8 Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), the Fostering Con9 nections to Success and Increasing Adoptions 

10 Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–351), and any 

11 other Federal, State, or local early childhood 

12 education programs used in the State; 

13 (H) how the State will award subgrants to 

14 eligible local entities, and in awarding such sub15 grants, will facilitate a delivery system of high16 quality prekindergarten programs that includes 

17 diverse providers, such as providers in commu18 nity-based, public school, and private settings, 

19 and will consider the system’s impact on op20 tions for families; 

21 (I) if the State does not have a funding 

22 mechanism for subgranting funds to implement 

23 high-quality prekindergarten, how the State will 

24 use objective criteria in awarding subgrants to 

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1 quality prekindergarten programs, including ac2 tions it will take to ensure that eligible local en3 tities will coordinate with local educational 

4 agencies or other early learning providers, as 

5 appropriate, to carry out activities to provide 

6 children served under this subtitle with a suc7 cessful transition from preschool into kinder8 garten, which activities shall include— 

9 (i) aligning curricular objectives and 

10 instruction; 

11 (ii) providing staff professional devel12 opment, including opportunities for joint13 professional development on early learning 

14 and kindergarten through grade 3 stand15 ards, assessments, and curricula; 

16 (iii) coordinating family engagement 

17 and support services; and 

18 (iv) encouraging the shared use of fa19 cilities and transportation, as appropriate; 

20 (J) how the State early learning and devel21 opment standards described under section 

22 115(1) will address the needs of dual language 

23 learners, including by incorporating benchmarks 

24 related to English language development; 

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1 (K) the process by which the State will 

2 identify barriers, and propose solutions to over3 come such barriers, which may include seeking 

4 assistance under section 125, in the State to ef5 fectively use and integrate Federal, State, and 

6 local public funds and private funds for early 

7 childhood education that are available to the 

8 State on the date on which the application is 

9 submitted; 

10 (L) the State’s plan to support articulation 

11 agreements between public 2-year and public 4- 

12 year institutions of higher education in the 

13 State for early childhood teacher preparation 

14 programs and related fields; 

15 (M) an inventory of the State’s higher edu16 cation programs that prepare individuals for 

17 work in a high-quality prekindergarten pro18 gram, including— 

19 (i) certification programs; 

20 (ii) associate degree programs; 

21 (iii) baccalaureate degree programs; 

22 (iv) masters degree programs; and 

23 (v) other programs that lead to a spe24 cialization in early childhood education, or 

25 a related field; 

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1 (N) the State’s plan for ensuring that the 

2 higher education programs in the State have 

3 the capacity to prepare a workforce to provide 

4 high-quality prekindergarten programs; 

5 (O) the State’s plan for supporting work6 force development, including State and local 

7 policies that support prekindergarten instruc8 tional staff’s ability to earn a degree, certifi9 cation, or other specializations or qualifications, 

10 including policies on leave, substitutes, and 

11 child care services, including non-traditional 

12 hour child care; 

13 (P) the State’s plan for holding eligible 

14 local entities accountable for use of funds; 

15 (Q) the State’s process to ensure that the 

16 State’s early learning and development stand17 ards are integrated into the instructional and 

18 programmatic practices of high-quality pre19 kindergarten programs and related programs 

20 and services, such as those provided to children 

21 under section 619 and part C of the Individuals 

22 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

23 1419 and 1431 et seq.); 

24 (R) if the State funds full-day kinder25 garten programs, but such full-day kindermstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 garten programs are not available to all chil2 dren who are eligible to attend such programs 

3 in the State, how the State plans to increase 

4 the number of children in the State who are en5 rolled in full-day kindergarten programs and a 

6 strategy to implement such a plan; 

7 (S) if the State does not fund full-day kin8 dergarten programs, a description of how the 

9 State plans to establish such programs to 

10 strengthen the educational continuum for chil11 dren who will be involved in the State’s high12 quality prekindergarten program supported 

13 through grants authorized under this subtitle; 

14 (T) how the State will coordinate the 

15 State’s activities supported by grants under this 

16 subtitle with activities in State plans required 

17 under the Elementary and Secondary Education 

18 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Indi19 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), the Head Start Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the Child Care and Devel22 opment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

23 9858 et seq.), and the Adult Education and 

24 Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.); 

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1 (U) how the State will encourage eligible 

2 local entities to coordinate with community3 based learning resources, such as libraries, arts 

4 and arts education programs, appropriate 

5 media programs, family literacy programs, pub6 lic parks and recreation programs, museums, 

7 nutrition education programs, and programs 

8 supported by the Corporation for National and 

9 Community Service; 

10 (V) how the State will work with eligible 

11 local entities, in consultation with elementary 

12 school principals, to ensure that high-quality 

13 prekindergarten programs have sufficient facili14 ties to meet the needs of children eligible for 

15 prekindergarten; 

16 (W) how the State will support local early 

17 childhood coordinating entities, such as local 

18 early childhood councils, if applicable, and help 

19 such entities to coordinate early childhood edu20 cation programs with high-quality prekinder21 garten programs to ensure effective and effi22 cient delivery of early childhood education pro23 gram services; 

24 (X) how the State will ensure that the pro25 vision of high-quality prekindergarten programs 

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1 will not lead to a diminution of services for in2 fants and toddlers or disrupt the care of infants 

3 and toddlers in the geographic area served by 

4 the eligible local entity, which may include dem5 onstrating that the State will direct funds to 

6 provide high-quality early childhood education 

7 and care to infants and toddlers in accordance 

8 with section 117(d); and 

9 (Y) how the State will ensure that all high10 quality prekindergarten programs the State 

11 supports under this Act will conduct criminal 

12 history background checks on employees and 

13 applicants for employment with direct access to 

14 children. 

15 (b) CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The criminal history back17 ground checks required under subsection (a)(2)(Y) 

18 shall include— 

19 (A) a search of the State criminal registry 

20 or repository in the State in which the employee 

21 resides and previously resided; 

22 (B) a search of the State-based child abuse 

23 and neglect registries and databases in the 

24 State in which the employee resides and pre25 viously resided; 

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1 (C) a Federal Bureau of Investigation fin2 gerprint check using the Integrated Automated 

3 Fingerprint Identification System; and 

4 (D) a search of the National Sex Offender 

5 Registry established under section 119 of the 

6 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 

7 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16919). 

8 (2) PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT.—To be eli9 gible to receive a grant under this subtitle, a State 

10 shall prohibit an individual with direct access to chil11 dren from employment with a program supported 

12 with grant funds under this subtitle if the individual 

13 has been convicted of a violent felony or any violent 

14 or sexual crime against a minor, as defined by the 

15 State. 

16 (3) UPDATED CHECKS.—The criminal history 

17 background check that employees undergo as re18 quired under subsection (a)(2)(Y) shall be periodi19 cally repeated or updated in accordance with State 

20 law. 

21 (4) APPEAL PROCESS.—To be eligible to receive 

22 a grant under this subtitle, a State shall provide an 

23 individual with a timely process by which to— 

24 (A) appeal the results of a criminal history 

25 background check conducted under this section 

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1 to challenge the accuracy or completeness of the 

2 information produced by such background 

3 check; and 

4 (B) seek appropriate relief for any final 

5 employment decision based on materially inac6 curate or incomplete information produced by 

7 such background check. 

8 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICATION.—In developing 

9 an application for a grant under this subtitle, a State shall 

10 consult with the State Advisory Council on Early Child11 hood Education and Care and incorporate such Council’s 

12 recommendations, where applicable. 

13 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

14 construed to alter or otherwise affect the rights, remedies, 

15 and procedures afforded school employees, school district 

16 employees, and the employees of early childhood education 

17 programs under Federal, State, or local laws (including 

18 applicable regulations or court orders) or under the terms 

19 of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of under20 standing, or other agreements between such employees 

21 and their employers. 

22 SEC. 117. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 

23 (a) RESERVATION FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AC24 TIVITIES.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 

2 grant under this subtitle may reserve, for not more 

3 than the first 4 years such State receives such a 

4 grant, not more than 20 percent of the grant funds 

5 for quality improvement activities if such activities 

6 support the elements of high-quality prekindergarten 

7 programs. Such quality improvement activities may 

8 include supporting teachers and principals in a 

9 State’s high-quality prekindergarten program, li10 censed or regulated child care, or Head Start pro11 grams to enable such teachers to earn a bacca12 laureate degree in early childhood education, or 

13 closely related field, through activities which may in14 clude— 

15 (A) expanding or establishing scholarships, 

16 counseling, and compensation initiatives to 

17 cover the cost of tuition, fees, materials, trans18 portation, and release time for such teachers; 

19 and 

20 (B) providing ongoing professional develop21 ment opportunities, including regular in-class 

22 observation by individuals trained in observa23 tion, for such teachers, principals, if applicable, 

24 and teacher assistants to enable such teachers, 

25 principals, if applicable, and teacher assistants 

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1 to carry out the elements of high-quality pre2 kindergarten programs, which may include ac3 tivities that address— 

4 (i) promoting children’s development 

5 across the essential domains of early learn6 ing and development; 

7 (ii) developmentally appropriate teach8 er-child interaction; 

9 (iii) effective family engagement; 

10 (iv) providing culturally competent in11 struction; 

12 (v) working with a diversity of chil13 dren and families, including children with 

14 special needs and dual language learners; 

15 and 

16 (vi) childhood nutrition and physical 

17 education programs. 

18 (2) NOT SUBJECT TO MATCHING.—The amount 

19 reserved under paragraph (1) shall not be subject to 

20 the matching requirements under section 119. 

21 (3) COORDINATION.—A State that reserves an 

22 amount under paragraph (1) shall coordinate the 

23 use of such amount with activities funded under sec24 tion 658G of the Child Care and Development Block 

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1 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) and the Head 

2 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.). 

3 (4) CONSTRUCTION.—A State may not use 

4 funds reserved under this subsection to meet the re5 quirement described in section 112(9)(G). 

6 (b) SUBGRANTS FOR HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDER7 GARTEN PROGRAMS.—A State that receives a grant under 

8 this subtitle shall award subgrants of sufficient size to eli9 gible local entities to enable such eligible local entities to 

10 implement high-quality prekindergarten programs for chil11 dren described in section 112(9)(A) who reside within the 

12 State and are from families with incomes at or below 200 

13 percent of the poverty line. 

14 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—A State that receives a grant 

15 under this subtitle may reserve not more than 1 percent 

16 of the grant funds for administration of the grant, and 

17 may use part of that reservation for the maintenance of 

18 the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education 

19 and Care. 

20 (d) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PRO21 GRAMS FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS.— 

22 (1) USE OF ALLOTMENT FOR INFANTS AND

23 TODDLERS.—An eligible State may apply to use, and 

24 the appropriate Secretary may grant permission for 

25 the State to use, not more than 15 percent of the 

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1 funds made available through a grant received under 

2 this subtitle to award subgrants to early childhood 

3 education programs to provide high-quality early 

4 childhood education and care, consistent with the 

5 State’s early learning and development guidelines for 

6 infants and toddlers, to infants and toddlers who re7 side within the State and are from families with in8 comes at or below 200 percent of the poverty line. 

9 (2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to use the 

10 grant funds as described in paragraph (1), the State 

11 shall submit an application to the appropriate Sec12 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

13 such information as the Secretary may require. Such 

14 application shall, at a minimum, include a descrip15 tion of how the State will— 

16 (A) designate a lead agency which shall ad17 minister such funds; 

18 (B) ensure that such lead agency, in co19 ordination with the State Advisory Council on 

20 Early Childhood Education and Care, will col21 laborate with other agencies in administering 

22 programs supported under this subsection for 

23 infants and toddlers in order to obtain input 

24 about the appropriate use of such funds and en25 sure coordination with programs for infants and 

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1 toddlers funded under the Child Care and De2 velopment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

3 9858 et seq.), the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 9831 et seq.) (including any early learning 

5 quality partnerships established under section 

6 645B of the Head Start Act), the Race to the 

7 Top and Early Learning Challenge program 

8 under section 14006 of Public Law 111–5 (123 

9 Stat. 283), the maternal, infant, and early 

10 childhood home visiting programs funded under 

11 section 511 of the Social Security Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 711), and part C of the Individuals with 

13 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et 

14 seq.); 

15 (C) ensure that infants and toddlers who 

16 benefit from amounts made available under this 

17 subsection will transition to and have the oppor18 tunity to participate in a high-quality pre19 kindergarten program supported under this 

20 subtitle; 

21 (D) in awarding subgrants, give preference 

22 to early childhood education programs that 

23 have a plan to increase services to children with 

24 special needs, including children with develop25 mental delays or disabilities, children who are 

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1 dual language learners, homeless children, chil2 dren who are in foster care, children of migrant 

3 families, children eligible for nutrition assist4 ance under the United States Department of 

5 Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, or 

6 children in the child welfare system; and 

7 (E) give priority to activities carried out 

8 under this subsection that will increase access 

9 to high-quality early childhood education pro10 grams for infants and toddlers in local areas 

11 with significant concentrations of low-income 

12 families that do not currently benefit from such 

13 programs. 

14 (3) ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.—A State may use 

15 the grant funds as described in paragraph (1) to 

16 serve infants and toddlers only by working with 

17 early childhood education program providers that— 

18 (A) offer full-day, full-year care, or other19 wise meet the needs of working families; and 

20 (B) meet high-quality standards, such as— 

21 (i) Early Head Start program per22 formance standards under the Head Start 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.); or 

24 (ii) high quality, demonstrated, valid, 

25 and reliable program standards that have 

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1 been established through a national entity 

2 that accredits early childhood education 

3 programs. 

4 (4) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu6 cation shall bear responsibility for obligating 

7 and disbursing funds to support activities under 

8 this subsection and ensuring compliance with 

9 applicable laws and administrative require10 ments, subject to paragraph (3). 

11 (B) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Sec12 retary of Education and the Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services shall jointly ad14 minister activities supported under this sub15 section on such terms as such Secretaries shall 

16 set forth in an interagency agreement. The Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services shall be 

18 responsible for any final approval of a State’s 

19 application under this subsection that addresses 

20 the use of funds designated for services to in21 fants and toddlers. 

22 (C) APPROPRIATE SECRETARY.—In this 

23 subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate Secretary’’ 

24 used with respect to a function, means the Secmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 retary designated for that function under the 

2 interagency agreement. 

3 SEC. 118. PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND TARGETS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a grant 

5 under this subtitle shall develop, implement, and make 

6 publically available performance measures and targets for 

7 the activities carried out with grant funds. Such measures 

8 shall, at a minimum, track the State’s progress in— 

9 (1) increasing school readiness across all do10 mains for all categories of children described in sec11 tion 122(b)(7), including children with disabilities 

12 and dual language learners; 

13 (2) narrowing school readiness gaps between 

14 minority and nonminority children, and low-income 

15 children and more advantaged children, in prepara16 tion for kindergarten entry; 

17 (3) decreasing placement for children in ele18 mentary schools in special education programs and 

19 services as described in part B of the Individuals 

20 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et 

21 seq.); 

22 (4) increasing the number of programs meeting 

23 the criteria for high-quality prekindergarten pro24 grams, as defined by the State and in accordance 

25 with section 112; 

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1 (5) decreasing the need for grade to grade re2 tention in elementary school; 

3 (6) if applicable, ensuring that high-quality pre4 kindergarten programs do not experience instances 

5 of chronic absence among the children who partici6 pate in such programs; 

7 (7) increasing the number and percentage of 

8 low-income children in high-quality early childhood 

9 education programs that receive financial support 

10 through funds provided under this subtitle; and 

11 (8) providing high-quality nutrition services, 

12 nutrition education, physical activity, and obesity 

13 prevention programs. 

14 (b) PROHIBITION OF MISDIAGNOSIS PRACTICES.—A 

15 State shall not, in order to meet the performance meas16 ures and targets described in subsection (a), engage in 

17 practices or policies that will lead to the misdiagnosis or 

18 under-diagnosis of disabilities or developmental delays 

19 among children who are served through programs sup20 ported under this subtitle. 

21 SEC. 119. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS. 

22 (a) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), a State that receives a grant under this 

25 subtitle shall provide matching funds from non-Fedmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 eral sources, as described in subsection (c), in an 

2 amount equal to— 

3 (A) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro4 vided under the grant in the first year of grant 

5 administration; 

6 (B) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro7 vided under the grant in the second year of 

8 grant administration; 

9 (C) 20 percent of the Federal funds pro10 vided under the grant in the third year of grant 

11 administration; 

12 (D) 30 percent of the Federal funds pro13 vided under the grant in the fourth year of 

14 grant administration; 

15 (E) 40 percent of the Federal funds pro16 vided under the grant in the fifth year of grant 

17 administration; 

18 (F) 50 percent of the Federal funds pro19 vided under the grant in the sixth year of grant 

20 administration; 

21 (G) 75 percent of the Federal funds pro22 vided under the grant in the seventh year of 

23 grant administration; and 

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1 (H) 100 percent of the Federal funds pro2 vided under the grant in the eighth and fol3 lowing years of grant administration. 

4 (2) REDUCED MATCH RATE.—A State that 

5 meets the requirements under subsection (b) may 

6 provide matching funds from non-Federal sources at 

7 a reduced rate. The full reduced matching funds 

8 rate shall be in an amount equal to— 

9 (A) 5 percent of the Federal funds pro10 vided under the grant in the first year of grant 

11 administration; 

12 (B) 5 percent of the Federal funds pro13 vided under the grant in the second year of 

14 grant administration; 

15 (C) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro16 vided under the grant in the third year of grant 

17 administration; 

18 (D) 20 percent of the Federal funds pro19 vided under the grant in the fourth year of 

20 grant administration; 

21 (E) 30 percent of the Federal funds pro22 vided under the grant in the fifth year of grant 

23 administration; 

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1 (F) 40 percent of the Federal funds pro2 vided under the grant in the sixth year of grant 

3 administration; 

4 (G) 50 percent of the Federal funds pro5 vided under the grant in the seventh year of 

6 grant administration; 

7 (H) 75 percent of the Federal funds pro8 vided under the grant in the eighth year of 

9 grant administration; and 

10 (I) 100 percent of the Federal funds pro11 vided under the grant in the ninth and fol12 lowing years of the grant administration. 

13 (b) REDUCED MATCH RATE ELIGIBILITY.—A State 

14 that receives a grant under this subtitle may provide 

15 matching funds from non-Federal sources at the full re16 duced rate under subsection (a)(2) if the State— 

17 (1)(A) offers enrollment in high-quality pre18 kindergarten programs to not less than half of chil19 dren in the State who are— 

20 (i) age 4 on the eligibility determination 

21 date; and 

22 (ii) from families with incomes at or below 

23 200 percent of the poverty line; and 

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1 (B) has a plan for continuing to expand access 

2 to high-quality prekindergarten programs for such 

3 children in the State; and 

4 (2) has a plan to expand access to high-quality 

5 prekindergarten programs to children from moderate 

6 income families whose income exceeds 200 percent of 

7 the poverty line. 

8 (c) NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES.— 

9 (1) IN CASH.—A State shall provide the match10 ing funds under this section in cash. 

11 (2) FUNDS TO BE CONSIDERED AS MATCHING

12 FUNDS.—A State may include, as part of the State’s 

13 matching funds under this section, not more than 10 

14 percent of the amount of State funds designated for 

15 State prekindergarten programs or to supplement 

16 Head Start programs under the Head Start Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) as of the date of enactment of 

18 this Act, but may not include any funds that are at19 tributed as matching funds, as part of a non-Federal 

20 share, or as a maintenance of effort requirement, for 

21 any other Federal program. 

22 (d) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a State reduces its com24 bined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate ex25 penditures within the State to support early childmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 hood education programs for any fiscal year that a 

2 State receives a grant authorized under this subtitle 

3 relative to the previous fiscal year, the Secretary 

4 shall reduce support for such State under this sub5 title by the same amount as the decline in State and 

6 local effort for such fiscal year. 

7 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re8 quirements of paragraph (1) if the Secretary deter9 mines that a waiver would be appropriate— 

10 (A) due to a precipitous decline in the fi11 nancial resources of a State as a result of un12 foreseen economic hardship or a natural dis13 aster that has necessitated across-the-board re14 ductions in State services, including early child15 hood education programs; or 

16 (B) due to the circumstances of a State re17 quiring reductions in specific programs, includ18 ing early childhood education, if the State pre19 sents to the Secretary a justification and dem20 onstration why other programs could not be re21 duced and how early childhood programs in the 

22 State will not be disproportionately harmed by 

23 such State action. 

24 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds re25 ceived under this title shall be used to supplement and 

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1 not supplant other Federal, State, and local public funds 

2 expended on public prekindergarten programs in the 

3 State. 

4 SEC. 120. ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY APPLICATIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible local entity desiring to 

6 receive a subgrant under section 117(b) shall submit an 

7 application to the State, at such time, in such manner, 

8 and containing such information as the State may reason9 ably require. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under 

11 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

12 (1) PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT.—A de13 scription of how the eligible local entity plans to en14 gage the parents and families of the children such 

15 entity serves and ensure that parents and families of 

16 eligible children are aware of the services provided 

17 by the eligible local entity, which shall include a plan 

18 to— 

19 (A) carry out meaningful parent and fam20 ily engagement, through the implementation 

21 and replication of evidence-based or promising 

22 practices and strategies, which shall be coordi23 nated with parent and family engagement strat24 egies supported under the Individuals with Dis25 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) 

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1 and part A of title I and title V of the Elemen2 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 6311 et seq. and 7201 et seq.), if appli4 cable, in order to— 

5 (i) provide parents and family mem6 bers with the skills and opportunities nec7 essary to become full partners in their chil8 dren’s education, particularly the families 

9 of dual language learners and children 

10 with disabilities; 

11 (ii) improve child development; and 

12 (iii) strengthen relationships among 

13 prekindergarten staff and parents and 

14 family members; and 

15 (B) perform community outreach to en16 courage families with eligible children to partici17 pate in the eligible local entity’s high-quality 

18 prekindergarten program, including— 

19 (i) homeless children; 

20 (ii) dual language learners; 

21 (iii) children in foster care; 

22 (iv) children with disabilities; and 

23 (v) migrant children. 

24 (2) COORDINATION AND ALIGNMENT.—A de25 scription of how the eligible local entity will— 

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1 (A) coordinate, if applicable, the eligible 

2 local entity’s activities with— 

3 (i) Head Start agencies (consistent 

4 with section 642(e)(5) of the Head Start 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 9837(e)(5))), if the local 

6 entity is not a Head Start agency; 

7 (ii) local educational agencies, if the 

8 local entity is not a local educational agen9 cy; 

10 (iii) providers of services under part C 

11 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu12 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 

13 (iv) programs carried out under sec14 tion 619 of the Individuals with Disabil15 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419); and 

16 (v) if feasible, other entities carrying 

17 out early childhood education programs 

18 and services within the area served by the 

19 local educational agency. 

20 (B) if applicable, develop and implement a 

21 systematic procedure for transferring, with pa22 rental consent, early childhood education pro23 gram records for each participating child to the 

24 school in which such child will enroll in kinder25 garten; 

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1 (C) develop a plan with local elementary 

2 schools to promote continuity of develop3 mentally appropriate instructional programs 

4 and shared expectations for children’s learning 

5 and development as children transition to kin6 dergarten; 

7 (D) organize, if feasible, and participate in 

8 joint training, when available, including transi9 tion-related training for school staff and early 

10 childhood education program staff; 

11 (E) establish comprehensive transition poli12 cies and procedures with elementary school 

13 principals, as applicable, for children served by 

14 the eligible local entity that support the school 

15 readiness of children transitioning to kinder16 garten; 

17 (F) conduct outreach to parents, families, 

18 and elementary school teachers and principals 

19 to discuss the educational, developmental, and 

20 other needs of children entering kindergarten; 

21 (G) help parents, including parents of chil22 dren who are dual language learners, under23 stand and engage with the instructional and 

24 other services provided by the kindergarten in 

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1 which such child will enroll after participation 

2 in a high-quality prekindergarten program; and 

3 (H) develop and implement a system to in4 crease program participation of underserved 

5 populations of eligible children, especially home6 less children, children eligible for a free or re7 duced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell 

8 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et 

9 seq.), parents of children who are dual language 

10 learners, and parents of children with disabil11 ities. 

12 (3) PROTECTIONS FOR SPECIAL POPU13 LATIONS.—A description of how the eligible local en14 tity will meet the diverse needs of children in the 

15 community to be served, including children with dis16 abilities, children whose native language is not 

17 English, children with other special needs, children 

18 in the State foster care system, and homeless chil19 dren. Such description shall demonstrate, at a min20 imum, how the entity plans to— 

21 (A) ensure the eligible local entity’s high22 quality prekindergarten program is accessible 

23 and appropriate for children with disabilities 

24 and dual language learners; 

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1 (B) establish effective procedures for pro2 viding necessary early intervening services to 

3 children with disabilities prior to an eligibility 

4 determination by the State or local agency re5 sponsible for providing services under section 

6 619 or part C of the Individuals with Disabil7 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419 and 1431 

8 et seq.); 

9 (C) establish effective procedures for time10 ly referral of children with disabilities to the 

11 State or local agency described in subparagraph 

12 (B); 

13 (D) ensure that the eligible local entity’s 

14 high-quality prekindergarten program works 

15 with appropriate entities to address the elimi16 nation of barriers to immediate and continuous 

17 enrollment for homeless children; and 

18 (E) ensure access to and continuity of en19 rollment in high-quality prekindergarten pro20 grams for migratory children, as defined under 

21 section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary 

22 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399), if ap23 plicable, and homeless children, including 

24 through policies and procedures that require— 

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1 (i) outreach to identify migratory and 

2 homeless children; 

3 (ii) immediate enrollment, including 

4 enrollment during the period of time when 

5 documents typically required for enroll6 ment, including health and immunization 

7 records, proof of eligibility, and other docu8 ments, are obtained; 

9 (iii) continuous enrollment and par10 ticipation in the same high-quality pre11 kindergarten program for a child, even if 

12 the child moves out of the program’s serv13 ice area, if that enrollment and participa14 tion are in the child’s best interest, includ15 ing by providing transportation when nec16 essary; 

17 (iv) professional development for high18 quality prekindergarten program staff re19 garding migratory children and homeless20 ness among families with young children; 

21 and 

22 (v) in serving homeless children, col23 laboration with local educational agency li24 aisons designated under section 

25 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento 

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1 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), and local homeless 

3 service providers. 

4 (4) ON-SITE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES.—A 

5 description of how the eligible local entity plans to 

6 provide on-site comprehensive services, as described 

7 in section 112(9)(I) to the children the eligible local 

8 entity serves. Such description shall provide informa9 tion on how the entity will— 

10 (A) use a recently conducted data-driven 

11 assessment or conduct a data-driven community 

12 assessment in coordination with members of the 

13 community, including parents and community 

14 organizations, which— 

15 (i) may involve an external partner 

16 with expertise in conducting such needs 

17 analysis, to determine the most appro18 priate social or other support services to 

19 offer through the eligible local entity’s on20 site comprehensive services to children who 

21 participate in high-quality prekindergarten 

22 programs; and 

23 (ii) shall consider the resources avail24 able at the school, local educational agen25 cy, and community levels to address the 

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1 needs of the community and improve child 

2 outcomes; and 

3 (B) have a coordinated system to facilitate 

4 the screening, referral, and provision of services 

5 related to health, nutrition, mental health, dis6 ability, and family support for children served 

7 by the eligible local entity. 

8 (5) WORKFORCE.—A description of how the eli9 gible local entity plans to support the instructional 

10 staff of such entity’s high-quality prekindergarten 

11 program, which shall, at a minimum, include a plan 

12 to provide high-quality professional development, or 

13 facilitate the provision of high-quality professional 

14 development through an outside partner with exper15 tise and a demonstrated track record of success, 

16 based on scientifically valid research, that will im17 prove the knowledge and skills of high-quality pre18 kindergarten teachers and staff through activities, 

19 which may include— 

20 (A) acquiring content knowledge and learn21 ing teaching strategies needed to provide effec22 tive instruction that addresses the State’s early 

23 learning and development standards described 

24 under section 115(1); 

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1 (B) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

2 teachers and staff to pursue specialized training 

3 in early childhood development; 

4 (C) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

5 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

6 skills to provide instruction and appropriate 

7 language and support services to increase the 

8 English language skills of dual language learn9 ers; 

10 (D) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

11 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

12 skills to provide developmentally appropriate in13 struction for children with disabilities; 

14 (E) promoting classroom management; 

15 (F) providing high-quality induction and 

16 support for incoming teachers and staff serving 

17 high-quality prekindergarten programs, includ18 ing through the use of mentoring programs that 

19 have a demonstrated track record of success; 

20 (G) promoting the acquisition of relevant 

21 credentials, including in ways that support ca22 reer advancement through career ladders; and 

23 (H) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

24 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

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1 skills to provide culturally competent instruc2 tion for children from diverse backgrounds. 

3 SEC. 121. REQUIRED SUBGRANT ACTIVITIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible local entity that re5 ceives a subgrant under section 117(b) shall use the 

6 subgrant funds to implement the elements of a high-qual7 ity prekindergarten program for the children described in 

8 section 117(b). 

9 (b) COORDINATION.— 

10 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PARTNER11 SHIPS WITH LOCAL EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

12 PROGRAMS.—A local educational agency that re13 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall provide an 

14 assurance that the local educational agency will 

15 enter into strong partnerships with local early child16 hood education programs, including programs sup17 ported through the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 

18 et seq.). 

19 (2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITIES THAT ARE NOT

20 LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—An eligible local 

21 entity that is not a local educational agency that re22 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall provide an 

23 assurance that such entity will enter into strong 

24 partnerships with local educational agencies. 

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1 SEC. 122. REPORT AND EVALUATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives a grant 

3 under this subtitle shall prepare an annual report, in such 

4 manner and containing such information as the Secretary 

5 may reasonably require. 

6 (b) CONTENTS.—A report prepared under subsection 

7 (a) shall contain, at a minimum— 

8 (1) a description of the manner in which the 

9 State has used the funds made available through the 

10 grant and a report of the expenditures made with 

11 the funds; 

12 (2) a summary of the State’s progress toward 

13 providing access to high-quality prekindergarten pro14 grams for children eligible for such services, as de15 termined by the State, from families with incomes at 

16 or below 200 percent of the poverty line, including 

17 the percentage of funds spent on children from fami18 lies with incomes— 

19 (A) at or below 100 percent of the poverty 

20 line; 

21 (B) at or below between 101 and 150 per22 cent of the poverty line; and 

23 (C) at or below between 151 and 200 per24 cent of the poverty line; 

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1 (3) an evaluation of the State’s progress toward 

2 achieving the State’s performance targets, described 

3 in section 118; 

4 (4) data on the number of high-quality pre5 kindergarten program teachers and staff in the 

6 State, including teacher turnover rates and teacher 

7 compensation levels compared to teachers in elemen8 tary schools and secondary schools, according to the 

9 setting in which such teachers and staff work (which 

10 settings shall include, at a minimum, Head Start 

11 programs, public prekindergarten, and child care 

12 programs) who received training or education during 

13 the period of the grant and remained in the early 

14 childhood education program field; 

15 (5) data on the kindergarten readiness of chil16 dren in the State; 

17 (6) a description of the State’s progress in over18 coming barriers to the effective use of Federal, 

19 State, and local public funds and private funds, for 

20 early childhood education; 

21 (7) the number and percentage of children in 

22 the State participating in high-quality prekinder23 garten programs, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 

24 family income, child age, disability, whether the chilmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 dren are homeless children, and whether the children 

2 are dual language learners; 

3 (8) data on the availability, affordability, and 

4 quality of infant and toddler care in the State; 

5 (9) the number of operational minutes per week 

6 and per year for each eligible local entity that re7 ceives a subgrant; 

8 (10) the local educational agency and zip code 

9 in which each eligible local entity that receives a 

10 subgrant operates; 

11 (11) information, for each of the local edu12 cational agencies described in paragraph (10), on 

13 the percentage of the costs of the public early child14 hood education programs that is funded from Fed15 eral, from State, and from local sources, including 

16 the percentages from specific funding programs; 

17 (12) data on the number and percentage of 

18 children in the State participating in public kinder19 garten programs, disaggregated by race, family in20 come, child age, disability, whether the children are 

21 homeless children, and whether the children are dual 

22 language learners, with information on whether such 

23 programs are offered— 

24 (A) for a full-day; and 

25 (B) at no cost to families; and 

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1 (13) data on the number of individuals in the 

2 State who are supported with scholarships, if appli3 cable, to meet the baccalaureate degree requirement 

4 for high-quality prekindergarten programs, as de5 fined in section 112. 

6 (c) SUBMISSION.—A State shall submit the annual 

7 report prepared under subsection (a), at the end of each 

8 fiscal year, to the Secretary, the Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services, and the State Advisory Council on Early 

10 Childhood Education and Care. 

11 (d) COOPERATION.—An eligible local entity that re12 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall cooperate with 

13 all Federal and State efforts to evaluate the effectiveness 

14 of the program the entity implements with subgrant funds. 

15 (e) NATIONAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall compile 

16 and summarize the annual State reports described under 

17 subsection (c) and shall prepare and submit an annual re18 port to Congress that includes a summary of such State 

19 reports. 

20 SEC. 123. PROHIBITION OF REQUIRED PARTICIPATION OR 

21 USE OF FUNDS FOR ASSESSMENTS. 

22 (a) PROHIBITION ON REQUIRED PARTICIPATION.—A 

23 State receiving a grant under this subtitle shall not re24 quire any child to participate in any Federal, State, local, 

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1 or private early childhood education program, including a 

2 high-quality prekindergarten program. 

3 (b) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR ASSESS4 MENT.—A State receiving a grant under this subtitle and 

5 an eligible local entity receiving a subgrant under this sub6 title shall not use any grant or subgrant funds to carry 

7 out any of the following activities: 

8 (1) An assessment that provides rewards or 

9 sanctions for individual children or teachers. 

10 (2) An assessment that is used as the primary 

11 or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. 

12 (3) Evaluating children, other than for the pur13 poses of— 

14 (A) improving instruction or the classroom 

15 environment; 

16 (B) targeting professional development; 

17 (C) determining the need for health, men18 tal health, disability, or family support services; 

19 (D) program evaluation for the purposes of 

20 program improvement and parent information; 

21 and 

22 (E) improving parent and family engage23 ment. 

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1 SEC. 124. COORDINATION WITH HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) INCREASED ACCESS FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN.— 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

4 Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services shall develop a process for use in the 

6 event that Head Start programs funded under the Head 

7 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) operate in States or 

8 regions that have achieved sustained universal, voluntary 

9 access to 4-year-old children who reside within the State 

10 and who are from families with incomes at or below 200 

11 percent of the poverty line, to high-quality prekinder12 garten programs and how such Head Start programs will 

13 begin converting slots for children who are age 4 on the 

14 eligibility determination date to children who are age 3 

15 on the eligibility determination date, or, when appropriate, 

16 converting Head Start Programs into Early Head Start 

17 programs to serve infants and toddlers. 

18 (b) COMMUNITY NEED AND RESOURCES.—The proc19 ess described in subsection (a) shall— 

20 (1) be carried out on a case-by-case basis and 

21 shall ensure that sufficient resources and time are 

22 allocated for the development of such a process so 

23 that no child or cohort is excluded from currently 

24 available services; and 

25 (2) ensure that any conversion shall be based 

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1 ber of children served in a State or region that has 

2 achieved sustained, universal, voluntary access to 

3 high-quality prekindergarten programs. 

4 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT AND NOTICE.—Not fewer than 

5 90 days after the development of the proposed process de6 scribed in subsection (a), the Secretary and the Secretary 

7 of Health and Human Services shall publish a notice de8 scribing such proposed process for conversion in the Fed9 eral Register providing at least 90 days for public com10 ment. The Secretaries shall review and consider public 

11 comments prior to finalizing the process for conversion of 

12 Head Start slots and programs. 

13 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Concurrently with 

14 publishing a notice in the Federal Register as described 

15 in subsection (c), the Secretaries shall provide a report 

16 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

17 House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 

18 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate that pro19 vides a detailed description of the proposed process de20 scribed in subsection (a), including a description of the 

21 degree to which Head Start programs are providing State22 funded high-quality prekindergarten programs as a result 

23 of the grant opportunity provided under this subtitle in 

24 States where Head Start programs are eligible for conver25 sion described in subsection (a). 

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1 SEC. 125. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN PROGRAM ADMINIS2 TRATION. 

3 In providing technical assistance to carry out activi4 ties under this title, the Secretary shall coordinate that 

5 technical assistance, in appropriate cases, with technical 

6 assistance provided by the Secretary of Health and 

7 Human Services to carry out the programs authorized 

8 under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the 

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

10 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and the maternal, infant and early 

11 childhood home visiting programs assisted under section 

12 511 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711). 

13 SEC. 126. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

15 this subtitle— 

16 (1) $1,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

17 (2) $3,250,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; 

18 (3) $5,780,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

19 (4) $7,580,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

20 (5) $8,960,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; and 

21 (6) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

22 fiscal years 2019 through 2023. 

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1 Subtitle B—Prekindergarten 

2 Development Grants 

3 SEC. 151. PREKINDERGARTEN DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education, in 

5 consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 

6 Services, shall award competitive grants to States that 

7 wish to increase their capacity and build the infrastructure 

8 within the State to offer high-quality prekindergarten pro9 grams. 

10 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State that is not receiving funds 

11 under section 115 may compete for grant funds under this 

12 subtitle if the State provides an assurance that the State 

13 will, through the support of grant funds awarded under 

14 this subtitle, meet the eligibility requirements of section 

15 115 not later than 3 years after the date the State first 

16 receives grant funds under this subtitle. 

17 (c) GRANT DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 

18 grants under this subtitle for a period of not more than 

19 3 years. Such grants shall not be renewed. 

20 (d) APPLICATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Governor, or chief execu22 tive officer of a State, that desires to receive a grant 

23 under this subtitle shall submit an application to the 

24 Secretary of Education at such time, in such man25 ner, and accompanied by such information as the 

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1 Secretary may reasonably require, including a de2 scription of how the State plans to become eligible 

3 for grants under section 115 by not later than 3 

4 years after the date the State first receives grant 

5 funds under this subtitle. 

6 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICATION.—In devel7 oping an application for a grant under this subtitle, 

8 a State shall consult with the State Advisory Council 

9 on Early Childhood Education and Care, and incor10 porate their recommendations, where applicable. 

11 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

13 grant under this subtitle, a State shall contribute for 

14 the activities for which the grant was awarded non15 Federal matching funds in an amount equal to not 

16 less than 20 percent of the amount of the grant. 

17 (2) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—To satisfy the re18 quirement of paragraph (1), a State may use— 

19 (A) cash; or 

20 (B) an in-kind contribution. 

21 (3) FINANCIAL HARDSHIP WAIVER.—The Sec22 retary may waive paragraph (1) or reduce the 

23 amount of matching funds required under that para24 graph for a State that has submitted an application 

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1 onstrates, in the application, a need for such a waiv2 er or reduction due to extreme financial hardship, as 

3 determined by the Secretary of Education. 

4 (f) SUBGRANTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State awarded a grant 

6 under this subtitle may use the grant funds to 

7 award subgrants to eligible local entities, as defined 

8 in section 112, to carry out the activities under the 

9 grant. 

10 (2) SUBGRANTEES.—An eligible local entity 

11 awarded a subgrant under paragraph (1) shall com12 ply with the requirements of this subtitle relating to 

13 grantees, as appropriate. 

14 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec16 tion— 

17 (1) $750,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

18 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

19 fiscal years 2015 through 2023. 

20 TITLE II—LEARNING QUALITY 

21 PARTNERSHIPS 

22 SEC. 201. PURPOSES. 

23 The purposes of this title are to— 

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1 (1) increase the availability of, and access to, 

2 high-quality early childhood education and care pro3 gramming for infants and toddlers; 

4 (2) support a higher quality of, and increase ca5 pacity for, that programming in both child care cen6 ters and family child care homes; and 

7 (3) encourage the provision of comprehensive, 

8 coordinated full-day services and supports for in9 fants and toddlers. 

10 SEC. 202. EARLY LEARNING QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS. 

11 The Head Start Act is amended— 

12 (1) section 645A(e) (42 U.S.C. 9840a(e)) is 

13 amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(e) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—The Sec15 retary shall award grants under this section on a competi16 tive basis to applicants meeting the criteria in subsection 

17 (d) (giving priority to entities with a record of providing 

18 early, continuous, and comprehensive childhood develop19 ment and family services and entities that agree to partner 

20 with a center-based or family child care provider to carry 

21 out the activities described in section 645B).’’; and 

22 (2) by inserting after section 645A (42 U.S.C. 

23 9840a) the following: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 645B. EARLY LEARNING QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants 

3 to Early Head Start agencies to partner with center-based 

4 or family child care providers, particularly those that re5 ceive support under the Child Care and Development 

6 Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), that agree 

7 to meet program performance standards that are de8 scribed in section 641A(a)(1) and applicable Early Head 

9 Start standards described in section 645A, with funding 

10 and technical assistance from the Early Head Start agen11 cy. 

12 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary shall award grants 

15 under this section in a manner consistent with sec16 tion 645A(e). 

17 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE PRIORITY.—In awarding 

18 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give 

19 priority to applicants— 

20 ‘‘(A) that propose to create strong align21 ment of programs with maternal, infant and 

22 early childhood home visiting programs assisted 

23 under section 511 of the Social Security Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 711), State-funded prekindergarten 

25 programs, programs carried out under the 

26 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 

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1 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and other 

2 programs supported under this Act, to create a 

3 strong continuum of high-quality services for 

4 children from birth to school entry; and 

5 ‘‘(B) that seek to work with child care pro6 viders across settings, including center-based 

7 and home-based programs. 

8 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION.—From funds appro10 priated to carry out this section, the Secretary 

11 shall reserve— 

12 ‘‘(i) not less than 3 percent of such 

13 funds for Indian Head Start programs 

14 that serve young children; 

15 ‘‘(ii) not less than 4.5 percent for mi16 grant and seasonal Head Start programs 

17 that serve young children; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) not less than 0.2 percent for 

19 programs funded under clause (iv) or (v) 

20 of section 640(a)(2)(B). 

21 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION AMONG STATES.—The 

22 Secretary shall allocate funds appropriated to 

23 carry out this section and not reserved under 

24 subparagraph (A) among the States proportion25 ally based on the number of young children 

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1 from families whose income is below the poverty 

2 line residing in such States. 

3 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF CHILDREN.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Partnerships formed 

5 through assistance provided under this section may 

6 serve children through age 3. 

7 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—The standards applied to 

8 children served under this section shall be consistent 

9 with those applied to 3-year-old children otherwise 

10 served under this Act. 

11 ‘‘(d) PARTNERSHIPS.—An Early Head Start agency 

12 that receives a grant under this section shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) enter into a contractual relationship with 

14 a center-based or family child care provider to raise 

15 the quality of such provider’s programs so that the 

16 provider meets the program performance standards 

17 described in subsection (a) through activities that 

18 may include— 

19 ‘‘(A) expanding the center-based or family 

20 child care provider’s programs through financial 

21 support; 

22 ‘‘(B) providing training, technical assist23 ance, and support to the provider in order to 

24 help the provider meet the program perform25 ance standards, which may include supporting 

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1 program and partner staff in earning a child 

2 development associate credential, associate’s de3 gree, or baccalaureate degree in early childhood 

4 education or a closely related field for working 

5 with infants and toddlers; and 

6 ‘‘(C) blending funds received under the 

7 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 

8 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and the Early 

9 Head Start program carried out under section 

10 645A in order to provide high-quality child 

11 care, for a full day, that meets the program 

12 performance standards; 

13 ‘‘(2) develop and implement a proposal to re14 cruit and enter into the contract with a center-based 

15 or family child care provider, particularly a provider 

16 that serves children who receive assistance under the 

17 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990 

18 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); 

19 ‘‘(3) create a clear and realizable timeline to in20 crease the quality and capacity of a center-based or 

21 family child care provider so that the provider meets 

22 the program performance standards described in 

23 subsection (a); and 

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1 ‘‘(4) align activities and services provided 

2 through funding under this section with the Head 

3 Start Child Outcomes Framework. 

4 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS.—Prior to awarding grants under 

5 this section, the Secretary shall establish standards to en6 sure that the responsibility and expectations of the Early 

7 Head Start Agency and the partner child care providers 

8 are clearly defined. 

9 ‘‘(f) DESIGNATION RENEWAL.—A partner child care 

10 provider that receives assistance through a grant provided 

11 under this section shall be exempt, for a period of 18 

12 months, from the designation renewal requirements under 

13 section 641(c). 

14 ‘‘(g) SURVEY OF EARLY HEAD START AGENCIES AND

15 REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of the Strong Start for America’s Chil17 dren Act, the Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) conduct a survey of Early Head Start 

19 agencies to determine the extent of barriers to enter20 ing into early learning quality partnership agree21 ments under this section on Early Head Start agen22 cies and on child care providers; and 

23 ‘‘(2) submit information obtained from the sur24 vey conducted under paragraph (1), with suggested 

25 steps to overcome such barriers, in a report to the 

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1 Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

3 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen4 ate, including a detailed description of the degree to 

5 which Early Head Start agencies are utilizing the 

6 funds provided. 

7 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec9 tion— 

10 ‘‘(1) $4,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

11 ‘‘(2) such sums as may be necessary for each 

12 of fiscal years 2015 through 2023.’’. 

13 TITLE III—CHILD CARE 

14 SEC. 301. STATE PLAN. 

15 (a) COORDINATION; MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY; SUPPLE16 MENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Section 658E(c)(2) of the Child 

17 Care and Development Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

18 9858c(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(I) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FED21 ERAL BLOCK GRANTS.—Certify that the State 

22 will develop and implement a process, not later 

23 than 3 years after the date of enactment of the 

24 Early Childhood Education Improvement Act of 

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1 ceives under the program of block grants for so2 cial services provided under subtitle A of title 

3 XX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397 

4 et seq.) and the Community Services Block 

5 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.) that is used 

6 for child care services is subject to the require7 ments and limitations of this subchapter. 

8 ‘‘(J) MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY.—Demonstrate 

9 that each child that receives assistance in ac10 cordance with this subchapter in the State will 

11 receive such assistance for not less than 12 

12 months (regardless of a change in family in13 come for the child’s family, if family income 

14 does not exceed 85 percent of the State median 

15 income for a family of the same size) before the 

16 State redetermines the eligibility of the child 

17 under this subchapter. 

18 ‘‘(K) SUPPLEMENTING AND NOT SUP19 PLANTING CHILD CARE FUNDS.—Provide an as20 surance that funds received by the State to 

21 carry out this subchapter shall be used to sup22 plement and not supplant other Federal, State, 

23 and local public funds for child care services 

24 and activities.’’. 

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1 (b) ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF

2 CHILD CARE.—Section 658G of the Child Care and Devel3 opment Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘A State’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN

6 GENERAL.—A State’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) FORMULA GRANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal years for which 

10 the amount appropriated to carry out this sub11 chapter exceeds $2,400,000,000, the Secretary may 

12 reserve not less than $100,000,000 for formula 

13 grants to States, Indian tribes, and tribal organiza14 tions to improve the quality of child care programs 

15 and services. Such funds may be used to— 

16 ‘‘(A) support training, education, and 

17 other professional development activities for 

18 child care staff, which may include coaching, 

19 mentoring, and other on-site training and tech20 nical assistance; 

21 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to help 

22 providers become licensed and comply with ap23 plicable licensing and regulatory requirements; 

24 ‘‘(C) improve the compensation of the child 

25 care workforce, including through rewards or 

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1 bonuses linked to increased credential or degree 

2 completion; 

3 ‘‘(D) help programs meet applicable health 

4 and safety standards; and 

5 ‘‘(E) provide technical assistance to help 

6 providers implement nutrition, physical activity, 

7 or obesity prevention programs. 

8 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—A State, Indian tribe, or 

9 tribal organization that receives a grant under this 

10 section shall coordinate with a State Advisory Coun11 cil on Early Childhood Education and Care in co12 ordinating activities carried out under this sub13 section with other quality-related activities directed 

14 toward child care programs. 

15 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY TO HIGH POVERTY AREAS.—A 

16 State, Indian tribe, or tribal organization that re17 ceives a grant under this section shall provide assur18 ances that such grant funds will be prioritized— 

19 ‘‘(A) to areas with significant concentra20 tions of poverty and unemployment and that 

21 lack access to high-quality child care, including 

22 high-quality early childhood education pro23 grams; or 

24 ‘‘(B) for otherwise underserved popu25 lations, such as children with disabilities (as demstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 fined in section 602 of the Individuals with Dis2 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401)), 

3 homeless children, and children who are dual 

4 language learners (as such term is defined in 

5 section 112 of the Strong Start for America’s 

6 Children Act).’’. 

7 (c) DEMONSTRATION AND PILOT PROJECTS.—Sec8 tion 658I of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 

9 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858g) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION AND PILOT PROJECTS.—The 

12 Secretary may, through grants or contracts, carry out 

13 demonstration and pilot projects that are consistent with 

14 the purposes of this subchapter and are designed to de15 velop and implement strategies and practices useful in 

16 supporting the needs of low-income families in-need of, or 

17 receiving, child care services. Such projects shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) include the provision of direct services to 

19 individuals; 

20 ‘‘(2) be subject to measures of performance 

21 based on indicators developed and prescribed by the 

22 Secretary in consultation with— 

23 ‘‘(A) individuals and organizations cur24 rently administering programs that receive sup25 port under this subchapter; 

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1 ‘‘(B) individuals of other relevant Federal 

2 agencies and departments; and 

3 ‘‘(C) individuals in relevant academic dis4 ciplines; and 

5 ‘‘(3) include an evaluation component.’’. 

6 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

7 658B of the Child Care and Development Block Grant of 

8 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 658B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

11 this subchapter— 

12 ‘‘(1) $2,478,313,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

13 ‘‘(2) such sums as may be necessary for each 

14 of fiscal years 2015 through 2023.’’. 

15 TITLE IV—MATERNAL, INFANT, 

16 AND EARLY CHILDHOOD 

17 HOME VISITING PROGRAM 

18 SEC. 401. SENSE OF SENATE. 

19 It is the sense of the Senate that— 

20 (1) from the prenatal period to the first day of 

21 kindergarten, children’s development rapidly pro22 gresses at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent 

23 stage of life; 

24 (2) as reported by the National Academy of 

25 Sciences in 2001, striking disparities exist in what 

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1 children know and can do that are evident well be2 fore they enter kindergarten; these differences are 

3 strongly associated with social and economic cir4 cumstances, and they are predictive of subsequent 

5 academic performance; 

6 (3) research has consistently demonstrated that 

7 investments in high-quality programs that serve in8 fants and toddlers better positions those children for 

9 success in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary 

10 education as well as helping children develop the 

11 critical physical, emotional, social, and cognitive 

12 skills that they will need for the rest of their lives; 

13 (4) in 2011, there were 11,000,000 infants and 

14 toddlers living in the United States and 49 percent 

15 of these children came from low-income families liv16 ing with incomes at or below 200 percent of the 

17 Federal poverty guidelines; 

18 (5) the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood 

19 Home Visiting (MIECHV) program was authorized 

20 by Congress to facilitate collaboration and partner21 ship at the Federal, State, and community levels to 

22 improve health and development outcomes for at-risk 

23 children, including those from low-income families, 

24 through evidence-based home visiting programs; 

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1 (6) MIECHV is an evidence-based policy initia2 tive and its authorizing legislation requires that at 

3 least 75 percent of funds dedicated to the program 

4 must support programs to implement evidence-based 

5 home visiting models, which includes the home-based 

6 model of Early Head Start; and 

7 (7) Congress should continue to provide re8 sources to MIECHV to support the work of States 

9 to help at-risk families voluntarily receive home vis10 its from nurses and social workers to— 

11 (A) promote maternal, infant, and child 

12 health; 

13 (B) improve school readiness and achieve14 ment; 

15 (C) prevent potential child abuse or neglect 

16 and injuries; 

17 (D) support family economic self-suffi18 ciency; 

19 (E) reduce crime or domestic violence; and 

20 (F) improve coordination or referrals for 

21 community resources and supports. 

Æ 

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