II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 185 

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

prekindergarten education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 23, 2017 

Mr. LEE (for himself and Mr. CRUZ) introduced the following bill; which was 

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

and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants 

to States for prekindergarten education, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Head Start Improve5 ment Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS. 

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

8 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 635. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Act’. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

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

6 school readiness of low-income children by enhancing their 

7 cognitive, social, and emotional development in a learning 

8 environment that supports children’s growth in language, 

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

11 learning. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 637. DEFINITIONS. 

13 ‘‘For purposes of this subchapter: 

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

15 agency’ means a public, private nonprofit (including 

16 a community-based organization, as defined in sec17 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), or for-profit 

19 organization or agency to which an eligible entity 

20 has delegated all or part of the responsibility of the 

21 grantee for administering funds under this sub22 chapter. 

23 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en24 tity’ means the recipient of a subgrant under section 

25 639(d)(3)(A). 


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1 ‘‘(3) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘fi2 nancial assistance’ includes assistance provided by 

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

4 made in installments and in advance or by way of 

5 reimbursement with necessary adjustments on ac6 count of overpayments or underpayments. 

7 ‘‘(4) GRANT RECIPIENT.—The term ‘grant re8 cipient’ means the recipient of a grant under section 

9 639(a). 

10 ‘‘(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

11 means any tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other orga12 nized group or community of Indians, including any 

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

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

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

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

17 programs and services provided by the United States 

18 to Indians because of their status as Indians. 

19 ‘‘(6) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

20 ‘local educational agency’ has the meaning given 

21 such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

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

23 ‘‘(7) LOW-INCOME CHILD.—The term ‘low-in24 come child’ means a child who is age 5 or younger, 

25 and is from a family with an income below 100 perVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Feb 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S185.IS S185

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1 cent of the poverty line for the most recent fiscal 

2 year for which satisfactory data are available. 

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

4 means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of5 fice of Management and Budget)— 

6 ‘‘(A) adjusted to reflect the percentage 

7 change in the Consumer Price Index For All 

8 Urban Consumers, issued by the Bureau of 

9 Labor Statistics, occurring in the 1-year period 

10 or other interval immediately preceding the date 

11 such adjustment is made; and 

12 ‘‘(B) adjusted for family size. 

13 ‘‘(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

14 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

15 ‘‘(10) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State, 

16 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of 

17 Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Is18 lands of the United States, and the Commonwealth 

19 of the Northern Mariana Islands. The term includes 

20 the Republic of Palau, except during any period for 

21 which a Compact of Free Association is in effect, 

22 contains provisions for early childhood education or 

23 development, and prohibits the assistance provided 

24 under this subchapter. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 638. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

3 this subchapter $8,598,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

4 2017 through 2021. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 639. BLOCK GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES AND IN6 DIAN TRIBES. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro8 vision of this subchapter, beginning on October 1 of the 

9 first fiscal year following the date of enactment of the 

10 Head Start Improvement Act of 2017, from the amounts 

11 appropriated to carry out this subchapter under section 

12 638 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to 

13 eligible States and Indian tribes from allotments made 

14 under subsection (b) in accordance with this section. 

15 ‘‘(b) ALLOTMENTS.— 

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

17 amount appropriated under section 638 for a fiscal 

18 year among the eligible States and Indian tribes in 

19 proportion to the number of children, age 5 and 

20 younger, who are from families with incomes below 

21 100 percent of the poverty line for the most recent 

22 fiscal year for which satisfactory data are available 

23 and who are in an eligible State or Indian tribe, 

24 compared to the number of such children for that 

25 fiscal year who are in all eligible States or Indian 

26 tribes. 


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

2 the number of children who are in an eligible State 

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

4 in an eligible Indian tribe in that State shall be ex5 cluded. 

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

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

8 an application to the Secretary that includes the number 

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

10 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

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

12 this section shall use 100 percent of the grant 

13 funds— 

14 ‘‘(A) for prekindergarten education pro15 grams in the State or Indian tribe involved; 

16 ‘‘(B) for the administration of the pro17 grams described in subparagraph (A); and 

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

19 oversight, monitoring, research, and training 

20 with respect to the programs described in sub21 paragraph (A). 

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

23 chief executive, of each grant recipient shall certify 

24 that all grant funds received under this section will 

25 be used to directly or indirectly provide comprehenVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Feb 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S185.IS S185

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1 sive education and related services to low-income 

2 children and their families. 

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

4 grant recipient shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) award subgrants to eligible entities 

6 (as defined by the grant recipient) to enable 

7 such entities to provide, directly or through a 

8 delegate agency, prekindergarten education pro9 grams in the State or Indian tribe involved; 

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

11 entities awarded subgrants under subparagraph 

12 (A); and 

13 ‘‘(C) monitor compliance by entities award14 ed subgrants under subparagraph (A). 

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

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

17 ‘‘(A) a grant recipient shall have full flexi18 bility to use grant funds to finance a prekinder19 garten education provider, service, or program; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) in particular, to the extent permitted 

22 under State law, may use the grant funds to es23 tablish a portable voucher system that allows a 

24 parent of a low-income child to use a portion of 

25 the grant funds, other available public funds, or 


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1 private funds to pay some or all of the costs of 

2 attendance at a private prekindergarten edu3 cation program. 

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

5 of an Indian tribe who is eligible to receive services 

6 pursuant to a program funded under this section 

7 may elect to receive such services from any eligible 

8 entity for the State or Indian tribe in which the 

9 member resides. 

10 ‘‘(e) MATCHING FUNDS.—A grant recipient shall pro11 vide matching funds from non-Federal sources equal to 

12 20 percent of the amount of the grant to carry out the 

13 activities described in this section. 

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

15 that receives a subgrant to provide a program under this 

16 subchapter shall use more than 15 percent of the subgrant 

17 funds for the administrative costs of the program. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 640. LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE. 

19 ‘‘Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to re20 quire a grant recipient to establish a publicly funded pro21 gram of early childhood education and development, or to 

22 require any child to participate in such a publicly funded 

23 program, including a preschool program funded by a grant 

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

25 than a health screening) before participating in a publicly 


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1 funded program of early childhood education and develop2 ment, except as provided under sections 612(a)(3) and 

3 635(a)(5) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

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

5 ‘‘SEC. 641. GOALS; MONITORING. 

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

7 once each program year, each grant recipient shall conduct 

8 a comprehensive self-assessment of the effectiveness and 

9 progress of the grant recipient’s program under this sub10 chapter in meeting program goals established by the grant 

11 recipient. The self-assessment shall include a determina12 tion of the number of low-income children served by the 

13 program carried out by the grant recipient under this sub14 chapter. 

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

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

17 report containing the self-assessment, and an improve18 ment plan to strengthen any areas identified in the self19 assessment as weaknesses or in need of improvement. The 

20 report shall include the number of low-income children 

21 served by the program carried out by the grant recipient 

22 under this subchapter. 

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

24 shall establish and implement procedures for the ongoing 

25 monitoring of their respective programs, to ensure that the 


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1 operations of the programs work toward meeting the pro2 gram goals. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 642. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS. 

4 ‘‘Each grant recipient shall make available to the 

5 public a report published online at least once in each fiscal 

6 year that discloses the following information, from the 

7 most recently concluded fiscal year, except that reporting 

8 such information shall not reveal personally identifiable in9 formation about an individual child or parent: 

10 ‘‘(1) The total amount of public and private 

11 funds received and the amount from each source. 

12 ‘‘(2) An explanation of budgetary expenditures 

13 and proposed budget for the fiscal year. 

14 ‘‘(3) The total number of children and families 

15 served, the average monthly enrollment (as a per16 centage of funded enrollment), and the percentage of 

17 eligible children served. 

18 ‘‘(4) The results of the most recent self-assess19 ment under section 641. 

20 ‘‘(5) Information about parent involvement ac21 tivities. 

22 ‘‘(6) Information about the grant recipient’s ef23 forts to prepare children for kindergarten. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 643. RECORDS. 

2 ‘‘Each recipient of financial assistance under this 

3 subchapter shall keep records, including records which 

4 fully disclose the amount and disposition by such recipient 

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

6 of the program or activity in connection with which such 

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

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

9 by other sources. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 644. RESEARCH. 

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

12 States shall conduct a study— 

13 ‘‘(1) of the different approaches and best prac14 tices used by States and Indian tribes in carrying 

15 out the program under this subchapter; and 

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

17 in the online reports made available by grant recipi18 ents under sections 641 and 642. 

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

20 fourth fiscal year after the date of enactment referred to 

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

22 a report containing the results of the study to the appro23 priate committees of Congress. 

24 ‘‘SEC. 645. NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS. 

25 ‘‘No grant recipient shall provide financial assistance 

26 for any program or activity under this subchapter unless 


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1 the grant or contract relating to the financial assistance 

2 specifically provides that no person with responsibilities in 

3 the operation of the program or activity will discriminate 

4 with respect to any such program or activity because of 

5 race, creed, color, national origin, sex, political affiliation, 

6 or beliefs, or because of a disability in violation of section 

7 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794). 

8 ‘‘SEC. 646. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. 

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

10 subchapter, and any individual employed by, or assigned 

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

12 the hours in which such individual is working on behalf 

13 of such program), shall not engage in— 

14 ‘‘(1) any partisan or nonpartisan political activ15 ity or any other political activity associated with a 

16 candidate, or contending faction or group, in an 

17 election for public or party office; 

18 ‘‘(2) any activity to provide voters or prospec19 tive voters with transportation to the polls or similar 

20 assistance in connection with any such election; or 

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

22 organization. 

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

24 this subchapter may be used to conduct voter registration 

25 activities. Nothing in this subchapter prohibits the availVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Feb 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S185.IS S185

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1 ability of Head Start facilities during hours of operation 

2 for the use of any nonpartisan organization to increase 

3 the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elec4 tions for Federal office. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 647. ADVANCE FUNDING. 

6 ‘‘For the purpose of affording adequate notice of 

7 funding available under this subchapter, appropriations 

8 for carrying out this subchapter are authorized to be in9 cluded in an appropriation Act for the fiscal year pre10 ceding the fiscal year for which they are available for obli11 gation. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 648. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this subchapter shall 

14 be construed to authorize or permit the Secretary or any 

15 employee or contractor of the Department of Health and 

16 Human Services to mandate, direct, or control, the selec17 tion of a curriculum, a program of instruction, or instruc18 tional materials, for a Head Start program carried out by 

19 an eligible entity. 

20 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE.—Nothing in this subchapter 

21 shall be construed to authorize an eligible entity carrying 

22 out a program or activity or a local educational agency 

23 to require the other to select or implement a specific cur24 riculum or program of instruction.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 The amendment made by this Act shall apply begin3 ning on October 1 of the first fiscal year following the 

4 date of enactment of the Improvement Act of 2017. 

Æ 


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