II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1380 

To support early learning. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19, 2015 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. UDALL, Mr. KAINE, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. MURPHY, 

Mr. DURBIN, Mr. COONS, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. 

WARREN, Mr. SANDERS, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following 

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

A BILL 

To support early learning. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strong Start for Amer5 ica’s Children Act of 2015’’. 

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 


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

Sec. 101. Purposes. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Sec. 103. Program authorization. 

Sec. 104. Allotments and reservations of funds. 

Sec. 105. State eligibility criteria. 

Sec. 106. State applications. 

Sec. 107. State use of funds. 

Sec. 108. Additional prekindergarten services. 

Sec. 109. Performance measures and targets. 

Sec. 110. Matching requirements. 

Sec. 111. Eligible local entity applications. 

Sec. 112. Required subgrant activities. 

Sec. 113. Report and evaluation. 

Sec. 114. Prohibition of required participation or use of funds for assessments. 

Sec. 115. Coordination with Head Start programs. 

Sec. 116. Technical assistance in program administration. 

Sec. 117. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle B—Prekindergarten Development Grants 

Sec. 121. Prekindergarten development grants. 

TITLE II—EARLY LEARNING QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS 

Sec. 201. Purposes. 

Sec. 202. Early learning quality partnerships. 

TITLE III—AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES 

Sec. 301. Preschool grants. 

Sec. 302. Infants and toddlers with disabilities. 

TITLE IV—MATERNAL, INFANT, AND EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME 

VISITING PROGRAM 

Sec. 401. Sense of the Senate. 

1 TITLE I—PREKINDERGARTEN 

2 ACCESS 

3 Subtitle A—Access to Voluntary 

4 Prekindergarten for Low- and 

5 Moderate-Income Families 

6 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this subtitle are to— 


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1 (1) establish a Federal-State partnership to 

2 provide access to high-quality public prekindergarten 

3 programs for all children from low-income and mod4 erate-income families to ensure that they enter kin5 dergarten prepared for success; 

6 (2) broaden participation in such programs to 

7 include children from additional middle-class fami8 lies; 

9 (3) promote access to high-quality kindergarten, 

10 and high-quality early childhood education programs 

11 and settings for children; and 

12 (4) increase access to appropriate supports so 

13 children with disabilities and other children who 

14 need specialized supports can fully participate in 

15 high-quality early education programs. 

16 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this subtitle: 

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

19 ‘‘child with a disability’’ means— 

20 (A) a child with a disability, as defined in 

21 section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities 

22 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401); or 

23 (B) an infant or toddler with a disability, 

24 as defined in section 632 of the Individuals with 

25 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432). 


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1 (2) COMPREHENSIVE EARLY LEARNING ASSESS2 MENT SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘comprehensive early 

3 learning assessment system’’— 

4 (A) means a coordinated and comprehen5 sive system of multiple assessments, each of 

6 which is valid and reliable for its specified pur7 pose and for the population with which it will 

8 be used, that— 

9 (i) organizes information about the 

10 process and context of young children’s 

11 learning and development to help early 

12 childhood educators make informed in13 structional and programmatic decisions; 

14 and 

15 (ii) conforms to the recommendations 

16 of the National Research Council reports 

17 on early childhood; and 

18 (B) includes, at a minimum— 

19 (i) child screening measures to iden20 tify children who may need follow-up serv21 ices to address developmental, learning, or 

22 health needs in, at a minimum, areas of 

23 physical health, behavioral health, oral 

24 health, child development, vision, and hear25 ing; 


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1 (ii) child formative assessments; 

2 (iii) measures of environmental qual3 ity; and 

4 (iv) measures of the quality of adult5 child interactions. 

6 (3) DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 

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

8 limited English proficient. 

9 (4) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO10 GRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood education pro11 gram’’ has the meaning given the term under section 

12 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 1003). 

14 (5) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen15 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec16 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

18 (6) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION DATE.—The 

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

20 used to determine eligibility for public elementary 

21 school in the community in which the eligible local 

22 entity involved is located. 

23 (7) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligi24 ble local entity’’ means— 


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1 (A) a local educational agency, including a 

2 charter school or a charter management organi3 zation that acts as a local educational agency, 

4 or an educational service agency in partnership 

5 with a local educational agency; 

6 (B) an entity (including a Head Start pro7 gram or licensed child care setting) that carries 

8 out, administers, or supports an early childhood 

9 education program; or 

10 (C) a consortium of entities described in 

11 subparagraph (A) or (B). 

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

13 day that is— 

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

15 public elementary schools in a State; and 

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

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

18 the chief executive officer of a State. 

19 (10) HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDERGARTEN PRO20 GRAM.—The term ‘‘high-quality prekindergarten 

21 program’’ means a prekindergarten program sup22 ported by an eligible local entity that includes, at a 

23 minimum, the following elements based on nationally 

24 recognized standards: 

25 (A) Serves children who— 


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

2 3 or 4, by the eligibility determination date 

3 (including children who turn age 5 while 

4 attending the program); or 

5 (ii) have attained the legal age for 

6 State-funded prekindergarten. 

7 (B) Requires high qualifications for staff, 

8 including that teachers meet the requirements 

9 of 1 of the following clauses: 

10 (i) The teacher has a bachelor’s de11 gree in early childhood education or a re12 lated field with coursework that dem13 onstrates competence in early childhood 

14 education. 

15 (ii) The teacher— 

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

17 field; 

18 (II) has demonstrated knowledge 

19 of early childhood education by pass20 ing a State-approved assessment in 

21 early childhood education; 

22 (III) while employed as a teacher 

23 in the prekindergarten program, is en24 gaged in on-going professional develVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380

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1 opment in early childhood education 

2 for not less than 2 years; and 

3 (IV) not more than 4 years after 

4 starting employment as a teacher in 

5 the prekindergarten program, enrolls 

6 in and completes a State-approved ed7 ucator preparation program in which 

8 the teacher receives training and sup9 port in early childhood education. 

10 (iii) The teacher has bachelor’s degree 

11 with a credential, license, or endorsement 

12 that demonstrates competence in early 

13 childhood education. 

14 (C) Maintains an evidence-based maximum 

15 class size. 

16 (D) Maintains an evidence-based child to 

17 instructional staff ratio. 

18 (E) Offers a full-day program. 

19 (F) Provides developmentally appropriate 

20 learning environments and evidence-based cur21 ricula that are aligned with the State’s early 

22 learning and development standards described 

23 in section 105(1). 


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1 (G) Offers instructional staff salaries com2 parable to kindergarten through grade 12 

3 teaching staff. 

4 (H) Provides for ongoing monitoring and 

5 program evaluation to ensure continuous im6 provement. 

7 (I) Offers accessible comprehensive services 

8 for children that include, at a minimum— 

9 (i) screenings for vision, hearing, den10 tal, health (including mental health), and 

11 development (including early literacy and 

12 math skill development) and referrals, and 

13 assistance obtaining services, when appro14 priate; 

15 (ii) family engagement opportunities 

16 that take into account home language, 

17 such as parent conferences (including par18 ent input about their child’s development) 

19 and support services, such as parent edu20 cation, home visiting, and family literacy 

21 services; 

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 in coordination with 

6 local educational agencies and entities pro7 viding services and supports authorized 

8 under part B and part C of the Individuals 

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

10 1411 et seq.; 1431 et seq.) to ensure the 

11 full participation of children with disabil12 ities; 

13 (v) physical activity programs aligned 

14 with evidence-based guidelines, such as 

15 those recommended by the Institute of 

16 Medicine, and which take into account and 

17 accommodate children with disabilities; 

18 (vi) additional support services, as ap19 propriate, based on the findings of the 

20 community assessment, as described in sec21 tion 111(b)(4); and 

22 (vii) on-site coordination, to the max23 imum extent practicable. 

24 (J) Provides high-quality professional de25 velopment for all staff, including regular inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380

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1 classroom observation for teachers and teacher 

2 assistants by individuals trained in such obser3 vation and which may include evidence-based 

4 coaching. 

5 (K) Meets the education performance 

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

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

8 9836a(a)(1)(B)). 

9 (L) Maintains evidence-based health and 

10 safety standards. 

11 (M) Maintains disciplinary policies that do 

12 not include expulsion or suspension of partici13 pating children, except as a last resort in ex14 traordinary circumstances where— 

15 (i) there is a determination of a seri16 ous safety threat; and 

17 (ii) policies are in place to provide ap18 propriate alternative early educational 

19 services to expelled or suspended children 

20 while they are out of school. 

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

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

23 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

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


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1 (12) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

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

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

4 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990 

5 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 

6 (13) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

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

8 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

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

10 (14) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT.—The 

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

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

13 (42 U.S.C. 9832). 

14 (15) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE

15 EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; EDUCATIONAL SERVICE

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

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

18 agency’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec19 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

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

23 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

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


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

2 area’’ means each of the United States Virgin Is3 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

4 of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic 

5 of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and 

6 the Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

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

8 means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of9 fice of Management and Budget)— 

10 (A) adjusted to reflect the percentage 

11 change in the Consumer Price Index for All 

12 Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of 

13 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor 

14 for the most recent 12-month period or other 

15 interval for which the data are available; and 

16 (B) applicable to a family of the size in17 volved. 

18 (19) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec19 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

20 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

23 means the Secretary of Education. 

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

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


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1 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

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

3 (22) STATE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON EARLY

4 CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE.—The term 

5 ‘‘State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu6 cation and Care’’ means the State Advisory Council 

7 on Early Childhood Education and Care established 

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

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

10 SEC. 103. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. 

11 From amounts made available to carry out this sub12 title, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services, shall award grants to States 

14 to implement high-quality prekindergarten programs, con15 sistent with the purposes of this subtitle described in sec16 tion 101. For each fiscal year, the funds provided under 

17 a grant to a State shall equal the allotment determined 

18 for the State under section 104. 

19 SEC. 104. ALLOTMENTS AND RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS. 

20 (a) RESERVATION.—From the amount made avail21 able each fiscal year to carry out this subtitle, the Sec22 retary shall— 

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

24 more than 2 percent for payments to Indian tribes 

25 and tribal organizations; 


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1 (2) reserve one-half of 1 percent for the out2 lying areas to be distributed among the outlying 

3 areas on the basis of their relative need, as deter4 mined by the Secretary in accordance with the pur5 poses of this subtitle; 

6 (3) reserve one-half of 1 percent for eligible 

7 local entities that serve children in families who are 

8 engaged in migrant or seasonal agricultural labor; 

9 and 

10 (4) reserve not more than 1 percent or 

11 $30,000,000, whichever amount is less, for national 

12 activities, including administration, technical assist13 ance, and evaluation. 

14 (b) ALLOTMENTS.— 

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

16 available each fiscal year to carry out this subtitle 

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

18 shall make allotments to States in accordance with 

19 paragraph (2) that have submitted an approved ap20 plication. 

21 (2) ALLOTMENT AMOUNT.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara23 graph (B), the Secretary shall allot the amount 

24 made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal 

25 year among the States in proportion to the 


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1 number of children who are age 4 who reside 

2 within the State and are from families with in3 comes at or below 200 percent of the poverty 

4 line for the most recent year for which satisfac5 tory data are available, compared to the num6 ber of such children who reside in all such 

7 States for that fiscal year. 

8 (B) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT AMOUNT.—No 

9 State receiving an allotment under subpara10 graph (A) may receive less than one-half of 1 

11 percent of the total amount allotted under such 

12 subparagraph. 

13 (3) REALLOTMENT AND CARRY OVER.— 

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

15 do not receive an allotment under this sub16 section for any fiscal year, the Secretary may 

17 use the amount of the allotment for that State 

18 or States, in such amounts as the Secretary de19 termines appropriate, for either or both of the 

20 following: 

21 (i) To increase the allotments of 

22 States with approved applications for the 

23 fiscal year, consistent with subparagraph 

24 (B). 


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1 (ii) To carry over the funds to the 

2 next fiscal year. 

3 (B) REALLOTMENT.—In increasing allot4 ments under subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary 

5 shall allot to each State with an approved appli6 cation an amount that bears the same relation7 ship to the total amount to be allotted under 

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

9 received under paragraph (2) for that fiscal 

10 year bears to the amount that all States re11 ceived under paragraph (2) for that fiscal year. 

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

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

14 District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 

15 Puerto Rico. 

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

17 adjustments to allotments under subsection (b), which 

18 shall neither lead to a significant increase or decrease in 

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

20 on a set of factors, such as the level of program participa21 tion and the estimated cost of the activities specified in 

22 the State plan under section 106(2). 


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1 SEC. 105. STATE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA. 

2 A State is eligible to receive a grant under this sub3 title if the State demonstrates to the Secretary that the 

4 State— 

5 (1) has established or will establish early learn6 ing and development standards that— 

7 (A) describe what children from birth to 

8 kindergarten entry should know and be able to 

9 do; 

10 (B) are universally designed and develop11 mentally, culturally, and linguistically appro12 priate; 

13 (C) are aligned with the State’s chal14 lenging academic content standards and chal15 lenging student academic achievement stand16 ards, as adopted under section 1111(b)(1) of 

17 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

18 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)); and 

19 (D) cover all of the essential domains of 

20 school readiness, which address— 

21 (i) physical well-being and motor de22 velopment; 

23 (ii) social and emotional development; 

24 (iii) approaches to learning, including 

25 creative arts expression; 


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1 (iv) developmentally appropriate oral 

2 and written language and literacy develop3 ment; and 

4 (v) cognition and general knowledge, 

5 including early mathematics and early sci6 entific development; 

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

8 link prekindergarten data with State elementary 

9 school and secondary school data for the purpose of 

10 collecting longitudinal information for all children 

11 participating in the State’s high-quality prekinder12 garten program and any other federally funded early 

13 childhood program that will remain with the child 

14 through the child’s public education through grade 

15 12; 

16 (3) offers State-funded kindergarten for chil17 dren who are eligible children for that service in the 

18 State; and 

19 (4) has established a State Advisory Council on 

20 Early Childhood Education and Care. 

21 SEC. 106. STATE APPLICATIONS. 

22 To receive a grant under this subtitle, the Governor 

23 of a State, in consultation with the Indian tribes and tribal 

24 organizations in the State, if any, shall submit an applica25 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 


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1 containing such information as the Secretary may reason2 ably require. At a minimum, each such application shall 

3 include— 

4 (1) an assurance that the State— 

5 (A) will coordinate with and continue to 

6 participate in the programs authorized under 

7 section 619 and part C of the Individuals with 

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

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

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

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

14 711) for the duration of the grant; 

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

16 as an agency or joint interagency office), se17 lected by the Governor, for the administration 

18 of the grant, which shall coordinate and consult 

19 with the State educational agency if the entity 

20 is not the State educational agency; and 

21 (C) will establish, or certify the existence 

22 of, program standards for all State prekinder23 garten programs consistent with the definition 

24 of a high-quality prekindergarten program 

25 under section 102; 


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

2 (A) use funds received under this subtitle 

3 and the State’s matching funds to provide high4 quality prekindergarten programs, in accord5 ance with section 107(d), with open enrollment 

6 for all children in the State who— 

7 (i) are described in section 102(9)(A); 

8 and 

9 (ii) are from families with incomes at 

10 or below 200 percent of the poverty line; 

11 (B) develop or enhance a system for moni12 toring eligible local entities that are receiving 

13 funds under this subtitle for compliance with 

14 quality standards developed by the State and to 

15 provide program improvement support, which 

16 may be accomplished through the use of a 

17 State-developed system for quality rating and 

18 improvement; 

19 (C) if applicable, expand participation in 

20 the State’s high-quality prekindergarten pro21 grams to children from families with incomes 

22 above 200 percent of the poverty line; 

23 (D) carry out the State’s comprehensive 

24 early learning assessment system, or how the 

25 State plans to develop such a system, ensuring 


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1 that any assessments are culturally, develop2 mentally, and age-appropriate and consistent 

3 with the recommendations from the study on 

4 Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for 

5 Young Children by the National Academy of 

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

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

8 (E) develop, implement, and make publicly 

9 available the performance measures and targets 

10 described in section 109; 

11 (F) increase the number of teachers with 

12 bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education, 

13 or with bachelor’s degrees in another closely re14 lated field and specialized training and dem15 onstrated competency in early childhood edu16 cation, including how institutions of higher edu17 cation will support increasing the number of 

18 teachers with such degrees and training, includ19 ing through the use of assessments of prior 

20 learning, knowledge, and skills to facilitate and 

21 expedite attainment of such degrees; 

22 (G) coordinate and integrate the activities 

23 funded under this subtitle with Federal, State, 

24 and local services and programs that support 

25 early childhood education and care, including 


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1 programs supported under this subtitle, the El2 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals with 

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

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

6 seq.), the Community Services Block Grant Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.), the Child Care and 

8 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

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

10 for needy families program under part A of title 

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

12 seq.), the Race to the Top program under sec13 tion 14006 of division A of the American Re14 covery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public 

15 Law 111–5), federally funded early literacy pro16 grams, 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), health improvements to child care funded 

20 under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), the program under sub22 title B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento 

23 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et 

24 seq.), the innovation fund program under sec25 tion 14007 of the American Recovery and ReinVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380

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1 vestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5), pro2 grams authorized under part E of title IV of 

3 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), 

4 the Fostering Connections to Success and In5 creasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 

6 110–351), grants for infant and toddler care 

7 through Early Head Start-Child Care Partner8 ships funded under the heading ‘‘CHILDREN

9 AND FAMILIES SERVICES PROGRAMS’’ under the 

10 heading ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND

11 FAMILIES in title II of division H of the Depart12 ment of Health and Human Services Appro13 priations Act, 2014 (Public Law 113–76; 128 

14 Stat. 377–378), the preschool development 

15 grants program funded under the heading ‘‘IN16 NOVATION AND IMPROVEMENT’’ in title III of 

17 division G of the Department of Education Ap18 propriations Act, 2015 (Public Law 113–235; 

19 128 Stat. 2496), and any other Federal, State, 

20 or local early childhood education programs 

21 used in the State; 

22 (H) award subgrants to eligible local enti23 ties, and in awarding such subgrants, facilitate 

24 a delivery system of high-quality prekinder25 garten programs that includes diverse proVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380

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1 viders, such as providers in community-based, 

2 public school, and private settings, and consider 

3 the system’s impact on options for families; 

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

5 have a State-determined funding mechanism for 

6 prekindergarten, use objective criteria in award7 ing subgrants to eligible local entities that will 

8 implement high-quality prekindergarten pro9 grams, including actions the State will take to 

10 ensure that eligible local entities will coordinate 

11 with local educational agencies or other early 

12 learning providers, as appropriate, to carry out 

13 activities to provide children served under this 

14 subtitle with a successful transition from pre15 school into kindergarten, which activities shall 

16 include— 

17 (i) aligning curricular objectives and 

18 instruction; 

19 (ii) providing staff professional devel20 opment, including opportunities for joint21 professional development on early learning 

22 and kindergarten through grade 3 stand23 ards, assessments, and curricula; 

24 (iii) coordinating family engagement 

25 and support services; and 


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1 (iv) encouraging the shared use of fa2 cilities and transportation, as appropriate; 

3 (J) use the State early learning and devel4 opment standards described in section 105(1) 

5 to address the needs of dual language learners, 

6 including by incorporating benchmarks related 

7 to English language development; 

8 (K) identify barriers, and propose solutions 

9 to overcome such barriers, which may include 

10 seeking assistance under section 116, in the 

11 State to effectively use and integrate Federal, 

12 State, and local public funds and private funds 

13 for early childhood education that are available 

14 to the State on the date on which the applica15 tion is submitted; 

16 (L) support articulation agreements (as 

17 defined in section 486A of the Higher Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1093a)) between 

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

20 higher education and other credit-bearing pro21 fessional development in the State for early 

22 childhood teacher preparation programs and 

23 closely related fields; 

24 (M) ensure that the higher education pro25 grams in the State have the capacity to prepare 


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1 a workforce to provide high-quality prekinder2 garten programs; 

3 (N) support workforce development, in4 cluding State and local policies that support 

5 prekindergarten instructional staff’s ability to 

6 earn a degree, certification, or other specializa7 tions or qualifications, including policies on 

8 leave, substitutes, and child care services, in9 cluding non-traditional hour child care; 

10 (O) hold eligible local entities accountable 

11 for use of funds; 

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

13 and development standards are integrated into 

14 the instructional and programmatic practices of 

15 high-quality prekindergarten programs and re16 lated programs and services, such as those pro17 vided to children under section 619 and part C 

18 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

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

20 (Q) increase the number of children in the 

21 State who are enrolled in high-quality kinder22 garten programs and carry out a strategy to 

23 implement such a plan; 

24 (R) coordinate the State’s activities sup25 ported by grants under this subtitle with activiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380

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1 ties in State plans required under the Elemen2 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals with Dis4 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

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

6 seq.), the Child Care and Development Block 

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

8 and the Adult Education and Family Literacy 

9 Act (29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq.); 

10 (S) encourage eligible local entities to co11 ordinate with community-based learning re12 sources, such as libraries, arts and arts edu13 cation programs, appropriate media programs, 

14 family literacy programs, public parks and 

15 recreation programs, museums, nutrition edu16 cation programs, and programs supported by 

17 the Corporation for National and Community 

18 Service; 

19 (T) work with eligible local entities, in con20 sultation with elementary school principals, to 

21 ensure that high-quality prekindergarten pro22 grams have sufficient and appropriate facilities 

23 to meet the needs of children eligible for pre24 kindergarten; 


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1 (U) support local early childhood coordi2 nating entities, such as local early childhood 

3 councils, if applicable, and help such entities to 

4 coordinate early childhood education programs 

5 with high-quality prekindergarten programs to 

6 ensure effective and efficient delivery of early 

7 childhood education program services; 

8 (V) support shared services administering 

9 entities, if applicable; 

10 (W) ensure that the provision of high-qual11 ity prekindergarten programs will not lead to a 

12 diminution in the quality or supply of services 

13 for infants and toddlers or disrupt the care of 

14 infants and toddlers in the geographic area 

15 served by the eligible local entity, which may in16 clude demonstrating that the State will direct 

17 funds to provide high-quality early childhood 

18 education and care to infants and toddlers in 

19 accordance with section 107(d); and 

20 (X) encourage or promote socioeconomic, 

21 racial, and ethnic diversity in the classrooms of 

22 high-quality prekindergarten programs, as ap23 plicable; and 


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

2 programs that prepare individuals for work in a 

3 high-quality prekindergarten program, including— 

4 (A) certification programs; 

5 (B) associate degree programs; 

6 (C) baccalaureate degree programs; 

7 (D) masters degree programs; and 

8 (E) other programs that lead to a speciali9 zation in early childhood education, or a related 

10 field. 

11 SEC. 107. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 

12 (a) RESERVATION FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AC13 TIVITIES.— 

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

15 grant under this subtitle may reserve, for not more 

16 than the first 4 years such State receives such a 

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

18 for quality improvement activities that support the 

19 elements of high-quality prekindergarten programs. 

20 Such quality improvement activities may include 

21 supporting teachers, center directors, and principals 

22 in a State’s high-quality prekindergarten program, 

23 licensed or regulated child care, or Head Start pro24 grams to enable such teachers, principals, or direc25 tors to earn a baccalaureate degree in early childVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380

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1 hood education, or a closely related field, through 

2 activities which may include— 

3 (A) expanding or establishing scholarships, 

4 counseling, and compensation initiatives to 

5 cover the cost of tuition, fees, materials, trans6 portation, and release time for such teachers; 

7 (B) providing ongoing professional develop8 ment opportunities, including regular in-class9 room observation by individuals trained in such 

10 observation, for such teachers, directors, prin11 cipals, and teachers assistants to enable such 

12 teachers, directors, principals, and teachers as13 sistants to carry out the elements of high-qual14 ity prekindergarten programs, which may in15 clude activities that address— 

16 (i) promoting children’s development 

17 across all of the essential domains of early 

18 learning and development; 

19 (ii) developmentally appropriate cur20 ricula and teacher-child interaction; 

21 (iii) effective family engagement; 

22 (iv) providing culturally competent in23 struction; 


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

3 disabilities and dual language learners; 

4 (vi) childhood nutrition and physical 

5 education programs; 

6 (vii) supporting the implementation of 

7 evidence-based curricula; 

8 (viii) social and emotional develop9 ment; and 

10 (ix) incorporating age-appropriate 

11 strategies of positive behavioral interven12 tions and supports; and 

13 (C) providing families with increased op14 portunities to learn how best to support their 

15 children’s physical, cognitive, social, and emo16 tional development during the first 5 years of 

17 life. 

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

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

20 the matching requirements under section 110. 

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

22 amount under paragraph (1) shall coordinate the 

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


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

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

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

4 funds reserved under this subsection to meet the re5 quirement described in section 102(9)(G). 

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

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

10 implement high-quality prekindergarten programs for chil11 dren who— 

12 (1) are described in section 102(9)(A); 

13 (2) reside within the State; and 

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

15 200 percent of the poverty line. 

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

17 under this subtitle may reserve not more than 1 percent 

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

19 may use part of that reservation for the maintenance of 

20 the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education 

21 and Care. 

22 (d) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PRO23 GRAMS FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS.— 

24 (1) USE OF ALLOTMENT FOR INFANTS AND

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


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1 the appropriate Secretary may grant permission for 

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

3 funds made available through a grant received under 

4 this subtitle to award subgrants to early childhood 

5 education programs to provide, consistent with the 

6 State’s early learning and development guidelines for 

7 infants and toddlers, high-quality early childhood 

8 education and care to infants and toddlers who re9 side within the State and are from families with in10 comes at or below 200 percent of the poverty line. 

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

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

13 shall submit an application to the appropriate Sec14 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

15 such information as the Secretary may require. Such 

16 application shall, at a minimum, include a descrip17 tion of how the State will— 

18 (A) designate a lead agency which shall ad19 minister such funds; 

20 (B) ensure that such lead agency, in co21 ordination with the State’s Advisory Council on 

22 Early Childhood Education and Care, will col23 laborate with other agencies in administering 

24 programs supported under this subsection for 

25 infants and toddlers in order to obtain input 


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1 about the appropriate use of such funds and en2 sure coordination with programs for infants and 

3 toddlers funded under the Child Care and De4 velopment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

5 9858 et seq.), the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 9831 et seq.) (including any Early Learning 

7 Quality Partnerships established in the State 

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

9 added by section 202), the Race to the Top pro10 gram under section 14006 of division A of the 

11 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 

12 2009 (Public Law 111–5), the maternal, infant, 

13 and early childhood home visiting programs 

14 funded under section 511 of the Social Security 

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 711), part C of the Individuals 

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

17 1431 et seq.), and grants for infant and toddler 

18 care through Early Head Start-Child Care 

19 Partnerships funded under the heading ‘‘CHIL20 DREN AND FAMILIES SERVICES PROGRAMS’’ 

21 under the heading ADMINISTRATION FOR CHIL22 DREN AND FAMILIES in title II of division H of 

23 the Department of Health and Human Services 

24 Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law 113–76; 

25 128 Stat. 377–378); 


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1 (C) ensure that infants and toddlers who 

2 benefit from amounts made available under this 

3 subsection will transition to and have the oppor4 tunity to participate in a high-quality pre5 kindergarten program supported under this 

6 subtitle; 

7 (D) in awarding subgrants, give preference 

8 to early childhood education programs that 

9 have a written formal plan with baseline data, 

10 benchmarks, and timetables to increase access 

11 to and full participation in high-quality pre12 kindergarten programs for children who need 

13 additional support, including children with de14 velopmental delays or disabilities, children who 

15 are dual language learners, homeless children, 

16 children who are in foster care, children of mi17 grant families, children eligible for a free or re18 duced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell 

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

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

21 and 

22 (E) give priority to activities carried out 

23 under this subsection that will increase access 

24 to high-quality early childhood education pro25 grams for infants and toddlers in local areas 


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1 with significant concentrations of low-income 

2 families that do not currently benefit from such 

3 programs. 

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

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

6 serve infants and toddlers only by working with 

7 early childhood education program providers that— 

8 (A) offer full-day, full-year care, or other9 wise meet the needs of working families; and 

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

11 (i) Early Head Start program per12 formance standards under the Head Start 

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

14 (ii) high-quality, demonstrated, valid, 

15 and reliable program standards that have 

16 been established through a national entity 

17 that accredits early childhood education 

18 programs. 

19 (4) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 bear responsibility for obligating and disbursing 

22 funds to support activities under this subsection 

23 and ensuring compliance with applicable laws 

24 and administrative requirements, subject to 

25 paragraph (3). 


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1 (B) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Sec2 retary of Education and the Secretary of 

3 Health and Human Services shall jointly ad4 minister activities supported under this sub5 section on such terms as such Secretaries shall 

6 set forth in an interagency agreement. The Sec7 retary of Health and Human Services shall be 

8 responsible for any final approval of a State’s 

9 application under this subsection that addresses 

10 the use of funds designated for services to in11 fants and toddlers. 

12 (C) APPROPRIATE SECRETARY.—In this 

13 subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate Secretary’’ 

14 used with respect to a function, means the Sec15 retary designated for that function under the 

16 interagency agreement. 

17 SEC. 108. ADDITIONAL PREKINDERGARTEN SERVICES. 

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

19 State that certifies to the Secretary that the State pro20 vides universally available, voluntary, high-quality pre21 kindergarten programs for 4-year-old children who reside 

22 within the State and are from families with incomes at 

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

24 State’s allocation under section 104(b) to provide high25 quality prekindergarten programs for 3-year-old children 


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1 who reside within the State and are from families with 

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

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

4 county, or local educational agency that provides univer5 sally available high-quality prekindergarten programs for 

6 4-year-old children who reside within the State and are 

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

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

9 allocation under section 104(b) to award subgrants to eli10 gible local entities to enable such eligible local entities to 

11 provide high-quality prekindergarten programs for 3-year12 old children who are from families with incomes at or 

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

14 such city, county, or local educational agency. 

15 SEC. 109. PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND TARGETS. 

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

17 under this subtitle shall develop, implement, and make 

18 publicly available the performance measures and targets 

19 for the activities carried out with grant funds. Such meas20 ures shall, at a minimum, track the State’s progress in— 

21 (1) increasing school readiness across all do22 mains for all categories of children, as described in 

23 section 113(b)(7), including children with disabilities 

24 and dual language learners; 


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1 (2) narrowing school readiness gaps between 

2 minority and nonminority children, and low-income 

3 children and more advantaged children, in prepara4 tion for kindergarten entry; 

5 (3) decreasing the number of years that chil6 dren receive special education and related services as 

7 described in part B of the Individuals with Disabil8 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); 

9 (4) increasing the number of programs meeting 

10 the criteria for high-quality prekindergarten pro11 grams across all types of local eligible entities, as de12 fined by the State and in accordance with section 

13 102; 

14 (5) decreasing the need for grade-to-grade re15 tention in elementary school; 

16 (6) if applicable, ensuring that high-quality pre17 kindergarten programs do not experience instances 

18 of chronic absence among the children who partici19 pate in such programs; 

20 (7) increasing the number and percentage of 

21 low-income children in high-quality early childhood 

22 education programs that receive financial support 

23 through funds provided under this subtitle; and 


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1 (8) providing high-quality nutrition services, 

2 nutrition education, physical activity, and obesity 

3 prevention programs. 

4 (b) PROHIBITION OF MISDIAGNOSIS PRACTICES.—A 

5 State shall not, in order to meet the performance meas6 ures and targets described in subsection (a), engage in 

7 practices or policies that will lead to the misdiagnosis or 

8 under-diagnosis of disabilities or developmental delays 

9 among children who are served through programs sup10 ported under this subtitle. 

11 SEC. 110. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS. 

12 (a) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), a State that receives a grant under this 

15 subtitle shall provide matching funds from non-Fed16 eral sources, as described in subsection (c), in an 

17 amount equal to— 

18 (A) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro19 vided under the grant in the first year of grant 

20 administration; 

21 (B) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro22 vided under the grant in the second year of 

23 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, across all 

8 publicly funded programs (including locally funded pro9 grams)— 

10 (1)(A) offers enrollment in high-quality pre11 kindergarten programs to not less than half of chil12 dren in the State who are— 

13 (i) age 4 on the eligibility determination 

14 date; and 

15 (ii) from families with incomes at or below 

16 200 percent of the poverty line; and 

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

18 to high-quality prekindergarten programs for such 

19 children in the State; and 

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

21 prekindergarten programs to children from moderate 

22 income families whose income exceeds 200 percent of 

23 the poverty line. 

24 (c) NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES.— 


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1 (1) IN CASH.—A State shall provide the match2 ing funds under this section in cash with non-Fed3 eral resources which may include State funding, 

4 local funding, or contributions from philanthropy or 

5 other private sources, or a combination thereof. 

6 (2) FUNDS TO BE CONSIDERED AS MATCHING

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

8 matching funds under this section, not more than 10 

9 percent of the amount of State or local funds des10 ignated for State or local prekindergarten programs 

11 or to supplement Head Start programs under the 

12 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) as of the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, but may not include 

14 any funds that are attributed as matching funds, as 

15 part of a non-Federal share, or as a maintenance of 

16 effort requirement, for any other Federal program. 

17 (d) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a State reduces its com19 bined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate ex20 penditures within the State to support early child21 hood education programs for any fiscal year that a 

22 State receives a grant authorized under this subtitle 

23 relative to the previous fiscal year, the Secretary 

24 shall reduce support for such State under this subVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380

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1 title by the same amount as the decline in State ef2 fort for such fiscal year. 

3 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re4 quirements of paragraph (1) if— 

5 (A) the Secretary determines that a waiver 

6 would be appropriate due to a precipitous de7 cline in the financial resources of a State as a 

8 result of unforeseen economic hardship or a 

9 natural disaster that has necessitated across10 the-board reductions in State services, including 

11 early childhood education programs; or 

12 (B) due to the circumstances of a State re13 quiring reductions in specific programs, includ14 ing early childhood education, if the State pre15 sents to the Secretary a justification and dem16 onstration why other programs could not be re17 duced and how early childhood programs in the 

18 State will not be disproportionately harmed by 

19 such State action. 

20 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds re21 ceived under this subtitle shall be used to supplement and 

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

23 expended on public prekindergarten programs in the 

24 State. 


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1 SEC. 111. ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY APPLICATIONS. 

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

3 receive a subgrant under section 107(b) shall submit an 

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

5 and containing such information as the State may reason6 ably require. 

7 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under 

8 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

9 (1) PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT.—A de10 scription of how the eligible local entity plans to en11 gage the parents and families of the children such 

12 entity serves and ensure that parents and families of 

13 eligible children, as described in clauses (i) and (ii) 

14 of section 106(2)(A), are aware of the services pro15 vided by the eligible local entity, which shall include 

16 a plan to— 

17 (A) carry out meaningful parent and fam18 ily engagement, through the implementation 

19 and replication of evidence-based or promising 

20 practices and strategies, which shall be coordi21 nated with parent and family engagement strat22 egies supported under the Individuals with Dis23 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

24 seq.), part A of title I and title V of the Ele25 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

26 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.; 7201 et seq.), and 


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1 strategies in the Head Start Parent, Family, 

2 and Community Engagement Framework, if ap3 plicable, to— 

4 (i) provide parents and family mem5 bers with the skills and opportunities nec6 essary to become engaged and effective 

7 partners in their children’s education, par8 ticularly the families of dual language 

9 learners and children with disabilities, 

10 which may include access to family literacy 

11 services; 

12 (ii) improve child development; and 

13 (iii) strengthen relationships among 

14 prekindergarten staff and parents and 

15 family members; and 

16 (B) participate in community outreach to 

17 encourage families with eligible children to par18 ticipate in the eligible local entity’s high-quality 

19 prekindergarten program, including— 

20 (i) homeless children; 

21 (ii) dual language learners; 

22 (iii) children in foster care; 

23 (iv) children with disabilities; and 

24 (v) migrant children. 


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1 (2) COORDINATION AND ALIGNMENT.—A de2 scription of how the eligible local entity will— 

3 (A) coordinate, if applicable, the eligible 

4 local entity’s activities with— 

5 (i) Head Start agencies (consistent 

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

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

8 entity is not a Head Start agency; 

9 (ii) local educational agencies, if the 

10 eligible local entity is not a local edu11 cational agency; 

12 (iii) providers of services under part C 

13 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu14 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 

15 (iv) programs carried out under sec16 tion 619 of the Individuals with Disabil17 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419); and 

18 (v) if feasible, other entities carrying 

19 out early childhood education programs 

20 and services within the area served by the 

21 local educational agency; 

22 (B) develop a process to promote con23 tinuity of developmentally appropriate instruc24 tional programs and shared expectations with 

25 local elementary schools for children’s learning 


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1 and development as children transition to kin2 dergarten; 

3 (C) organize, if feasible, and participate in 

4 joint training, when available, including transi5 tion-related training for school staff and early 

6 childhood education program staff; 

7 (D) establish comprehensive transition 

8 policies and procedures, with applicable elemen9 tary schools and principals, for the children 

10 served by the eligible local entity that support 

11 the school readiness of children transitioning to 

12 kindergarten, including the transfer of early 

13 childhood education program records, with pa14 rental consent; 

15 (E) conduct outreach to parents, families, 

16 and elementary school teachers and principals 

17 to discuss the educational, developmental, and 

18 other needs of children entering kindergarten; 

19 (F) help parents, including parents of chil20 dren who are dual language learners, under21 stand and engage with the instructional and 

22 other services provided by the kindergarten in 

23 which such child will enroll after participation 

24 in a high-quality prekindergarten program; and 


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1 (G) develop and implement a system to in2 crease program participation of underserved 

3 populations of eligible children, especially home4 less children, children eligible for a free or re5 duced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell 

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

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

8 learners, and parents of children with disabil9 ities. 

10 (3) FULL PARTICIPATION OF ALL CHILDREN.— 

11 A description of how the eligible local entity will 

12 meet the diverse needs of children in the community 

13 to be served, including children with disabilities, 

14 dual language learners, children who need additional 

15 support, children in the State foster care system, 

16 and homeless children. Such description shall dem17 onstrate, at a minimum, how the entity plans to— 

18 (A) ensure the eligible local entity’s high19 quality prekindergarten program is accessible 

20 and appropriate for children with disabilities 

21 and dual language learners; 

22 (B) establish effective procedures for en23 suring use of evidence-based practices in assess24 ment and instruction, including use of data for 

25 progress monitoring of child performance and 


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1 provision of technical assistance support for 

2 staff to ensure fidelity with evidence-based 

3 practices; 

4 (C) establish effective procedures for time5 ly referral of children with disabilities to enti6 ties authorized under part B and part C of the 

7 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

8 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.; 1431 et seq.); 

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

10 high-quality prekindergarten program works 

11 with appropriate entities to address the elimi12 nation of barriers to immediate and continuous 

13 enrollment for homeless children; and 

14 (E) ensure access to and continuity of en15 rollment in high-quality prekindergarten pro16 grams for migratory children, if applicable, and 

17 homeless children, including through policies 

18 and procedures that require— 

19 (i) outreach to identify migratory chil20 dren and homeless children; 

21 (ii) immediate enrollment, including 

22 enrollment during the period of time when 

23 documents typically required for enroll24 ment, including health and immunization 


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1 records, proof of eligibility, and other docu2 ments, are obtained; 

3 (iii) continuous enrollment and par4 ticipation in the same high-quality pre5 kindergarten program for a child, even if 

6 the child moves out of the program’s serv7 ice area, if that enrollment and participa8 tion are in the child’s best interest, includ9 ing by providing transportation when nec10 essary; 

11 (iv) professional development for high12 quality prekindergarten program staff re13 garding migratory children and homeless14 ness among families with young children; 

15 and 

16 (v) in serving homeless children, col17 laboration with local educational agency li18 aisons designated under section 

19 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento 

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

21 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), and local homeless 

22 service providers. 

23 (4) ACCESSIBLE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES.— 

24 A description of how the eligible local entity plans to 

25 provide accessible comprehensive services, described 


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1 in section 102(9)(I), to the children the eligible local 

2 entity serves. Such description shall provide informa3 tion on how the entity will— 

4 (A) conduct a data-driven community as5 sessment in coordination with members of the 

6 community, including parents and community 

7 organizations, or use a recently conducted data8 driven assessment, which— 

9 (i) may involve an external partner 

10 with expertise in conducting such needs 

11 analysis, to determine the most appro12 priate social or other support services to 

13 offer through the eligible local entity’s on14 site comprehensive services to children who 

15 participate in high-quality prekindergarten 

16 programs; and 

17 (ii) shall consider the resources avail18 able at the school, local educational agen19 cy, and community levels to address the 

20 needs of the community and improve child 

21 outcomes; and 

22 (B) have a coordinated system to facilitate 

23 the screening, referral, and provision of services 

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1 ability, and family support for children served 

2 by the eligible local entity. 

3 (5) WORKFORCE.—A description of how the eli4 gible local entity plans to support the instructional 

5 staff of such entity’s high-quality prekindergarten 

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

7 to provide high-quality professional development, or 

8 facilitate the provision of high-quality professional 

9 development through an external partner with exper10 tise and a demonstrated track record of success, 

11 based on scientifically valid research, that will im12 prove the knowledge and skills of high-quality pre13 kindergarten teachers and staff through activities, 

14 which may include— 

15 (A) acquiring content knowledge and learn16 ing teaching strategies needed to provide effec17 tive instruction that addresses the State’s early 

18 learning and development standards described 

19 under section 105(1), including professional 

20 training to support the social and emotional de21 velopment of children; 

22 (B) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

23 teachers and staff to pursue specialized training 

24 in early childhood development; 


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1 (C) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

2 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

3 skills to provide instruction and appropriate 

4 language and support services to increase the 

5 English language skills of dual language learn6 ers; 

7 (D) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

8 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

9 skills to provide developmentally appropriate in10 struction for children with disabilities; 

11 (E) promoting classroom management; 

12 (F) providing high-quality induction and 

13 support for incoming high-quality prekinder14 garten teachers and staff in high-quality pre15 kindergarten programs, including through the 

16 use of mentoring programs and coaching that 

17 have a demonstrated track record of success; 

18 (G) promoting the acquisition of relevant 

19 credentials, including in ways that support ca20 reer advancement through career ladders; and 

21 (H) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

22 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

23 skills to provide culturally competent instruc24 tion for children from diverse backgrounds. 


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1 SEC. 112. REQUIRED SUBGRANT ACTIVITIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible local entity that re3 ceives a subgrant under section 107(b) shall use subgrant 

4 funds to implement the elements of a high-quality pre5 kindergarten program for the children described in section 

6 107(b). 

7 (b) COORDINATION.— 

8 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PARTNER9 SHIPS WITH LOCAL EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

10 PROGRAMS.—A local educational agency that re11 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall provide an 

12 assurance that the local educational agency will 

13 enter into strong partnerships with local early child14 hood education programs, including programs sup15 ported through the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 

16 et seq.). 

17 (2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITIES THAT ARE NOT

18 LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—An eligible local 

19 entity that is not a local educational agency that re20 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall provide an 

21 assurance that such entity will enter into strong 

22 partnerships with local educational agencies. 

23 SEC. 113. REPORT AND EVALUATION. 

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

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


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1 manner and containing such information as the Secretary 

2 may reasonably require. 

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

4 (a) shall contain, at a minimum— 

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

6 State has used the funds made available through the 

7 grant and a report of the expenditures made with 

8 the funds; 

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

10 providing access to high-quality prekindergarten pro11 grams for children eligible for such services, as de12 termined by the State, from families with incomes at 

13 or below 200 percent of the poverty line, including 

14 the percentage of funds spent on children from fami15 lies with incomes— 

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

17 line; 

18 (B) at or below between 101 and 150 per19 cent of the poverty line; and 

20 (C) at or below between 151 and 200 per21 cent of the poverty line; 

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

23 achieving the State’s performance targets, described 

24 in section 109; 


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1 (4) data on the number of high-quality pre2 kindergarten program teachers and staff in the 

3 State (including teacher turnover rates and teacher 

4 compensation levels compared to teachers in elemen5 tary schools and secondary schools), according to the 

6 setting in which such teachers and staff work (which 

7 settings shall include, at a minimum, Head Start 

8 programs, public prekindergarten, and child care 

9 programs) who received training or education during 

10 the period of the grant and remained in the early 

11 childhood education program field; 

12 (5) data on the kindergarten readiness of chil13 dren in the State; 

14 (6) a description of the State’s progress in ef15 fectively using Federal, State, and local public funds 

16 and private funds, for early childhood education; 

17 (7) the number and percentage of children in 

18 the State participating in high-quality prekinder19 garten programs, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 

20 family income, child age, disability, whether the chil21 dren are homeless children, and whether the children 

22 are dual language learners; 

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

24 quality of infant and toddler care in the State; 


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1 (9) the number of operational minutes per week 

2 and per year for each eligible local entity that re3 ceives a subgrant; 

4 (10) the local educational agency and zip code 

5 in which each eligible local entity that receives a 

6 subgrant operates; 

7 (11) information, for each of the local edu8 cational agencies described in paragraph (10), on 

9 the percentage of the costs of the public early child10 hood education programs that is funded from Fed11 eral, from State, and from local sources, including 

12 the percentages from specific funding programs; 

13 (12) data on the number and percentage of 

14 children in the State participating in public kinder15 garten programs, disaggregated by race, family in16 come, child age, disability, whether the children are 

17 homeless children, and whether the children are dual 

18 language learners, with information on whether such 

19 programs are offered— 

20 (A) for a full day; and 

21 (B) at no cost to families; 

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

23 State who are supported with scholarships, if appli24 cable, to meet the bachelor’s degree requirement for 


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1 high-quality prekindergarten programs, as defined in 

2 section 102; and 

3 (14) information on— 

4 (A) the rates of expulsion, suspension, and 

5 similar disciplinary action, of children in the 

6 State participating in high-quality prekinder7 garten programs, disaggregated by race, eth8 nicity, family income, child age, and disability; 

9 (B) the State’s progress in establishing 

10 policies on effective behavior management strat11 egies and training that promote positive social 

12 and emotional development to eliminate expul13 sions and suspensions of children participating 

14 in high-quality prekindergarten programs; and 

15 (C) the State’s policies on providing early 

16 learning services to children in the State par17 ticipating in high-quality prekindergarten pro18 grams who have been suspended. 

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

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

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

22 Human Services, and the State Advisory Council on Early 

23 Childhood Education and Care. 

24 (d) COOPERATION.—An eligible local entity that re25 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. 114. 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. 115. 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 

23 of Health and Human Services shall publish a notice de24 scribing such proposed process for conversion in the Fed25 eral Register providing at least 90 days for public comVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 May 28, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380

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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. 116. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN PROGRAM ADMINIS18 TRATION. 

19 In providing technical assistance to carry out activi20 ties under this subtitle, 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. 117. 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 2016; 

8 (2) $3,250,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

9 (3) $5,780,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

10 (4) $7,580,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

11 (5) $8,960,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 

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

13 fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

14 Subtitle B—Prekindergarten 

15 Development Grants 

16 SEC. 121. PREKINDERGARTEN DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

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

18 consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 

19 Services, shall award competitive grants to States that 

20 wish to increase their capacity and build the infrastructure 

21 within the State to offer high-quality prekindergarten pro22 grams. 

23 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES.—A State that is not re24 ceiving funds under subtitle A may compete for grant 

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1 ance that the State will, through the support of grant 

2 funds awarded under this subtitle, meet the eligibility re3 quirements of section 105 not later than 3 years after the 

4 date the State first receives grant funds under this sub5 title. 

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

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

8 3 years. Such grants shall not be renewed. 

9 (d) APPLICATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Governor, or chief execu11 tive officer of a State that desires to receive a grant 

12 under this subtitle shall submit an application to the 

13 Secretary of Education at such time, in such man14 ner, and accompanied by such information as the 

15 Secretary of Education may reasonably require, in16 cluding, if applicable, a description of how the State 

17 plans to become eligible for grants under section 105 

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

19 first receives grant funds under this subtitle. 

20 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF STATE APPLICATION.— 

21 In developing an application for a grant under this 

22 subtitle, a State shall consult with the State Advi23 sory Council on Early Childhood Education and 

24 Care and incorporate the Council’s recommenda25 tions, where applicable. 


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1 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

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

3 grant under this subtitle, a State shall contribute for 

4 the activities for which the grant was awarded non5 Federal matching funds in an amount equal to not 

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

7 (2) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—To satisfy the re8 quirement of paragraph (1), a State may use— 

9 (A) non-Federal resources in the form of 

10 State funding, local funding, or contributions 

11 from philanthropy or other private sources, or 

12 a combination of such resources; or 

13 (B) in-kind contributions. 

14 (3) FINANCIAL HARDSHIP WAIVER.—The Sec15 retary may waive the requirement under paragraph 

16 (1) or reduce the amount of matching funds re17 quired under that paragraph for a State that has 

18 submitted an application for a grant under this sub19 section if the State demonstrates, in the application, 

20 a need for such a waiver or reduction due to extreme 

21 financial hardship, as determined by the Secretary. 

22 (f) SUBGRANTS.— 

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

24 under this subtitle may use the grant funds to 

25 award subgrants to eligible local entities, as defined 


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1 in section 102, to carry out the activities under the 

2 grant. 

3 (2) SUBGRANTEES.—An eligible local entity 

4 awarded a subgrant under paragraph (1) shall com5 ply with the requirements of this subtitle relating to 

6 grantees, as appropriate. 

7 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

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

10 (1) $750,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; and 

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

12 fiscal years 2017 through 2025. 

13 TITLE II—EARLY LEARNING 

14 QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS 

15 SEC. 201. PURPOSES. 

16 The purposes of this title are to— 

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

18 high-quality early childhood education and care pro19 gramming for infants and toddlers; 

20 (2) support a higher quality of, and increase ca21 pacity for, such programming in both child care cen22 ters and family child care homes; 

23 (3) encourage the provision of comprehensive, 

24 coordinated full-day services and supports for in25 fants and toddlers; and 


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1 (4) increase access to appropriate supports so 

2 children with disabilities and other children who 

3 need specialized supports can fully participate in 

4 high-quality early education programs. 

5 SEC. 202. EARLY LEARNING QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS. 

6 The Head Start Act is amended— 

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

8 9840a(e)) to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(e) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—The Sec10 retary shall award grants under this section on a competi11 tive basis to applicants meeting the criteria in subsection 

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

13 early, continuous, and comprehensive childhood develop14 ment and family services and entities that agree to partner 

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

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

17 (2) by inserting after section 645A the fol18 lowing: 

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

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

21 to Early Head Start agencies to enable the Early Head 

22 Start agencies to form early learning quality partnerships 

23 by partnering with center-based or family child care pro24 viders, particularly those that receive support under the 

25 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), that agree to meet the program per2 formance standards described in section 641A(a)(1) and 

3 Early Head Start standards described in section 645A 

4 that are applicable to the ages of children served with 

5 funding and technical assistance from the Early Head 

6 Start agency. 

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

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary shall award grants 

10 under this section in a manner consistent with sec11 tion 645A(e). 

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

13 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give 

14 priority to applicants— 

15 ‘‘(A) that propose to create strong align16 ment of programs with maternal, infant, and 

17 early childhood home visiting programs assisted 

18 under section 511 of the Social Security Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 711), State-funded prekindergarten 

20 programs, programs carried out under the 

21 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 

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

23 programs supported under this Act, to create a 

24 strong continuum of high-quality services for 

25 children from birth to school entry; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) that seek to work with child care pro2 viders across settings, including center-based 

3 and home-based programs. 

4 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION.—From funds appro6 priated to carry out this section, the Secretary 

7 shall reserve— 

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

9 funds for Indian Head Start programs 

10 that serve young children; 

11 ‘‘(ii) not less than 4.5 percent for mi12 grant and seasonal Head Start programs 

13 that serve young children; and 

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

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

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

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

18 Secretary shall allocate funds appropriated to 

19 carry out this section and not reserved under 

20 subparagraph (A) among the States proportion21 ally based on the number of young children 

22 from families whose income is below the poverty 

23 line residing in such States. 

24 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF CHILDREN.—Partnerships 

25 formed through assistance provided under this section 


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1 may serve children through age 3, and the standards ap2 plied to children in subsection (a) shall be consistent with 

3 those applied to 3-year-old children under this subchapter. 

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

5 that receives a grant under this section shall— 

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

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

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

9 provider meets the program performance standards 

10 described in subsection (a) through activities that 

11 may include— 

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

13 child care provider’s programs through financial 

14 support; 

15 ‘‘(B) providing training, technical assist16 ance, and support to the provider in order to 

17 help the provider meet the program perform18 ance standards, which may include supporting 

19 program and partner staff in earning a child 

20 development associate credential, associate’s de21 gree, or baccalaureate degree in early childhood 

22 education or a closely related field for working 

23 with infants and toddlers; and 

24 ‘‘(C) blending funds received under the 

25 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 


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1 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and the Early 

2 Head Start program carried out under section 

3 645A in order to provide high-quality child 

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

5 performance standards; 

6 ‘‘(2) develop and implement a proposal to re7 cruit and enter into a contract with a center-based 

8 or family child care provider, particularly a provider 

9 that serves children who receive assistance under the 

10 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990 

11 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); 

12 ‘‘(3) create a clear and realizable timeline to in13 crease the quality and capacity of a center-based or 

14 family child care provider so that the provider meets 

15 the program performance standards described in 

16 subsection (a); and 

17 ‘‘(4) align activities and services provided 

18 through funding under this section with the Head 

19 Start Child Outcomes Framework. 

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

21 this section, the Secretary shall establish standards to en22 sure that the responsibility and expectations of the Early 

23 Head Start agency and the partner child care providers 

24 are clearly defined. 


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

2 provider that receives assistance through a grant provided 

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

4 months, from the designation renewal requirements under 

5 section 641(c). 

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

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

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

9 of Early Head Start agencies to determine the extent of 

10 barriers to entering into early learning quality partnership 

11 agreements under this section on Early Head Start agen12 cies and on child care providers, and submit this informa13 tion, with suggested steps to overcome such barriers, in 

14 a report to the Committee on Education and the Work15 force of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, 

17 including a detailed description of the degree to which 

18 Early Head Start agencies are utilizing the funds pro19 vided. 

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

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec22 tion— 

23 ‘‘(1) $1,430,376,000 for fiscal year 2016; and 

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

25 of fiscal years 2017 through 2025.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—AUTHORIZATIONS OF 

2 APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

3 EDUCATION OF CHILDREN 

4 WITH DISABILITIES 

5 SEC. 301. PRESCHOOL GRANTS. 

6 Section 619(j) of the Individuals with Disabilities 

7 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419(j)) is amended to read 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

11 $418,000,000 for fiscal year 2016 and such sums as may 

12 be necessary for each succeeding fiscal year.’’. 

13 SEC. 302. INFANTS AND TODDLERS WITH DISABILITIES. 

14 Section 644 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu15 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1444) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 644. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 ‘‘For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are 

18 authorized to be appropriated $508,000,000 for fiscal year 

19 2016 and such sums as may be necessary for each suc20 ceeding fiscal year.’’. 

21 TITLE IV—MATERNAL, INFANT, 

22 AND EARLY CHILDHOOD 

23 HOME VISITING PROGRAM 

24 SEC. 401. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

25 It is the sense of the Senate that— 


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

2 kindergarten, children’s development rapidly pro3 gresses at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent 

4 stage of life; 

5 (2) as reported by the National Academy of 

6 Sciences in 2001, striking disparities exist in what 

7 children know and can do that are evident well be8 fore they enter kindergarten; 

9 (3) such differences are strongly associated with 

10 social and economic circumstances, and they are pre11 dictive of subsequent academic performance; 

12 (4) research has consistently demonstrated that 

13 investments in high-quality programs that serve in14 fants and toddlers— 

15 (A) better positions those children for suc16 cess in elementary, secondary, and postsec17 ondary education; and 

18 (B) helps those children develop the critical 

19 physical, emotional, social, and cognitive skills 

20 that they will need for the rest of their lives; 

21 (5) in 2011, there were 11,000,000 infants and 

22 toddlers living in the United States, and 49 percent 

23 of these children came from low-income families with 

24 incomes at or below 200 percent of the Federal pov25 erty guidelines; 


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1 (6) the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood 

2 Home Visiting program (referred to as ‘‘MIECHV’’) 

3 was authorized by Congress to facilitate collabora4 tion and partnership at the Federal, State, and com5 munity levels to improve health and development 

6 outcomes for at-risk children, including those from 

7 low-income families, through evidence-based home 

8 visiting programs; 

9 (7) MIECHV is an evidence-based policy initia10 tive and the program’s authorizing legislation re11 quires that at least 75 percent of funds dedicated to 

12 the program must support programs to implement 

13 evidence-based home visiting models, which includes 

14 the home-based model of Early Head Start; and 

15 (8) Congress should continue to provide re16 sources to MIECHV to support the work of States 

17 to help at-risk families voluntarily receive home vis18 its from nurses and social workers to— 

19 (A) promote maternal, infant, and child 

20 health; 

21 (B) improve school readiness and achieve22 ment; 

23 (C) prevent potential child abuse or neglect 

24 and injuries; 


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1 (D) support family economic self-suffi2 ciency; 

3 (E) reduce crime or domestic violence; and 

4 (F) improve coordination or referrals for 

5 community resources and supports. 

Æ 


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