I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3461 

To support early learning. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2013 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself and Mr. HANNA) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

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 of 2013’’. 

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 

Sec. 111. Purposes. 


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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. Additional prekindergarten services. 

Sec. 119. Performance measures and targets. 

Sec. 120. Matching requirements. 

Sec. 121. Eligible local entity applications. 

Sec. 122. Required subgrant activities. 

Sec. 123. Report and evaluation. 

Sec. 124. Prohibition of required participation or use of funds for assessments. 

Sec. 125. Coordination with Head Start programs. 

Sec. 126. Technical assistance in program administration. 

Sec. 127. 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. 

Sec. 302. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE IV—MATERNAL, INFANT, AND EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME 

VISITING PROGRAM 

Sec. 401. Sense of the House of Representatives. 

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 

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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 high-quality 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— 

23 (i) organizes information about the 

24 process and context of young children’s 

25 learning and development to help early 


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1 childhood educators make informed in2 structional and programmatic decisions; 

3 and 

4 (ii) conforms to the recommendations 

5 of the National Research Council reports 

6 on early childhood; and 

7 (B) includes, at a minimum— 

8 (i) child screening measures; 

9 (ii) child formative assessments; 

10 (iii) measures of environmental qual11 ity; and 

12 (iv) measures of the quality of adult13 child interactions. 

14 (3) DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 

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

16 limited English proficient. 

17 (4) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO18 GRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood education pro19 gram’’ has the meaning given the term under section 

20 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 1003). 

22 (5) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen23 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec24 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu25 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 (6) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION DATE.—The 

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

3 used to determine eligibility for public elementary 

4 school in the community in which the eligible local 

5 entity involved is located. 

6 (7) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligi7 ble local entity’’ means— 

8 (A) a local educational agency, including— 

9 (i) a charter school or a charter man10 agement organization that acts as a local 

11 educational agency; or 

12 (ii) an educational service agency in 

13 partnership with a local educational agen14 cy; 

15 (B) an entity that carries out an early 

16 childhood education program; or 

17 (C) a consortium of entities described in 

18 subparagraph (A) or (B). 

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

20 day that is— 

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

22 public elementary schools in a State; and 

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

24 (9) HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDERGARTEN PRO25 GRAM.—The term ‘‘high-quality prekindergarten 


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1 program’’ means a prekindergarten program sup2 ported by an eligible local entity that includes, at a 

3 minimum, the following elements based on nationally 

4 recognized standards: 

5 (A) Serves children who— 

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

7 3 or 4, by the eligibility determination date 

8 (including children who turn age 5 while 

9 attending the program); or 

10 (ii) have attained the legal age for 

11 State-funded prekindergarten. 

12 (B) Requires high qualifications for staff, 

13 including that teachers meet the requirements 

14 of 1 of the following clauses: 

15 (i) The teacher has a bachelor’s de16 gree in early childhood education or a re17 lated field with coursework that dem18 onstrates competence in early childhood 

19 education. 

20 (ii) The teacher— 

21 (I) has a bachelor’s degree in any 

22 field; 

23 (II) has demonstrated knowledge 

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1 ing a State-approved assessment in 

2 early childhood education; 

3 (III) while employed as a teacher 

4 in the prekindergarten program, is en5 gaged in on-going professional devel6 opment in early childhood education 

7 for not less than 2 years; and 

8 (IV) not more than 3 years after 

9 starting employment as a teacher in 

10 the prekindergarten program, enrolls 

11 in and completes a State-approved ed12 ucator preparation program in which 

13 the teacher receives training and sup14 port in early childhood education. 

15 (iii) The teacher has bachelor’s degree 

16 with a credential, license, or endorsement 

17 that demonstrates competence in early 

18 childhood education. 

19 (C) Maintains an evidence-based maximum 

20 class size. 

21 (D) Maintains an evidence-based child to 

22 instructional staff ratio. 

23 (E) Offers a full-day program. 

24 (F) Provides developmentally appropriate, 

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1 ments that are aligned with the State’s early 

2 learning and development standards described 

3 in section 115(1). 

4 (G) Offers instructional staff salaries com5 parable to kindergarten through grade 12 

6 teaching staff. 

7 (H) Provides for ongoing monitoring and 

8 program evaluation to ensure continuous im9 provement. 

10 (I) Offers accessible comprehensive services 

11 for children that include, at a minimum— 

12 (i) screenings for vision, dental, health 

13 (including mental health), and development 

14 and referrals, and assistance obtaining 

15 services, when appropriate; 

16 (ii) family engagement opportunities 

17 that take into account home language, 

18 such as parent conferences (including par19 ent input about their child’s development) 

20 and support services, such as parent edu21 cation; 

22 (iii) nutrition services, including nutri23 tious meals and snack options aligned with 

24 requirements set by the most recent Child 

25 and Adult Care Food Program guidelines 


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1 promulgated by the Department of Agri2 culture as well as regular, age-appropriate, 

3 nutrition education for children and their 

4 families; 

5 (iv) programs coordinated with local 

6 educational agencies and entities providing 

7 programs authorized under section 619 

8 and part C of the Individuals with Disabil9 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419 and 

10 1431 et seq.); 

11 (v) physical activity programs aligned 

12 with evidence-based guidelines, such as 

13 those recommended by the Institute of 

14 Medicine, and which take into account and 

15 accommodate children with disabilities; 

16 (vi) additional support services, as ap17 propriate, based on the findings of the 

18 needs analysis as described in section 120; 

19 and 

20 (vii) on-site coordination, to the max21 imum extent feasible. 

22 (J) Provides high-quality professional de23 velopment for all staff, including regular in24 classroom observation for teachers and teacher 


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1 assistants by individuals trained in such obser2 vation. 

3 (K) Meets the education performance 

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

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

6 9836a(a)(1)(B)). 

7 (L) Maintains evidence-based health and 

8 safety standards. 

9 (10) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

10 the chief executive officer of a State. 

11 (11) HOMELESS CHILD.—The term ‘‘homeless 

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

13 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

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

15 (12) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

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

17 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

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

19 (13) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

20 The terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal organization’’ 

21 have the meanings given the terms in 658P of the 

22 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990 

23 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 

24 (14) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT.—The 

25 term ‘‘limited English proficient’’ has the meaning 


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1 given the term in section 637 of the Head Start Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 9832). 

3 (15) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE

4 EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; EDUCATIONAL SERVICE

5 AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational agency’’, 

6 ‘‘State educational agency’’, and ‘‘educational service 

7 agency’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec8 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

10 (16) MIGRATORY CHILD.—The term ‘‘migratory 

11 child’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

12 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

13 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399). 

14 (17) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘‘outlying 

15 area’’ means each of the United States Virgin Is16 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

17 of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic 

18 of Palau. 

19 (18) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

20 means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of21 fice of Management and Budget)— 

22 (A) adjusted to reflect the percentage 

23 change in the Consumer Price Index for All 

24 Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of 

25 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor 


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1 for the most recent 12-month period or other 

2 interval for which the data are available; and 

3 (B) applicable to a family of the size in4 volved. 

5 (19) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec6 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

7 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

9 (20) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

10 means the Secretary of Education. 

11 (21) STATE.—Except as otherwise provided in 

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

13 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

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

15 (22) STATE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON EARLY

16 CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE.—The term 

17 ‘‘State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu18 cation and Care’’ means the State Advisory Council 

19 on Early Childhood Education and Care established 

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

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

22 SEC. 113. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. 

23 From amounts made available to carry out this sub24 title, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

25 Health and Human Services, shall award grants to States 


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1 to implement high-quality prekindergarten programs, con2 sistent with the purposes of this subtitle described in sec3 tion 111. For each fiscal year, the funds provided under 

4 a grant by a State shall equal the allotment determined 

5 for the State under section 114. 

6 SEC. 114. ALLOTMENTS AND RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS. 

7 (a) RESERVATION.—From the amount made avail8 able each fiscal year to carry out this subtitle, the Sec9 retary shall— 

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

11 more than 2 percent for payments to Indian tribes 

12 and tribal organizations; 

(2) reserve 1 13 ⁄2 of 1 percent for the outlying 

14 areas to be distributed among the outlying areas on 

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

16 Secretary in accordance with the purposes of this 

17 subtitle; 

(3) reserve 1 18 ⁄2 of 1 percent for eligible local en19 tities that serve children in families who are engaged 

20 in migrant or seasonal agricultural labor; and 

21 (4) reserve not more than 1 percent or 

22 $30,000,000, whichever amount is less, for national 

23 activities, including administration, technical assist24 ance, and evaluation. 

25 (b) ALLOTMENTS.— 


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

2 available each fiscal year to carry out this subtitle 

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

4 shall make allotments to States in accordance with 

5 paragraph (2) that have submitted an approved ap6 plication. 

7 (2) ALLOTMENT AMOUNT.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), the Secretary shall allot the amount 

10 made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal 

11 year among the States in proportion to the 

12 number of children who are age 4 who reside 

13 within the State and are from families with in14 comes at or below 200 percent of the poverty 

15 line for the most recent year for which satisfac16 tory data are available, compared to the num17 ber of such children who reside in all such 

18 States for that fiscal year. 

19 (B) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT AMOUNT.—No 

20 State receiving an allotment under subparagraph (A) may receive less than 1 21 ⁄2 of 1 percent 

22 of the total amount allotted under such sub23 paragraph. 

24 (3) REALLOTMENT AND CARRY OVER.— 


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

2 do not receive an allotment under this sub3 section for any fiscal year, the Secretary may 

4 use the amount of the allotment for that State 

5 or States, in such amounts as the Secretary de6 termines appropriate, for either or both of the 

7 following: 

8 (i) To increase the allotments of 

9 States with approved applications for the 

10 fiscal year, consistent with subparagraph 

11 (B). 

12 (ii) To carry over the funds to the 

13 next fiscal year. 

14 (B) REALLOTMENT.—In increasing allot15 ments under subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary 

16 shall allot to each State with an approved appli17 cation an amount that bears the same relation18 ship to the total amount to be allotted under 

19 subparagraph (A)(i), as the amount the State 

20 received under paragraph (2) for that fiscal 

21 year bears to the amount that all States re22 ceived under paragraph (2) for that fiscal year. 

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

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


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1 District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 

2 Puerto Rico. 

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

4 adjustments to allotments under this subsection, which 

5 shall neither lead to a significant increase or decrease in 

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

7 on a set of factors, such as the level of program participa8 tion and the estimated cost of the activities specified in 

9 the State plan under section 116(a)(2). 

10 SEC. 115. STATE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA. 

11 A State is eligible to receive a grant under this sub12 title if the State demonstrates to the Secretary that the 

13 State— 

14 (1) has established or will establish early learn15 ing and development standards that describe what 

16 children from birth to kindergarten entry should 

17 know and be able to do, are universally designed and 

18 developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appro19 priate, are aligned with the State’s challenging aca20 demic content standards and challenging student 

21 academic achievement standards, as adopted under 

22 section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary 

23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)), and 

24 cover the essential domains of school readiness, 

25 which address— 


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1 (A) physical well-being and motor develop2 ment; 

3 (B) social and emotional development; 

4 (C) approaches to learning, including cre5 ative arts expression; 

6 (D) developmentally appropriate oral and 

7 written language and literacy development; and 

8 (E) cognition and general knowledge, in9 cluding early mathematics and early scientific 

10 development; 

11 (2) has the ability or will develop the ability to 

12 link prekindergarten data with its elementary school 

13 and secondary school data for the purpose of col14 lecting longitudinal information for all children par15 ticipating in the State’s high-quality prekindergarten 

16 program and any other Federally-funded early child17 hood program that will remain with the child 

18 through the child’s public education through grade 

19 12; 

20 (3) offers State-funded kindergarten for chil21 dren who are eligible children for that service in the 

22 State; and 

23 (4) has established a State Advisory Council on 

24 Early Childhood Education and Care. 


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1 SEC. 116. STATE APPLICATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under this sub3 title, the Governor of a State, in consultation with the In4 dian tribes and tribal organizations in the State, if any, 

5 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

6 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

7 Secretary may reasonably require. At a minimum, each 

8 such application shall include— 

9 (1) an assurance that the State— 

10 (A) will coordinate with and continue to 

11 participate in the programs authorized under 

12 section 619 and part C of the Individuals with 

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

14 1431 et seq.), the Child Care and Development 

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

16 seq.), and the maternal, infant, and early child17 hood home visiting programs funded under sec18 tion 511 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 711) for the duration of the grant; 

20 (B) will designate a State-level entity (such 

21 as an agency or joint interagency office), se22 lected by the Governor, for the administration 

23 of the grant, which shall coordinate and consult 

24 with the State educational agency if the entity 

25 is not the State educational agency; and 


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1 (C) will establish, or certify the existence 

2 of, program standards for all State prekinder3 garten programs consistent with the definition 

4 of a high-quality prekindergarten program 

5 under section 112; 

6 (2) a description of the State’s plan to— 

7 (A) use funds received under this subtitle 

8 and the State’s matching funds to provide high9 quality prekindergarten programs, in accord10 ance with section 117(d), with open enrollment 

11 for all children in the State who— 

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

13 and 

14 (ii) are from families with incomes at 

15 or below 200 percent of the poverty line; 

16 (B) develop or enhance a system for moni17 toring eligible local entities that are receiving 

18 funds under this subtitle for compliance with 

19 quality standards developed by the State and to 

20 provide program improvement support, which 

21 may be accomplished through the use of a 

22 State-developed system for quality rating and 

23 improvement; 

24 (C) if applicable, expand participation in 

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1 grams to children from families with incomes 

2 above 200 percent of the poverty line; 

3 (D) carry out the State’s comprehensive 

4 early learning assessment system, or how the 

5 State plans to develop such a system, ensuring 

6 that any assessments are culturally, develop7 mentally, and age-appropriate and consistent 

8 with the recommendations from the study on 

9 Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for 

10 Young Children by the National Academy of 

11 Sciences, consistent with section 649(j) of the 

12 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9844); 

13 (E) develop, implement, and make publicly 

14 available the performance measures and targets 

15 described in section 119; 

16 (F) increase the number of teachers with 

17 bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education, 

18 or with bachelor’s degrees in another closely re19 lated field and specialized training in early 

20 childhood education, including how institutions 

21 of higher education will support increasing the 

22 number of teachers with such degrees and 

23 training, including through the use of assess24 ments of prior learning, knowledge, and skills 


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1 to facilitate and expedite attainment of such de2 grees; 

3 (G) coordinate and integrate the activities 

4 funded under this subtitle with Federal, State, 

5 and local services and programs that support 

6 early childhood education and care, including 

7 programs supported under this subtitle, the El8 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals with 

10 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

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

12 seq.), the Community Services Block Grant Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.), the Child Care and 

14 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

15 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), the temporary assistance 

16 for needy families program under part A of title 

17 IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 

18 seq.), the State incentive grant program under 

19 section 14006 of the American Recovery and 

20 Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5), 

21 Federally funded early literacy programs, the 

22 maternal, infant, and early childhood home vis23 iting programs funded under section 511 of the 

24 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711), health im25 provements to child care funded under title 


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1 XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 

2 et seq.), the program under subtitle B of title 

3 VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist4 ance Act (42 U.S.S. 11431 et seq.), the Invest5 ing In Innovation program under section 14007 

6 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment 

7 Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5), programs au8 thorized under part E of title IV of the Social 

9 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), the Fos10 tering Connections to Success and Increasing 

11 Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–351), 

12 and any other Federal, State, or local early 

13 childhood education programs used in the 

14 State; 

15 (H) award subgrants to eligible local enti16 ties, and in awarding such subgrants, facilitate 

17 a delivery system of high-quality prekinder18 garten programs that includes diverse pro19 viders, such as providers in community-based, 

20 public school, and private settings, and consider 

21 the system’s impact on options for families; 

22 (I) in the case of a State that does not 

23 have a funding mechanism for subgranting 

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1 grants to eligible local entities that will imple2 ment high-quality prekindergarten programs, 

3 including actions the State will take to ensure 

4 that eligible local entities will coordinate with 

5 local educational agencies or other early learn6 ing providers, as appropriate, to carry out ac7 tivities to provide children served under this 

8 subtitle with a successful transition from pre9 school into kindergarten, which activities shall 

10 include— 

11 (i) aligning curricular objectives and 

12 instruction; 

13 (ii) providing staff professional devel14 opment, including opportunities for joint15 professional development on early learning 

16 and kindergarten through grade 3 stand17 ards, assessments, and curricula; 

18 (iii) coordinating family engagement 

19 and support services; and 

20 (iv) encouraging the shared use of fa21 cilities and transportation, as appropriate; 

22 (J) use the State early learning and devel23 opment standards described in section 115(1) 

24 to address the needs of dual language learners, 


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1 including by incorporating benchmarks related 

2 to English language development; 

3 (K) identify barriers, and propose solutions 

4 to overcome such barriers, which may include 

5 seeking assistance under section 126, in the 

6 State to effectively use and integrate Federal, 

7 State, and local public funds and private funds 

8 for early childhood education that are available 

9 to the State on the date on which the applica10 tion is submitted; 

11 (L) support articulation agreements (as 

12 defined in section 486A of the Higher Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1093a)) between 

14 public 2-year and public 4-year institutions of 

15 higher education in the State for early child16 hood teacher preparation programs and related 

17 fields; 

18 (M) ensure that the higher education pro19 grams in the State have the capacity to prepare 

20 a workforce to provide high-quality prekinder21 garten programs; 

22 (N) support workforce development, in23 cluding State and local policies that support 

24 prekindergarten instructional staff’s ability to 

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1 tions or qualifications, including policies on 

2 leave, substitutes, and child care services, in3 cluding non-traditional hour child care; 

4 (O) hold eligible local entities accountable 

5 for use of funds; 

6 (P) ensure that the State’s early learning 

7 and development standards are integrated into 

8 the instructional and programmatic practices of 

9 high-quality prekindergarten programs and re10 lated programs and services, such as those pro11 vided to children under section 619 and part C 

12 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

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

14 (Q) increase the number of children in the 

15 State who are enrolled in high-quality kinder16 garten programs and carry out a strategy to 

17 implement such a plan; 

18 (R) coordinate the State’s activities sup19 ported by grants under this subtitle with activi20 ties in State plans required under the Elemen21 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals with Dis23 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

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

25 seq.), the Child Care and Development Block 


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1 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), 

2 and the Adult Education and Family Literacy 

3 Act (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.); 

4 (S) encourage eligible local entities to co5 ordinate with community-based learning re6 sources, such as libraries, arts and arts edu7 cation programs, appropriate media programs, 

8 family literacy programs, public parks and 

9 recreation programs, museums, nutrition edu10 cation programs, and programs supported by 

11 the Corporation for National and Community 

12 Service; 

13 (T) work with eligible local entities, in con14 sultation with elementary school principals, to 

15 ensure that high-quality prekindergarten pro16 grams have sufficient facilities to meet the 

17 needs of children eligible for prekindergarten; 

18 (U) support local early childhood coordi19 nating entities, such as local early childhood 

20 councils, if applicable, and help such entities to 

21 coordinate early childhood education programs 

22 with high-quality prekindergarten programs to 

23 ensure effective and efficient delivery of early 

24 childhood education program services; 


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1 (V) ensure that the provision of high-qual2 ity prekindergarten programs will not lead to a 

3 diminution of services for infants and toddlers 

4 or disrupt the care of infants and toddlers in 

5 the geographic area served by the eligible local 

6 entity, which may include demonstrating that 

7 the State will direct funds to provide high-qual8 ity early childhood education and care to in9 fants and toddlers in accordance with section 

10 117(d); and 

11 (W) ensure that all high-quality prekinder12 garten programs the State supports under this 

13 Act will conduct criminal history background 

14 checks that meet the requirements of subsection 

15 (b) on employees and applicants for employ16 ment with direct access to children; and 

17 (3) an inventory of the State’s higher education 

18 programs that prepare individuals for work in a 

19 high-quality prekindergarten program, including— 

20 (A) certification programs; 

21 (B) associate degree programs; 

22 (C) baccalaureate degree programs 

23 (D) masters degree programs; and 


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1 (E) other programs that lead to a speciali2 zation in early childhood education, or a related 

3 field. 

4 (b) CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The criminal history back6 ground checks required under subsection (a)(2)(Z) 

7 shall include— 

8 (A) a search of the State criminal registry 

9 or repository in the State in which the employee 

10 resides and previously resided; 

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

12 and neglect registries and databases in the 

13 State in which the employee resides and pre14 viously resided; 

15 (C) a Federal Bureau of Investigation fin16 gerprint check using the Integrated Automated 

17 Fingerprint Identification System; and 

18 (D) a search of the National Sex Offender 

19 Registry established under section 119 of the 

20 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 

21 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16919). 

22 (2) PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT.—To be eli23 gible to receive a grant under this subtitle, a State 

24 shall prohibit an individual with direct access to chil25 dren from employment with a program supported 


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1 with grant funds under this subtitle if the individual 

2 has been convicted of a violent felony or any violent 

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

4 State. 

5 (3) UPDATED CHECKS.—To be eligible to re6 ceive a grant under this subtitle, each criminal his7 tory background check conducted on an employee as 

8 required under subsection (a)(2)(Z) shall be periodi9 cally repeated or updated in accordance with State 

10 law. 

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

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

13 individual with a timely process by which to— 

14 (A) appeal the results of a criminal history 

15 background check conducted under this section 

16 to challenge the accuracy or completeness of the 

17 information produced by such background 

18 check; and 

19 (B) seek appropriate relief for any final 

20 employment decision based on materially inac21 curate or incomplete information produced by 

22 such background check. 

23 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICATION.—In developing 

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

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1 hood Education and Care and incorporate such Council’s 

2 recommendations, where applicable. 

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

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

5 and procedures afforded school employees, local edu6 cational agency employees, and the employees of early 

7 childhood education programs under Federal, State, or 

8 local laws (including applicable regulations or court or9 ders) or under the terms of collective bargaining agree10 ments, memoranda of understanding, or other agreements 

11 between such employees and their employers. 

12 SEC. 117. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 

13 (a) RESERVATION FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AC14 TIVITIES.— 

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

16 grant under this subtitle may reserve for, not more 

17 than the first 4 years such State receives such a 

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

19 for quality improvement activities if such activities 

20 support the elements of high-quality prekindergarten 

21 programs. Such quality improvement activities may 

22 include supporting teachers and principals in a 

23 State’s high-quality prekindergarten program, li24 censed or regulated child care, or Head Start pro25 grams to enable such teachers to earn a baccaVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:44 Nov 15, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3461.IH H3461

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1 laureate degree in early childhood education, or 

2 closely-related field, through activities which may in3 clude— 

4 (A) expanding or establishing scholarships, 

5 counseling, and compensation initiatives to 

6 cover the cost of tuition, fees, materials, trans7 portation, and release time for such teachers; 

8 and 

9 (B) providing ongoing professional develop10 ment opportunities, including regular in-class11 room observation by individuals trained in such 

12 observation, for such teachers, principals, and 

13 teachers assistants to enable such teachers, 

14 principals, and teachers assistants to carry out 

15 the elements of high-quality prekindergarten 

16 programs, which may include activities that ad17 dress— 

18 (i) promoting children’s development 

19 across the essential domains of early learn20 ing and development; 

21 (ii) developmentally appropriate teach22 er-child interaction; 

23 (iii) effective family engagement; 

24 (iv) providing culturally competent in25 struction; 


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1 (v) working with a diversity of chil2 dren and families, including children with 

3 special needs and dual language learners; 

4 (vi) childhood nutrition and physical 

5 education programs; and 

6 (vii) supporting the implementation of 

7 evidence-based curricula. 

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

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

10 the matching requirements under section 120. 

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

12 amount under paragraph (1) shall coordinate the 

13 use of such amount with activities funded under sec14 tion 658G of the Child Care and Development Block 

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

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

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

18 funds reserved under this subsection to meet the re19 quirement described in section 112(9)(G). 

20 (b) SUBGRANTS FOR HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDER21 GARTEN PROGRAMS.—A State that receives a grant under 

22 this subtitle shall award subgrants of sufficient size to eli23 gible local entities to enable such eligible local entities to 

24 implement high-quality prekindergarten programs for chil25 dren who— 


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

2 (2) reside within the State; and 

3 (3) are from families with incomes at or below 

4 200 percent of the poverty line. 

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

6 under this subtitle may reserve not more than 1 percent 

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

8 may use part of that reservation for the maintenance of 

9 the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education 

10 and Care. 

11 (d) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PRO12 GRAMS FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS.— 

13 (1) USE OF ALLOTMENT FOR INFANTS AND

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

15 the appropriate Secretary may grant permission for 

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

17 funds made available through a grant received under 

18 this subtitle to award subgrants to early childhood 

19 education programs to provide, consistent with the 

20 State’s early learning and development guidelines for 

21 infants and toddlers, high-quality early childhood 

22 education and care to infants and toddlers who re23 side within the State and are from families with in24 comes at or below 200 percent of the poverty line. 


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

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

3 shall submit an application to the appropriate Sec4 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

5 such information as the Secretary may require. Such 

6 application shall, at a minimum, include a descrip7 tion of how the State will— 

8 (A) designate a lead agency which shall ad9 minister such funds; 

10 (B) ensure that such lead agency, in co11 ordination with the State’s Advisory Council on 

12 Early Childhood Education and Care, will col13 laborate with other agencies in administering 

14 programs supported under this subsection for 

15 infants and toddlers in order to obtain input 

16 about the appropriate use of such funds and en17 sure coordination with programs for infants and 

18 toddlers funded under the Child Care and De19 velopment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

20 9858 et seq.), the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 9831 et seq.) (including any Early Learning 

22 Quality Partnerships established in the State 

23 under section 645B of the Head Start Act, as 

24 added by section 202), the Race to the Top and 

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1 tion 14006 of Public Law 111–5 (123 Stat. 

2 283), the maternal, infant, and early childhood 

3 home visiting programs funded under section 

4 511 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711), 

5 and part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 

6 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 

7 (C) ensure that infants and toddlers who 

8 benefit from amounts made available under this 

9 subsection will transition to and have the oppor10 tunity to participate in a high-quality pre11 kindergarten program supported under this 

12 subtitle; 

13 (D) in awarding subgrants, give preference 

14 to early childhood education programs that 

15 have a plan to increase services to children with 

16 special needs, including children with develop17 mental delays or disabilities, children who are 

18 dual language learners, homeless children, chil19 dren who are in foster care, children of migrant 

20 families, children eligible for free or reduced21 price lunch under the Richard B. Russell Na22 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et 

23 seq.), or children in the child welfare system; 

24 and 


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1 (E) give priority to activities carried out 

2 under this subsection that will increase access 

3 to high-quality early childhood education pro4 grams for infants and toddlers in local areas 

5 with significant concentrations of low-income 

6 families that do not currently benefit from such 

7 programs. 

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

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

10 serve infants and toddlers only by working with 

11 early childhood education program providers that— 

12 (A) offer full-day, full-year care, or other13 wise meet the needs of working families; and 

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

15 (i) Early Head Start program per16 formance standards under the Head Start 

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

18 (ii) high quality, demonstrated, valid, 

19 and reliable program standards that have 

20 been established through a national entity 

21 that accredits early childhood education 

22 programs. 

23 (4) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu25 cation shall bear responsibility for obligating 


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1 and disbursing funds to support activities under 

2 this subsection and ensuring compliance with 

3 applicable laws and administrative require4 ments, subject to paragraph (3). 

5 (B) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Sec6 retary of Education and the Secretary of 

7 Health and Human Services shall jointly ad8 minister activities supported under this sub9 section on such terms as such Secretaries shall 

10 set forth in an interagency agreement. The Sec11 retary of Health and Human Services shall be 

12 responsible for any final approval of a State’s 

13 application under this subsection that addresses 

14 the use of funds designated for services to in15 fants and toddlers. 

16 (C) APPROPRIATE SECRETARY.—In this 

17 subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate Secretary’’ 

18 used with respect to a function, means the Sec19 retary designated for that function under the 

20 interagency agreement. 

21 SEC. 118. ADDITIONAL PREKINDERGARTEN SERVICES. 

22 (a) PREKINDERGARTEN FOR 3-YEAR OLDS.—Each 

23 State that certifies to the Secretary that the State pro24 vides universally available, voluntary, high-quality pre25 kindergarten programs for 4-year old children who reside 


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1 within the State and are from families with incomes at 

2 or below 200 percent of the poverty line may use the 

3 State’s allocation under section 114(b) to provide high4 quality prekindergarten programs for 3-year old children 

5 who reside within the State and are from families with 

6 incomes at or below 200 percent of the poverty line. 

7 (b) SUBGRANTS.—In each State that has a city, 

8 county, or local educational agency that provides univer9 sally available high-quality prekindergarten programs for 

10 4-year old children who reside within the State and are 

11 from families with incomes at or below 200 percent of the 

12 poverty line the State may use amounts from the State’s 

13 allocation under section 114(b) to award subgrants to eli14 gible local entities to enable such eligible local entities to 

15 provide high-quality prekindergarten programs for 3-year 

16 old children who are from families with incomes at or 

17 below 200 percent of the poverty line and who reside in 

18 such city, county or local educational agency. 

19 SEC. 119. PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND TARGETS. 

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

21 under this subtitle shall develop, implement, and make 

22 publicly available the performance measures and targets 

23 for the activities carried out with grant funds. Such meas24 ures shall, at a minimum, track the State’s progress in— 


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1 (1) increasing school readiness across all do2 mains for all categories of children, as described in 

3 section 123(b)(7), including children with disabilities 

4 and dual language learners; 

5 (2) narrowing school readiness gaps between 

6 minority and nonminority children, and low-income 

7 children and more advantaged children, in prepara8 tion for kindergarten entry; 

9 (3) decreasing placement for children in ele10 mentary school in special education programs and 

11 services as described in part B of the Individuals 

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

13 seq.); 

14 (4) increasing the number of programs meeting 

15 the criteria for high-quality prekindergarten pro16 grams, as defined by the State and in accordance 

17 with section 112; 

18 (5) decreasing the need for grade-to-grade re19 tention in elementary school; 

20 (6) if applicable, ensuring that high-quality pre21 kindergarten programs do not experience instances 

22 of chronic absence among the children who partici23 pate in such programs; 

24 (7) increasing the number and percentage of 

25 low-income children in high-quality early childhood 


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1 education programs that receive financial support 

2 through funds provided under this subtitle; and 

3 (8) providing high-quality nutrition services, 

4 nutrition education, physical activity, and obesity 

5 prevention programs. 

6 (b) PROHIBITION OF MISDIAGNOSIS PRACTICES.—A 

7 State shall not, in order to meet the performance meas8 ures and targets described in subsection (a), engage in 

9 practices or policies that will lead to the misdiagnosis or 

10 under-diagnosis of disabilities or developmental delays 

11 among children who are served through programs sup12 ported under this subtitle. 

13 SEC. 120. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS. 

14 (a) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), a State that receives a grant under this 

17 subtitle shall provide matching funds from non-Fed18 eral sources, as described in subsection (c), in an 

19 amount equal to— 

20 (A) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro21 vided under the grant in the first year of grant 

22 administration; 

23 (B) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro24 vided under the grant in the second year of 

25 grant administration; 


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1 (C) 20 percent of the Federal funds pro2 vided under the grant in the third year of grant 

3 administration; 

4 (D) 30 percent of the Federal funds pro5 vided under the grant in the fourth year of 

6 grant administration; 

7 (E) 40 percent of the Federal funds pro8 vided under the grant in the fifth year of grant 

9 administration; 

10 (F) 50 percent of the Federal funds pro11 vided under the grant in the sixth year of grant 

12 administration; 

13 (G) 75 percent of the Federal funds pro14 vided under the grant in the seventh year of 

15 grant administration; and 

16 (H) 100 percent of the Federal funds pro17 vided under the grant in the eighth and fol18 lowing years of grant administration. 

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

20 meets the requirements under subsection (b) may 

21 provide matching funds from non-Federal sources at 

22 a reduced rate. The full reduced matching funds 

23 rate shall be in an amount equal to— 


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1 (A) 5 percent of the Federal funds pro2 vided under the grant in the first year of grant 

3 administration; 

4 (B) 5 percent of the Federal funds pro5 vided under the grant in the second year of 

6 grant administration; 

7 (C) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro8 vided under the grant in the third year of grant 

9 administration; 

10 (D) 20 percent of the Federal funds pro11 vided under the grant in the fourth year of 

12 grant administration; 

13 (E) 30 percent of the Federal funds pro14 vided under the grant in the fifth year of grant 

15 administration; 

16 (F) 40 percent of the Federal funds pro17 vided under the grant in the sixth year of grant 

18 administration; 

19 (G) 50 percent of the Federal funds pro20 vided under the grant in the seventh year of 

21 grant administration; 

22 (H) 75 percent of the Federal funds pro23 vided under the grant in the eighth year of 

24 grant administration; and 


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

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

5 that receives a grant under this subtitle may provide 

6 matching funds from non-Federal sources at the full re7 duced rate under subsection (a)(2) if the State— 

8 (1)(A) offers enrollment in high-quality pre9 kindergarten programs to not less than half of chil10 dren in the State who are— 

11 (i) age 4 on the eligibility determination 

12 date; and 

13 (ii) from families with incomes at or below 

14 200 percent of the poverty line; and 

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

16 to high-quality prekindergarten programs for such 

17 children in the State; and 

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

19 prekindergarten programs to children from moderate 

20 income families whose income exceeds 200 percent of 

21 the poverty line. 

22 (c) NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES.— 

23 (1) IN CASH.—A State shall provide the match24 ing funds under this section in cash. 


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1 (2) FUNDS TO BE CONSIDERED AS MATCHING

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

3 matching funds under this section, not more than 10 

4 percent of the amount of State funds designated for 

5 State prekindergarten programs or to supplement 

6 Head Start programs under the Head Start Act (42 

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

8 this Act, but may not include any funds that are at9 tributed as matching funds, as part of a non-Federal 

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

11 any other Federal program. 

12 (d) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a State reduces its com14 bined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate ex15 penditures within the State to support early child16 hood education programs for any fiscal year that a 

17 State receives a grant authorized under this subtitle 

18 relative to the previous fiscal year, the Secretary 

19 shall reduce support for such State under this sub20 title by the same amount as the decline in State and 

21 local effort for such fiscal year. 

22 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re23 quirements of paragraph (1) if— 

24 (A) the Secretary determines that a waiver 

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1 cline in the financial resources of a State as a 

2 result of unforeseen economic hardship or a 

3 natural disaster that has necessitated across4 the-board reductions in State services, including 

5 early childhood education programs; or 

6 (B) due to the circumstances of a State re7 quiring reductions in specific programs, includ8 ing early childhood education, if the State pre9 sents to the Secretary a justification and dem10 onstration why other programs could not be re11 duced and how early childhood programs in the 

12 State will not be disproportionately harmed by 

13 such State action. 

14 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds re15 ceived under this title shall be used to supplement and 

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

17 expended on public prekindergarten programs in the 

18 State. 

19 SEC. 121. ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY APPLICATIONS. 

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

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

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

23 and containing such information as the State may reason24 ably require. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under 

2 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

3 (1) PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT.—A de4 scription of how the eligible local entity plans to en5 gage the parents and families of the children such 

6 entity serves and ensure that parents and families of 

7 eligible children are aware of the services provided 

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

9 to— 

10 (A) carry out meaningful parent and fam11 ily engagement, through the implementation 

12 and replication of evidence-based or promising 

13 practices and strategies, which shall be coordi14 nated with parent and family engagement strat15 egies supported under the Individuals with Dis16 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) 

17 and part A of title I and title V of the Elemen18 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 6311 et seq. and 7201 et seq.), if appli20 cable, to— 

21 (i) provide parents and family mem22 bers with the skills and opportunities nec23 essary to become full partners in their chil24 dren’s education, particularly the families 


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1 of dual language learners and children 

2 with disabilities; 

3 (ii) improve child development; and 

4 (iii) strengthen relationships among 

5 prekindergarten staff and parents and 

6 family members; and 

7 (B) perform community outreach to en8 courage families with eligible children to partici9 pate in the eligible local entity’s high-quality 

10 prekindergarten program, including— 

11 (i) homeless children; 

12 (ii) dual language learners; 

13 (iii) children in foster care; 

14 (iv) children with disabilities; and 

15 (v) migrant children. 

16 (2) COORDINATION & ALIGNMENT.—A descrip17 tion of how the eligible local entity will— 

18 (A) coordinate, if applicable, the eligible 

19 local entity’s activities with— 

20 (i) Head Start agencies (consistent 

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

22 Act (42 U.S.C. 9837(e)(5)), if the local en23 tity is not a Head Start agency; 


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1 (ii) local educational agencies, if the 

2 eligible local entity is not a local edu3 cational agency; 

4 (iii) providers of services under part C 

5 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu6 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 

7 (iv) programs carried out under sec8 tion 619 of the Individuals with Disabil9 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419); and 

10 (v) if feasible, other entities carrying 

11 out early childhood education programs 

12 and services within the area served by the 

13 local educational agency. 

14 (B) if applicable, develop and implement a 

15 systematic procedure for transferring, with pa16 rental consent, early childhood education pro17 gram records for each participating child to the 

18 school in which such child will enroll in kinder19 garten; 

20 (C) develop a plan to promote continuity of 

21 developmentally appropriate instructional pro22 grams and shared expectations with local ele23 mentary schools for children’s learning and de24 velopment as children transition to kinder25 garten; 


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

2 joint training, when available, including transi3 tion-related training for school staff and early 

4 childhood education program staff; 

5 (E) establish comprehensive transition poli6 cies and procedures, with applicable elementary 

7 schools and principals, for the children served 

8 by the eligible local entity that support the 

9 school readiness of children transitioning to kin10 dergarten; 

11 (F) conduct outreach to parents, families, 

12 and elementary school teachers and principals 

13 to discuss the educational, developmental, and 

14 other needs of children entering kindergarten; 

15 (G) help parents, including parents of chil16 dren who are dual language learners, under17 stand and engage with the instructional and 

18 other services provided by the kindergarten in 

19 which such child will enroll after participation 

20 in a high-quality prekindergarten program; and 

21 (H) develop and implement a system to in22 crease program participation of underserved 

23 populations of eligible children, especially home24 less children, children eligible for a free or re25 duced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell 


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

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

3 learners, and parents of children with disabil4 ities. 

5 (3) PROTECTIONS FOR SPECIAL POPU6 LATIONS.—A description of how the eligible local en7 tity will meet the diverse needs of children in the 

8 community to be served, including children with dis9 abilities, children whose native language is not 

10 English, children with other special needs, children 

11 in the State foster care system, and homeless chil12 dren. Such description shall demonstrate, at a min13 imum, how the entity plans to— 

14 (A) ensure the eligible local entity’s high15 quality prekindergarten program is accessible 

16 and appropriate for children with disabilities 

17 and dual language learners; 

18 (B) establish effective procedures for pro19 viding necessary early intervening services to 

20 children with disabilities prior to an eligibility 

21 determination by the State or local agency re22 sponsible for providing services under section 

23 619 or part C of the Individuals with Disabil24 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419 and 1431 

25 et seq.); 


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1 (C) establish effective procedures for time2 ly referral of children with disabilities to the 

3 State or local agency described in subparagraph 

4 (B); 

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

6 high-quality prekindergarten program works 

7 with appropriate entities to address the elimi8 nation of barriers to immediate and continuous 

9 enrollment for homeless children; and 

10 (E) ensure access to and continuity of en11 rollment in high-quality prekindergarten pro12 grams for migratory children, if applicable, and 

13 homeless children, including through policies 

14 and procedures that require— 

15 (i) outreach to identify migratory chil16 dren and homeless children; 

17 (ii) immediate enrollment, including 

18 enrollment during the period of time when 

19 documents typically required for enroll20 ment, including health and immunization 

21 records, proof of eligibility, and other docu22 ments, are obtained; 

23 (iii) continuous enrollment and par24 ticipation in the same high-quality pre25 kindergarten program for a child, even if 


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1 the child moves out of the program’s serv2 ice area, if that enrollment and participa3 tion are in the child’s best interest, includ4 ing by providing transportation when nec5 essary; 

6 (iv) professional development for high7 quality prekindergarten program staff re8 garding migratory children and homeless9 ness among families with young children; 

10 and 

11 (v) in serving homeless children, col12 laboration with local educational agency li13 aisons designated under section 

14 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento 

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

16 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), and local homeless 

17 service providers. 

18 (4) ACCESSIBLE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES.— 

19 A description of how the eligible local entity plans to 

20 provide accessible comprehensive services, described 

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

22 entity serves. Such description shall provide informa23 tion on how the entity will— 

24 (A) conduct a data-driven community as25 sessment in coordination with members of the 


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1 community, including parents and community 

2 organizations, or use a recently conducted data3 driven assessment, which— 

4 (i) may involve an external partner 

5 with expertise in conducting such needs 

6 analysis, to determine the most appro7 priate social or other support services to 

8 offer through the eligible local entity’s on9 site comprehensive services to children who 

10 participate in high-quality prekindergarten 

11 programs; and 

12 (ii) shall consider the resources avail13 able at the school, local educational agen14 cy, and community levels to address the 

15 needs of the community and improve child 

16 outcomes; and 

17 (B) have a coordinated system to facilitate 

18 the screening, referral, and provision of services 

19 related to health, nutrition, mental health, dis20 ability, and family support for children served 

21 by the eligible local entity. 

22 (5) WORKFORCE.—A description of how the eli23 gible local entity plans to support the instructional 

24 staff of such entity’s high-quality prekindergarten 

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


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1 to provide high-quality professional development, or 

2 facilitate the provision of high-quality professional 

3 development through an external partner with exper4 tise and a demonstrated track record of success, 

5 based on scientifically valid research, that will im6 prove the knowledge and skills of high-quality pre7 kindergarten teachers and staff through activities, 

8 which may include— 

9 (A) acquiring content knowledge and learn10 ing teaching strategies needed to provide effec11 tive instruction that addresses the State’s early 

12 learning and development standards described 

13 under section 115(1); 

14 (B) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

15 teachers and staff to pursue specialized training 

16 in early childhood development; 

17 (C) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

18 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

19 skills to provide instruction and appropriate 

20 language and support services to increase the 

21 English language skills of dual language learn22 ers; 

23 (D) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

24 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 


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1 skills to provide developmentally appropriate in2 struction for children with disabilities; 

3 (E) promoting classroom management; 

4 (F) providing high-quality induction and 

5 support for incoming high-quality prekinder6 garten teachers and staff in high-quality pre7 kindergarten programs, including through the 

8 use of mentoring programs that have a dem9 onstrated track record of success; 

10 (G) promoting the acquisition of relevant 

11 credentials, including in ways that support ca12 reer advancement through career ladders; and 

13 (H) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

14 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

15 skills to provide culturally competent instruc16 tion for children from diverse backgrounds. 

17 SEC. 122. REQUIRED SUBGRANT ACTIVITIES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible local entity that re19 ceives a subgrant under section 117(b) shall use subgrant 

20 funds to implement the elements of a high-quality pre21 kindergarten program for the children described in section 

22 117(b). 

23 (b) COORDINATION.— 

24 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PARTNER25 SHIPS WITH LOCAL EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION


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1 PROGRAMS.—A local educational agency that re2 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall provide an 

3 assurance that the local educational agency will 

4 enter into strong partnerships with local early child5 hood education programs, including programs sup6 ported through the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 

7 et seq.). 

8 (2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITIES THAT ARE NOT

9 LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—An eligible local 

10 entity that is not a local educational agency that re11 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall provide an 

12 assurance that such entity will enter into strong 

13 partnerships with local educational agencies. 

14 SEC. 123. REPORT AND EVALUATION. 

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

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

17 manner and containing such information as the Secretary 

18 may reasonably require. 

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

20 (a) shall contain, at a minimum— 

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

22 State has used the funds made available through the 

23 grant and a report of the expenditures made with 

24 the funds; 


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

2 providing access to high-quality prekindergarten pro3 grams for children eligible for such services, as de4 termined by the State, from families with incomes at 

5 or below 200 percent of the poverty line, including 

6 the percentage of funds spent on children from fami7 lies with incomes— 

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

9 line; 

10 (B) at or below between 101 and 150 per11 cent of the poverty line; and 

12 (C) at or below between 151 and 200 per13 cent of the poverty line; 

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

15 achieving the State’s performance targets, described 

16 in section 119; 

17 (4) data on the number of high-quality pre18 kindergarten program teachers and staff in the 

19 State (including teacher turnover rates and teacher 

20 compensation levels compared to teachers in elemen21 tary schools and secondary schools), according to the 

22 setting in which such teachers and staff work (which 

23 settings shall include, at a minimum, Head Start 

24 programs, public prekindergarten, and child care 

25 programs) who received training or education during 


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1 the period of the grant and remained in the early 

2 childhood education program field; 

3 (5) data on the kindergarten readiness of chil4 dren in the State; 

5 (6) a description of the State’s progress in over6 coming barriers to the effective use of Federal, 

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

8 early childhood education; 

9 (7) the number and percentage of children in 

10 the State participating in high-quality prekinder11 garten programs, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 

12 family income, child age, disability, whether the chil13 dren are homeless children, and whether the children 

14 are dual language learners; 

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

16 quality of infant and toddler care in the State; 

17 (9) the number of operational minutes per week 

18 and per year for each eligible local entity that re19 ceives a subgrant; 

20 (10) the local educational agency and zip code 

21 in which each eligible local entity that receives a 

22 subgrant operates; 

23 (11) information, for each of the local edu24 cational agencies described in paragraph (10), on 

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1 hood education programs that is funded from Fed2 eral, from State, and from local sources, including 

3 the percentages from specific funding programs; 

4 (12) data on the number and percentage of 

5 children in the State participating in public kinder6 garten programs, disaggregated by race, family in7 come, child age, disability, whether the children are 

8 homeless children, and whether the children are dual 

9 language learners, with information on whether such 

10 programs are offered— 

11 (A) for a full-day; and 

12 (B) at no cost to families; and 

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

14 State who are supported with scholarships, if appli15 cable, to meet the baccalaureate degree requirement 

16 for high-quality prekindergarten programs, as de17 fined in section 112. 

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

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

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

21 Human Services, and the State Advisory Council on Early 

22 Childhood Education and Care. 

23 (d) COOPERATION.—An eligible local entity that re24 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall cooperate with 


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1 all Federal and State efforts to evaluate the effectiveness 

2 of the program the entity implements with subgrant funds. 

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

4 and summarize the annual State reports described under 

5 subsection (c) and shall prepare and submit an annual re6 port to Congress that includes a summary of such State 

7 reports. 

8 SEC. 124. PROHIBITION OF REQUIRED PARTICIPATION OR 

9 USE OF FUNDS FOR ASSESSMENTS. 

10 (a) PROHIBITION ON REQUIRED PARTICIPATION.—A 

11 State receiving a grant under this subtitle shall not re12 quire any child to participate in any Federal, State, local, 

13 or private early childhood education program, including a 

14 high-quality prekindergarten program. 

15 (b) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR ASSESS16 MENT.—A State receiving a grant under this subtitle and 

17 an eligible local entity receiving a subgrant under this sub18 title shall not use any grant or subgrant funds to carry 

19 out any of the following activities: 

20 (1) An assessment that provides rewards or 

21 sanctions for individual children, teachers, or prin22 cipals. 

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

24 or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. 


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1 (3) Evaluating children, other than for the pur2 poses of— 

3 (A) improving instruction or the classroom 

4 environment; 

5 (B) targeting professional development; 

6 (C) determining the need for health, men7 tal health, disability, or family support services; 

8 (D) program evaluation for the purposes of 

9 program improvement and parent information; 

10 and 

11 (E) improving parent and family engage12 ment. 

13 SEC. 125. COORDINATION WITH HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) INCREASED ACCESS FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN.— 

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

16 Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and 

17 Human Services shall develop a process— 

18 (1) for use in the event that Head Start pro19 grams funded under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 9831 et seq.) operate in States or regions that have 

21 achieved sustained universal, voluntary access to 4- 

22 year old children who reside within the State and 

23 who are from families with incomes at or below 200 

24 percent of the poverty line to high-quality prekinder25 garten programs; and 


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1 (2) for how such Head Start programs will 

2 begin converting slots for children who are age 4 on 

3 the eligibility determination date to children who are 

4 age 3 on the eligibility determination date, or, when 

5 appropriate, converting Head Start Programs into 

6 Early Head Start programs to serve infants and tod7 dlers. 

8 (b) COMMUNITY NEED AND RESOURCES.—The proc9 ess described in subsection (a) shall— 

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

11 shall ensure that sufficient resources and time are 

12 allocated for the development of such a process so 

13 that no child or cohort is excluded from currently 

14 available services; and 

15 (2) ensure that any conversion shall be based 

16 on community need and not on the aggregate num17 ber of children served in a State or region that has 

18 achieved sustained, universal, voluntary access to 

19 high-quality prekindergarten programs. 

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

21 90 days after the development of the proposed process de22 scribed in subsection (a), the Secretary and the Secretary 

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1 ment. The Secretaries shall review and consider public 

2 comments prior to finalizing the process for conversion of 

3 Head Start slots and programs. 

4 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Concurrently with 

5 publishing a notice in the Federal Register as described 

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

7 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 

9 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate that pro10 vides a detailed description of the proposed process de11 scribed in subsection (a), including a description of the 

12 degree to which Head Start programs are providing State13 funded high-quality prekindergarten programs as a result 

14 of the grant opportunity provided under this subtitle in 

15 States where Head Start programs are eligible for conver16 sion described in subsection (a). 

17 SEC. 126. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN PROGRAM ADMINIS18 TRATION. 

19 In providing technical assistance to carry out activi20 ties under this title, the Secretary shall coordinate that 

21 technical assistance, in appropriate cases, with technical 

22 assistance provided by the Secretary of Health and 

23 Human Services to carry out the programs authorized 

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

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


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

2 childhood home visiting programs assisted under section 

3 511 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711). 

4 SEC. 127. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

6 this subtitle— 

7 (1) $1,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

8 (2) 3,250,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; 

9 (3) $5,780,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

10 (4) $7,580,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

11 (5) $8,960,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; and 

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

13 fiscal years 2019 through 2023. 

14 Subtitle B—Prekindergarten 

15 Development Grants 

16 SEC. 151. PREKINDERGARTEN DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appropriated 

18 under subsection (f), the Secretary of Education, in con19 sultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv20 ices, shall award competitive grants to States that wish 

21 to increase the capacity and build the infrastructure with22 in the State to offer high-quality prekindergarten pro23 grams. 

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

25 under section 115 may compete for grant funds under this 


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1 subtitle if the State provides an assurance that the State 

2 will, through the support of grant funds awarded under 

3 this subtitle, meet the eligibility requirements of section 

4 115 not later than 3 years after the date the State first 

5 receives grant funds under this subtitle. 

6 (c) GRANTS.— 

7 (1) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 

8 grants to States under this subtitle for a period of 

9 not more than 3 years and such grants shall not be 

10 renewed. 

11 (2) AUTHORITY TO SUBGRANT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a 

13 grant under this subtitle may use the grant 

14 funds to make subgrants to eligible local enti15 ties (defined in section 112(7)) to carry out ac16 tivities under the grant. 

17 (B) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITIES.—An eligi18 ble local entity receiving a subgrant under sub19 paragraph (A) shall comply with the require20 ments for States receiving a grant under this 

21 subtitle, as appropriate. 

22 (d) APPLICATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Governor of a State that 

24 desires to receive a grant under this subtitle shall 

25 submit an application to the Secretary of Education 


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1 at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 

2 such information as the Secretary may reasonably 

3 require, including a description of how the State 

4 plans to become eligible for grants under section 115 

5 by not later than 3 years after the date the State 

6 first receives grant funds under this subtitle. 

7 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICATION.—In devel8 oping an application for a grant under this subtitle, 

9 a Governor of a State shall consult with the State 

10 Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and 

11 Care, and incorporate their recommendations, where 

12 applicable. 

13 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

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

15 grant under this subtitle, a State shall contribute for 

16 the activities for which the grant was awarded non17 Federal matching funds in an amount equal to not 

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

19 (2) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—To satisfy the re20 quirement of paragraph (1), a State may use— 

21 (A) cash; or 

22 (B) an in-kind contribution. 

23 (3) FINANCIAL HARDSHIP WAIVER.—The Sec24 retary may waive paragraph (1) or reduce the 

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1 graph for a State that has submitted an application 

2 for a grant under this subtitle if the State dem3 onstrates, in the application, a need for such a waiv4 er or reduction due to extreme financial hardship, as 

5 determined by the Secretary of Education. 

6 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sub8 title— 

9 (1) $750,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

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

11 fiscal years 2015 through 2023. 

12 TITLE II—EARLY LEARNING 

13 QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS 

14 SEC. 201. PURPOSES. 

15 The purposes of this title are to— 

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

17 high-quality early childhood education and care pro18 gramming for infants and toddlers; 

19 (2) support a higher quality of, and increase ca20 pacity for, that programming in both child care cen21 ters and family child care homes; and 

22 (3) encourage the provision of comprehensive, 

23 coordinated full-day services and supports for in24 fants and toddlers. 


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1 SEC. 202. EARLY LEARNING QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS. 

2 The Head Start Act is amended— 

3 (1) by amending section 645A(e) (42 U.S.C. 

4 9840a(e)) to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(e) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—The Sec6 retary shall award grants under this section on a competi7 tive basis to applicants meeting the criteria in subsection 

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

9 early, continuous, and comprehensive childhood develop10 ment and family services and entities that agree to partner 

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

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

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

14 9840a) the following: 

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

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

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

18 or family child care providers, particularly those that re19 ceive support under the Child Care and Development 

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

21 to meet program performance standards that are de22 scribed in section 641A(a)(1) and Early Head Start 

23 standards described in 645A are applicable to the ages of 

24 children served with funding and technical assistance from 

25 the Early Head Start agency. 

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


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary shall award grants 

3 under this section in a manner consistent with sec4 tion 645A(e). 

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

6 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give 

7 priority to applicants— 

8 ‘‘(A) that propose to create strong align9 ment of programs with maternal, infant and 

10 early childhood home visiting programs assisted 

11 under section 511 of the Social Security Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 711), State-funded prekindergarten 

13 programs, programs carried out under the 

14 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 

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

16 programs supported under this Act, to create a 

17 strong continuum of high-quality services for 

18 children from birth to school entry; and 

19 ‘‘(B) that seek to work with child care pro20 viders across settings, including center-based 

21 and home-based programs. 

22 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION.—From funds appro24 priated to carry out this section, the Secretary 

25 shall reserve— 


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

2 funds for Indian Head Start programs 

3 that serve young children; 

4 ‘‘(ii) not less than 4.5 percent for mi5 grant and seasonal Head Start programs 

6 that serve young children; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) not less than .2 percent for pro8 grams funded under clause (iv) or (v) of 

9 section 640(a)(2)(B). 

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

11 Secretary shall allocate funds appropriated to 

12 carry out this section and not reserved under 

13 subparagraph (A) among the States proportion14 ally based on the number of young children 

15 from families whose income is below the poverty 

16 line residing in such States. 

17 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF CHILDREN.— 

18 ‘‘(1) Partnerships formed through assistance 

19 provided under this section may serve children 

20 through age 3; and 

21 ‘‘(2) the standards applied to children in sub22 section (a) shall be consistent with those applied to 

23 3-year old children under this subchapter. 

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

25 that receives a grant under this section shall— 


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

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

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

4 provider meets the program performance standards 

5 described in subsection (a) through activities that 

6 may include— 

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

8 child care provider’s programs through financial 

9 support; 

10 ‘‘(B) providing training, technical assist11 ance, and support to the provider in order to 

12 help the provider meet the program perform13 ance standards, which may include supporting 

14 program and partner staff in earning a child 

15 development associate credential, associate’s de16 gree, or baccalaureate degree in early childhood 

17 education or a closely related field for working 

18 with infants and toddlers; and 

19 ‘‘(C) blending funds received under the 

20 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 

21 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and the Early 

22 Head Start program carried out under section 

23 645A in order to provide high-quality child 

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

25 performance standards; 


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1 ‘‘(2) develop and implement a proposal to re2 cruit and enter into the contract with a center-based 

3 or family child care provider, particularly a provider 

4 that serves children who receive assistance under the 

5 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990 

6 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); 

7 ‘‘(3) create a clear and realizable timeline to in8 crease the quality and capacity of a center-based or 

9 family child care provider so that the provider meets 

10 the program performance standards described in 

11 subsection (a); and 

12 ‘‘(4) align activities and services provided 

13 through funding under this section with the Head 

14 Start Child Outcomes Framework. 

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

16 this section, the Secretary shall establish standards to en17 sure that the responsibility and expectations of the Early 

18 Head Start Agency and the partner child care providers 

19 are clearly defined. 

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

21 provider that receives assistance through a grant provided 

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

23 months, from the designation renewal requirements under 

24 section 641(c). 


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

2 REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Within one year of the effective 

3 date of this section, the Secretary shall conduct a survey 

4 of Early Head Start agencies to determine the extent of 

5 barriers to entering into Early Learning Quality Partner6 ship agreements on Early Head Start agencies and on 

7 child care providers, and submit this information, with 

8 suggested steps to overcome such barriers, in a report to 

9 the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House 

10 of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Edu11 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, including a de12 tailed description of the degree to which Early Head Start 

13 agencies are utilizing the funds provided. 

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

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

17 ‘‘(1) $1,430,376,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

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

19 of fiscal years 2015 through 2023.’’. 

20 TITLE III—CHILD CARE 

21 SEC. 301. STATE PLAN. 

22 (a) COORDINATION; MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY; SUPPLE23 MENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Section 658E(c)(2) of the Child 

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


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1 9858c(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(I) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FED4 ERAL BLOCK GRANTS.—Certify that the State 

5 will develop and implement a process, not later 

6 than 3 years after the date of enactment of the 

7 Strong Start for America’s Children Act of 

8 2013, to ensure that the funding such State re9 ceives under the program of block grants for so10 cial services provided under subtitle A of title 

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

12 et seq.) and the Community Services Block 

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

14 for child care services is subject to the require15 ments and limitations of this subchapter. 

16 ‘‘(J) MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY.—Demonstrate 

17 that each child that receives assistance in ac18 cordance with this subchapter in the State will 

19 receive such assistance for not less than 12 

20 months (regardless of a change in family in21 come for the child’s family, if family income 

22 does not exceed 85 percent of the State median 

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

24 State redetermines the eligibility of the child 

25 under this subchapter. 


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1 ‘‘(K) SUPPLEMENTING AND NOT SUP2 PLANTING CHILD CARE FUNDS.—Provide an as3 surance that funds received by the State to 

4 carry out this subchapter shall be used to sup5 plement and not supplant other Federal, State, 

6 and local public funds for child care services 

7 and activities.’’. 

8 (b) ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF

9 CHILD CARE.—Section 658G of the Child Care and Devel10 opment Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amend11 ed— 

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

13 GENERAL.—A State’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(b) FORMULA GRANTS.— 

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

17 the amount appropriated to carry out this sub18 chapter exceeds $2,400,000,000, the Secretary may 

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

20 grants to States, Indian tribes, and tribal organiza21 tions to improve the quality of child care programs 

22 and services. Such funds may be used to— 

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

24 other professional development activities for 

25 child care staff, which may include coaching, 


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1 mentoring, and other on-site training and tech2 nical assistance; 

3 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to help 

4 providers become licensed and comply with ap5 plicable licensing and regulatory requirements; 

6 ‘‘(C) provide incentives for the child care 

7 workforce linked to increased credential or de8 gree completion or the activities described in 

9 subparagraph (A); 

10 ‘‘(D) help programs meet applicable health 

11 and safety standards; and 

12 ‘‘(E) provide technical assistance to help 

13 providers implement nutrition, physical activity, 

14 or obesity prevention programs. 

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

16 tribal organization that receives a grant under this 

17 section shall coordinate with a State Advisory Coun18 cil on Early Childhood Education and Care in co19 ordinating activities carried out under this sub20 section with other quality-related activities directed 

21 toward child care programs. 

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

23 State, Indian tribe, or tribal organization that re24 ceives a grant under this section shall provide assur25 ances that such grant funds will be prioritized— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to areas with significant concentra2 tions of poverty and unemployment and that 

3 lack access to high-quality child care, including 

4 high-quality early childhood education pro5 grams; or 

6 ‘‘(B) for otherwise underserved popu7 lations, such as children with disabilities (as de8 fined in section 602 of the Individuals with Dis9 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401)), 

10 homeless children, and children who are dual 

11 language learners (as such term is defined in 

12 section 112 of the Strong Start for America’s 

13 Children Act of 2013).’’. 

14 (c) DEMONSTRATION AND PILOT PROJECTS.—Sec15 tion 658I of the Child Care and Development Block Grant 

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

17 end the following: 

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

19 Secretary may, through grants or contracts, carry out 

20 demonstration and pilot projects that are consistent with 

21 the purposes of this subchapter and are designed to de22 velop and implement strategies and practices useful in 

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

24 receiving, child care services. Such projects shall— 


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

2 individuals; 

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

4 based on indicators developed and prescribed by the 

5 Secretary in consultation with— 

6 ‘‘(A) individuals and organizations cur7 rently administering programs that receive sup8 port under this subchapter; 

9 ‘‘(B) individuals of other relevant Federal 

10 agencies and departments; and 

11 ‘‘(C) individuals in relevant academic dis12 ciplines; and 

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

14 SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 Section 658B of the Child Care and Development 

16 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858) is amended 

17 to read as follows: 

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

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

20 this subchapter— 

21 ‘‘(1) $2,478,313,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

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

23 of fiscal years 2015 through 2023.’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—MATERNAL, INFANT, 

2 AND EARLY CHILDHOOD 

3 HOME VISITING PROGRAM 

4 SEC. 401. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

5 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

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

7 kindergarten, children’s development rapidly pro8 gresses at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent 

9 stage of life; 

10 (2) as reported by the National Academy of 

11 Sciences in 2001, striking disparities exist in what 

12 children know and can do that are evident well be13 fore they enter kindergarten; these differences are 

14 strongly associated with social and economic cir15 cumstances, and they are predictive of subsequent 

16 academic performance; 

17 (3) research has consistently demonstrated that 

18 investments in high-quality programs that serve in19 fants and toddlers better positions those children for 

20 success in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary 

21 education as well as helping children develop the 

22 critical physical, emotional, social, and cognitive 

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

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

25 toddlers living in the United States and 49 percent 


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1 of these children came from low-income families liv2 ing with incomes at or below 200 percent of the 

3 Federal poverty guidelines; 

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

5 Home Visiting (MIECHV) program was authorized 

6 by Congress to facilitate collaboration and partner7 ship at the Federal, State, and community levels to 

8 improve health and development outcomes for at-risk 

9 children, including those from low-income families, 

10 through evidence-based home visiting programs; 

11 (6) MIECHV is an evidence-based policy initia12 tive and its authorizing legislation requires that at 

13 least 75 percent of funds dedicated to the program 

14 must support programs to implement evidence-based 

15 home visiting models, which includes the home-based 

16 model of Early Head Start; and 

17 (7) Congress should continue to provide re18 sources to MIECHV to support the work of States 

19 to help at-risk families voluntarily receive home vis20 its from nurses and social workers to— 

21 (A) promote maternal, infant, and child 

22 health; 

23 (B) improve school readiness and achieve24 ment; 


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1 (C) prevent potential child abuse or neglect 

2 and injuries; 

3 (D) support family economic self-suffi4 ciency; 

5 (E) reduce crime or domestic violence; and 

6 (F) improve coordination or referrals for 

7 community resources and supports. 

Æ 


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