IB 

Union Calendar No. 78

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2123

[Report No. 109–136] 

To reauthorize the Head Start Act to improve the school readiness of 

disadvantaged children, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 5, 2005

Mr. CASTLE (for himself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. WILSON of South 

Carolina, Mr. REGULA, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. PUTNAM, and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

JUNE 16, 2005

Additional sponsors: Mr. SOUDER, Mr. FORTUN ̃O, Mr. TERRY, Mr. OSBORNE, 

Mr. TIBERI, Mr. KUHL of New York, Ms. FOXX, Mr. INGLIS of South 

Carolina, Mrs. NORTHUP, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. EHLERS, and Ms. ROSLEHTINEN

JUNE 16, 2005

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 5, 2005] 

A BILL

To reauthorize the Head Start Act to improve the school 

readiness of disadvantaged children, and for other purposes.
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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 ‘‘School Readiness Act 

5 of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 Section 636 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831) 

8 is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

10 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote school 

11 readiness by enhancing the development of low-income chil12 dren, including development of cognitive abilities, through 

13 educational instruction in prereading skills, 

14 premathematics skills, language, and social and emotional 

15 development linked to school readiness and through the pro16 vision to low-income children and their families of health, 

17 educational, nutritional, social and other services that are 

18 determined, based on family needs assessments, to be nec19 essary.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 Section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832) 

22 is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (17) by striking ‘‘, but for fis24 cal years’’ and all that follows down to the period; 
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1 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (16) and (17) 

2 as paragraphs (23) and (24), respectively; 

3 (3) by redesignating paragraph (15) as para4 graph (21); 

5 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through 

6 (14) as paragraphs (16) through (19), respectively; 

7 (5) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para8 graph (14); 

9 (6) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (9) 

10 as paragraphs (6) through (12), respectively; 

11 (7) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para12 graph (4); 

13 (8) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(2) The term ‘challenging State developed aca16 demic content standards’ has the meaning given such 

17 term in paragraphs (1) and (5) of section 1111(b) of 

18 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

19 1965. 

20 ‘‘(3) The term ‘deficient’ means—

21 ‘‘(A) systemic or significant failure of a 

22 Head Start agency in an area of performance 

23 that the Secretary determines involves—

24 ‘‘(i) a threat to the health, safety, or 

25 civil rights of children or staff; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) a denial to parents of the exercise 

2 of their full roles and responsibilities related 

3 to program governance; 

4 ‘‘(iii) a failure to perform the require5 ments of section 641A(a), as determined by 

6 the Secretary; 

7 ‘‘(iv) the misuse of funds received 

8 under this subchapter; 

9 ‘‘(v) loss of legal status (as determined 

10 by the Secretary) or financial viability, loss 

11 of permits, debarment from receiving Fed12 eral grants or contracts, or the improper 

13 use of Federal funds; or 

14 ‘‘(vi) failure to meet any other Federal 

15 or State requirement; 

16 ‘‘(B) failure of the board of directors of a 

17 Head Start agency to fully exercise its legal and 

18 fiduciary responsibilities; 

19 ‘‘(C) failure of a Head Start agency to meet 

20 the administrative requirements of section 

21 644(b); or 

22 ‘‘(D) failure of a Head Start agency to meet 

23 the integration requirements of section 

24 642B(a).’’; 
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1 (9) by inserting after paragraph (4), as so redes2 ignated, the following: 

3 ‘‘(5) The term ‘eligible entities’ means an insti4 tution of higher education or other agency with exper5 tise in delivering training in early childhood develop6 ment, family support, and other assistance designed 

7 to improve the quality of early childhood education 

8 programs.’’; 

9 (10) by inserting after paragraph (12), as so re10 designated, the following: 

11 ‘‘(13) The term ‘homeless children’ has the mean12 ing given such term in subtitle B of title VII of the 

13 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 11431–11435).’’;

15 (11) by inserting after paragraph (14), as so re16 designated, the following: 

17 ‘‘(15) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT; LIMITED

18 ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.—The terms ‘limited English 

19 proficient’ and ‘limited English proficiency’ mean 

20 with respect to an individual, that such individual—

21 ‘‘(A)(i) was not born in the United States 

22 or has a native language that is not English; 

23 ‘‘(ii)(I) is a Native American, an Alaska 

24 Native, or a native resident of a territory or pos25 session of the United States; and 
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1 ‘‘(II) comes from an environment in which 

2 a language that is not English has had a signifi3 cant impact on such individual’s level of English 

4 language proficiency; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) is migratory, has a native language 

6 that is not English, and comes from an environ7 ment in which a language that is not English is 

8 dominant; and 

9 ‘‘(B) has difficultly in speaking or under10 standing the English language to an extent that 

11 may be sufficient to deny such individual—

12 ‘‘(i) the ability to successfully achieve 

13 in classrooms in which the language of in14 struction is English; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) the opportunity to fully partici16 pate in society.’’; 

17 (12) by inserting after paragraph (19), as so re18 designated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(20) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The term 

20 ‘professional development’ means high quality activi21 ties that will enhance the school readiness of eligible 

22 children and prevent such children from encountering 

23 difficulties once they enter school by improving the 

24 knowledge and skills of Head Start teachers and staff, 
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1 as relevant to their roles and functions, including ac2 tivities that—

3 ‘‘(A) provide teachers with the content 

4 knowledge and teaching strategies needed to pro5 vide effective instruction and other school readi6 ness services in early language and literacy, 

7 early mathematics, cognitive skills, approaches to 

8 learning, creative arts, science, physical health 

9 and development, and social and emotional de10 velopment linked to school readiness; 

11 ‘‘(B) assist teachers in meeting the require12 ments in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 

13 648A(a), as appropriate; 

14 ‘‘(C) improve teachers’ classroom manage15 ment skills, as appropriate; 

16 ‘‘(D) for teachers, are sustained, intensive, 

17 and classroom-focused in order to have a positive 

18 and lasting impact on classroom instruction and 

19 teachers’ performance in the classroom; 

20 ‘‘(E) are not primarily 1-day or short-term 

21 workshops or conferences, and attendance at ac22 tivities that are 1-day or short-term workshops 

23 or conferences must be as part of the professional 

24 development plan defined in section 648A(f); 
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1 ‘‘(F) assist teachers and staff in increasing 

2 their knowledge and skills in program adminis3 tration, program quality, and the provision of 

4 services and instruction, as appropriate, in a 

5 manner that improves service delivery to eligible 

6 children and families; 

7 ‘‘(G) are part of a sustained effort to im8 prove overall program quality and outcomes for 

9 eligible children and families; 

10 ‘‘(H) advance teacher understanding of ef11 fective instructional strategies that are—

12 ‘‘(i) based on scientifically based re13 search; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) strategies for improving school 

15 readiness or substantially increasing the 

16 knowledge and teaching skills of teachers; 

17 ‘‘(I) are, where applicable, aligned with and 

18 directly related to—

19 ‘‘(i) challenging State academic con20 tent standards, student academic achieve21 ment standards, assessments, and the Head 

22 Start Child Outcomes Framework developed 

23 by the Secretary; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the curricula, ongoing assess25 ments, and other instruction and services 
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1 designed to help meet the standards de2 scribed in section 641A(a)(1); and

3 ‘‘(iii) the Head Start Child Outcomes 

4 Framework developed by the Secretary; 

5 ‘‘(J) are developed or selected with extensive 

6 participation of administrators and teachers 

7 from Head Start programs; 

8 ‘‘(K) are developmentally appropriate for 

9 the children being served;

10 ‘‘(L) are designed to give teachers of limited 

11 English proficient children, and other teachers 

12 and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills 

13 to provide instruction and appropriate language 

14 and support services to increase the English lan15 guage skills of such children; 

16 ‘‘(M) as a whole, are regularly evaluated for 

17 their impact on increased teacher and staff effec18 tiveness and improved ability of teachers to sup19 port learning and increase participating chil20 dren’s school readiness, with the findings of the 

21 evaluations used to improve the quality of profes22 sional development; 

23 ‘‘(N) provide instruction in methods of 

24 teaching children with special needs, as appro25 priate; 
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1 ‘‘(O) include instruction in ways that Head 

2 Start personnel may work more effectively with 

3 parents, as appropriate; and 

4 ‘‘(P) are designed to give teachers and staff 

5 the knowledge and skills to provide instruction 

6 and appropriate support services to children of 

7 diverse backgrounds, as appropriate.’’; 

8 (13) by inserting after paragraph (21), as so re9 designated, the following: 

10 ‘‘(22) The term ‘scientifically based research’—

11 ‘‘(A) means research that involves the appli12 cation of rigorous, systematic and objective pro13 cedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge 

14 relevant to education activities and programs; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) includes research that—

17 ‘‘(i) employs systematic, empirical 

18 methods that draw on observation or experi19 ment; 

20 ‘‘(ii) involves rigorous data analyses 

21 that are adequate to test the stated 

22 hypotheses and justify the general conclu23 sions drawn; 

24 ‘‘(iii) relies on measurements or obser25 vational methods that provide reliable and 
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1 valid data across evaluators and observers, 

2 across multiple measurements and observa3 tions, and across studies by the same or dif4 ferent investigators; 

5 ‘‘(iv) is evaluated using experimental 

6 or quasi-experimental designs in which in7 dividuals, entities, programs or activities 

8 are assigned to different conditions and 

9 with appropriate controls to evaluate the ef10 fects of the condition of interest, with a 

11 preference for random assignment experi12 ments, or other designs to the extent that 

13 those designs contain within-condition or 

14 across-condition controls; 

15 ‘‘(v) ensures that experimental studies 

16 are presented in sufficient detail and clarity 

17 to allow for replication or, at a minimum, 

18 offer the opportunity to build systematically 

19 on their findings; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) has been accepted by a peer-re21 viewed journal or approved by a panel of 

22 independent experts through a comparably 

23 rigorous, objective, and scientific review.’’; 

24 and 
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1 (14) by inserting after paragraph (24), as so re2 designated, the following: 

3 ‘‘(25) The term ‘State educational agency’ has 

4 the meaning given such term in the Elementary and 

5 Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

6 ‘‘(26) The term ‘unresolved area of noncompli7 ance’ means a failure to correct a noncompliance item 

8 within 90 days, or within such additional time (if 

9 any) authorized by the Secretary, after receiving from 

10 the Secretary notice of such noncompliance item.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PRO12 GRAMS. 

13 Section 638 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9833) 

14 is amended by inserting ‘‘for a period of 5 years’’ after 

15 ‘‘provide financial assistance to such agency’’. 

16 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION. 

17 Section 639 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9834) 

18 is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 639. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro21 priated for carrying out the provisions of this subchapter 

22 $6,899,000,000 for the fiscal year 2006 and such sums as 

23 may be necessary for the fiscal years 2007 through 2011. 

24 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC PROGRAMS.—From the amount appro25 priated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 
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1 available not more than $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, 

2 and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2007 

3 through 2011 to carry out such other research, demonstra4 tion, and evaluation activities, including longitudinal stud5 ies, under section 649, of which not more than $7,000,000 

6 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2011 to carry out 

7 impact studies under section 649(g).’’. 

8 SEC. 6. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS; LIMITATIONS ON ASSIST9 ANCE. 

10 (a) ALLOTMENTS.—Section 640(a) of the Head Start 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(a)) is amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (2)—

13 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

14 as follows:

15 ‘‘(A) Indian Head Start programs, services 

16 for children with disabilities, and migrant and 

17 seasonal Head Start programs, except that—

18 ‘‘(i) there shall be made available for 

19 each fiscal year for use by Indian Head 

20 Start programs and by migrant and sea21 sonal Head Start programs, on a nation22 wide basis, not less than the amount that 

23 was obligated for use by Indian Head Start 

24 programs and by migrant and seasonal 

25 Head Start programs for fiscal year 2005; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) migrant and seasonal Head Start 

2 programs shall receive at least 5 percent of 

3 the amount appropriated for such fiscal 

4 year until such time as the Secretary can 

5 make funding decisions to ensure access to 

6 funding for eligible children of migrant and 

7 seasonal farmworkers is comparable to ac8 cess to funding for other eligible children 

9 based on the data collected and reported 

10 pursuant to section 648(j), except that no 

11 future reduction in funding shall result in 

12 the termination of Head Start services pro13 vided to any eligible child 3 years of age or 

14 older who is participating in any such pro15 gram on the date a reduction in funding oc16 curs, and shall, to the extent possible, con17 tinue participation for children less than 3 

18 years of age receiving services prior to such 

19 reduction in funding; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) Indian Head Start programs 

21 shall receive at least 3.5 percent of the 

22 amount appropriated for such fiscal year 

23 until such time as the Secretary can make 

24 funding decisions to ensure access to fund25 ing for eligible Indian children is com-
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1 parable to access to funding for other eligi2 ble children;’’; and 

3 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘(B) payments, subject to paragraph (7) to 

6 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

7 Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of 

8 the United States, and subject to the requirements of 

9 section 105(f)(1)(B)(ix) of Public Law 108–188 to 

10 Palau;’’; 

11 (C) by amending (C) to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(C) training and technical assistance activities 

13 to foster program quality and management improve14 ment as described in section 648, in an amount for 

15 each fiscal year which is equal to 2 percent of the 

16 amount appropriated for such fiscal year, of which—

17 ‘‘(i) not less than 50 percent shall be made 

18 available to local Head Start agencies to make 

19 program improvements identified by such agen20 cies and comply with the standards described in 

21 section 641A(a)(1), of which not less than 50 

22 percent shall be used to comply with the stand23 ards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B) and for 

24 the uses described in clauses (iii), (iv), and (vii) 

25 of subsection (a)(3)(B); 
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1 ‘‘(ii) not less than 20 percent shall be made 

2 available to support a State system of early 

3 childhood education training and technical as4 sistance, including the State Early Learning 

5 Council described in section 642B(b); 

6 ‘‘(iii) not less than 30 percent shall be made 

7 available to the Secretary to assist local pro8 grams in meeting the standards described in sec9 tion 641A(a)(1) and shall be allocated to address 

10 program weaknesses identified by monitoring ac11 tivities conducted by the Secretary under section 

12 641A(c); and 

13 ‘‘(iv) not less than $3,000,000 of the amount 

14 in clause (iii) appropriated for such fiscal year 

15 shall be made available to carry out activities 

16 described in section 648(d)(4);’’; and 

17 (D) by striking the last sentence. 

18 (2) in paragraph (3)—

19 (A) in subparagraph (A)—

20 (i) in clause (i)(I) by striking ‘‘year 

21 1999’’ and all that follows down to the 

22 semicolon and inserting ‘‘years 2006 

23 through 2011’’; and 

24 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(iii) After the reservation of amounts under para2 graph (2) and the 60 percent amount referred to in sub3 paragraph (A) of this paragraph, a portion of the remain4 ing funds shall be made available—

5 ‘‘(I) to expand services to underserved popu6 lations, such as children receiving services under 

7 Early Head Start programs and under migrant and 

8 seasonal Head Start programs; and 

9 ‘‘(II) to increase funding to grantees with full 

10 enrollment and whose aggregate amount of financial 

11 assistance provides funding per child that is below the 

12 national average.’’; 

13 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

14 as follows: 

15 ‘‘(B) Funds reserved under this paragraph (in this 

16 paragraph referred to as ‘quality improvement funds’) shall 

17 be used to accomplish the following goals: 

18 ‘‘(i) Ensuring that Head Start programs meet or 

19 exceed standards pursuant to section 641A(a)(1). 

20 ‘‘(ii) Ensuring that such programs have ade21 quate numbers of qualified staff, and that such staff 

22 is furnished adequate training, including developing 

23 skills to promote the development of language skills, 

24 premathematic skills, and prereading in young chil25 dren and in working with children with limited 
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1 English proficiency, children referred by child welfare 

2 services, and children with disabilities, when appro3 priate. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Developing and financing the salary scales 

5 described under section 644(a)(3) and section 653, in 

6 order to ensure that salary levels and benefits are ade7 quate to attract and retain qualified staff for such 

8 programs. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Using salary increases—

10 ‘‘(I) to assist with the implementation of 

11 quality programs and improve staff qualifica12 tions; 

13 ‘‘(II) to ensure that staff can promote the 

14 language skills and literacy growth of children 

15 and can provide children with a variety of skills 

16 that have been identified, through scientifically 

17 based early reading research, as predictive of 

18 later reading achievement; and 

19 ‘‘(III) to encourage the staff to continually 

20 improve their skills and expertise by informing 

21 the staff of the availability of Federal and State 

22 incentive and loan forgiveness programs for pro23 fessional development. 

24 ‘‘(v) Improving community-wide strategic plan25 ning and needs assessments for such programs and 
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1 collaboration efforts for such programs, including col2 laborations to increase program participation by un3 derserved populations of eligible children. 

4 ‘‘(vi) Ensuring that the physical environments of 

5 Head Start programs are conducive to providing ef6 fective program services to children and families, and 

7 are accessible to children with disabilities and their 

8 parents. 

9 ‘‘(vii) Ensuring that such programs have quali10 fied staff that can promote language skills and lit11 eracy growth of children and that can provide chil12 dren with a variety of skills that have been identified, 

13 through scientifically based reading research, as pre14 dictive of later reading achievement. 

15 ‘‘(viii) Providing assistance to complete postsec16 ondary course work including scholarships or other fi17 nancial incentives, such as differential and merit 

18 pay, to enable Head Start teachers to improve com19 petencies and the resulting child outcomes. 

20 ‘‘(ix) Upgrading the qualifications and skills of 

21 educational personnel to meet the professional stand22 ards established under section 648A(a)(1), including 

23 certification and licensure as bilingual education 

24 teachers and other educational personnel who serve 

25 limited English proficient children. 
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1 ‘‘(x) Promoting the regular attendance and sta2 bility of all children participating in Head Start pro3 grams, with particular attention to highly mobile 

4 children, including children from migrant and sea5 sonal farm worker families (if appropriate), homeless 

6 children, and children in foster care. 

7 ‘‘(xi) Making such other improvements in the 

8 quality of such programs as the Secretary may des9 ignate.’’; and 

10 (C) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(C) Quality improvement funds shall be used to carry 

13 out the activities in any or all of the following clauses: 

14 ‘‘(i)(I) Not less than one-half of the amount re15 served under this paragraph, to improve the com16 pensation (including benefits) of classroom teachers 

17 and other staff of Head Start agencies providing in18 structional services and thereby enhancing recruit19 ment and retention of qualified staff, including re20 cruitment and retention pursuant to achieving the re21 quirements set forth in section 648A(a). The expendi22 ture of funds under this clause shall be subject to sec23 tion 653. Salary increases, in excess of cost-of-living 

24 allowance, provided with such funds shall be subject 
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1 to the specific standards governing salaries and sal2 ary increases established pursuant to section 644(a). 

3 ‘‘(II) If a Head Start agency certifies to the Sec4 retary for such fiscal year that part of the funds set 

5 aside under subclause (I) to improve wages cannot be 

6 expended by such agency to improve wages because of 

7 the operation of section 653, then such agency may 

8 expend such part for any of the uses specified in this 

9 subparagraph (other than wages). 

10 ‘‘(III) From the remainder of the amount re11 served under this paragraph (after the Secretary car12 ries out subclause (I)), the Secretary may carry out 

13 the activities described in clauses (ii) through (vii). 

14 ‘‘(ii) To train classroom teachers and other staff 

15 to meet the education standards described in section 

16 641A(a)(1)(B), through activities—

17 ‘‘(I) to promote children’s language and 

18 prereading growth, through techniques identified 

19 through scientifically based reading research; 

20 ‘‘(II) to promote the acquisition of the 

21 English language for limited English proficient 

22 children and families, while ensuring that chil23 dren are making meaningful progress in attain24 ing the knowledge, skills, abilities, and develop25 ment described in section 641A(a)(1)(B); 
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1 ‘‘(III) to foster children’s school readiness 

2 through activities described in section 

3 648A(a)(1); and 

4 ‘‘(IV) to provide education and training 

5 necessary to improve the qualifications of Head 

6 Start staff, particularly assistance to enable 

7 more instructors to be fully competent and to 

8 meet the degree requirements under section 

9 648A(a)(2)(A), and to support staff training, 

10 child counseling, and other services necessary to 

11 address the challenges of children participating 

12 in Head Start programs, including children 

13 from immigrant, refugee, and asylee families, 

14 children from families in crisis, children who ex15 perience chronic violence in their communities, 

16 children who experience substance abuse in their 

17 families, and children with emotional and behav18 ioral problems. 

19 ‘‘(iii) To employ additional Head Start staff, in20 cluding staff necessary to reduce the child-staff ratio, 

21 lead instructors who meet the qualifications of section 

22 648A(a) and staff necessary to coordinate a Head 

23 Start program with other services available to chil24 dren participating in such program and to their fam25 ilies. 
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1 ‘‘(iv) To pay costs incurred by Head Start agen2 cies to purchase insurance (other than employee bene3 fits) and thereby maintain or expand Head Start 

4 services. 

5 ‘‘(v) To supplement amounts provided under 

6 paragraph (2)(C) to provide training necessary to 

7 improve the qualifications of the staff of the Head 

8 Start agencies, and to support staff training, child 

9 counseling, and other services necessary to address the 

10 problems of children participating in Head Start pro11 grams, including children from dysfunctional fami12 lies, children who experience chronic violence in their 

13 communities, and children who experience substance 

14 abuse in their families. 

15 ‘‘(vi) To conduct outreach to homeless families in 

16 an effort to increase the program participation of 

17 homeless children. 

18 ‘‘(vii) To conduct outreach to migrant and sea19 sonal farm-working families and families with chil20 dren with a limited English proficiency. 

21 ‘‘(viii) Such other activities as the Secretary 

22 may designate.’’; 

23 (3) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘1998’’ in sub24 paragraph (A) and inserting ‘‘2005’’; 
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1 (4) in paragraph (5) by amending subpara2 graphs (A), (B), and (C) to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(A) From amounts reserved and allotted pursuant to 

4 paragraph (4), the Secretary shall award the collaboration 

5 grants described in subparagraphs (B) and (D). 

6 ‘‘(B) From the reserved sums in paragraph (4), the 

7 Secretary shall award a collaboration grant to any State 

8 that submits a written request. Such grant shall be equal 

9 to the amount the State received under this paragraph for 

10 such activity for fiscal year 2005. Such grant shall be used 

11 by the State to facilitate collaboration regarding activities 

12 carried out in the State under this subchapter, and other 

13 activities carried out in and by the State that are designed 

14 to benefit low-income children and families and to encour15 age Head Start agencies to collaborate with entities in16 volved in State and local planning processes (including the 

17 State lead agency administering the financial assistance 

18 under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 

19 of 1990 and the entities that provide child care resource 

20 and referral services in the State) in order to better meet 

21 the needs of low-income children and their families. 

22 ‘‘(C) In order to improve results for children, a State 

23 that receives a grant under subparagraph (B) shall appoint 

24 an individual to serve as the State Director of Head Start 

25 Collaboration to be a liaison between the appropriate re-
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1 gional office of the Administration for Children and Fami2 lies and agencies carrying out Head Start programs in the 

3 State. The State shall—

4 ‘‘(i) ensure that such Director holds a position 

5 with sufficient authority and access to ensure that the 

6 collaboration described in subparagraph (B) is effec7 tive and involves a range of State agencies and local 

8 entities, including—

9 ‘‘(I) the State educational agency; 

10 ‘‘(II) the State Department of Health and 

11 Human Services; 

12 ‘‘(III) the State agency that oversees child 

13 care; 

14 ‘‘(IV) the State agency that assists children 

15 with developmental disabilities; 

16 ‘‘(V) the State Head Start Association; 

17 ‘‘(VI) the State network of child care re18 source and referral agencies; 

19 ‘‘(VII) local educational agencies; 

20 ‘‘(VIII) community-based and faith-based 

21 organizations; 

22 ‘‘(IX) representatives of migrant and sea23 sonal Head Start programs located in the State; 

24 ‘‘(X) representatives of Indian Head Start 

25 programs located in the State; 
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1 ‘‘(XI) State and local providers of early 

2 childhood education and child care, including 

3 providers with experience serving children with 

4 limited English proficiency; and 

5 ‘‘(XII) other entities carrying out programs 

6 serving low-income children and families in the 

7 State; 

8 ‘‘(ii) involve the entities described in clause (i) 

9 to develop a strategic plan for the coordinated out10 reach to identify eligible children and to implement 

11 strategies based on a needs assessment, which shall in12 clude an assessment of the availability of high quality 

13 prekindergarten services for low-income children in 

14 the State. Such assessment shall be completed not 

15 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 

16 School Readiness Act of 2005 and be updated on an 

17 annual basis and shall be made available to the gen18 eral public within the State; 

19 ‘‘(iii) ensure that the collaboration described in 

20 subparagraph (B) involves coordination of Head 

21 Start services with health care, welfare, child care, 

22 child protective services, education, and community 

23 service activities, family literacy services, activities 

24 relating to children with disabilities (including co25 ordination of services with those State officials who 
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1 are responsible for administering part C and section 

2 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

3 Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.)), and services for 

4 homeless children (including coordination of services 

5 with the Office of Coordinator for Education of 

6 Homeless Children and Youth designated under sec7 tion 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

8 Assistance Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)); 

9 ‘‘(iv) require the State Director of Head Start 

10 Collaboration to—

11 ‘‘(I) serve on the Early Learning Council 

12 pursuant to section 642B(b); 

13 ‘‘(II) consult with the Early Learning 

14 Council, chief State school officer, local edu15 cational agencies, representatives of local Head 

16 Start agencies and providers of early childhood 

17 education and care in unified planning regard18 ing early care and education services at both the 

19 State and local levels, including collaborative ef20 forts to develop school readiness standards; 

21 ‘‘(III) consult with the chief State school of22 ficer, local educational agencies, State child care 

23 administrators, State human services adminis24 trators, representatives of local child care re25 source and referral agencies, local early child-
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1 hood councils, providers of early childhood edu2 cation and care, and other relevant State and 

3 local agencies, and representatives of the State 

4 Head Start Association to plan for the provision 

5 of full-working-day, full-calendar-year early care 

6 and education services for eligible children with 

7 working parents who have a demonstrated need; 

8 ‘‘(IV) consult with the chief State school of9 ficer, local educational agencies and Head Start 

10 agencies to improve alignment between Head 

11 Start programs and State-funded prekinder12 garten activities to meet shared goals of school 

13 readiness; and 

14 ‘‘(V) establish improved linkages between 

15 Head Start agencies and other children and fam16 ily agencies, including agencies that provide 

17 health, mental health or family services or other 

18 child and family support services.’’; 

19 (C) in subparagraph (D)(i) by inserting 

20 ‘‘and providers of services supporting early 

21 childhood education and child care’’ after ‘‘Asso22 ciations’’; and 

23 (D) by amending paragraph (6)(A) to read 

24 as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(A) From amounts reserved and allotted pursuant to 

2 paragraphs (2) and (4), the Secretary shall use, for grants 

3 for programs described in section 645A(a) of this sub4 chapter, a portion of the combined total of such amounts 

5 equal to at least 10 percent for each of the fiscal years 2006 

6 through 2011, of the amount appropriated pursuant to sec7 tion 639(a), except as provided in subparagraph (B).’’. 

8 (b) SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS.—Section 640(f) of 

9 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(f)) is amended by in10 serting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘, includ11 ing models that leverage the existing capacity and capabili12 ties of the delivery system of early childhood education and 

13 child care’’. 

14 (c) MAINTENANCE OF SERVICE LEVELS.—Section 

15 640(g)(2) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(g)(2)) is 

16 amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘For the purpose of expanding 

18 Head Start programs, in’’ and inserting ‘‘In’’; 

19 (2) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the applicant has un22 dertaken community-wide strategic planning and 

23 needs assessments involving other community organi24 zations and Federal, State, and local public agencies 

25 serving children and families (including organiza-
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1 tions and agencies providing family support services 

2 and protective services to children and families and 

3 organizations serving families in whose homes 

4 English is not the language customarily spoken), and 

5 individuals, organizations, and public entities serving 

6 children with disabilities and homeless children in7 cluding the local educational agency liaison des8 ignated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKin9 ney-Veto Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii));’’; 

11 (3) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘other 

12 local’’ and inserting ‘‘the State and local’’; 

13 (4) in subparagraph (E) by inserting ‘‘would 

14 like to participate but’’ after ‘‘community who’’; 

15 (5) in subparagraph (G)—

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘leverage the existing deliv17 ery systems of such services and’’ after ‘‘manner 

18 that will’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (6) in subparagraph (H)—

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including the local edu22 cational agency liaison designated under section 

23 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

24 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)),’’ 

25 after ‘‘community involved’’; 
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘plans to coordinate’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘successfully coordinated its activities’’; 

3 and 

4 (C) by striking the period at the end and 

5 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(I) the amount of funds used by such agency to 

8 pay administrative expenses and the amount of avail9 able funds received by such agency under this section 

10 to serve each enrolled child.’’. 

11 (d) VEHICLE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

12 640(i) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(i)) is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘(i) The’’ and inserting the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(i) TRANSPORTATION SAFETY.—

17 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

21 waive for a period of up to one year the require22 ments of regulations promulgated under para23 graph (1) for one or more vehicles used by the 

24 agency or its designee in transporting children 
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1 enrolled in a Head Start program or an Early 

2 Head Start program if—

3 ‘‘(i) such requirements pertain to child 

4 restraint systems and bus monitors; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the agency demonstrates that 

6 compliance with such requirements will re7 sult in a significant disruption to the Head 

8 Start program or the Early Head Start 

9 program; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) is in the best interest of the 

11 child. 

12 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew 

13 a waiver under subparagraph (A).’’. 

14 (e) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL HEAD START PRO15 GRAMS.—Section 640(l) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 9835(l)) is amended—

17 (1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(3) In carrying out this subchapter, the Secretary 

20 shall continue the administrative arrangement at the na21 tional level for meeting the needs of Indian children and 

22 children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and shall en23 sure that appropriate funding is provided to meet such 

24 needs, including training and technical assistance and the 

25 appointment of a national migrant and seasonal Head 
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1 Start collaboration director and a national Indian Head 

2 Start collaboration director.’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(4)(A) For the purposes of paragraph (3), the Sec5 retary shall conduct an annual consultation in each affected 

6 Head Start region, with tribal governments operating Head 

7 Start programs and Early Head Start programs. 

8 ‘‘(B) The consultations shall be for the purpose of better 

9 meeting the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native 

10 children and families pertinent to subsections (a), (b), and 

11 (c) of section 641, taking into consideration funding alloca12 tions, distribution formulas, and other issues affecting the 

13 delivery of Head Start services within tribal communities. 

14 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall publish a notification of the 

15 consultations in the Federal Register prior to conducting 

16 the consultations. 

17 ‘‘(D) A detailed report of each consultation shall be 

18 prepared and made available, on a timely basis, to all trib19 al governments receiving funds under this subchapter.’’. 

20 (f) ENROLLMENT OF HOMELESS CHILDREN.—Section 

21 640 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835) is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(m) ENROLLMENT OF HOMELESS CHILDREN.—The 

24 Secretary shall by regulation prescribe policies and proce25 dures to remove barriers to the enrollment and participa-
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1 tion of homeless children in Head Start programs. Such 

2 regulations shall require Head Start agencies— 

3 ‘‘(1) to implement policies and procedures to en4 sure that homeless children are identified and 

5 prioritized for enrollment; 

6 ‘‘(2) to allow homeless families to apply to, en7 roll in and attend Head Start programs while re8 quired documents, such as proof of residency, immu9 nization and other medical records, birth certificates 

10 and other documents, are obtained within a reason11 able time frame; and 

12 ‘‘(3) coordinate individual Head Start centers 

13 and programs with efforts to implement subtitle B of 

14 title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 11431–11435). 

16 ‘‘(n) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub17 chapter shall be construed to require a State to establish 

18 a program of early education for children in the State, to 

19 require any child to participate in a program of early edu20 cation, to attend school, or to participate in any initial 

21 screening prior to participation in such program, except 

22 as provided under section 612(a)(3), (consistent with sec23 tion 614(a)(1)(C)), of the Individuals with Disabilities 

24 Education Act. 
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1 ‘‘(o) MATERIALS.—All curricula and instructional 

2 materials funded under this subchapter shall be scientif3 ically based and age appropriate. Parents shall have the 

4 ability to inspect, upon request, any curricula or instruc5 tional materials.’’.

6 SEC. 7. DESIGNATION OF AGENCIES. 

7 (a) AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE.— Section 641(a) of 

8 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836(a)) is amended to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

12 to designate as a Head Start agency any local public 

13 or private nonprofit or for-profit agency within a 

14 State, including a community-based or faith-based or15 ganization that—

16 ‘‘(A) has power and authority to carry out 

17 the purpose of this subchapter and perform the 

18 functions set forth in section 642 within a State; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) is determined to be capable of plan21 ning, conducting, administering, and evaluating, 

22 either directly or by other arrangements, a Head 

23 Start program.

24 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION REQUIREMENTS.—To be des25 ignated as a Head Start agency and to receive finan-
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1 cial assistance under this subparagraph, an entity de2 scribed in sub paragraph (1) shall—

3 ‘‘(A) establish measurable objectives for—

4 ‘‘(i) the school readiness of children 

5 participating in the program under this 

6 subchapter; 

7 ‘‘(ii) meeting the performance stand8 ards described in section 641A; 

9 ‘‘(iii) educational instruction in 

10 prereading, premathematics, and language 

11 skills; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) the provision of health, edu13 cational, nutritional, social and other serv14 ices related to school readiness; and 

15 ‘‘(B) align curricula to challenging State 

16 developed academic content standards and the 

17 Head Start Child Outcomes Framework devel18 oped by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY FOR SUBSEQUENT FINANCIAL

20 ASSISTANCE.—In order to receive financial assistance 

21 under this subchapter subsequent to the initial finan22 cial assistance provided following the effective date of 

23 this subsection, an entity described in paragraph (1) 

24 shall demonstrate that the entity has met the measur25 able objectives described in paragraph (2); 
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1 ‘‘(4) MEASURING PROGRESS.—Progress in meet2 ing such measurable objectives shall not be measured 

3 primarily or solely by the results of assessments.’’

4 (b) PRIORITY IN DESIGNATION.—Section 641(c) of the 

5 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836(c)) is amended to read 

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In the administration of this 

8 section, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the chief 

9 executive officer of the State involved, give priority in the 

10 designation of Head Start agencies to Head Start agencies 

11 that—

12 ‘‘(1) are receiving assistance under this sub13 chapter on the effective date of this subsection; 

14 ‘‘(2) meet or exceed program and financial man15 agement requirements, standards described in section 

16 641A(a); 

17 ‘‘(3) meet or exceed the education standards and 

18 requirements described in section 641A(a)(1)(B); 

19 ‘‘(4) have no unresolved area of noncompliance; 

20 ‘‘(5) have not been deemed deficient since the 

21 then most recent designation; 

22 ‘‘(6) employ qualified staff (including in center23 based programs, a teaching staff of whom at least 50 

24 percent have an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced 

25 degree in early child education or a related field), ex-
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1 cept that the Secretary may waive the application of 

2 this paragraph, for a period not to exceed 3 years, for 

3 Head Start programs operating in rural areas, for 

4 migrant and seasonal Head Start programs, and for 

5 Indian Head Start programs, on a case-by-case basis, 

6 if the program demonstrates progress in increasing 

7 the qualifications of teaching staff and demonstrates 

8 adequate instructional supervision by qualified staff; 

9 ‘‘(7) were not deemed by the Secretary as chron10 ically under-enrolled since the then most recent des11 ignation;

12 ‘‘(8) utilize curricula based on scientifically 

13 based research, that are aligned with challenging 

14 State developed academic content standards and the 

15 Head Start Child Outcomes Framework developed by 

16 the Secretary; 

17 ‘‘(9) demonstrate active partnerships with local 

18 educational agencies serving the same communities to 

19 facilitate smooth transitions to kindergarten; 

20 ‘‘(10) actively implement a memorandum of un21 derstanding described in section 642B(a) and addi22 tional collaborative partnerships with organizations 

23 that enhance the delivery of services to children; 

24 ‘‘(11) demonstrate success in improving child 

25 outcomes across all domains of development, includ-
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1 ing measurable progress in language skills, 

2 prereading knowledge, and premathematics knowl3 edge; 

4 ‘‘(12) maintain classroom environments con5 structive to early learning and future school success; 

6 ‘‘(13) demonstrate strong parental involvement 

7 and activities to develop parent skills to support their 

8 children’s educational development and ability to 

9 participate effectively in decisions relating to the edu10 cation of their children; 

11 ‘‘(14) are overseen by a board described in sec12 tion 642(b) that provides direction and actively over13 sees all program activities; 

14 ‘‘(15) document strong fiscal controls, includ15 ing—

16 ‘‘(A) the employment of well-qualified fiscal 

17 staff with a history of successful management of 

18 a public or private organization; 

19 ‘‘(B) having no reportable material weak20 nesses with applicable laws and regulations on 

21 all annual financial audits performed since the 

22 most recent designation; 

23 ‘‘(C) meeting or exceeding annual require24 ments for financial support under section 640(b); 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(D) maintaining total administrative costs 

2 at or below 15 percent of total program costs; 

3 ‘‘(16) are licensed to operate in accordance with 

4 all applicable State child care regulations; 

5 ‘‘(17) conduct outreach activities to ensure that 

6 services are provided to the most at-risk families in 

7 the community; 

8 ‘‘(18) have developed strong community partner9 ships with public and private organizations, such as 

10 businesses, health, and social service providers; and 

11 ‘‘(19) provide opportunities for ongoing profes12 sional development.’’. 

13 (c) DESIGNATION WHEN NO ENTITY HAS PRIORITY.—

14 Section 641(d) of the Head Start Act (43 U.S.C. 9836(d)) 

15 is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(d) DESIGNATION WHEN NO ENTITY HAS PRI17 ORITY.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If no entity in a community 

19 is entitled to the priority specified in subsection (c), 

20 the Secretary shall, after conducting an open competi21 tion, designate for a 5-year period a Head Start 

22 agency from among qualified applicants in such com23 munity. 

24 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS IN DESIGNATION.—In se25 lecting from among qualified applicants for designa-
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1 tion as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall con2 sider the effectiveness of each such applicant to pro3 vide Head Start services, based on—

4 ‘‘(A) any past performance of such appli5 cant in providing services comparable to Head 

6 Start services, including how effectively such ap7 plicant provided such comparable services; 

8 ‘‘(B) the plan of such applicant to provide 

9 comprehensive health (including mental and be10 havioral health), educational, nutritional, social, 

11 and other services needed to prepare children to 

12 succeed in school; 

13 ‘‘(C) the capacity of such applicant to serve 

14 eligible children with curriculum and teaching 

15 practices based on scientifically based research 

16 that promote the school readiness of children 

17 participating in the program; 

18 ‘‘(D) the plan of such applicant to meet 

19 standards set forth in section 641A(a)(1), with 

20 particular attention to the standards set forth in 

21 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such section; 

22 ‘‘(E) the proposed budget and plan of such 

23 applicant to maintain strong fiscal controls and 

24 cost effective fiscal management; 
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1 ‘‘(F) the plan of such applicant to coordi2 nate the Head Start program the applicant pro3 poses to carry out with other educational pro4 grams for young children, including—

5 ‘‘(i) the Early Reading First and Even 

6 Start programs under subparts 2 and 3 of 

7 part B of title I of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 6371 et seq., 6381 et seq.); 

10 ‘‘(ii) programs under section 619 and 

11 part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 

12 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et 

13 seq.); 

14 ‘‘(iii) State prekindergarten programs; 

15 ‘‘(iv) child care programs; 

16 ‘‘(v) the educational programs that the 

17 children participating in the Head Start 

18 program involved will enter at the age of 

19 compulsory school attendance; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) reading readiness programs such 

21 as those conducted by public and school li22 braries; 

23 ‘‘(G) the plan of such applicant to coordi24 nate the Head Start program that the applicant 

25 proposes to carry out, with public and private 
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1 entities that are willing to commit resources to 

2 assist the Head Start program in meeting its 

3 program needs; 

4 ‘‘(H) the plan of such applicant— 

5 ‘‘(i) to seek the involvement of parents 

6 (including grandparents and kinship care7 givers, as appropriate) of children partici8 pating in the proposed Head Start pro9 gram, in activities (at home and, if prac10 ticable, at the location of the Head Start 

11 program) designed to help such parents be12 come full partners in the education of their 

13 children; 

14 ‘‘(ii) to afford such parents the oppor15 tunity to participate in the development 

16 and overall conduct of the program at the 

17 local level; 

18 ‘‘(iii) to offer (directly or through re19 ferral to local entities, such as entities car20 rying out Even Start programs under sub21 part 3 of part B of title I of the Elementary 

22 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 6381 et seq.), public and school li24 braries, and entities carrying out family 

25 support programs) to such parents— 
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1 ‘‘(I) family literacy services; and 

2 ‘‘(II) parenting skills training; 

3 ‘‘(iv) to offer to parents of partici4 pating children, substance abuse counseling 

5 (either directly or through referral to local 

6 entities), including information on the effect 

7 of drug exposure on infants and fetal alco8 hol syndrome; 

9 ‘‘(v) at the option of such applicant, to 

10 offer (directly or through referral to local 

11 entities) to such parents—

12 ‘‘(I) training in basic child devel13 opment (including cognitive develop14 ment); 

15 ‘‘(II) assistance in developing lit16 eracy and communication skills; 

17 ‘‘(III) opportunities to share expe18 riences with other parents (including 

19 parent mentor relationships); 

20 ‘‘(IV) regular in-home visitation;

21 ‘‘(V) mental and behavioral health 

22 services; or 

23 ‘‘(VI) any other activity designed 

24 to help such parents become full part25 ners in the education of their children; 
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1 ‘‘(vi) to provide, with respect to each 

2 participating family, a family needs assess3 ment that includes consultation with such 

4 parents about the benefits of parent involve5 ment and about the activities described in 

6 subparagraph (H) in which such parents 

7 may choose to become involved (taking into 

8 consideration their specific family needs, 

9 work schedules, and other responsibilities); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(vii) to extend outreach to fathers, in 

12 appropriate cases, in order to strengthen the 

13 role of fathers in families, in the education 

14 of their young children, and in the Head 

15 Start program, by working directly with fa16 thers and father figures through activities 

17 such as—

18 ‘‘(I) in appropriate cases, includ19 ing fathers in home visits and pro20 viding opportunities for direct father21 child interactions; and 

22 ‘‘(II) targeting increased male 

23 participation in the conduct of the pro24 gram; 
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1 ‘‘(I) the ability of such applicant to carry 

2 out the plans described in paragraphs (2), (4), 

3 and (5); 

4 ‘‘(J) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

5 needs of limited English proficient children and 

6 their families, including procedures to identify 

7 such children, plans to provide trained per8 sonnel, and plans to provide services to assist the 

9 children in making progress toward the acquisi10 tion of the English language, while making 

11 meaningful progress in attaining the knowledge, 

12 skills, abilities, and development described in sec13 tion 641A(a)(1)(B); 

14 ‘‘(K) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

15 diverse cultural needs of the population served; 

16 ‘‘(L) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

17 needs of children with disabilities; 

18 ‘‘(M) the plan of such applicant who chooses 

19 to assist younger siblings of children who will 

20 participate in the Head Start program, to ob21 tain health services from other sources; 

22 ‘‘(N) the plan of such applicant to collabo23 rate with other entities carrying out early child24 hood education and child care programs in the 

25 community; 
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1 ‘‘(O) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

2 needs of homeless children, including transpor3 tation needs, and children in foster care; 

4 ‘‘(P) the plan of such applicant to maintain 

5 a qualified staff, including a teaching staff 

6 qualified to implement research-based edu7 cational curricula aligned with challenging 

8 State-developed academic content standards, the 

9 Head Start Child Outcomes Framework devel10 oped by the Secretary, and the State early learn11 ing standards in States in which such standards 

12 are developed; 

13 ‘‘(Q) the plan of such applicant to enter 

14 into memoranda of understanding with local 

15 educational agencies, child care providers, and 

16 other entities within the service area; and 

17 ‘‘(R) other factors related to the require18 ments of this subchapter.’’.

19 (d) SELECTION OF APPLICANTS.—Section 641(g) of the 

20 Head Start Act (43 U.S.C. 9836(g)) is amended to read 

21 as follows: 

22 ‘‘(g) ISSUANCE OF RULES.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the enactment of the School Readiness Act of 2005, 

24 the Secretary shall issue rules to carry out this section.’’. 
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1 SEC. 8. QUALITY STANDARDS; MONITORING OF HEAD 

2 START AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) QUALITY STANDARDS.—Section 641A(a) of the 

4 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(a)) is amended—

5 (1) by amending paragraph (1)(B)—

6 (A) in clause (i)—

7 (i) by inserting ‘‘based on sound sci8 entific evidence’’ after ‘‘standards’’; and 

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and sustained aca10 demic gains’’ after ‘‘readiness’’; and 

11 (B) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(ii) additional scientifically-based edu14 cation standards to ensure that the children par15 ticipating in the program, at a minimum de16 velop and demonstrate—

17 ‘‘(I) language knowledge and skills, in18 cluding oral language and listening com19 prehension; 

20 ‘‘(II) prereading knowledge and skills 

21 that prepare children for early literacy in 

22 schools, including phonological awareness, 

23 print awareness and print skills, and al24 phabetic knowledge; 

25 ‘‘(III) premathematics knowledge and 

26 skills, including aspects of classification, se-
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1 riation, number, spatial relations, and 

2 time; 

3 ‘‘(IV) cognitive abilities related to aca4 demic achievement and child development; 

5 ‘‘(V) social and emotional development 

6 related to early learning, school success, and 

7 sustained academic gains; and 

8 ‘‘(VI) in the case of limited-English 

9 proficient children, progress toward acquisi10 tion of the English language while making 

11 meaningful progress in attaining the knowl12 edge, skills, abilities, and development de13 scribed in subclauses (I) through (IV);’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (2)—

15 (A) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

16 as follows: 

17 ‘‘(B) take into consideration—

18 ‘‘(i) past experience with use of the 

19 standards in effect under this subchapter on 

20 October 27, 1998; 

21 ‘‘(ii) changes over the period since Oc22 tober 27, 1998, in the circumstances and 

23 problems typically facing children and fam24 ilies served by Head Start agencies; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) developments concerning research 

2 based practices with respect to early child3 hood education and development, children 

4 with disabilities, family services, program 

5 administration, and financial management; 

6 ‘‘(iv) projected needs of an expanding 

7 Head Start program; 

8 ‘‘(v) guidelines and standards cur9 rently in effect or under consideration that 

10 promote child health services and physical 

11 development, including outdoor activity 

12 that supports children’s motor development 

13 and overall health and nutrition; 

14 ‘‘(vi) changes in the population of chil15 dren who are eligible to participate in Head 

16 Start programs, including the language 

17 background and family structure of such 

18 children; 

19 ‘‘(vii) scientifically based research to 

20 ensure that children participating in Head 

21 Start programs make a successful transition 

22 to schools that the children will be attend23 ing; and 

24 ‘‘(viii) the unique challenges faced by 

25 individual programs, including those that 
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1 are seasonal or short term, and those that 

2 serve rural populations; and’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (C)(ii) by striking 

4 ‘‘the date’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Act of 

5 1998’’, and inserting ‘‘October 27, 1998’’; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) EVALUATIONS AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

8 FOR DELEGATE AGENCIES.—

9 ‘‘(A) PROCEDURES.—The Head Start agen10 cy shall establish procedures relating to its dele11 gate agencies, including—

12 ‘‘(i) procedures for evaluating delegate 

13 agencies; 

14 ‘‘(ii) procedures for defunding delegate 

15 agencies; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) procedures for appealing a 

17 defunding decision relating to a delegate 

18 agency. 

19 ‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS.—Each Head Start 

20 agency—

21 ‘‘(i) shall evaluate its delegate agencies 

22 using the procedures established pursuant to 

23 this section, including subparagraph (A); 

24 and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) shall inform the delegate agencies 

2 of the deficiencies identified through the 

3 evaluation that shall be corrected. 

4 ‘‘(C) REMEDIES TO ENSURE CORRECTIVE

5 ACTIONS.—If the Head Start agency identifies a 

6 deficiency for a delegate agency through the eval7 uation, the Head Start agency may—

8 ‘‘(i) initiate procedures to terminate 

9 the designation of the agency unless the 

10 agency corrects the deficiency; 

11 ‘‘(ii) conduct monthly monitoring vis12 its to such delegate agency until all defi13 ciencies are corrected or the Head Start 

14 agency decides to defund such delegate agen15 cy; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) release funds to such delegate 

17 agency only as reimbursements until all de18 ficiencies are corrected or the Head Start 

19 agency decides to defund such delegate agen20 cy. 

21 ‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

22 this paragraph shall be construed to impact or 

23 obviate the responsibilities of the Secretary with 

24 respect to Head Start agencies or delegate agen25 cies receiving funding under this subchapter.’’. 
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1 (b) RESULTS-BASED PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—

2 Section 641A(b) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(b)) 

3 is amended—

4 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(2) CHARACTERISTICS OF MEASURES.—The 

7 performance measures developed under this subsection 

8 shall—

9 ‘‘(A) be used to assess the impact of the var10 ious services provided by Head Start programs 

11 and, to the extent the Secretary finds appro12 priate, administrative and financial manage13 ment practices of such programs; 

14 ‘‘(B) be adaptable for use in self-assessment, 

15 peer review, and program evaluation of indi16 vidual Head Start agencies and programs; 

17 ‘‘(C) be developed for other program pur18 poses as determined by the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(D) be appropriate for the population 

20 served; and 

21 ‘‘(E) be reviewed no less than every 4 years, 

22 based on advances in the science of early child23 hood development. 
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1 The performance measures shall include the perform2 ance standards described in subparagraphs (A) and 

3 (B) of subsection (a)(1).’’;

4 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(3) USE OF MEASURES.—

7 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall use the perform8 ance measures pursuant to this subsection to 

9 identify—

10 ‘‘(i) strengths and weaknesses in the 

11 operation of Head Start programs nation12 ally, regionally, and locally; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) program areas that may require 

14 additional training and technical assistance 

15 resources. 

16 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall provide a detailed 

17 justification to the Congress regarding the 

18 planned uses of the data collected by the Na19 tional Reporting System developed by the Sec20 retary and shall demonstrate its scientific valid21 ity and reliability for such purposes, including 

22 its scientific validity and reliability with chil23 dren with limited English proficiency for such 

24 purposes; 
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1 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall not use the Na2 tional Reporting System assessment results ei3 ther as the primary method for assessing pro4 gram effectiveness or as the primary method for 

5 making grantee funding determinations. 

6 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall develop a process 

7 to ensure that the National Reporting System 

8 shall not be used to exclude children from Head 

9 Start programs.’’; and 

10 (3) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(4) EDUCATIONAL MEASURES.—Results based 

13 measures shall be designed for the purpose of pro14 moting the competencies of children participating in 

15 Head Start programs specified in subsection 

16 (a)(1)(B)(ii), with an emphasis on measuring those 

17 competencies that have a strong scientifically-based 

18 predictability of a child’s school readiness and later 

19 performance in school.’’. 

20 (c) MONITORING OF LOCAL AGENCIES AND PRO21 GRAMS.—Section 641A(c) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 9836a(c)) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘develop and utilize a risk3 based assessment system to’’ after ‘‘shall’’; 

4 (B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(C) Followup reviews, including unan7 nounced reviews as appropriate, of programs 

8 with 1 or more findings of deficiencies not later 

9 than 6 months after the date of such finding.’’; 

10 and 

11 (C) by amending subparagraph (D) to read 

12 as follows: 

13 ‘‘(D) Unannounced site inspections of Head 

14 Start centers and other reviews, as appro15 priate.’’; 

16 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF REVIEWS.—The Secretary 

19 shall ensure that reviews described in subparagraphs 

20 (A) through (C) of paragraph (1)—

21 ‘‘(A) that incorporate a monitoring visit, 

22 may be done without prior notice of the visit to 

23 the local agency or program; 

24 ‘‘(B) are conducted by review teams com25 posed of individuals who are knowledgeable 
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1 about the program areas they are reviewing and, 

2 to the maximum extent practicable, the diverse 

3 (including linguistic and cultural) needs of eligi4 ble children (including children with disabilities) 

5 and limited-English proficient children and their 

6 families; 

7 ‘‘(C) include as part of the reviews of the 

8 programs, a review and assessment of program 

9 effectiveness, including strengths and areas for 

10 improvement, as measured in accordance with 

11 the results-based performance measures developed 

12 by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b) and 

13 with the standards established pursuant to sub14 paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1); 

15 ‘‘(D) seek information from the commu16 nities and the States involved about the perform17 ance of the programs and the efforts of the Head 

18 Start agencies to collaborate with other entities 

19 carrying out early childhood education and child 

20 care programs in the community; 

21 ‘‘(E) seek information from the communities 

22 where Head Start programs exist about innova23 tive or effective collaborative efforts, barriers to 

24 collaboration, and the efforts of the Head Start 

25 agencies and programs to collaborate with the 
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1 entities carrying out early childhood education 

2 and child care programs in the community; 

3 ‘‘(F) include as part of the reviews of the 

4 programs, a review and assessment of whether a 

5 program is in conformity with the income eligi6 bility requirements, as defined in section 645 

7 and regulations promulgated thereunder; 

8 ‘‘(G) include as part of the reviews of the 

9 programs, a review and assessment of whether 

10 programs have adequately addressed the popu11 lation and community needs (including popu12 lations of children with a limited English pro13 ficiency and children of migrant and seasonal 

14 farm-working families); 

15 ‘‘(H) include as part of the review the ex16 tent to which the program addresses the commu17 nity needs and strategic plan identified in sec18 tion 640(g)(2)(C); and 

19 ‘‘(I) are conducted in a manner that evalu20 ates program performance, quality, and overall 

21 operations with consistency and objectivity, and 

22 based on a transparent and reliable system of re23 view.’’. 
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1 (d) CORRECTIVE ACTION; TERMINATION.—Section 

2 641A(d) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(d)) is 

3 amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (1) by amending the matter 

5 preceding subparagraph (A) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary deter7 mines, on the basis of a review pursuant to subsection 

8 (c), that a Head Start agency designated pursuant to 

9 section 641 fails to meet the standards described in 

10 subsection (a) or results-based performance measures 

11 developed by the Secretary under subsection (b), or 

12 fails to adequately address the community needs and 

13 strategic plan identified in 640(g)(2)(C), the Sec14 retary shall—’’; 

15 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(2) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—

18 ‘‘(A) AGENCY AND PROGRAM RESPONSIBIL19 ITIES.—In order to retain a designation as a 

20 Head Start agency under this subchapter, or in 

21 the case of a Head Start program, in order to 

22 continue to receive funds from such agency, a 

23 Head Start agency, or Head Start program that 

24 is the subject of a determination described in 

25 paragraph (1) (other than an agency or program 
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1 required to correct a deficiency immediately or 

2 during a 90-day period under clause (i) or (ii) 

3 of paragraph (1)(B)) shall—

4 ‘‘(i) develop in a timely manner, a 

5 quality improvement plan that shall be sub6 ject to the approval of the Secretary, or in 

7 the case of a program, the sponsoring agen8 cy, and which shall specify—

9 ‘‘(I) the deficiencies to be cor10 rected; 

11 ‘‘(II) the actions to be taken to 

12 correct such deficiencies; and 

13 ‘‘(III) the timetable for accom14 plishment of the corrective actions 

15 specified; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) eliminate each deficiency identi17 fied, not later than the date for elimination 

18 of such deficiency specified in such plan 

19 (which shall not be later than 1 year after 

20 the date the agency or program received no21 tice of the determination and of the specific 

22 deficiency to be corrected). 

23 ‘‘(B) SECRETARIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Not 

24 later than 30 days after receiving from a Head 

25 Start agency a proposed quality improvement 
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1 plan pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Sec2 retary shall either approve such proposed plan or 

3 specify the reasons why the proposed plan cannot 

4 be approved. 

5 ‘‘(C) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRO6 GRAM IMPROVEMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

7 after receiving from a Head Start program, a 

8 proposed quality improvement plan pursuant to 

9 subparagraph (A), the sponsoring agency shall 

10 either approve such proposed plan or specify the 

11 reasons why the proposed plan cannot be ap12 proved.’’; and 

13 (3) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘and pro14 grams’’ after ‘‘agencies’’; 

15 (4) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(e) SUMMARIES OF MONITORING OUTCOMES.—Not 

18 later than 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, the 

19 Secretary shall publish a summary report on the findings 

20 of reviews conducted under subsection (c) and on the out21 comes of quality improvement plans implemented under 

22 subsection (d), during such fiscal year. Such information 

23 shall be made available to all parents with children receiv24 ing assistance under this subchapter in an understandable 

25 and uniform format, and to the extent practicable, provided 
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1 in a language that the parents can understand, and in ad2 dition, make the information widely available through pub3 lic means such as distribution through public agencies, and 

4 at a minimum posting such information on the Internet 

5 immediately upon publication.’’; and 

6 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(f) REDUCTION OF GRANTS AND REDISTRIBUTION OF

8 FUNDS IN CASES OF UNDER-ENROLLMENT.—

9 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 ‘‘(A) ACTUAL ENROLLMENT.—The term ‘ac11 tual enrollment’ means, with respect to the pro12 gram of a Head Start agency, the actual number 

13 of children enrolled in such program and re14 ported by the agency (as required in paragraph 

15 (2)) in a given month. 

16 ‘‘(B) BASE GRANT.—The term ‘base grant’ 

17 means, with respect to a Head Start agency for 

18 a fiscal year, that portion of the grant derived—

19 ‘‘(i) from amounts reserved for use in 

20 accordance with section 640(a)(2)(A), for a 

21 Head Start agency administering an In22 dian Head Start program or migrant and 

23 seasonal Head Start program; 

24 ‘‘(ii) from amounts reserved for pay25 ments under section 640(a)(2)(B); or 
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1 ‘‘(iii) from amounts available under 

2 section 640(a)(2)(D) or allotted among 

3 States under section 640(a)(4). 

4 ‘‘(C) FUNDED ENROLLMENT.—The term 

5 ‘funded enrollment’ means, with respect to the 

6 program of a Head Start agency in a fiscal 

7 year, the number of children that the agency is 

8 funded to serve through a grant for the program 

9 during such fiscal year, as indicated in the grant 

10 agreement. 

11 ‘‘(2) ENROLLMENT REPORTING REQUIREMENT

12 FOR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.—Each entity carrying 

13 out a Head Start program shall report on a monthly 

14 basis to the Secretary and the relevant Head Start 

15 agency—

16 ‘‘(A) the actual enrollment in such program; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) if such actual enrollment is less than 

19 the funded enrollment, any apparent reason for 

20 such enrollment shortfall. 

21 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND PLAN.—The Sec22 retary shall—

23 ‘‘(A) on a semiannual basis, determine 

24 which Head Start agencies are operating with 

25 an actual enrollment that is less than the funded 
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1 enrollment based on not less than the average of 

2 4 consecutive months of data; 

3 ‘‘(B) for each such Head Start agency oper4 ating a program with an actual enrollment that 

5 is less than 95 percent of its funded enrollment, 

6 as determined under subparagraph (A), develop, 

7 in collaboration with such agency, a plan and 

8 timetable for reducing or eliminating under-en9 rollment taking into consideration—

10 ‘‘(i) the quality and extent of the out11 reach, recruitment, and community needs 

12 assessment conducted by such agency; 

13 ‘‘(ii) changing demographics, mobility 

14 of populations, and the identification of 

15 new underserved low-income populations; 

16 ‘‘(iii) facilities-related issues that may 

17 impact enrollment; 

18 ‘‘(iv) the ability to provide full-day 

19 programs, where needed, through Head 

20 Start funds or through collaboration with 

21 entities carrying out other preschool or 

22 child care programs, or programs with 

23 other funding sources (where available); 

24 ‘‘(v) the availability and use by fami25 lies of other preschool and child care options 
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1 (including parental care) in the local 

2 catchment area; and 

3 ‘‘(vi) agency management procedures 

4 that may impact enrollment; and 

5 ‘‘(C) provide timely and ongoing technical 

6 assistance to each agency described in subpara7 graph (B) for the purpose of implementing the 

8 plan described in such subparagraph. 

9 ‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION.—Upon receipt of the 

10 technical assistance described in paragraph (3)(C), a 

11 Head Start agency shall immediately implement the 

12 plan described in paragraph (3)(B).

13 ‘‘(5) SECRETARIAL ACTION FOR CONVERSION TO

14 SERVE YOUNGER CHILDREN.—If, after implementing 

15 the plan described in paragraph (3)(B), the grantee 

16 continues to operate a program at less than full en17 rollment, the grantee may, upon approval by the Sec18 retary, be permitted to use a portion of the base grant 

19 equal to the percentage difference between funded en20 rollment and actual enrollment for the most then re21 cent year, to serve persons described in section 

22 645A(c) if such agency currently operates a grant de23 scribed in section 645A and submits an application 

24 containing—
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1 ‘‘(A) evidence of community need for such 

2 services; 

3 ‘‘(B) a description of how the needs of preg4 nant women, infants, and toddlers will be ad5 dressed in accordance with section 645A(b) and 

6 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary pur7 suant to section 641A in areas including—

8 ‘‘(i) the approach to childhood develop9 ment and health services; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the approach to family and com11 munity partnerships; and approach to pro12 gram design and management; 

13 ‘‘(C) assurances that the agency will par14 ticipate in technical assistance activities for 

15 newly funded and existing grantees under section 

16 654A; and 

17 ‘‘(D) evidence that the agency meets the eli18 gibility criteria as grantees under section 645A. 

19 Any grantee permitted to serve children under this 

20 paragraph shall be subject to the rules, regulations, 

21 and conditions under section 645A. 

22 ‘‘(6) SECRETARIAL ACTION FOR CONTINUED

23 UNDER-ENROLLMENT.—If, 1 year after the date of im24 plementation of the plan described in paragraph 

25 (3)(B), the Head Start agency continues to operate a 
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1 program at less than full enrollment, the Secretary 

2 shall, where determined appropriate, continue to pro3 vide technical assistance to such agency. 

4 ‘‘(7) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT

5 FOR CHRONIC UNDER-ENROLLMENT.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, after receiving tech7 nical assistance and developing and imple8 menting a plan to the extent described in para9 graphs (3), (4), and (5) for 6 months, a Head 

10 Start agency is still operating a program with 

11 an actual enrollment that is less than 95 percent 

12 of its funded enrollment, the Secretary may—

13 ‘‘(i) designate such agency as chron14 ically under-enrolled; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) recapture, withhold, or reduce the 

16 base grant for the program by, a percentage 

17 equal to the percentage difference between 

18 funded enrollment and actual enrollment for 

19 the program for the most recent year in 

20 which the agency is determined to be under21 enrolled under paragraph (2)(B). 

22 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OR LIMITATION OF REDUC23 TIONS.—If the Secretary, after the implementa24 tion of the plan described in paragraph (3)(B), 

25 finds that—
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1 ‘‘(i) the shortfall can reasonably be ex2 pected to be temporary; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the number of slots allotted to the 

4 agency is small enough that under-enroll5 ment does not constitute a significant short6 fall, 

7 the Secretary may, as appropriate, waive or re8 duce the percentage recapturing, withholding, or 

9 reduction otherwise required by subparagraph 

10 (A). 

11 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS; EFFEC12 TIVE DATE.—The actions taken by the Secretary 

13 under this paragraph with respect to a Head 

14 Start agency shall take effect 1 day after the date 

15 on which—

16 ‘‘(i) the time allowed for appeal under 

17 section 646(a) expires without an appeal by 

18 the agency; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the action is upheld in an admin20 istrative hearing under section 646. 

21 ‘‘(8) REDISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Funds held by the Sec23 retary as a result of recapturing, withholding, or 

24 reducing a base grant in accordance with para-
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1 graph (6) in a fiscal year shall be redistributed 

2 in such fiscal year as follows: 

3 ‘‘(i) If such funds are attributable to 

4 the portion of a base grant derived from 

5 amounts specified in paragraph (1)(B)(i) 

6 payable, but for the operation of this para7 graph, to carry out an Indian Head Start 

8 program, then such funds shall be redistrib9 uted to increase enrollment in such fiscal 

10 year in 1 or more Indian Head Start pro11 grams. 

12 ‘‘(ii) If such funds are attributable to 

13 the portion of a base grant derived from 

14 amounts specified in paragraph (1)(B)(i) 

15 payable, but for the operation of this para16 graph, to carry out a migrant and seasonal 

17 Head Start program, then such funds shall 

18 be redistributed to increase enrollment in 

19 such fiscal year in 1 or more migrant and 

20 seasonal Head Start programs. 

21 ‘‘(iii) If such funds are attributable to 

22 the portion of a base grant derived from 

23 amounts specified in clause (ii) or (iii) of 

24 paragraph (1)(B) payable, but for the oper25 ation of this paragraph, to carry out a 
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1 Head Start program (excluding Indian 

2 Head Start programs, and migrant and 

3 seasonal Head Start programs) in a State, 

4 then such funds shall be redistributed to in5 crease enrollment in such fiscal year in 1 or 

6 more—

7 ‘‘(I) other Head Start programs 

8 (excluding Indian Head Start pro9 grams and migrant and seasonal Head 

10 Start programs) that are carried out 

11 in such State; or 

12 ‘‘(II) if the Secretary determines 

13 that children eligible under section 641 

14 are being adequately served within 

15 such State, 1 or more Early Head 

16 Start programs (excluding Indian 

17 Head Start programs and migrant 

18 and seasonal Head Start programs) or 

19 1 or more Head Start programs for the 

20 purpose of becoming a grantee pursu21 ant to section 645A. 

22 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT TO FUNDED ENROLL23 MENT.—The Secretary shall adjust as necessary 

24 the requirements relating to funded enrollment 

25 indicated in the grant agreement of a Head 
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1 Start agency receiving funds redistributed under 

2 this paragraph.’’. 

3 SEC. 9. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGEN4 CIES. 

5 (a) QUALIFICATIONS FOR DESIGNATION.—Section 

6 642(b) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837(b)) is amend7 ed to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(b) In order to be so designated, a Head Start agency 

9 shall do all of the following:—

10 ‘‘(1) Establish a program with standards set 

11 forth in section 641A(a)(1), with particular attention 

12 to the standards set forth in subparagraphs (A) and 

13 (B) of such section. 

14 ‘‘(2) Demonstrate capacity to serve eligible chil15 dren with scientifically-based curricula and other 

16 interventions that help promote the school readiness of 

17 children participating in the program. 

18 ‘‘(3) Establish effective procedures by which par19 ents and area residents concerned will be enabled to 

20 directly participate in decisions that influence the 

21 character of programs affecting their interests.

22 ‘‘(4) Establish an independent board of directors 

23 selected from among eligible individuals who shall 

24 serve on the board (or may designate an existing enti25 ty whose members are eligible individuals, that shall 
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1 be such board) for a period not to exceed 5 years, ex2 cept that board members who oversee a public entity 

3 and who are selected by election (or members of a 

4 board of a local educational agency or a local council, 

5 appointed by an elected official or an official of a 

6 general purpose local government), may serve for such 

7 period as may be determined by the electing or ap8 pointing authority, as the case may be. An individual 

9 who has a conflict of interest is ineligible to serve as 

10 a member of the board. Members of the board of all 

11 nonpublic entities shall include representatives of the 

12 local community (including at least 1 member with 

13 significant financial management or accounting expe14 rience and the chair of the council described in sec15 tion 642(b)(4)(B)(ii)). Additional members shall be 

16 selected for their expertise in education, business ad17 ministration, community affairs, government, legal 

18 affairs, and such other areas of expertise as may con19 tribute to effective governance of the Head Start agen20 cy. All members of the board shall receive training in 

21 the management responsibilities and obligations, eth22 ics, and financial literacy and management, and 

23 shall adopt practices that assure active, independent 

24 and informed governance of the Head Start agency, 

25 including independent oversight of the financial and 
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1 management practices of such agency. The board shall 

2 provide direction to the executive director of the Head 

3 Start agency and shall operate as an entity inde4 pendent of staff employed by the Head start agency, 

5 entity, or applicant and have the following duties and 

6 responsibilities: 

7 ‘‘(A) To provide independent oversight to 

8 ensure that the Head Start agency under the di9 rection of the executive director is delivering high 

10 quality services to children and families in com11 pliance with all applicable standards in effect 

12 under this subchapter and with the applicable 

13 performance measures established by the Sec14 retary under section 644. 

15 ‘‘(B) To establish 2 or more standing com16 mittees to facilitate governance of the Head Start 

17 agency which shall include both of the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) An audit and finance committee 

19 whose primary responsibility shall be—

20 ‘‘(I) to approve annually the oper21 ating budget of the Head Start agency; 

22 ‘‘(II) to review and recommend to 

23 the board the selection of independent 

24 auditors who shall report all critical 
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1 accounting policies and practices to the 

2 finance and audit committee; 

3 ‘‘(III) to review and recommend 

4 to the board the termination or exten5 sion of the existing audit firm at least 

6 once every 5 years; 

7 ‘‘(IV) to review and advise the 

8 board of the audit management letter 

9 provided pursuant to the chapter 75 of 

10 title 31 of the United States Code, and 

11 of any audit findings; and 

12 ‘‘(V) to monitor agency actions to 

13 correct any such audit findings or 

14 other actions necessary to comply with 

15 applicable laws (including regulations) 

16 governing financial statements and ac17 counting practices. 

18 ‘‘(ii) A policy council, a majority of 

19 whose representatives shall be parents of 

20 children participating in a Head Start pro21 gram or in an Early Head Start program, 

22 or of children who participated in a Head 

23 Start program or in an Early Head Start 

24 program in the then most recent 5-year pe25 riod preceding the selection of the particular 
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1 representative involved, and whose primary 

2 responsibility shall be to serve as a link be3 tween parents and the board of directors 

4 and to make and submit recommendations 

5 on the following activities to the Board: 

6 ‘‘(I) The strategic direction of the 

7 program, including long and short8 term planning goals and objectives. 

9 ‘‘(II) Program operation policies, 

10 including standards of conduct for pro11 gram staff and volunteers. 

12 ‘‘(III) Activities to support the ac13 tive involvement of parents in sup14 porting program operations. 

15 ‘‘(IV) Classroom activities and 

16 staffing. 

17 ‘‘(V) Program responsiveness to 

18 community and parent needs. 

19 ‘‘(VI) Other areas the committee 

20 identifies as necessary to improve pro21 gram operations.

22 ‘‘(C) To approve the selection and dismissal 

23 of the Head Start director, and to review annu24 ally the human resources available to ensure the 

25 effective operation of the Head Start agency. 
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1 ‘‘(D) To consult, on a regular basis, with 

2 the policy committee and to take actions on rec3 ommendations submitted by such committee. 

4 ‘‘(E) To review and approve the major 

5 operational policies of the Head Start agency, 

6 including policies addressing accounting, finan7 cial management, procurement, record confiden8 tiality, and personnel (including specific stand9 ards governing salaries, salary adjustments, 

10 travel and per diem allowances, and other em11 ployee benefits). 

12 ‘‘(F) To ensure that the Head Start agency 

13 is operated in compliance with applicable Fed14 eral, State, and local laws (including regula15 tions), and to monitor agency implementation of 

16 any corrective action necessary to comply with 

17 applicable laws (including regulations); 

18 ‘‘(G) To oversee the program planning of 

19 the Head Start agency, including adoption of the 

20 Head Start agency philosophy and mission 

21 statement, adoption of policies for determining 

22 community needs, setting long- and short-range 

23 goals and objectives, establishment of criteria for 

24 selecting families in Head Start programs or 

25 Early Head Start programs, and to oversee and 
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1 approve the agency’s applications to receive 

2 funds made available under this subchapter; and 

3 ‘‘(H) To establish, to adopt, and to periodi4 cally update written standards of conduct that 

5 establish standards and formal procedures for 

6 disclosing, addressing, and resolving—

7 ‘‘(i) any conflict of interest, and any 

8 appearance of a conflict of interest, by 

9 board members, officers, employees, consult10 ants, and agents who provide services or 

11 furnish goods to the Head Start agency; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) complaints, including investiga13 tions, when appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(5) To seek the involvement of parents, area 

15 residents, and local business in the design and imple16 mentation of the program. 

17 ‘‘(6) To provide technical and other support 

18 needed to enable parents and area residents to secure 

19 on their own behalf available assistance from public 

20 and private sources. 

21 ‘‘(7) To establish effective procedures to facilitate 

22 the involvement of parents of participating children 

23 in activities designed to help such parents become full 

24 partners in the education of their children, and to af25 ford such parents the opportunity to participate in 
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1 the development and overall conduct of the program 

2 at the local level, including a process through which 

3 parents of children currently participating in a Head 

4 Start program or an Early Head Start program se5 lect the parent representatives to serve on the council 

6 under section 642(b)(4)(B)(ii). 

7 ‘‘(8) To conduct outreach to schools in which 

8 children participating in Head Start programs en9 roll, local educational agencies, the local business 

10 community, community-based organizations, faith11 based organizations, museums, and libraries to gen12 erate support and leverage the resources of the entire 

13 local community in order to improve school readiness. 

14 ‘‘(9) To offer (directly or through referral to local 

15 entities, such as entities carrying out Even Start pro16 grams under subpart 3 of part B of title I of the Ele17 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)), to parents of participating chil19 dren, family literacy services and parenting skills 

20 training. 

21 ‘‘(10) To offer to parents of participating chil22 dren substance abuse counseling (either directly or 

23 through referral to local entities), including informa24 tion on drug-exposed infants and fetal alcohol syn25 drome. 
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1 ‘‘(11) At the option of such agency, to offer (di2 rectly or through referral to local entities), to such 

3 parents—

4 ‘‘(A) training in basic child development 

5 (including cognitive development); 

6 ‘‘(B) assistance in developing literacy and 

7 communication skills; 

8 ‘‘(C) opportunities to share experiences with 

9 other parents (including parent-mentor relation10 ships);

11 ‘‘(D) mental and behavioral health services; 

12 ‘‘(E) regular in-home visitation; or 

13 ‘‘(F) any other activity designed to help 

14 such parents become full partners in the edu15 cation of their children. 

16 ‘‘(12) To provide, with respect to each partici17 pating family, a family needs assessment that in18 cludes consultation with such parents about the bene19 fits of parent involvement and about the activities de20 scribed in paragraphs (5) through (8) in which such 

21 parents may choose to be involved (taking into con22 sideration their specific family needs, work schedules, 

23 and other responsibilities). 

24 ‘‘(13) To consider providing services to assist 

25 younger siblings of children participating in its Head 
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1 Start program to obtain health services from other 

2 sources. 

3 ‘‘(14) To perform community outreach to encour4 age individuals previously unaffiliated with Head 

5 Start programs to participate in its Head Start pro6 gram as volunteers. 

7 ‘‘(15)(A) To inform custodial parents in single8 parent families that participate in programs, activi9 ties, or services carried out or provided under this 

10 subchapter about the availability of child support 

11 services for purposes of establishing paternity and ac12 quiring child support; and 

13 ‘‘(B) refer eligible parents to the child support 

14 offices of State and local governments.

15 ‘‘(16) provide parents of limited English pro16 ficient children outreach and services under this sub17 chapter, in an understandable and uniform format 

18 and, to the extent practicable, in a language that such 

19 parents can understand.’’. 

20 (b) COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION.—Section 

21 642(c) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837(c)) is amend22 ed to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(c) The head of each Head Start agency shall coordi24 nate and collaborate with the State agency responsible for 

25 administering the State program carried out under the 
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1 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

2 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and other early childhood education 

3 and development programs, including programs under sub4 title B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist5 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431–11435), Even Start programs 

6 under subpart 3 of part B of title I of the Elementary and 

7 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.), 

8 and programs under Part C and section 619 of the Individ9 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431–1445, 

10 1419), and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 5106a), serving the children and families served 

12 by the Head Start agency to carry out the provisions of 

13 this subchapter.’’. 

14 (c) OTHER COORDINATION.—Section 642(d) of the 

15 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837(d)) is amended—

16 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) 

17 as paragraph (5) through (7), respectively; 

18 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—

21 ‘‘(A) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—In 

22 communities where both public prekindergarten 

23 programs and Head Start programs operate, a 

24 Head Start agency shall collaborate and coordi25 nate activities with the local educational agency 
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1 or other public agency responsible for the oper2 ation of the prekindergarten program and pro3 viders of prekindergarten, including outreach ac4 tivities to identify eligible children. 

5 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.—Head Start 

6 staff shall, with the permission of the parents of 

7 children enrolled in Head Start programs, regu8 larly communicate with the elementary schools 

9 such children will be attending—

10 ‘‘(i) to share information about such 

11 children; 

12 ‘‘(ii) to receive advice and support 

13 from the teachers in such elementary schools 

14 participating in Early Reading First pro15 grams funded under subpart 1 of part B of 

16 title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

17 Education Act of 1965 regarding scientif18 ically based teaching strategies and options; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(iii) to ensure a smooth transition to 

21 elementary school for such children. 

22 ‘‘(C) OTHER EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILD

23 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.—The head of each 

24 Head Start agency shall coordinate activities 

25 and collaborate with the State agency responsible 
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1 for administering the State program carried out 

2 under the Child Care and Development Block 

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

4 other entities carrying out early childhood edu5 cation and development programs, programs 

6 under subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney7 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 11431–11435), Even Start programs under sub9 part 3 of part B of title I of the Elementary and 

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

11 6381 et seq.), and programs under section 619 

12 and part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 

13 Education Act (20 U.S.C 1419, 1431 et seq.), 

14 serving the children and families served by the 

15 Head Start agency.

16 ‘‘(D) OTHER PROGRAMS.—Each Head Start 

17 agency shall collaborate, as appropriate, with 

18 providers of social and community services 

19 available to children and families participating 

20 in Head Start programs, and may support such 

21 partnerships with financial agreements, when 

22 applicable, for the provision of such services. 

23 ‘‘(3) COLLABORATION.—A Head Start agency 

24 shall take steps to coordinate activities with the local 

25 educational agency serving the community involved 
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1 and with schools in which children participating in 

2 a Head Start program operated by such agency will 

3 enroll following such program, including—

4 ‘‘(A) collaborating on the shared use of 

5 transportation and facilities; 

6 ‘‘(B) collaborating to enhance the efficiency 

7 of services while increasing the program partici8 pation of underserved populations of eligible 

9 children; and 

10 ‘‘(C) exchanging information on the provi11 sion of noneducational services to such children. 

12 ‘‘(4) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.—In order to pro13 mote the continued involvement of the parents (in14 cluding grandparents and kinship caregivers, as ap15 propriate) of children that participate in Head Start 

16 programs in the education of their children upon 

17 transition to school, the Head Start agency shall work 

18 with the local educational agency—

19 ‘‘(A) to provide training to the parents—

20 ‘‘(i) to inform the parents about their 

21 rights and responsibilities concerning the 

22 education of their children; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) to enable the parents—
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1 ‘‘(I) to understand and work with 

2 schools in order to communicate with 

3 teachers and other school personnel; 

4 ‘‘(II) to support the schoolwork of 

5 their children; and 

6 ‘‘(III) to participate as appro7 priate in decisions relating to the edu8 cation of their children; and 

9 ‘‘(B) to take other actions, as appropriate 

10 and feasible, to support the active involvement of 

11 the parents with schools, school personnel, and 

12 school-related organizations.’’; 

13 (3) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘A’’ and inserting ‘‘Each’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘shall’’; 

17 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub18 paragraph (A); 

19 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

20 subparagraph (C); and 

21 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(B) collaborating to increase the program par24 ticipation of underserved populations of eligible chil25 dren; and’’; and 
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1 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(8) Head Start agencies shall implement a research3 based early childhood curricula that promotes young chil4 dren’s school readiness in the areas of language and cog5 nitive development, early reading and premathematics 

6 skills, socio-emotional skills, physical development, and ap7 proaches to learning. Such curricula shall be—

8 ‘‘(A) based on scientifically based research and 

9 have standardized training procedures and published 

10 curriculum materials to support implementation; and 

11 ‘‘(B) comprehensive, outcomes based, and linked 

12 to ongoing assessment with instructional goals and 

13 measurable objectives. 

14 ‘‘(9) Head Start agencies shall use ongoing, research15 based assessment methods that are developmentally appro16 priate, culturally and linguistically responsive, and tied to 

17 children’s daily activities in order to support the edu18 cational instruction of children in the program, including 

19 language skills, prereading knowledge and premathematics 

20 knowledge. Assessment instruments shall be those designed 

21 and validated for making decisions about teaching and 

22 learning and aligned with the program’s curricula and Sec23 tion 641A(a)(1). 

24 ‘‘(10) For the purpose of meeting the performance 

25 standards, Head Start agencies shall use high-quality re-
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1 search-based developmental screening tools that have been 

2 demonstrated to be standardized, reliable, valid, and accu3 rate for children from a range of racial, ethnic, linguistic, 

4 and cultural backgrounds.’’. 

5 (d) ASSESSMENT.—Section 642 of the Head Start Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 9837) is amended by striking subsection (e) and 

7 inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) ASSESSMENT.—Each Head Start agency shall 

9 adopt, in consultation with experts in child development 

10 and with classroom teachers, an assessment to be used when 

11 hiring or evaluating any classroom teacher in a center12 based Head Start program. Such assessment shall measure 

13 whether such teacher has mastered the functions described 

14 in section 648A(a)(1) and attained a level of literacy appro15 priate to implement Head Start curricula. 

16 ‘‘(f) FUNDED ENROLLMENT; WAITING LIST.—Each 

17 Head Start agency shall enroll 100 percent of its funded 

18 enrollment and maintain an active waiting list at all times 

19 with ongoing outreach to the community and activities to 

20 identify underserved populations.’’.

21 SEC. 10. LOCAL AND STATE INTEGRATION OF EARLY CHILD22 HOOD EDUCATION. 

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

24 amended by inserting after section 642A the following: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 642B. LOCAL AND STATE INTEGRATION OF EARLY 

2 CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) LOCAL INTEGRATION.—In general, Head Start 

4 agencies shall enter into ongoing partnerships with local 

5 educational agencies, State-funded preschool and other 

6 early childhood programs. Head Start agencies shall oper7 ate in a manner consistent with the goal of creating and 

8 expanding an efficient and effective system of early child9 hood and school readiness services in each State and com10 munity, while maintaining compliance with Standards 

11 under section 641A(a). 

12 ‘‘(1) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—Each 

13 Head Start agency shall enter into a memorandum of 

14 understanding with any local educational agencies or 

15 local councils, responsible for managing publicly 

16 funded prekindergarten programs in the service area 

17 of the Head Start agency (or if such agencies and 

18 such councils are not applicable in the service area, 

19 with the largest provider of publicly funded pre20 kindergarten in the service area), that shall include 

21 plans to coordinate the following activities: 

22 ‘‘(A) Educational activities, curricula, and 

23 instruction aligned to challenging State devel24 oped educational activities, curricula, and in25 struction aligned to challenging State developed 

26 academic content standards. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Public information dissemination and 

2 access to programs for families contacting any of 

3 the early childhood programs. 

4 ‘‘(C) Selection priorities for eligible children 

5 to be served by programs. 

6 ‘‘(D) Service delivery areas. 

7 ‘‘(E) Staff training, including opportunities 

8 for joint staff training on topics such as aca9 demic content standards and instructional meth10 ods. 

11 ‘‘(F) Program technical assistance. 

12 ‘‘(G) Provision of additional services to 

13 meet the child care needs of working parents. 

14 ‘‘(H) Planning and parent education for 

15 smooth transitions to kindergarten as required 

16 in section 642A(3) and 642A(6). 

17 ‘‘(I) Provision and use of facilities, trans18 portation, and other program elements. 

19 ‘‘(J) Other elements mutually agreed to by 

20 the parties to such memorandum. 

21 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF MEMORANDA.—Each Head Start 

22 agency shall enter into a memorandum of under23 standing under paragraph (1) not later than 1 year 

24 after the effective date of this section. 
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1 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL REVIEW.—Each memo2 randum of understanding entered into under para3 graph (1) shall be submitted to the Secretary not later 

4 than 30 days after entering into such memorandum. 

5 ‘‘(A) If a Head Start agency is unable to 

6 comply with the requirement in (1) the Head 

7 Start agency shall notify the Secretary and the 

8 chief executive officer of the State not later than 

9 30 days after determining that they are unable 

10 to enter into such memorandum. The Secretary, 

11 in cooperation with the State Early Learning 

12 Council and the State Director of Head Start 

13 Collaboration, shall evaluate the causes of failure 

14 to enter into a memorandum of understanding 

15 under paragraph (1). With the assistance of the 

16 State Early Learning Council and the State Di17 rector of Head Start Collaboration, all parties 

18 shall again attempt to enter into a memorandum 

19 of understanding under paragraph (1). Then if 

20 no such memorandum of understanding is en21 tered into, the Secretary shall make 1 of the fol22 lowing determinations: 

23 ‘‘(i) The local educational agency, local 

24 council, or other appropriate entity is un25 able or unwilling to enter into such a 
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1 memorandum despite reasonable efforts on 

2 the part of the Head Start agency. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The Head Start agency has not 

4 engaged in reasonable efforts to successfully 

5 negotiate and enter into a memorandum of 

6 understanding pursuant to paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(iii) There is an absence of publicly 

8 funded prekindergarten in the service area 

9 of the Head Start agency. 

10 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary determines the Head 

11 Start agency is not making reasonable efforts to 

12 enter into a memorandum of understanding pur13 suant to paragraph (1), the Head Start agency 

14 shall be found deficient and shall be considered 

15 by the Secretary in the same manner as other 

16 deficiency findings. 

17 ‘‘(C) If the Secretary concludes that the 

18 local educational agency, local council, or other 

19 appropriate entity is not making reasonable ef20 forts to reach such a memorandum of under21 standing, the Head Start agency shall not be 

22 found out of compliance with paragraph (1). 

23 ‘‘(4) REVISION OF MEMORANDA.—Each memo24 randum of understanding shall be revised and re-
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1 newed annually by the parties to such memorandum, 

2 in alignment with the beginning of the school year. 

3 ‘‘(5) ABSENCE OF PREKINDERGARTEN.—In the 

4 absence of publicly funded prekindergarten in the 

5 service area of a Head Start agency, the Head Start 

6 agency shall submit notice to the Secretary and the 

7 chief executive officer of the State, and shall work 

8 with the State Early Learning Council and the State 

9 Director of Head Start Collaboration to improve co10 ordination in their service area. 

11 ‘‘(b) STATEWIDE INTEGRATION.—From the amounts 

12 reserved under section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii), the Secretary shall 

13 award an early learning collaboration grant to each State 

14 for the purposes of supporting a State Early Learning 

15 Council responsible for advancing the development of a co16 ordinated early childhood services delivery system in the 

17 State. A State that receives a grant under this subpara18 graph shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) establish a State Early Learning Council, 

20 which shall include the State Director of Head Start 

21 Collaboration, representatives from the State preschool 

22 programs, representatives of local educational agen23 cies, the State official who oversees child care pro24 grams, the State official who oversees section 619 and 

25 part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
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1 Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.), the State official 

2 who oversees the State educational agency, and rep3 resentatives from Head Start agencies located in the 

4 State, including migrant and seasonal Head Start 

5 programs and Indian Head Start programs. The 

6 chief executive officer of the State may designate an 

7 existing entity to serve as the Early Learning Council 

8 if such entity includes representatives described in 

9 this paragraph; 

10 ‘‘(2) ensure that allotted funds distributed to a 

11 State for a fiscal year to carry out this subsection 

12 may be used by the State to pay not more than 30 

13 percent of the cost of carrying out this subsection; 

14 ‘‘(3) direct the Early Learning Council— 

15 ‘‘(A) to increase coordination and collabora16 tion among State preschool, Head Start pro17 grams, child care programs, early childhood spe18 cial education, and other early childhood pro19 grams, including in the areas of outcomes and 

20 standards, technical assistance, coordination of 

21 services, cross-sector professional development 

22 and training, community outreach, communica23 tion, and better serving the needs of working 

24 families through provision of full-day and full25 year early education services; 
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1 ‘‘(B) to work with State agencies responsible 

2 for education, child care, and early intervention 

3 to provide leadership and assistance to local 

4 Head Start programs, school districts, and State 

5 and locally funded preschool and child care pro6 grams to increase integration among early child7 hood programs through adoption of local memo8 randa of understanding described in subpara9 graph (A) and other means; 

10 ‘‘(C) to work with State agencies responsible 

11 for education, child care, and early intervention 

12 to provide leadership and assistance to develop a 

13 coherent sequence of standards for children age 3 

14 through the early elementary grades to effect a 

15 smooth transition to and success in the early ele16 mentary grades; 

17 ‘‘(D) to conduct periodic statewide needs as18 sessments concerning early care and education 

19 programs for children from birth to school entry; 

20 ‘‘(E) to work to identify and address bar21 riers to and opportunities for integration be22 tween entities carrying out Federal and State 

23 child development, child care, and early child24 hood education programs; 
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1 ‘‘(F) to develop recommendations regarding 

2 means of establishing a unified data collection 

3 system for early care and education programs 

4 operating throughout the State; 

5 ‘‘(G) to address coordination of early learn6 ing programs with health care (including mental 

7 and behavioral health care), welfare, family lit8 eracy and services for homeless children; 

9 ‘‘(H) to support a State system of early 

10 childhood education, and training and technical 

11 assistance that improves the quality of early 

12 learning programs and the capacity of such pro13 grams to deliver services pursuant to section 

14 648(b); and 

15 ‘‘(I) to develop a plan for increasing the 

16 participation of children underrepresented in 

17 State early childhood education and child care 

18 programs, including Head Start, State preschool 

19 programs, and programs carried out under the 

20 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

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

22 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed 

23 to provide the Early Learning Council with authority 

24 to alter the provisions of this Act. 
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1 ‘‘(5) Funds made available under this section 

2 shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other 

3 Federal, State, and local funds that would otherwise 

4 be expended to carry out the purposes of this sec5 tion.’’. 

6 SEC. 11. HEAD START ALIGNMENT WITH K–12 EDUCATION. 

7 Section 642A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837a) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by amending the heading to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 642A. HEAD START ALIGNMENT WITH K–12 EDU11 CATION.’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘ongoing’’ after ‘‘estab14 lishing’’; and 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘McKinney-Vento liaisons 

16 as established under section 722 (g)(1)(J)(ii) of 

17 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)),’’ after ‘‘social work19 ers,’’; 

20 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (7) 

21 as paragraphs (5) through (9), respectively; and 

22 (4) by inserting the following after paragraph 

23 (2): 

24 ‘‘(3) developing continuity of developmentally 

25 appropriate curricula between Head Start and local 
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1 educational agencies to ensure an effective transition 

2 and appropriate shared expectations for children’s 

3 learning and development as they make such transi4 tion to school; 

5 ‘‘(4) organizing and participating in joint train6 ing, including transition-related training for school 

7 staff and Head Start staff;’’; 

8 (5) by amending paragraph (7), as so redesig9 nated, to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(7) developing and implementing a family out11 reach and support program in cooperation with enti12 ties carrying out parental involvement efforts under 

13 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

14 Act of 1965 and family outreach and support efforts 

15 under subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento 

16 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431–11435);’’; 

17 (6) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘and continuity in paren19 tal involvement activities’’ after ‘‘developmental 

20 continuity’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

22 (7) by amending paragraph (9), as so redesig23 nated, to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(9) linking the services provided in such Head 

25 Start program with the education services, including 
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1 services relating to language, literacy, and numeracy, 

2 provided by such local educational agency;’’; and 

3 (8) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(10) helping parents (including grandparents 

5 and kinship caregivers, as appropriate) to understand 

6 the importance of parental involvement in a child’s 

7 academic success while teaching them strategies for 

8 maintaining parental involvement as their child 

9 moves from Head Start to elementary school; 

10 ‘‘(11) developing and implementing a system to 

11 increase program participation of underserved popu12 lations of eligible children; and 

13 ‘‘(12) coordinating activities and collaborating 

14 to ensure that curricula used in the Head Start pro15 gram is aligned with— 

16 ‘‘(A) State early learning standards with 

17 regard to cognitive, social, emotional, and phys18 ical competencies that children entering kinder19 garten are expected to demonstrate; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the Head Start Child Outcomes 

21 Framework developed by the Secretary.’’. 

22 SEC. 12. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND STAND23 ARDS. 

24 Section 644 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 9839(f)(2)) is amended— 
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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1) STANDARDS.—’’ after 

3 ‘‘(a)’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting after the 3d sentence the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each Head Start agency shall 

7 make available to the public a report published at least once 

8 in each fiscal year that discloses the following information 

9 from the then most recently concluded fiscal year, except 

10 that reporting such information shall not reveal personally 

11 identifiable information about an individual child: 

12 ‘‘(A) The total amount of public and private 

13 funds received and the amount from each source. 

14 ‘‘(B) An explanation of budgetary expenditures 

15 and proposed budget for the following fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(C) The total number of children and families 

17 served and percent of average monthly enrollment, in18 cluding the percent of eligible children served. 

19 ‘‘(D) The results of the most recent review by the 

20 Secretary and the financial audit. 

21 ‘‘(E) The percentage of enrolled children that re22 ceived medical and dental exams. 

23 ‘‘(F) Information about parent involvement ac24 tivities. 
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1 ‘‘(G) The agency’s efforts to prepare children for 

2 kindergarten. 

3 ‘‘(H) Any other information that describes the 

4 activities of the agency. 

5 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURAL CONDUCT.—’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (f)(2) 

7 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

8 through (E) as subparagraphs (B) through (F), 

9 respectively; and 

10 (B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), 

11 as so redesignated, the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) a description of the consultation conducted 

13 by the Head Start agency with the providers in the 

14 community demonstrating capacity and capability to 

15 provide services under this subchapter, and of the po16 tential for collaboration with such providers and the 

17 cost effectiveness of such collaboration as opposed to 

18 the cost effectiveness of the purchase of a facility;’’. 

19 SEC. 13. ELIGIBILITY. 

20 Section 645(a) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840) 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘to a reasonable extent’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘not to exceed 10 percent of 

3 the total enrollment’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘benefit from such pro5 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘benefit from such 

6 programs, including children referred by 

7 child welfare services,’’; and 

8 (iii) by inserting ‘‘(a homeless child 

9 shall be deemed to meet the low-income cri10 teria)’’ before the semicolon; and 

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

12 ‘‘(3) The amount of a basic allowance provided under 

13 section 403 of title 37, United States Code, on behalf of an 

14 individual who is a member of the uniformed services for 

15 housing that is acquired or constructed under the authority 

16 of subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United States 

17 Code, or any other related provision of law, shall not be 

18 considered to be income for purposes of determining the eli19 gibility of a child of the individual for programs assisted 

20 under this subchapter.’’. 

21 SEC. 14. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 645A(b) of the Head Start 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a(b)) is amended— 

24 (1) by amending paragraphs (4) and (5) to read 

25 as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(4) provide services to parents to support their 

2 role as parents (including parenting skills training 

3 and training in basic child development) and to help 

4 the families move toward self-sufficiency (including 

5 educational and employment services as appropriate); 

6 ‘‘(5) coordinate services with services (including 

7 home-based services) provided by programs in the 

8 State and programs in the community (including 

9 programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities 

10 and programs for homeless infants and toddlers) to 

11 ensure a comprehensive array of services (such as 

12 health and mental health services, and family support 

13 services);’’; 

14 (2) by amending paragraph (8) to read as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘(8) ensure formal linkages with the agencies 

17 and entities described in section 644(b) of the Indi18 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

19 1444(b)) and providers of early intervention services 

20 for infants and toddlers with disabilities under the 

21 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

22 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) and the agency responsible for 

23 administering section 106 of the Child Abuse Preven24 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a);’’; 
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1 (3) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para2 graph (11); and 

3 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(9) develop and implement a systematic proce6 dure for transitioning children and parents from an 

7 Early Head Start program into a Head Start pro8 gram or another local early childhood education pro9 gram; 

10 ‘‘(10) establish channels of communication be11 tween staff of Early Head Start programs and staff 

12 of Head Start programs or other local early childhood 

13 education programs, to facilitate the coordination of 

14 programs; and’’. 

15 (b) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL PROGRAMS; COMMUNITY16 AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 645A(d) of 

17 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a(d)) is amended— 

18 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(1) entities operating Head Start programs 

21 under this subpart, including migrant and seasonal 

22 Head Start programs; and’’; and 

23 (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘, including 

24 community- and faith-based organizations’’ after ‘‘en25 tities’’ the 2d place it appears. 
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1 (c) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AC2 COUNT.—Section 645A(g)(2)(B) of the Head Start Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 9640a(g)(2)(B)) is amended— 

4 (1) in clause (iii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (2) in clause (iv) by striking the period at the 

6 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(v) providing professional develop9 ment designed to increase program partici10 pation for underserved populations of eligi11 ble children.’’. 

12 (d) CENTER-BASED STAFF.—Section 645A of the 

13 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a) is amended by adding 

14 at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(h) CENTER-BASED STAFF.—The Secretary shall en16 sure that, not later than September 30, 2008, all teachers 

17 providing direct services to children and families partici18 pating in Early Head Start programs located in Early 

19 Head Start centers have a minimum of a child development 

20 associate credential or an associate degree, and have been 

21 trained (or have equivalent course work) in early childhood 

22 development.’’. 
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1 SEC. 15. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR NON2 EMERGENCY INTRUSIVE PHYSICAL EXAMINA3 TIONS. 

4 The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is amend5 ed by inserting after section 645A the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 645B. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR NON7 EMERGENCY INTRUSIVE PHYSICAL EXAMINA8 TIONS. 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—The term ‘nonemergency intrusive 

10 physical examination’ means, with respect to a child, a 

11 physical examination that— 

12 ‘‘(1) is not immediately necessary to protect the 

13 health or safety of such child, or the health or safety 

14 of another individual; and 

15 ‘‘(2) includes incision or is otherwise invasive, or 

16 includes exposure of private body parts. 

17 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—Before administering any 

18 health care service (including any nonemergency intrusive 

19 physical examination) to a child (or referring such child 

20 to obtain such service) in connection with participation in 

21 a program under this subchapter, a Head Start agency and 

22 an entity that receives assistance under section 645A shall 

23 obtain the written consent of a parent of such child. 

24 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion shall be construed to prohibit a Head Start agency or 

26 an entity that receives assistance under section 645A from 
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1 using established methods, for handling cases of suspected 

2 or known child abuse and neglect, that are in compliance 

3 with applicable Federal, State, or tribal law.’’. 

4 SEC. 16. RIGHT TO APPEAL. 

5 Section 646(a)(3) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 9841(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(3) if financial assistance under this subchapter 

8 is terminated or reduced, an application for a non9 competing continuation award is denied based on a 

10 previous failure to comply with terms applicable to 

11 financial assistance previously provided this sub12 chapter, or suspension of financial assistance is con13 tinued for more than 30 days, the recipient with re14 spect to whom such action is taken shall have the op15 portunity to appeal such action in accordance with 

16 such procedures, except that no funds made available 

17 under this subchapter may be used to reimburse any 

18 such recipient for legal fees and other costs incurred 

19 in pursuing such an appeal;’’. 

20 SEC. 17. AUDITS. 

21 Section 647 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) 

22 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(c)(1) Not later than 180 days after the end of each 

24 fiscal year, each Head Start agency, and each entity that 

25 receives assistance under section 645A, shall submit to the 
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1 Secretary an independent financial audit of the Head Start 

2 program carried out with financial assistance provided 

3 under this subchapter. Such audit shall be carried out by 

4 a certified public accountant selected through a competitive 

5 process from among qualified certified accountants by the 

6 local oversight board established in accordance with section 

7 642(b)(4) by such agency, except that no accountant may 

8 perform audits of such program for a period exceeding 5 

9 consecutive fiscal years. 

10 ‘‘(2) Not later than 60 days after receiving such audit, 

11 the Secretary shall provide to such agency or such entity, 

12 and to the chief executive officer of the State in which such 

13 program is operated, a notice identifying the actions such 

14 agency or such entity is required to take to correct all defi15 ciencies identified in such audit. 

16 ‘‘(d) Each recipient of financial assistance under this 

17 subchapter shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) maintain, and annually submit to the Sec19 retary, a complete accounting of its administrative 

20 expenses (including a detailed statement identifying 

21 the amount of financial assistance provided under 

22 this subchapter used to pay expenses for salaries and 

23 compensation and the amount (if any) of other funds 

24 used to pay such expenses); and 
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1 ‘‘(2) provide such additional documentation as 

2 the Secretary may require.’’. 

3 SEC. 18. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. 

4 (a) ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES.—Section 648(c) of 

5 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843(c)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘and for ac7 tivities described in section 1221(b)(3) of the Elemen8 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965’’ after 

9 ‘‘disabilities’’ ; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (5) by inserting ‘‘, including 

11 the needs of homeless children and their families’’ 

12 after ‘‘assessment’’; 

13 (3) in paragraph (10) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (4) in paragraph (11) by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

17 (5) by adding the following at the end: 

18 ‘‘(12) assist Head Start agencies and programs 

19 in increasing program participation of homeless chil20 dren; and 

21 ‘‘(13) assist Head Start agencies and Head Start 

22 programs in improving outreach to, and the quality 

23 of services available to, limited English proficient 

24 children and their families, particularly in commu25 nities that have experienced a large percentage in-
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1 crease in the population of limited English proficient 

2 individuals, as measured by the Bureau of the Cen3 sus.’’. 

4 (b) TRAINING IN USE OF MEDIA.—Section 648(d) of 

5 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843(d)) is amended by in6 serting ‘‘, including community- and faith-based organiza7 tions’’ after ‘‘entities’’ the first place such term appears. 

8 (c) CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND NATIONAL ASSESSMENT

9 PROGRAM.—Section 648(e) of the Head Start Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 9843(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 

12 through grants or other arrangements, funds from programs 

13 authorized under this subchapter to support an organiza14 tion to administer a centralized child development and na15 tional assessment program leading to recognized credentials 

16 for personnel working in early childhood development and 

17 child care programs, training for personnel providing serv18 ices to limited English proficient children (including serv19 ices to promote the acquisition of the English language), 

20 training for personnel providing services to children deter21 mined to be abused or neglected, training for personnel pro22 viding services to children referred by or receiving child wel23 fare services, training for personnel in helping children cope 

24 with community violence, and resource access projects for 

25 personnel working with disabled children.’’. 
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1 (d) ADDRESSING UNIQUE NEEDS.—Section 648 of the 

2 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843) is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 

5 through grants, or other arrangements, funds for training 

6 of Head Start personnel in addressing the unique needs of 

7 migrant and seasonal working families, families with a 

8 limited English proficiency, and homeless families. 

9 ‘‘(g) More than 50 percent of funds expended under 

10 this section shall be used to provide high quality, sustained, 

11 intensive, and classroom-focused training and technical as12 sistance in order to have a positive and lasting impact on 

13 classroom instruction. Funds shall be used to carry out ac14 tivities related to any or all of the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) Education and early childhood development. 

16 ‘‘(2) Child health, nutrition, and safety. 

17 ‘‘(3) Family and community partnerships. 

18 ‘‘(4) Other areas that impact the quality or over19 all effectiveness of Head Start programs. 

20 ‘‘(h) Funds under this subchapter used for training 

21 shall be used for needs identified annually by a grant appli22 cant or delegate agency in their program improvement 

23 plan, except that funds shall not be used for long-distance 

24 travel expenses for training activities available locally or 
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1 regionally or for training activities substantially similar 

2 to locally or regionally available training activities. 

3 ‘‘(i)(1) The Secretary shall work in collaboration with 

4 the Head Start agencies that carry out migrant and sea5 sonal Head Start programs, State Directors of Head Start 

6 Collaboration, the migrant and seasonal Head Start 

7 collatoration director, and other appropriate entities— 

8 ‘‘(A) to accurately determine the number of chil9 dren nationwide who are eligible to participate in 

10 migrant and seasonal Head Start programs each 

11 year; 

12 ‘‘(B) to document how many of these children 

13 are receiving Head Start services each year; and 

14 ‘‘(C) to the extent practicable, to ensure that ac15 cess to migrant and seasonal Head Start programs 

16 for eligible children is comparable to access to other 

17 Head Start programs for other eligible children; 

18 ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary 

19 shall consult with the Secretary of Education about the De20 partment of Education’s systems for collecting and report21 ing data about, and maintaining records on, students from 

22 migrant and seasonal farmworker families. 

23 ‘‘(3) Not later than 9 months after the effective date 

24 of this subsection, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal 

25 Register a notice of how the Secretary plans to carry out 
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1 paragraph (1) and shall provide a period for public com2 ment. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall consider 

3 comments received before submitting a report to the Con4 gress. 

5 ‘‘(4) Not later than 1 year after the effective date of 

6 this subsection, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 

7 Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House 

8 of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Edu9 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, detailing how 

10 the Department of Health and Human Services plans to 

11 carry out paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall submit annually a report to 

13 the Congress detailing the number of children of migrant 

14 and seasonal farmworkers, who are eligible to participate 

15 in Head Start programs and the number of such children 

16 who are enrolled in Head Start programs. 

17 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall take appropriate action, con18 sistent with section 444 of the General Education Provi19 sions Act, to ensure the protection of the confidentiality of 

20 any personally identifiable data, information, and records 

21 collected or maintained by the Secretary, by Head Start 

22 agencies that carry out migrant and seasonal Head Start 

23 programs, by State Directors of Head Start Collaboration, 

24 by the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Collaboration 
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1 Project Director, and by other appropriate entities pursu2 ant to this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(7) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

4 authorize the development of a nationwide database of per5 sonally identifiable information on individuals involved in 

6 studies or other collections of data under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(j) For purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible enti8 ties’ means an institution of higher education or other enti9 ty with expertise in delivering training in early childhood 

10 development, family support, and other assistance designed 

11 to improve the delivery of Head Start services.’’. 

12 SEC. 19. STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT. 

13 (a) CLASSROOM TEACHERS.—Section 648A(a)(2) of 

14 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a(a)(2)) is amended 

15 to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(2) DEGREE REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en18 sure that not later than September 30, 2011, at 

19 least 50 percent of all Head Start teachers na20 tionwide in center-based programs have— 

21 ‘‘(i) a baccalaureate or advanced de22 gree in early childhood education; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) a baccalaureate or advanced de24 gree in a field related to early childhood 
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1 education, with experience in teaching pre2 school children. 

3 ‘‘(B) PROGRESS.—Each Head Start agency 

4 shall provide to the Secretary a report indicating 

5 the number and percentage of classroom instruc6 tors with child development associate credentials 

7 and associate, baccalaureate, or advanced de8 grees. The Secretary shall compile all program 

9 reports and make them available to the Com10 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the 

11 United States House of Representatives and the 

12 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

13 Pensions of the United States Senate. 

14 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT FOR NEW HEAD START

15 TEACHERS.—Within 3 years after the effective 

16 date of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall re17 quire that all Head Start teachers nationwide in 

18 center-based programs hired following the effec19 tive date of this subparagraph— 

20 ‘‘(i) have an associate, baccalaureate, 

21 or advanced degree in early childhood edu22 cation or a related field; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) be currently enrolled in a pro24 gram of study leading to an associate degree 

25 in early childhood education and agree to 
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1 complete degree requirements within 3 years 

2 from the date of hire. 

3 ‘‘(D) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec4 retary shall establish requirements to ensure that 

5 individuals who receive financial assistance 

6 under this subchapter in order to comply with 

7 the requirements under section 648A(a)(2) shall 

8 subsequently teach in a Head Start center for a 

9 period of time equivalent to the period for which 

10 they received assistance or repay the amount of 

11 the funds. 

12 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall re13 quire that any Federal funds provided directly 

14 or indirectly to comply with subparagraph (A) 

15 shall be used toward degrees awarded by an in16 stitution of higher education, as defined by sec17 tions 101 or 102 of the Higher Education Act 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1001–1002).’’. 

19 (b) CLASSROOM TEACHERS.—Section 648A of the 

20 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a) is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS.—Each 

23 Head Start agency and program shall create, in consulta24 tion with an employee, a professional development plan for 
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1 all full-time employees who provide direct services to chil2 dren.’’. 

3 SEC. 20. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUATION. 

4 (a) NEW IDEAS AND APPROACHES.—Section 

5 649(a)(1)(B) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 9844(a)(1)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(B) use the Head Start programs to de8 velop, test, and disseminate new ideas and ap9 proaches based on existing scientifically based re10 search, for addressing the needs of low-income 

11 preschool children (including children with dis12 abilities and children determined to be abused or 

13 neglected) and their families and communities 

14 (including demonstrations of innovative non-cen15 ter based program models such as home-based 

16 and mobile programs), and otherwise to further 

17 the purposes of this subchapter.’’. 

18 (b) STUDY.—Section 649(d) of the Head Start Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 9844(d) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (7) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

21 end; 

22 (2) in paragraph (8) by striking the semicolon 

23 and inserting a period; 

24 (3) by striking paragraph (9); and 

25 (4) by striking the last sentence. 
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1 (c) EXPERT PANEL.—Section 649(g) of the Head Start 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 9844(g)) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

4 (A) by striking clause (i); and 

5 (B) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) 

6 as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; and 

7 (2) in paragraph (7)(C)(i) is amended to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘(i) Not later than September 30, 

10 2007, the Secretary shall transmit to the 

11 committees specified in clause (ii) the final 

12 report.’’. 

13 (d) NAS STUDY.—Section 649(h) of the Head Start 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 9844(h)) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(h) NAS STUDY.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use 

17 funds allocated in section 640(a)(2)(C)(iii) to con18 tract with the National Academy of Sciences for the 

19 Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the Na20 tional Research Council to establish an independent 

21 panel of experts to review and synthesize research, 

22 theory and applications in the social, behavioral and 

23 biological sciences and to make recommendations on 

24 early childhood pedagogy with regard to each of the 

25 following: 
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1 ‘‘(A) Age and developmentally appropriate 

2 Head Start academic requirements and out3 comes, including the domains in 641A(a)(B). 

4 ‘‘(B) Differences in the type, length, mix 

5 and intensity of services necessary to ensure that 

6 children from challenging family and social 

7 backgrounds including: low-income children, 

8 children of color, children with special needs, 

9 and children with limited English proficiency 

10 enter kindergarten ready to succeed. 

11 ‘‘(C) Appropriate assessments of young chil12 dren (including systematic observation assess13 ment in a child’s natural environment, and par14 ent and provider interviews) for purposes of im15 proving instruction, services, and program qual16 ity, and accommodations for children with dis17 abilities and appropriate assessments for chil18 dren with special needs (including needs related 

19 to the acquisition of the English language). 

20 ‘‘(D) An evaluation of the current and ap21 propriate uses of the National Reporting System 

22 developed by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The panel shall consist of 

24 multiple experts in each of the following areas: 
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1 ‘‘(A) Child development and education, in2 cluding cognitive, social, emotional, physical, ap3 proaches to learning, and other domains of child 

4 development and learning. 

5 ‘‘(B) Professional development, including 

6 teacher preparation, to individuals who teach 

7 young children in programs. 

8 ‘‘(C) Assessment of young children, includ9 ing screening, diagnostic and classroom-based in10 structional assessment; children with special 

11 needs, including children with disabilities and 

12 limited English proficient children. 

13 ‘‘(3) TIMING.—The National Academy of 

14 Sciences and the Board shall establish the panel not 

15 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 

16 the School Readiness Act of 2005. The panel shall 

17 complete its recommendations within 18 months of its 

18 convening. 

19 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF PANEL RECOMMENDA20 TIONS.—The recommendations of the panel shall be 

21 used as guidelines by the Secretary to develop, inform 

22 and revise, where appropriate, the Head Start edu23 cation performance measures and standards and the 

24 assessments utilized in the Head Start program.’’. 
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1 (e) STUDY OF STATUS OF LIMITED ENGLISH PRO2 FICIENT CHILDREN.—Section 649 of the Head Start Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 9844) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(i) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT CHILDREN.— 

6 ‘‘(1) STUDY.— Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of the School Readiness Act of 

8 2005, the Secretary shall conduct a study on the sta9 tus of limited English proficient children and their 

10 families in Head Start programs and Early Head 

11 Start programs. 

12 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare and 

13 submit to Congress, not later than September 2008, a 

14 report containing the results of such study, including 

15 information on— 

16 ‘‘(A)(i) the demographics of limited English 

17 proficient children less than 5 years of age and 

18 the geographical distribution of such children; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the number of such children receiving 

21 Head Start services and the number of such chil22 dren receiving Early Head Start services, and 

23 the geographical distribution of such children re24 ceiving such services; 
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1 ‘‘(B) the nature of the Head Start services 

2 and of the Early Head Start services provided to 

3 limited English proficient children and their 

4 families, including the types, content, duration, 

5 intensity, and costs of family services, language 

6 assistance, and educational services; 

7 ‘‘(C) procedures in Head Start programs 

8 for assessing language needs and for making the 

9 transition of limited English proficient children 

10 to kindergarten, including the extent to which 

11 Head Start programs meet the requirements of 

12 section 642A for limited English proficient chil13 dren; 

14 ‘‘(D) the qualifications and training pro15 vided to Head Start teachers and Early Head 

16 Start teachers who serve limited English pro17 ficient children and their families; 

18 ‘‘(E) the rate of progress made by limited 

19 English proficient children and their families in 

20 Head Start programs and in Early Head Start 

21 programs, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) the rate of progress made by lim23 ited English proficient children toward 

24 meeting the additional educational stand-
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1 ards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) 

2 while enrolled in Head Start programs; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the correlation between such 

4 progress and the type and quality of in5 struction and educational programs pro6 vided to limited English proficient children; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the correlation between such 

9 progress and the health and family services 

10 provided by Head Start programs to lim11 ited English proficient children and their 

12 families; and 

13 ‘‘(F) the extent to which Head Start pro14 grams make use of funds under section 640(a)(3) 

15 to improve the quality of Head Start services 

16 provided to limited English proficient children 

17 and their families.’’. 

18 SEC. 21. REPORTS. 

19 (a) REPORT.—Section 650(a) of the Head Start Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 9845(a)) is amended— 

21 (1) by amending the first sentence to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘At least once during every 2-year period, the Secretary 

24 shall prepare and submit, to the Committee on Education 

25 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the 
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1 Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of 

2 the Senate, a report concerning the status of children (in3 cluding disabled, homeless, and limited English proficient 

4 children) in Head Start programs, including the number 

5 of children and the services being provided to such chil6 dren.’’; and 

7 (2) in paragraph (8) by inserting ‘‘, homeless8 ness’’ after ‘‘background’’. 

9 (b) NATIONAL REPORTING SYSTEM.—Section 650 of 

10 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9845) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL REPORTING SYSTEM.—The Secretary 

13 shall submit annually to the Committee on Education and 

14 the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Com15 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

16 Senate, a report on the status of the National Reporting 

17 System developed by the Secretary. Such report shall in18 clude— 

19 ‘‘(1) information on all contracts, grants, and 

20 expenses relating to the development and implementa21 tion of the National Reporting System; 

22 ‘‘(2) information described in section 

23 641A(b)(3)(B); and 

24 ‘‘(3) a description of the recommendations made 

25 by the Technical Working Group, including issues of 
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1 the technical adequacy, purpose, and administration 

2 of the System, and an explanation of how the Sec3 retary plans to address these recommendations.’’. 

4 SEC. 22. LIMITATION ON RATE OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR 

5 COMPENSATION. 

6 Section 653 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9848) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) by striking the heading; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘SEC. 653. The’’ and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 653. WAGES AND COMPENSATION. 

12 ‘‘(a) COMPARABILITY OF WAGES.—The’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL RATE LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding 

15 any other provision of law, no Federal funds shall be used 

16 to pay all or any part of the compensation of an individual 

17 employed by a Head Start agency in carrying out pro18 grams under this subchapter, either as direct or indirect 

19 costs or any proration thereof, at a rate in excess of the 

20 rate then payable for level II of the Executive Schedule 

21 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

22 SEC. 23. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS. 

23 The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is amend24 ed by inserting after section 656 the following: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 656A. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN USES OF FUNDS. 

2 ‘‘No funds made available to carry out this subchapter 

3 may be used— 

4 ‘‘(1) for publicity or propaganda purposes not 

5 heretofore authorized by the Congress; or 

6 ‘‘(2) unless authorized by law in effect on the ef7 fective date of this section, to produce any pre8 packaged news story intended for broadcast or dis9 tribution unless such story includes a clear notifica10 tion contained within the text or audio of such story 

11 stating that the prepackaged news story was prepared 

12 or funded by the Department of Health and Human 

13 Services.’’. 

14 SEC. 24. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

15 Section 641A(a)(2)(A) of the Head Start Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 9836a(a)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘non17 English language background’’ and inserting ‘‘limited 

18 English proficient’’. 

19 SEC. 25. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS. 

20 (a) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided 

21 in subsections (b) and (c), this Act and the amendments 

22 made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enact23 ment of this Act. 

24 (b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—The amendments 

25 made by this Act shall not apply with respect to any fiscal 
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1 year that begins before the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 (c) PRIORITY IN THE DESIGNATION OF HEAD START

4 AGENCIES.— 

5 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 641(c), as 

6 amended by section 7(b) of this Act, shall take effect 

7 exactly twelve months from the date of the enactment 

8 of this Act, except for section 641(c)(5), which shall 

9 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 (2) IMPLEMENTATION RULE.—For purposes of 

11 carrying out section 641(c) of the Head Start Act, as 

12 amended by section 7(b) of this Act, the Secretary 

13 may only consider the performance of a Head Start 

14 program in meeting the requirements described in sec15 tion 641(c) of the Head Start Act, as amended by sec16 tion 7(b) of this Act, from the date of enactment of 

17 this Act, except any performance that constitutes a 

18 deficiency since the then most recent designation. 

Union Calendar No. 78 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2123 

[Report No. 109–136] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Head Start Act to improve the 

for other purposes. school readiness of disadvantaged children, and 

JUNE 16, 2005 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,