I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3973 

To establish a competitive grant program assisting the development of 

innovative early learning curricula for low-income children. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 29, 2009 

Mr. HIMES (for himself, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CONYERS, 

Ms. DELAURO, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

of Texas, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, and Mr. ELLISON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish a competitive grant program assisting the development of innovative early learning curricula for lowincome children. 

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 ‘‘Early Learning Inno5 vation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Research conducted by the Bureau of the 

2 Census of the Department of Commerce suggests 

3 that 18 percent of children under the age of 18 are 

4 living in poverty, and 19.79 percent of children from 

5 birth to age 9 are living below the poverty line. 

6 (2) Research conducted by the Bureau of the 

7 Census of the Department of Commerce shows that 

8 socioeconomic status and family background charac9 teristics are highly correlated with educational out10 comes, with a concentration of low-performing 

11 schools in low-income and under-served communities. 

12 (3) According to a study published by Columbia 

13 University in 2005, schooling significantly reduces 

14 criminal activity. Specifically, a 1 percent increase in 

15 the high school completion rate would save the 

16 United States as much as $1,400,000,000 per year. 

17 (4) A 2003 study on low-income children 

18 showed that low-income children were cognitively 

19 equivalent to children of similar ages in middle and 

20 upper class communities, yet were as much as three 

21 years behind in language development because of se22 vere deprivation of stimulation and support for basic 

23 skill development. 

24 (5) As an example of an innovative early learn25 ing curriculum producing tangible results for low-inVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:05 Oct 31, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3973.IH H3973

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1 come children, a 2007 independent evaluation of the 

2 Total Learning Curriculum developed by Action for 

3 Bridgeport Community Development, Inc., in co4 operation with the Dr. Edward Zigler of the Yale 

5 Child Study Center and implemented in Bridgeport, 

6 CT, has demonstrated that students who received all 

7 the elements of the Total Learning Curriculum 

8 made an average 2 point gain on the Diagnostic 

9 Reading Assessment (DRA) compared to an average 

10 1.76 point gain on such assessment by those stu11 dents who did not participate in the Total Learning 

12 Curriculum. 

13 (6) Such independent evaluation also showed 

14 that students who received all elements of Total 

15 Learning Curriculum have an average score of 22.35 

16 points on the Concept of Print assessment, com17 pared to an average score of 20.82 points on such 

18 assessment by those students who did not partici19 pate in the Total Learning Curriculum. 

20 (7) According to the findings of such inde21 pendent evaluation, children with low initial DRA 

22 scores, high-family risk levels, low parental involve23 ment, have special needs, or who are English-lan24 guage-learners or participate in extended-day proVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:05 Oct 31, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3973.IH H3973

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1 grams, make significant DRA gains after receiving 

2 all the elements of the Total Learning Curriculum. 

3 (8) Several models for comprehensive early 

4 childhood education have recently demonstrated the 

5 impact of enhanced service supports within the pub6 lic school system, including the Full-Service Commu7 nity Schools model developed in the State of Mary8 land, and the community schools initiative developed 

9 in the Chicago, Illinois, school system. 

10 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

11 It is the purpose of this Act to promote academic suc12 cess for children living in poverty by— 

13 (1) improving and promoting school readiness 

14 by enhancing the cognitive, social, and emotional de15 velopment of children from birth; 

16 (2) focusing such enhancements on low-income 

17 children who are at the greatest risk of negative 

18 educational outcomes; and 

19 (3) harnessing the most current develop20 mentally appropriate educational methods to im21 prove the public education system, including— 

22 (A) educational interventions beginning as 

23 close to birth as possible; 

24 (B) a child-initiated learning process with 

25 time for independent inquiry and play; 


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1 (C) access to wraparound social services, 

2 including support for nutrition, housing, and 

3 family literacy; 

4 (D) professional development for instruc5 tional staff, including elementary school teach6 ers, paraprofessionals, and pre-school teachers; 

7 (E) an extended school day and school 

8 year; 

9 (F) parent development, which includes 

10 providing parents with the knowledge and skills 

11 needed to be able to support a child’s growth 

12 and academic progress; 

13 (G) child-to-staff ratios of at least 1 early 

14 childhood or elementary educator for every 7 

15 children; and 

16 (H) an enhanced transition from pre-kin17 dergarten to elementary school, so that the cog18 nitive and social gains of the pre-kindergarten 

19 program are sustained through the remainder 

20 of a child’s educational career. 

21 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM TO CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT 

22 GAP. 

23 (a) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the 

24 amount appropriated under section 10, the Secretary shall 

25 award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible partnerVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:05 Oct 31, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3973.IH H3973

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1 ships to implement innovative early learning curricula in 

2 early childhood education programs and elementary 

3 schools in high-need communities for children from birth 

4 through age 9. 

5 (b) GRANT PERIOD.—A grant under this section shall 

6 be awarded for a 5-year period and may be renewed for 

7 an additional 5-year period upon a showing of adequate 

8 progress, as determined by the Secretary. 

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

10 under this section, an eligible partnership shall submit to 

11 the Secretary a grant application at such time and in such 

12 manner as the Secretary shall require, and containing the 

13 following information: 

14 (1) A description of the high-need community 

15 to be served by the eligible partnership, including 

16 the number and percent of English-language learn17 ers that will be served and other demographic and 

18 socioeconomic information as the Secretary may re19 quest. 

20 (2) An assessment of the need for such a grant 

21 in the high-need community, including— 

22 (A) the number of low-income families; and 

23 (B) the number of and percent of elemen24 tary school children performing below grade 

25 level for reading and math on State assessVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:05 Oct 31, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3973.IH H3973

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1 ments described in section 1111(b)(3) of the 

2 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)). 

4 (3) A detailed description of a plan to carry out 

5 the implementation of the innovative early learning 

6 curriculum in the high-need community, including— 

7 (A) how children and families will be se8 lected to participate, taking into account the 

9 need for continuity and stability for all partici10 pating children and families; 

11 (B) how the implementation will coordinate 

12 and build on, and will not supplant or dupli13 cate, professional development activities avail14 able to the staff of the innovative early learning 

15 curriculum in the high-need community; 

16 (C) how the implementation will train in17 structional staff in the innovative early learning 

18 curriculum to provide developmentally appro19 priate school-readiness services that are based 

20 on the best available child development and 

21 education research; 

22 (D) how the implementation will train in23 structional staff in the innovative early learning 

24 curriculum to meet the diverse educational 

25 needs of children in the high-need community, 


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1 including children who have limited English 

2 proficiency, children with disabilities, or chil3 dren with other special needs; and 

4 (E) how the implementation will train in5 structional staff in the innovative early learning 

6 curriculum to identify and prevent behavioral 

7 problems in children or working with children 

8 identified as or suspected to be victims of 

9 abuse. 

10 (4) A description of the plan for continuing the 

11 innovative early learning curriculum after the end of 

12 the grant period. 

13 (5) The proposed allocation and use of grant 

14 funds to implement the innovative early learning 

15 curriculum in the high-need community. 

16 (6) A description of the roles and responsibil17 ities of the eligible partnership in implementing the 

18 innovative early learning curriculum in the high-need 

19 community. 

20 (7) An assurance, if applicable, that the eligible 

21 partnership will provide appropriate professional de22 velopment to volunteers working directly with young 

23 children, as well as to paid staff. 

24 (d) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) REQUIRED USES.—A grant awarded under 

2 this Act shall be used to cover costs associated with 

3 implementing the innovative early learning cur4 riculum, including— 

5 (A) costs for extended school hours and 

6 days; 

7 (B) costs associated with professional de8 velopment, staff compensation, and retention; 

9 (C) costs for all comprehensive child and 

10 family support services; and 

11 (D) for any other activities to needed to 

12 fulfill the purpose of this Act, as the Secretary 

13 deems appropriate. 

14 (2) PERMISSIBLE USES.—Not more 5 percent 

15 of a grant awarded under this Act may be used to 

16 pay the administrative costs (including supplies, of17 fice and classroom space, supervision, mentoring, 

18 and transportation stipends as necessary and appro19 priate) related to the implementation of the innova20 tive early learning curriculum. 

21 (e) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—In awarding grants 

22 under this Act, the Secretary shall— 

23 (1) award the first 5 grants to eligible partner24 ships from 5 different States; and 


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1 (2) award not less than 1 grant to an applicant 

2 serving— 

3 (A) a school operated by the Bureau of In4 dian Affairs; 

5 (B) a tribal educational agency; or 

6 (C) a high-need community located in a 

7 rural area. 

8 (f) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 

9 an eligible partnership that— 

10 (1) proposes to use the grant funds to carry out 

11 the innovative early learning curriculum in areas 

12 served by local educational agencies with a higher 

13 percentage of students from low-income families and 

14 English-language learners not meeting the proficient 

15 level of achievement on State assessments described 

16 in section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

18 6311(b)(3)) in comparison to other grant applicants; 

19 and 

20 (2) demonstrates the availability of local infra21 structure in the high-need community to be served 

22 by such eligible partnership to implement the inno23 vative early learning curriculum, including the avail24 ability of— 


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1 (A) public elementary schools serving a 

2 high percentage of students from low-income 

3 families; and 

4 (B) public or non-profit social service pro5 viders, including providers of health-related 

6 services or early childhood education services. 

7 (g) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each eligible 

8 partnership that receives a grant under this section shall 

9 submit an annual report to the Secretary on the progress 

10 of implementing the innovative early learning curriculum. 

11 Such report shall include a description of— 

12 (1) the actual service delivery provided through 

13 grant funds, including characteristics of the partici14 pating students (including descriptive information on 

15 the population of children and families served), and 

16 how the innovative early learning curriculum was 

17 implemented; 

18 (2) an estimate of the annual implementation 

19 costs of the program; 

20 (3) outcomes that are consistent with the pur21 pose of the grant program, including— 

22 (A) improvements in student achievement; 

23 (B) improvements in language skills of 

24 children from birth to 3 years of age; 


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1 (C) improvements in social-emotional out2 comes for children at the greatest risk of need3 ing behavioral or psychological intervention; and 

4 (D) improvements in health for children, 

5 including nutrition and access to stable high6 quality health services; 

7 (4) the types of instruction, materials, and ac8 tivities being funded under the grant program; and 

9 (5) the effectiveness of any training and ongo10 ing professional development provided— 

11 (A) to the faculty, administration, and 

12 staff of early childhood and elementary edu13 cators within the eligible partnership receiving a 

14 grant under this Act; and 

15 (B) to the broader community of providers 

16 of social, emotional, behavioral, and related 

17 support to students participating in the pro18 gram and to those who train such providers. 

19 (h) EVALUATIONS.— 

20 (1) INTERIM EVALUATIONS.—From the amount 

21 appropriated under section 10, the Secretary may 

22 conduct interim evaluations to determine whether 

23 each eligible partnership receiving a grant under this 

24 Act is making adequate progress as the Secretary 

25 considers appropriate. The contents of the annual 


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1 report submitted to the Secretary under subsection 

2 (g) may be used by the Secretary to determine 

3 whether an eligible grantee receiving a grant is dem4 onstrating adequate progress. 

5 (2) FINAL EVALUATION.—Not later than 4 

6 years, the Secretary shall report the results of a 

7 final evaluation of each innovative early learning 

8 curriculum being implemented by an eligible partner9 ship receiving a grant under this Act to— 

10 (A) determine the effectiveness of such in11 novative early learning curriculum; and 

12 (B) compare the relative effectiveness of 

13 each of the various activities described by sub14 section (d)(1) for which grant funds are used. 

15 (3) REPORT.—Not sooner than 5 years, and 

16 not later than 6 years after, the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 

18 a report containing the findings of the evaluation 

19 conducted under paragraph (2), and such rec20 ommendations as the Secretary considers appro21 priate. 

22 SEC. 5. TRAINING PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

23 From the amount appropriated under section 10, the 

24 Secretary shall award funds to a public or private non25 profit organization with demonstrated expertise in an inVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:05 Oct 31, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3973.IH H3973

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1 novative early learning curriculum demonstrating the prin2 ciples outlined in section 3, for the purpose of training, 

3 and providing technical assistance to, eligible partnerships 

4 on implementing the innovative early learning curriculum. 

5 SEC. 6. SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT. 

6 Funds made available under this Act shall be used 

7 to supplement, not supplant, Federal, State, or local funds 

8 that, in the absence of such availability, would have been 

9 expended for the activities described in section 4(d). 

10 SEC. 7. FUTURE DESIGNATION STUDY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide infor12 mation about the grant program under this Act to poten13 tial grant applicants that may be eligible to receive a grant 

14 under this Act based on the latest available data on— 

15 (1) the number of residents under the age of 18 

16 in an area served by a local educational agency; 

17 (2) the percentage of residents with an income 

18 below the poverty line in an area served by a local 

19 educational agency; 

20 (3) the percentage of residents age 18 or older 

21 with high school diplomas in an area served by a 

22 local educational agency; 

23 (4) the percentage of students identified as eli24 gible for special education services in an area served 

25 by a local educational agency; 


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1 (5) the youth crime rate in an area served by 

2 a local educational agency; and 

3 (6) such other criteria as the Secretary con4 siders appropriate. 

5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

7 Congress a list of high-need communities that, pursuant 

8 to subsection (a), received information about the grant 

9 program under this Act. 

10 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

11 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to abrogate 

12 or alter any valid and existing collective bargaining agree13 ment. 

14 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

15 For purposes of this Act: 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘State edu17 cational agency’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘high18 ly qualified’’, and ‘‘poverty line’’ have the meanings 

19 given such terms in section 9101 of the Elementary 

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

21 7801). 

22 (2) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi23 ble partnership’’ means— 

24 (A) a full-service community school; or 


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1 (B) a partnership between a local edu2 cational agency and one of the following: 

3 (i) A public or non-profit social service 

4 provider, including a provider of health-re5 lated services or early childhood education 

6 services. 

7 (ii) A full-service community school. 

8 (3) EXTENDED SCHOOL DAY.—The term ‘‘ex9 tended school day’’ means a school day for children 

10 from birth to age 9 of not less than 9 hours, except 

11 in the case where an eligible partnership cannot ac12 commodate a 9-hour day. 

13 (4) EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR.—The term ‘‘ex14 tended school year’’ means a school year for children 

15 from birth to age 9 of not less than 220 calendar 

16 days, except in the case where an eligible partner17 ship cannot accommodate a 220-calendar day school 

18 year. 

19 (5) FULL-SERVICE COMMUNITY SCHOOL.—The 

20 term ‘‘full-service community school’’ means a public 

21 school which coordinates educational, developmental, 

22 family, health, and other comprehensive services 

23 through community-based organizations and public 

24 and private partnerships, and provides access to 

25 such services to students enrolled in such school, 


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1 families of such students, and the community where 

2 such school is located. 

3 (6) HIGH-NEED COMMUNITY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘high-need 

5 community’’ means— 

6 (i) a political subdivision of a State, 

7 or a portion of a political subdivision of a 

8 State, in which at least 50 percent of the 

9 children are from low-income families; or 

10 (ii) a political subdivision of a State 

11 that is among the top 10 percent of polit12 ical subdivisions of a State having the 

13 greatest numbers of such children. 

14 (B) DETERMINATION.—In determining 

15 which communities qualify as a high-need com16 munity under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

17 shall use such data as the Secretary determines 

18 are most accurate and appropriate. 

19 (7) LOW-INCOME FAMILY.—The term ‘‘low-in20 come family’’ means a family with an income below 

21 the poverty line for the most recent fiscal year for 

22 which satisfactory data are available. 

23 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Education. 


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1 (9) INNOVATIVE EARLY LEARNING CUR2 RICULUM.—The term ‘‘innovative early learning cur3 riculum’’ means a comprehensive model of early 

4 childhood education, including the following prin5 ciples as articulated by Dr. Edward Zigler of the 

6 Yale Child Study Center, which incorporate— 

7 (A) educational interventions beginning as 

8 close to birth as possible; 

9 (B) a child-initiated learning process with 

10 time for independent inquiry and play; 

11 (C) access to wraparound social services, 

12 including support for nutrition, housing, and 

13 family literacy; 

14 (D) professional development for instruc15 tional staff, including elementary school teach16 ers, paraprofessionals, and pre-school teachers; 

17 (E) an extended school day and school 

18 year; 

19 (F) parent development, which includes 

20 providing parents with the knowledge and skills 

21 needed to be able to support a child’s growth 

22 and academic progress; 

23 (G) child-to-staff ratios of at least 1 early 

24 childhood or elementary educator for every 7 

25 children; and 


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1 (H) an enhanced transition from pre-kin2 dergarten to elementary school, so that the cog3 nitive and social gains of the pre-kindergarten 

4 program are sustained through the remainder 

5 of a child’s educational career. 

6 (10) WRAPAROUND SOCIAL SERVICES.—The 

7 term ‘‘wraparound social services’’ means com8 prehensive health and social services provided to a 

9 child and the child’s family to supplement the child’s 

10 educational needs. 

11 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro13 priated to carry out this Act $50,000,000 for each of the 

14 fiscal years 2010 to 2016. 

15 (b) RESERVATIONS.—Of the amount appropriated 

16 under paragraph (1) each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 

17 reserve— 

18 (1) not more than 3 percent for evaluations 

19 under section 4(h); 

20 (2) between 2 percent and 5 percent for the 

21 training program under section 5; and 

22 (3) not more than 3 percent to carry out the 

23 study in section 7. 

Æ 


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