II 

Calendar No. 258 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2123 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 

Received 

OCTOBER 25, 2005 

Read twice and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the Head Start Act to improve the school 

readiness of disadvantaged children, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘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: 
2 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

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

3 school readiness by enhancing the development of low-in4 come children, including development of cognitive abilities, 

5 through educational instruction in prereading skills, 

6 premathematics skills, language, and social and emotional 

7 development linked to school readiness and through the 

8 provision to low-income children and their families of 

9 health, educational, nutritional, social and other services 

10 that are determined, based on family needs assessments, 

11 to be necessary.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

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

14 is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (17) by striking ‘‘, but for fis16 cal years’’ and all that follows down to the period; 

17 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (16) and (17) 

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

19 (3) by redesignating paragraph (15) as para20 graph (21); 

21 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through 

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

23 (5) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para24 graph (14); 

25 (6) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

26 (9) as paragraphs (6) through (12), respectively; 
3 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (7) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para2 graph (4); 

3 (8) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(2) The term ‘challenging State developed aca6 demic content standards’ has the meaning given 

7 such term in paragraphs (1) and (5) of section 

8 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu9 cation Act of 1965. 

10 ‘‘(3) The term ‘deficiency’ means— 

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

12 Head Start agency in an area of performance 

13 that the Secretary determines involves— 

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

15 civil rights of children or staff; 

16 ‘‘(ii) a denial to parents of the exer17 cise of their full roles and responsibilities 

18 related to program governance; 

19 ‘‘(iii) a failure to perform the require20 ments of section 641A(a), as determined 

21 by the Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(iv) the misuse of funds received 

23 under this subchapter; 

24 ‘‘(v) loss of legal status (as deter25 mined by the Secretary) or financial viabil-
4 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ity, loss of permits, debarment from receiv2 ing Federal grants or contracts, or the im3 proper use of Federal funds; or 

4 ‘‘(vi) failure to meet any other Fed5 eral or State requirement; 

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

7 Head Start agency to fully exercise its legal and 

8 fiduciary responsibilities; 

9 ‘‘(C) failure of a Head Start agency to 

10 meet the administrative requirements of section 

11 644(b); or 

12 ‘‘(D) failure of a Head Start agency to 

13 meet the integration requirements of section 

14 642B(a).’’; 

15 (9) by inserting after paragraph (4), as so re16 designated, the following: 

17 ‘‘(5) The term ‘eligible entities’ means an insti18 tution of higher education or other agency with ex19 pertise in delivering training in early childhood de20 velopment, family support, and other assistance de21 signed to improve the quality of early childhood edu22 cation programs.’’; 

23 (10) by inserting after paragraph (12), as so 

24 redesignated, the following: 
5 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(13) The term ‘homeless children’ has the 

2 meaning given such term in subtitle B of title VII 

3 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 11431–11435).’’; 

5 (11) by inserting after paragraph (14), as so 

6 redesignated, the following: 

7 ‘‘(15) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT; LIMITED

8 ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.—The terms ‘limited English 

9 proficient’ and ‘limited English proficiency’ mean 

10 with respect to an individual, that such individual— 

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

12 or has a native language that is not English; 

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

14 Native, or a native resident of a territory or 

15 possession of the United States; and 

16 ‘‘(II) comes from an environment in which 

17 a language that is not English has had a sig18 nificant impact on such individual’s level of 

19 English language proficiency; or 

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

21 that is not English, and comes from an environ22 ment in which a language that is not English 

23 is dominant; and 
6 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(B) has difficultly in speaking or under2 standing the English language to an extent that 

3 may be sufficient to deny such individual— 

4 ‘‘(i) the ability to successfully achieve 

5 in classrooms in which the language of in6 struction is English; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) the opportunity to fully partici8 pate in society.’’; 

9 (12) by inserting after paragraph (19), as so 

10 redesignated, the following: 

11 ‘‘(20) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The 

12 term ‘professional development’ means high quality 

13 activities that will enhance the school readiness of el14 igible children and prevent such children from en15 countering difficulties once they enter school by im16 proving the knowledge and skills of Head Start 

17 teachers and staff, as relevant to their roles and 

18 functions, including activities that— 

19 ‘‘(A) provide teachers with the content 

20 knowledge and teaching strategies needed to 

21 provide effective instruction and other school 

22 readiness services in early language and lit23 eracy, early mathematics, cognitive skills, ap24 proaches to learning, creative arts, science, 

25 physical health and development, and social and 
7 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 emotional development linked to school readi2 ness; 

3 ‘‘(B) assist teachers in meeting the re4 quirements in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 

5 648A(a), as appropriate; 

6 ‘‘(C) improve teachers’ classroom manage7 ment skills, as appropriate; 

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

9 and classroom-focused in order to have a posi10 tive and lasting impact on classroom instruction 

11 and teachers’ performance in the classroom; 

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

13 workshops or conferences, and attendance at 

14 activities that are 1-day or short-term work15 shops or conferences must be as part of the 

16 professional development plan defined in section 

17 648A(f); 

18 ‘‘(F) assist teachers and staff in increasing 

19 their knowledge and skills in program adminis20 tration, program quality, and the provision of 

21 services and instruction, as appropriate, in a 

22 manner that improves service delivery to eligible 

23 children and families; 
8 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(G) are part of a sustained effort to im2 prove overall program quality and outcomes for 

3 eligible children and families; 

4 ‘‘(H) advance teacher understanding of ef5 fective instructional strategies that are— 

6 ‘‘(i) based on scientifically based re7 search; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) strategies for improving school 

9 readiness or substantially increasing the 

10 knowledge and teaching skills of teachers; 

11 ‘‘(I) are, where applicable, aligned with 

12 and directly related to— 

13 ‘‘(i) challenging State academic con14 tent standards, student academic achieve15 ment standards, assessments, and the 

16 Head Start Child Outcomes Framework 

17 developed by the Secretary; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the curricula, ongoing assess19 ments, and other instruction and services 

20 designed to help meet the standards de21 scribed in section 641A(a)(1); 

22 ‘‘(J) are developed or selected with exten23 sive participation of administrators and teach24 ers from Head Start programs; 
9 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(K) are developmentally appropriate for 

2 the children being served; 

3 ‘‘(L) are designed to give teachers of lim4 ited English proficient children, and other 

5 teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge 

6 and skills to provide instruction and appro7 priate language and support services to increase 

8 the English language skills of such children, as 

9 appropriate; 

10 ‘‘(M) as a whole, are regularly evaluated 

11 for their impact on increased teacher and staff 

12 effectiveness and improved ability of teachers to 

13 support learning and increase participating chil14 dren’s school readiness, with the findings of the 

15 evaluations used to improve the quality of pro16 fessional development; 

17 ‘‘(N) provide instruction in methods of 

18 teaching children with special needs, as appro19 priate; 

20 ‘‘(O) include instruction in ways that Head 

21 Start personnel may work more effectively with 

22 parents, as appropriate; and 

23 ‘‘(P) are designed to give teachers and 

24 staff the knowledge and skills to provide in25 struction and appropriate support services to 
10 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 children of diverse backgrounds, as appro2 priate.’’; 

3 (13) by inserting after paragraph (21), as so 

4 redesignated, the following: 

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

6 ‘‘(A) means research that involves the ap7 plication of rigorous, systematic and objective 

8 procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowl9 edge relevant to education activities and pro10 grams; and 

11 ‘‘(B) includes research that— 

12 ‘‘(i) employs systematic, empirical 

13 methods that draw on observation or ex14 periment; 

15 ‘‘(ii) involves rigorous data analyses 

16 that are adequate to test the stated 

17 hypotheses and justify the general conclu18 sions drawn; 

19 ‘‘(iii) relies on measurements or obser20 vational methods that provide reliable and 

21 valid data across evaluators and observers, 

22 across multiple measurements and observa23 tions, and across studies by the same or 

24 different investigators; 
11 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(iv) is evaluated using experimental 

2 or quasi-experimental designs in which in3 dividuals, entities, programs or activities 

4 are assigned to different conditions and 

5 with appropriate controls to evaluate the 

6 effects of the condition of interest, with a 

7 preference for random assignment experi8 ments, or other designs to the extent that 

9 those designs contain within-condition or 

10 across-condition controls; 

11 ‘‘(v) ensures that experimental studies 

12 are presented in sufficient detail and clar13 ity to allow for replication or, at a min14 imum, offer the opportunity to build sys15 tematically on their findings; and 

16 ‘‘(vi) has been accepted by a peer-re17 viewed journal or approved by a panel of 

18 independent experts through a comparably 

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

20 and 

21 (14) by inserting after paragraph (24), as so 

22 redesignated, the following: 

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

24 the meaning given such term in the Elementary and 

25 Secondary Education Act of 1965. 
12 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(26) The term ‘unresolved area of noncompli2 ance’ means a failure to correct a noncompliance 

3 item within 90 days, or within such additional time 

4 (if any) authorized by the Secretary, after receiving 

5 from the Secretary notice of such noncompliance 

6 item. 

7 ‘‘(27) The term ‘auditor’ means a certified pub8 lic accountant or a Federal, State, or local govern9 ment audit organization, which meets the general 

10 standards specified in generally accepted government 

11 auditing standards.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PRO13 GRAMS. 

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

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

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

17 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION. 

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

19 is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 639. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap22 propriated for carrying out the provisions of this sub23 chapter $6,899,000,000 for the fiscal year 2006 and such 

24 sums as may be necessary for the fiscal years 2007 

25 through 2011. 
13 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC PROGRAMS.—From the amount ap2 propriated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 

3 available not more than $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, 

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

5 through 2011 to carry out such other research, dem6 onstration, and evaluation activities, including longitu7 dinal studies, under section 649, of which not more than 

8 $7,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2011 

9 to carry out impact studies under section 649(g).’’. 

10 SEC. 6. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS; LIMITATIONS ON ASSIST11 ANCE. 

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

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

14 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

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

16 as follows: 

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

18 for children with disabilities, and migrant and 

19 seasonal Head Start programs, except that— 

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

21 each fiscal year for use by Indian Head 

22 Start programs and by migrant and sea23 sonal Head Start programs, on a nation24 wide basis, not less than the amount that 

25 was obligated for use by Indian Head 
14 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Start programs and by migrant and sea2 sonal Head Start programs for fiscal year 

3 2005 (including under any decision made 

4 by the Secretary under clause (ii) or (iv)); 

5 ‘‘(ii) migrant and seasonal Head Start 

6 programs shall receive at least 5 percent of 

7 the amount appropriated for such fiscal 

8 year until such time as the Secretary can 

9 make funding decisions to ensure access to 

10 funding for eligible children of migrant and 

11 seasonal farmworkers is comparable to ac12 cess to funding for other eligible children 

13 based on the data collected and reported 

14 pursuant to section 648(i), except that no 

15 future reduction in funding shall result in 

16 the termination of Head Start services pro17 vided to any eligible child 3 years of age or 

18 older who is participating in any such pro19 gram on the date a reduction in funding 

20 occurs, and shall, to the extent possible, 

21 continue participation for children less 

22 than 3 years of age receiving services prior 

23 to such reduction in funding; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) Indian Head Start programs 

25 shall receive at least 3.5 percent of the 
15 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 amount appropriated for such fiscal year 

2 until such time as the Secretary can make 

3 funding decisions to ensure access to fund4 ing for eligible Indian children is com5 parable to access to funding for other eligi6 ble children based on the data collected, 

7 and in accordance with the requirements 

8 of, section 648(i), except that no future re9 duction in funding shall result in the ter10 mination of Head Start services provided 

11 to any eligible child 3 years of age or older 

12 who is participating in any such program 

13 on the date a reduction in funding occurs, 

14 and shall, to the extent possible, continue 

15 participation for children less than 3 years 

16 of age receiving services prior to such re17 duction in funding;’’; and 

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

19 as follows: 

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

21 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

22 Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of 

23 the United States, and subject to the requirements 

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

25 to Palau;’’; 
16 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 ‘‘(C) training and technical assistance activities 

3 to foster program quality and management improve4 ment as described in section 648, in an amount for 

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

6 amount appropriated for such fiscal year, of which— 

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

8 available to local Head Start agencies to make 

9 program improvements identified by such agen10 cies and comply with the standards described in 

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

12 percent shall be used to comply with the stand13 ards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B) and for 

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

15 of subsection (a)(3)(B); 

16 ‘‘(ii) not less than 20 percent shall be 

17 made available to support a State system of 

18 early childhood education training and technical 

19 assistance, including the State Early Learning 

20 Council described in section 642B(b); 

21 ‘‘(iii) not less than 30 percent shall be 

22 made available to the Secretary to assist local 

23 programs in meeting the standards described in 

24 section 641A(a)(1) and shall be allocated to ad25 dress program weaknesses identified by moni-
17 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 toring activities conducted by the Secretary 

2 under section 641A(c); and 

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

4 amount in clause (iii) appropriated for such fis5 cal year shall be made available to carry out ac6 tivities described in section 648(d)(4);’’; and 

7 (D) by striking the last sentence. 

8 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

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

11 1999’’ and all that follows down to the 

12 semicolon and inserting ‘‘years 2006 

13 through 2011’’; and 

14 (ii) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(iii) After the reservation of amounts under para17 graph (2) and the 60 percent amount referred to in sub18 paragraph (A) of this paragraph, a portion of the remain19 ing funds shall be made available— 

20 ‘‘(I) to expand services to underserved popu21 lations, such as children receiving services under 

22 Early Head Start programs and under migrant and 

23 seasonal Head Start programs; and 

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

25 enrollment and whose aggregate amount of financial 
18 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 assistance provides funding per child that is below 

2 the national average.’’; 

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

4 as follows: 

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

6 paragraph referred to as ‘quality improvement funds’) 

7 shall be used to accomplish the following goals: 

8 ‘‘(i) Ensuring that Head Start programs meet 

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

10 ‘‘(ii) Ensuring that such programs have ade11 quate numbers of qualified staff, and that such staff 

12 is furnished adequate training, including developing 

13 skills to promote the development of language skills, 

14 premathematic skills, and prereading in young chil15 dren and in working with children with limited 

16 English proficiency, children referred by child wel17 fare services, and children with disabilities, when ap18 propriate. 

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

20 described under section 644(a)(3) and section 653, 

21 in order to ensure that salary levels and benefits are 

22 adequate to attract and retain qualified staff for 

23 such programs. 

24 ‘‘(iv) Using salary increases— 
19 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 quality programs and improve staff qualifica3 tions; 

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

5 language skills and literacy growth of children 

6 and can provide children with a variety of skills 

7 that have been identified, through scientifically 

8 based early reading research, as predictive of 

9 later reading achievement; and 

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

11 improve their skills and expertise by informing 

12 the staff of the availability of Federal and State 

13 incentive and loan forgiveness programs for 

14 professional development. 

15 ‘‘(v) Improving community-wide strategic plan16 ning and needs assessments for such programs and 

17 collaboration efforts for such programs, including 

18 collaborations to increase program participation by 

19 underserved populations of eligible children. 

20 ‘‘(vi) Ensuring that the physical environments 

21 of Head Start programs are conducive to providing 

22 effective program services to children and families, 

23 and are accessible to children with disabilities and 

24 their parents. 
20 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(vii) Ensuring that such programs have quali2 fied staff that can promote language skills and lit3 eracy growth of children and that can provide chil4 dren with a variety of skills that have been identi5 fied, through scientifically based reading research, as 

6 predictive of later reading achievement. 

7 ‘‘(viii) Providing assistance to complete postsec8 ondary course work including scholarships or other 

9 financial incentives, such as differential and merit 

10 pay, to enable Head Start teachers to improve com11 petencies and the resulting child outcomes. 

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

13 educational personnel to meet the professional 

14 standards established under section 648A(a)(1), in15 cluding certification and licensure as bilingual edu16 cation teachers and other educational personnel who 

17 serve limited English proficient children. 

18 ‘‘(x) Promoting the regular attendance and sta19 bility of all children participating in Head Start pro20 grams, with particular attention to highly mobile 

21 children, including children from migrant and sea22 sonal farm worker families (if appropriate), homeless 

23 children, and children in foster care. 
21 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 quality of such programs as the Secretary may des3 ignate.’’; and 

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

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(C) Quality improvement funds shall be used to 

7 carry out the activities in any or all of the following 

8 clauses: 

9 ‘‘(i)(I) Not less than one-half of the amount re10 served under this paragraph, to improve the com11 pensation (including benefits) of classroom teachers 

12 and other staff of Head Start agencies providing in13 structional services and thereby enhancing recruit14 ment and retention of qualified staff, including re15 cruitment and retention pursuant to achieving the 

16 requirements set forth in section 648A(a). The ex17 penditure of funds under this clause shall be subject 

18 to section 653. Salary increases, in excess of cost-of19 living allowance, provided with such funds shall be 

20 subject to the specific standards governing salaries 

21 and salary increases established pursuant to section 

22 644(a). 

23 ‘‘(II) If a Head Start agency certifies to the 

24 Secretary for such fiscal year that part of the funds 

25 set aside under subclause (I) to improve wages can-
22 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 not be expended by such agency to improve wages 

2 because of the operation of section 653, then such 

3 agency may expend such part for any of the uses 

4 specified in this subparagraph (other than wages). 

5 ‘‘(III) From the remainder of the amount re6 served under this paragraph (after the Secretary 

7 carries out subclause (I)), the Secretary may carry 

8 out the activities described in clauses (ii) through 

9 (vii). 

10 ‘‘(ii) To train classroom teachers and other 

11 staff to meet the education standards described in 

12 section 641A(a)(1)(B), through activities— 

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

14 prereading growth, through techniques identi15 fied through scientifically based reading re16 search; 

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

18 English language for limited English proficient 

19 children and families, while ensuring that chil20 dren are making meaningful progress in attain21 ing the knowledge, skills, abilities, and develop22 ment described in section 641A(a)(1)(B); 

23 ‘‘(III) to foster children’s school readiness 

24 through activities described in section 

25 648A(a)(1); and 
23 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(IV) to provide education and training 

2 necessary to improve the qualifications of Head 

3 Start staff, particularly assistance to enable 

4 more instructors to be fully competent and to 

5 meet the degree requirements under section 

6 648A(a)(2)(A), and to support staff training, 

7 child counseling, and other services necessary to 

8 address the challenges of children participating 

9 in Head Start programs, including children 

10 from immigrant, refugee, and asylee families, 

11 children from families in crisis, children who ex12 perience chronic violence in their communities, 

13 children who experience substance abuse in 

14 their families, and children with emotional and 

15 behavioral problems. 

16 ‘‘(iii) To employ additional Head Start staff, in17 cluding staff necessary to reduce the child-staff 

18 ratio, lead instructors who meet the qualifications of 

19 section 648A(a) and staff necessary to coordinate a 

20 Head Start program with other services available to 

21 children participating in such program and to their 

22 families. 

23 ‘‘(iv) To pay costs incurred by Head Start 

24 agencies to purchase insurance (other than employee 
24 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 benefits) and thereby maintain or expand Head 

2 Start services. 

3 ‘‘(v) To supplement amounts provided under 

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

5 improve the qualifications of the staff of the Head 

6 Start agencies, and to support staff training, child 

7 counseling, and other services necessary to address 

8 the problems of children participating in Head Start 

9 programs, including children from dysfunctional 

10 families, children who experience chronic violence in 

11 their communities, and children who experience sub12 stance abuse in their families. 

13 ‘‘(vi) To conduct outreach to homeless families 

14 in an effort to increase the program participation of 

15 homeless children. 

16 ‘‘(vii) To conduct outreach to migrant and sea17 sonal farm-working families and families with chil18 dren with a limited English proficiency. 

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

20 may designate.’’; 

21 (3) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘1998’’ in sub22 paragraph (A) and inserting ‘‘2005’’; 

23 (4) in paragraph (5) by amending subpara24 graphs (A), (B), and (C) to read as follows: 
25 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(A) From amounts reserved and allotted pursuant 

2 to paragraph (4), the Secretary shall award the collabora3 tion grants described in subparagraphs (B) and (D). 

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

5 Secretary shall award a collaboration grant to any State 

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

7 to the amount the State received under this paragraph for 

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

9 by the State to facilitate collaboration regarding activities 

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

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

12 to benefit low-income children and families and to encour13 age Head Start agencies to collaborate with entities in14 volved in State and local planning processes (including the 

15 State lead agency administering the financial assistance 

16 under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 

17 of 1990 and the entities that provide child care resource 

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

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

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

21 that receives a grant under subparagraph (B) shall ap22 point an individual to serve as the State Director of Head 

23 Start Collaboration to be a liaison between the appropriate 

24 regional office of the Administration for Children and 
26 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Families and agencies carrying out Head Start programs 

2 in the State. The State shall— 

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

4 with sufficient authority and access to ensure that 

5 the collaboration described in subparagraph (B) is 

6 effective and involves a range of State agencies and 

7 local entities, including— 

8 ‘‘(I) the State educational agency; 

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

10 Human Services; 

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

12 care; 

13 ‘‘(IV) the State agency that assists chil14 dren with developmental disabilities; 

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

16 ‘‘(VI) the State network of child care re17 source and referral agencies; 

18 ‘‘(VII) local educational agencies; 

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

20 organizations; 

21 ‘‘(IX) representatives of migrant and sea22 sonal Head Start programs located in the 

23 State; 

24 ‘‘(X) representatives of Indian Head Start 

25 programs located in the State; 
27 

HR 2123 PCS 

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 pro6 grams serving low-income children and families 

7 in the 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 

12 include an assessment of the availability of high 

13 quality prekindergarten services for low-income chil14 dren in the State. Such assessment shall be com15 pleted not later than 1 year after the date of enact16 ment of the School Readiness Act of 2005 and be 

17 updated on an annual basis and shall be made avail18 able to the general 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, community serv23 ice activities, family literacy services, activities relat24 ing to children with disabilities (including coordina25 tion of services with those State officials who are re-
28 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 sponsible for administering part C and section 619 

2 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

3 (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 Home8 less Assistance Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 

9 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)); 

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

11 Collaboration to— 

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

13 pursuant to section 642B(b); 

14 ‘‘(II) consult with the Early Learning 

15 Council, chief State school officer, local edu16 cational agencies, representatives of local Head 

17 Start agencies and providers of early childhood 

18 education and care in unified planning regard19 ing early care and education services at both 

20 the State and local levels, including collabo21 rative efforts to develop school readiness stand22 ards; 

23 ‘‘(III) consult with the chief State school 

24 officer, local educational agencies, State child 

25 care administrators, State human services ad-
29 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ministrators, representatives of local child care 

2 resource and referral agencies, local early child3 hood councils, providers of early childhood edu4 cation and care, and other relevant State and 

5 local agencies, and representatives of the State 

6 Head Start Association to plan for the provision 

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

8 and education services for eligible children with 

9 working parents who have a demonstrated need; 

10 ‘‘(IV) consult with the chief State school 

11 officer, local educational agencies, other State 

12 and local agencies administering the State pre13 kindergarten program, as applicable, and Head 

14 Start agencies to improve alignment between 

15 Head Start programs and State-funded pre16 kindergarten activities to meet shared goals of 

17 school readiness; and 

18 ‘‘(V) establish improved linkages between 

19 Head Start agencies and other children and 

20 family agencies, including agencies that provide 

21 health, mental health or family services or other 

22 child and family support services.’’; 

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

24 ‘‘and providers of services supporting early 
30 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 childhood education and child care’’ after ‘‘As2 sociations’’; and 

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

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) From amounts reserved and allotted pursuant 

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

7 grants for programs described in section 645A(a) of this 

8 subchapter, a portion of the combined total of such 

9 amounts equal to at least 10 percent for each of the fiscal 

10 years 2006 through 2011, of the amount appropriated 

11 pursuant to section 639(a), except as provided in subpara12 graph (B).’’. 

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

14 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(f)) is amended by 

15 inserting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘, in16 cluding models that leverage the existing capacity and ca17 pabilities of the delivery system of early childhood edu18 cation and child care’’. 

19 (c) MAINTENANCE OF SERVICE LEVELS.—Section 

20 640(g)(2) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(g)(2)) 

21 is amended— 

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

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

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

25 follows: 
31 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the applicant has un2 dertaken community-wide strategic planning and 

3 needs assessments involving other community orga4 nizations and Federal, State, and local public agen5 cies serving children and families (including organi6 zations and agencies providing family support serv7 ices and protective services to children and families 

8 and organizations serving families in whose homes 

9 English is not the language customarily spoken), 

10 and individuals, organizations, and public entities 

11 serving children with disabilities and homeless chil12 dren including the local educational agency liaison 

13 designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 

14 McKinney-Veto Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii));’’; 

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

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

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

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

20 (5) in subparagraph (G)— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘leverage the existing de22 livery systems of such services and’’ after 

23 ‘‘manner that will’’; and 

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

25 (6) in subparagraph (H)— 
32 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including the local edu2 cational agency liaison designated under section 

3 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Home4 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)),’’ after ‘‘community in6 volved’’; 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘plans to coordinate’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘successfully coordinated its activi9 ties’’; and 

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

11 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

14 to pay administrative expenses and the amount of 

15 available funds received by such agency under this 

16 section to serve each enrolled child.’’. 

17 (d) VEHICLE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

18 640(i) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(i)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘(i) The’’ and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(i) TRANSPORTATION SAFETY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The’’; and 

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

25 ‘‘(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 
33 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 waive for a period of up to one year the require3 ments of regulations promulgated under para4 graph (1) for one or more vehicles used by the 

5 agency or its designee in transporting children 

6 enrolled in a Head Start program or an Early 

7 Head Start program if— 

8 ‘‘(i) such requirements pertain to 

9 child restraint systems and bus monitors; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the agency demonstrates that 

11 compliance with such requirements will re12 sult in a significant disruption to the Head 

13 Start program or the Early Head Start 

14 program; and 

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

16 child. 

17 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may 

18 renew a waiver under subparagraph (A).’’. 

19 (e) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL HEAD START PRO20 GRAMS.—Section 640(l) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 9835(l)) is amended— 

22 (1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol23 lows: 

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

25 shall continue the administrative arrangement at the na-
34 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 tional level for meeting the needs of Indian children and 

2 children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and shall 

3 ensure that appropriate funding is provided to meet such 

4 needs, including training and technical assistance and the 

5 appointment of a national migrant and seasonal Head 

6 Start collaboration director and a national Indian Head 

7 Start collaboration director.’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(4)(A) For the purposes of paragraph (3), the Sec10 retary shall conduct an annual consultation in each af11 fected Head Start region, with tribal governments oper12 ating Head Start programs and Early Head Start pro13 grams. 

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

15 better meeting the needs of American Indian and Alaska 

16 Native children and families pertinent to subsections (a), 

17 (b), and (c) of section 641, taking into consideration fund18 ing allocations, distribution formulas, and other issues af19 fecting the delivery of Head Start services within tribal 

20 communities. 

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

22 consultations in the Federal Register prior to conducting 

23 the consultations. 
35 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 prepared and made available, on a timely basis, to all trib3 al governments receiving funds under this subchapter.’’. 

4 (f) ENROLLMENT OF HOMELESS CHILDREN.—Sec5 tion 640 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

8 Secretary shall by regulation prescribe policies and proce9 dures to remove barriers to the enrollment and participa10 tion of homeless children in Head Start programs. Such 

11 regulations shall require Head Start agencies— 

12 ‘‘(1) to implement policies and procedures to 

13 ensure that homeless children are identified and 

14 prioritized for enrollment; 

15 ‘‘(2) to allow homeless families to apply to, en16 roll in and attend Head Start programs while re17 quired documents, such as proof of residency, immu18 nization and other medical records, birth certificates 

19 and other documents, are obtained within a reason20 able time frame; and 

21 ‘‘(3) coordinate individual Head Start centers 

22 and programs with efforts to implement subtitle B 

23 of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist24 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431–11435). 
36 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(n) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub2 chapter shall be construed to require a State to establish 

3 a program of early education for children in the State, 

4 to require any child to participate in a program of early 

5 education, to attend school, or to participate in any initial 

6 screening prior to participation in such program, except 

7 as provided under section 612(a)(3), (consistent with sec8 tion 614(a)(1)(C)), of the Individuals with Disabilities 

9 Education Act. 

10 ‘‘(o) MATERIALS.—All curricula and instructional 

11 materials funded under this subchapter shall be scientif12 ically based and age and developmentally appropriate. 

13 Parents shall have the ability to inspect, upon request, any 

14 curricula or instructional materials.’’. 

15 SEC. 7. DESIGNATION OF AGENCIES. 

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

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

18 read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE.— 

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

21 to designate as a Head Start agency any local public 

22 or private nonprofit or for-profit agency within a 

23 State, including a community-based or faith-based 

24 organization that— 
37 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 the purpose of this subchapter and perform the 

3 functions set forth in section 642 within a 

4 State; and 

5 ‘‘(B) is determined to be capable of plan6 ning, conducting, administering, and evaluating, 

7 either directly or by other arrangements, a 

8 Head Start program. 

9 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION REQUIREMENTS.—To be 

10 designated as a Head Start agency and to receive fi11 nancial assistance under this subparagraph, an enti12 ty described in sub paragraph (1) shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) establish measurable objectives for— 

14 ‘‘(i) the school readiness of children 

15 participating in the program under this 

16 subchapter; 

17 ‘‘(ii) meeting the performance stand18 ards described in section 641A; 

19 ‘‘(iii) educational instruction in 

20 prereading, premathematics, and language 

21 skills; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) the provision of health, edu23 cational, nutritional, social and other serv24 ices related to school readiness; and 
38 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(B) align curricula to challenging State 

2 developed academic content standards and the 

3 Head Start Child Outcomes Framework devel4 oped by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY FOR SUBSEQUENT FINANCIAL

6 ASSISTANCE.—In order to receive financial assist7 ance under this subchapter subsequent to the initial 

8 financial assistance provided following the effective 

9 date of this subsection, an entity described in para10 graph (1) shall demonstrate that the entity has met 

11 the measurable objectives described in paragraph 

12 (2); 

13 ‘‘(4) MEASURING PROGRESS.—Progress in 

14 meeting such measurable objectives shall not be 

15 measured primarily or solely by the results of assess16 ments.’’. 

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

18 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836(c)) is amended to 

19 read as follows: 

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

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

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

23 designation of Head Start agencies to Head Start agencies 

24 that— 
39 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(1) are receiving assistance under this sub2 chapter on the effective date of this subsection; 

3 ‘‘(2) meet or exceed program and financial 

4 management requirements, standards described in 

5 section 641A(a); 

6 ‘‘(3) meet or exceed the education standards 

7 and requirements described in section 

8 641A(a)(1)(B); 

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

10 ‘‘(5) have not been deemed to have a deficiency 

11 since the then most recent designation; 

12 ‘‘(6) employ qualified staff (including in center13 based programs, a teaching staff of whom at least 

14 50 percent have an associate, baccalaureate, or ad15 vanced degree in early child education or a related 

16 field), except that the Secretary may waive the appli17 cation of this paragraph, for a period not to exceed 

18 3 years, for Head Start programs operating in rural 

19 areas, for migrant and seasonal Head Start pro20 grams, and for Indian Head Start programs, on a 

21 case-by-case basis, if the program demonstrates 

22 progress in increasing the qualifications of teaching 

23 staff and demonstrates adequate instructional super24 vision by qualified staff; 
40 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(7) were not deemed by the Secretary as 

2 chronically under-enrolled since the then most recent 

3 designation; 

4 ‘‘(8) utilize curricula based on scientifically 

5 based research that are aligned with challenging 

6 State developed academic content standards and the 

7 Head Start Child Outcomes Framework developed 

8 by the Secretary; 

9 ‘‘(9) demonstrate active partnerships with local 

10 educational agencies serving the same communities 

11 to facilitate smooth transitions to kindergarten; 

12 ‘‘(10) actively implement a memorandum of un13 derstanding described in section 642B(a) and addi14 tional collaborative partnerships with organizations 

15 that enhance the delivery of services to children; 

16 ‘‘(11) demonstrate success in improving child 

17 outcomes across all domains of development, includ18 ing measurable progress in language skills, 

19 prereading knowledge, and premathematics knowl20 edge; 

21 ‘‘(12) maintain classroom environments con22 structive to early learning and future school success; 

23 ‘‘(13) demonstrate strong parental involvement 

24 and activities to develop parent skills to support 

25 their children’s educational development and ability 
41 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 to participate effectively in decisions relating to the 

2 education of their children; 

3 ‘‘(14) are overseen by a board described in sec4 tion 642(b) that provides direction and actively over5 sees all program activities; 

6 ‘‘(15) document strong fiscal controls, includ7 ing— 

8 ‘‘(A) the employment of well-qualified fis9 cal staff with a history of successful manage10 ment of a public or private organization; 

11 ‘‘(B) having no reportable material weak12 nesses with applicable laws and regulations on 

13 all annual financial audits performed since the 

14 most recent designation; 

15 ‘‘(C) meeting or exceeding annual require16 ments for financial support under section 

17 640(b); and 

18 ‘‘(D) maintaining total administrative costs 

19 at or below 15 percent of total program costs; 

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

21 all applicable State child care regulations; 

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

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

24 the community; 
42 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(18) have developed strong community part2 nerships with public and private organizations, such 

3 as businesses, health, providers of early childhood 

4 education, and social service providers; and 

5 ‘‘(19) provide opportunities for ongoing profes6 sional development.’’. 

7 (c) DESIGNATION WHEN NO ENTITY HAS PRI8 ORITY.—Section 641(d) of the Head Start Act (43 U.S.C. 

9 9836(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(d) DESIGNATION WHEN NO ENTITY HAS PRI11 ORITY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If no entity in a commu13 nity is entitled to the priority specified in subsection 

14 (c), the Secretary shall, after conducting an open 

15 competition, designate for a 5-year period a Head 

16 Start agency from among qualified applicants in 

17 such community. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS IN DESIGNATION.—In 

19 selecting from among qualified applicants for des20 ignation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall 

21 consider the effectiveness of each such applicant to 

22 provide Head Start services, based on— 

23 ‘‘(A) any past performance of such appli24 cant in providing services comparable to Head 
43 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Start services, including how effectively such 

2 applicant provided such comparable services; 

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

4 comprehensive health (including mental and be5 havioral health), educational, nutritional, social, 

6 and other services needed to prepare children to 

7 succeed in school; 

8 ‘‘(C) the capacity of such applicant to 

9 serve eligible children with curriculum and 

10 teaching practices based on scientifically based 

11 research that promote the school readiness of 

12 children participating in the program; 

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

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

15 particular attention to the standards set forth 

16 in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such section; 

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

18 applicant to maintain strong fiscal controls and 

19 cost effective fiscal management; 

20 ‘‘(F) the plan of such applicant to coordi21 nate the Head Start program the applicant pro22 poses to carry out with other educational pro23 grams for young children, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) the Early Reading First and 

25 Even Start programs under subparts 2 
44 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 and 3 of part B of title I of the Elemen2 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 6371 et seq., 6381 et seq.); 

4 ‘‘(ii) programs under section 619 and 

5 part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 

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

7 seq.); 

8 ‘‘(iii) State prekindergarten programs; 

9 ‘‘(iv) child care programs; 

10 ‘‘(v) the educational programs that 

11 the children participating in the Head 

12 Start program involved will enter at the 

13 age of compulsory school attendance; and 

14 ‘‘(vi) reading readiness programs such 

15 as those conducted by public and school li16 braries; 

17 ‘‘(G) the plan of such applicant to coordi18 nate the Head Start program that the applicant 

19 proposes to carry out, with public and private 

20 entities that are willing to commit resources to 

21 assist the Head Start program in meeting its 

22 program needs; 

23 ‘‘(H) the plan of such applicant— 

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

25 (including grandparents and kinship care-
45 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 givers, as appropriate) of children partici2 pating in the proposed Head Start pro3 gram, in activities (at home and, if prac4 ticable, at the location of the Head Start 

5 program) designed to help such parents be6 come full partners in the education of their 

7 children; 

8 ‘‘(ii) to afford such parents the oppor9 tunity to participate in the development 

10 and overall conduct of the program at the 

11 local level; 

12 ‘‘(iii) to offer (directly or through re13 ferral to local entities, such as entities car14 rying out Even Start programs under sub15 part 3 of part B of title I of the Elemen16 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 6381 et seq.), public and school 

18 libraries, and entities carrying out family 

19 support programs) to such parents— 

20 ‘‘(I) family literacy services; and 

21 ‘‘(II) parenting skills training; 

22 ‘‘(iv) to offer to parents of partici23 pating children, substance abuse coun24 seling (either directly or through referral 

25 to local entities), including information on 
46 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 the effect of drug exposure on infants and 

2 fetal alcohol syndrome; 

3 ‘‘(v) at the option of such applicant, 

4 to offer (directly or through referral to 

5 local entities) to such parents— 

6 ‘‘(I) training in basic child devel7 opment (including cognitive develop8 ment); 

9 ‘‘(II) assistance in developing lit10 eracy and communication skills; 

11 ‘‘(III) opportunities to share ex12 periences with other parents (includ13 ing parent mentor relationships); 

14 ‘‘(IV) regular in-home visitation; 

15 ‘‘(V) mental and behavioral 

16 health services; or 

17 ‘‘(VI) any other activity designed 

18 to help such parents become full part19 ners in the education of their children; 

20 ‘‘(vi) to provide, with respect to each 

21 participating family, a family needs assess22 ment that includes consultation with such 

23 parents about the benefits of parent in24 volvement and about the activities de25 scribed in subparagraph (H) in which such 
47 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 parents may choose to become involved 

2 (taking into consideration their specific 

3 family needs, work schedules, and other re4 sponsibilities); and 

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

6 appropriate cases, in order to strengthen 

7 the role of fathers in families, in the edu8 cation of their young children, and in the 

9 Head Start program, by working directly 

10 with fathers and father figures through ac11 tivities such as— 

12 ‘‘(I) in appropriate cases, includ13 ing fathers in home visits and pro14 viding opportunities for direct father15 child interactions; and 

16 ‘‘(II) targeting increased male 

17 participation in the conduct of the 

18 program; 

19 ‘‘(I) the ability of such applicant to carry 

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

21 and (5); 

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

23 needs of limited English proficient children and 

24 their families, including procedures to identify 

25 such children, plans to provide trained per-
48 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 sonnel, and plans to provide services to assist 

2 the children in making progress toward the ac3 quisition of the English language, while making 

4 meaningful progress in attaining the knowledge, 

5 skills, abilities, and development described in 

6 section 641A(a)(1)(B); 

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

8 the diverse cultural needs of the population 

9 served; 

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

11 the needs of children with disabilities; 

12 ‘‘(M) the plan of such applicant who choos13 es to assist younger siblings of children who will 

14 participate in the Head Start program, to ob15 tain health services from other sources; 

16 ‘‘(N) the plan of such applicant to collabo17 rate with other entities carrying out early child18 hood education and child care programs in the 

19 community, including private entities and char20 ter schools offering pre-kindergarten; 

21 ‘‘(O) the plan of such applicant to meet 

22 the needs of homeless children, including trans23 portation needs, and children in foster care; 

24 ‘‘(P) the plan of such applicant to main25 tain a qualified staff, including a teaching staff 
49 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 qualified to implement research-based edu2 cational curricula aligned with challenging 

3 State-developed academic content standards, 

4 the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework de5 veloped by the Secretary, and the State early 

6 learning standards in States in which such 

7 standards are developed; 

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

9 into memoranda of understanding with local 

10 educational agencies, child care providers, and 

11 other entities within the service area; and 

12 ‘‘(R) other factors related to the require13 ments of this subchapter.’’. 

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

15 the Head Start Act (43 U.S.C. 9836(g)) is amended to 

16 read as follows: 

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

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

19 the Secretary shall issue rules to carry out this section.’’. 

20 SEC. 8. QUALITY STANDARDS; MONITORING OF HEAD 

21 START AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS. 

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

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

24 (1) by amending paragraph (1)(B)— 

25 (A) in clause (i)— 
50 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (i) by inserting ‘‘based on sound sci2 entific evidence’’ after ‘‘standards’’; and 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and sustained aca4 demic gains’’ after ‘‘readiness’’; and 

5 (B) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(ii) additional scientifically-based edu8 cation standards to ensure that the children 

9 participating in the program, at a minimum de10 velop and demonstrate— 

11 ‘‘(I) language knowledge and skills, 

12 including oral language and listening com13 prehension; 

14 ‘‘(II) prereading knowledge and skills 

15 that prepare children for early literacy in 

16 schools, including phonological awareness, 

17 print awareness and print skills, and al18 phabetic knowledge; 

19 ‘‘(III) premathematics knowledge and 

20 skills, including aspects of classification, 

21 seriation, number, spatial relations, and 

22 time; 

23 ‘‘(IV) cognitive abilities related to aca24 demic achievement and child development; 
51 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(V) social and emotional development 

2 related to early learning, school success, 

3 and sustained academic gains; 

4 ‘‘(VI) approaches to learning related 

5 to child development and early learning; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(VII) in the case of limited-English 

8 proficient children, progress toward acqui9 sition of the English language while mak10 ing meaningful progress in attaining the 

11 knowledge, skills, abilities, and develop12 ment described in subclauses (I) through 

13 (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 

20 on 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; 
52 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(iii) developments concerning re2 search based practices with respect to early 

3 childhood education and development, chil4 dren with disabilities, family services, pro5 gram administration, and financial man6 agement; 

7 ‘‘(iv) projected needs of an expanding 

8 Head Start program; 

9 ‘‘(v) guidelines and standards cur10 rently in effect or under consideration that 

11 promote child health services and physical 

12 development, including outdoor activity 

13 that supports children’s motor development 

14 and overall health and nutrition; 

15 ‘‘(vi) changes in the population of 

16 children who are eligible to participate in 

17 Head Start programs, including the lan18 guage background and family structure of 

19 such children; 

20 ‘‘(vii) scientifically based research to 

21 ensure that children participating in Head 

22 Start programs make a successful transi23 tion to schools that the children will be at24 tending; and 
53 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(viii) the unique challenges faced by 

2 individual programs, including those that 

3 are seasonal or short term, and those that 

4 serve rural populations; and’’; and 

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

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

7 1998’’, and inserting ‘‘October 27, 1998’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(4) EVALUATIONS AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

10 FOR DELEGATE AGENCIES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) PROCEDURES.—The Head Start 

12 agency shall establish procedures relating to its 

13 delegate agencies, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) procedures for evaluating delegate 

15 agencies; 

16 ‘‘(ii) procedures for defunding dele17 gate agencies; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) procedures for appealing a 

19 defunding decision relating to a delegate 

20 agency. 

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

22 agency— 

23 ‘‘(i) shall evaluate its delegate agen24 cies using the procedures established pur-
54 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 suant to this section, including subpara2 graph (A); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) shall inform the delegate agen4 cies of the deficiencies identified through 

5 the evaluation that shall be corrected. 

6 ‘‘(C) REMEDIES TO ENSURE CORRECTIVE

7 ACTIONS.—If the Head Start agency identifies 

8 a deficiency for a delegate agency through the 

9 evaluation, the Head Start agency may— 

10 ‘‘(i) initiate procedures to terminate 

11 the designation of the agency unless the 

12 agency corrects the deficiency; 

13 ‘‘(ii) conduct monthly monitoring vis14 its to such delegate agency until all defi15 ciencies are corrected or the Head Start 

16 agency decides to defund such delegate 

17 agency; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) release funds to such delegate 

19 agency only as reimbursements until all de20 ficiencies are corrected or the Head Start 

21 agency decides to defund such delegate 

22 agency. 

23 ‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

24 in this paragraph shall be construed to impact 

25 or obviate the responsibilities of the Secretary 
55 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 with respect to Head Start agencies or delegate 

2 agencies receiving funding under this sub3 chapter.’’. 

4 (b) RESULTS-BASED PERFORMANCE MEASURES.— 

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

6 9836a(b)) is amended— 

7 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol8 lows: 

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

10 performance measures developed under this sub11 section shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) be used to assess the impact of the 

13 various services provided by Head Start pro14 grams and, to the extent the Secretary finds 

15 appropriate, administrative and financial man16 agement practices of such programs; 

17 ‘‘(B) be adaptable for use in self-assess18 ment, peer review, and program evaluation of 

19 individual Head Start agencies and programs; 

20 ‘‘(C) be developed for other program pur21 poses as determined by the Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(D) be appropriate for the population 

23 served; and 
56 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(E) be reviewed no less than every 4 

2 years, based on advances in the science of early 

3 childhood development. 

4 The performance measures shall include the per5 formance standards described in subparagraphs (A) 

6 and (B) of subsection (a)(1).’’; 

7 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(3) USE OF MEASURES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall use the perform11 ance measures pursuant to this subsection to 

12 identify— 

13 ‘‘(i) strengths and weaknesses in the 

14 operation of Head Start programs nation15 ally, regionally, and locally as appropriate; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) program areas that may require 

18 additional training and technical assistance 

19 resources. 

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

21 justification to the Congress regarding the 

22 planned uses of the data collected by the Na23 tional Reporting System developed by the Sec24 retary and shall demonstrate its scientific valid25 ity and reliability for such purposes, including 
57 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 its scientific validity and reliability with chil2 dren with limited English proficiency for such 

3 purposes; 

4 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall not use the Na5 tional Reporting System assessment results ei6 ther as the primary method for assessing pro7 gram effectiveness or as the primary method for 

8 making grantee funding determinations. 

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

10 to ensure that the National Reporting System 

11 shall not be used to exclude children from Head 

12 Start programs.’’; and 

13 (3) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol14 lows: 

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

16 measures shall be designed for the purpose of pro17 moting the competencies of children participating in 

18 Head Start programs specified in subsection 

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

20 competencies that have a strong scientifically-based 

21 predictability of a child’s school readiness and later 

22 performance in school.’’. 

23 (c) MONITORING OF LOCAL AGENCIES AND PRO24 GRAMS.—Section 641A(c) of the Head Start Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 9836a(c)) is amended— 
58 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

3 (A) by inserting ‘‘develop and utilize a risk4 based assessment system to’’ after ‘‘shall’’; 

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

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(C) Followup reviews, including unan8 nounced reviews as appropriate, of programs 

9 with 1 or more findings of deficiencies not later 

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

11 and 

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

13 as follows: 

14 ‘‘(D) Unannounced site inspections of 

15 Head Start centers and other reviews, as appro16 priate.’’; 

17 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol18 lows: 

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

20 shall ensure that reviews described in subparagraphs 

21 (A) through (C) of paragraph (1)— 

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

23 may be done without prior notice of the visit to 

24 the local agency or program; 
59 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(B) are conducted by review teams com2 posed of individuals who are knowledgeable 

3 about the program areas they are reviewing 

4 and, to the maximum extent practicable, the di5 verse (including linguistic and cultural) needs of 

6 eligible children (including children with disabil7 ities) and limited-English proficient children 

8 and their families; 

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

10 programs, a review and assessment of program 

11 effectiveness, including strengths and areas for 

12 improvement, as measured in accordance with 

13 the results-based performance measures devel14 oped by the Secretary pursuant to subsection 

15 (b) and with the standards established pursuant 

16 to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 

17 (a)(1); 

18 ‘‘(D) seek information from the commu19 nities and the States involved about the per20 formance of the programs and the efforts of the 

21 Head Start agencies to collaborate with other 

22 entities carrying out early childhood education 

23 and child care programs in the community; 

24 ‘‘(E) seek information from the commu25 nities where Head Start programs exist about 
60 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 innovative or effective collaborative efforts, bar2 riers to collaboration, and the efforts of the 

3 Head Start agencies and programs to collabo4 rate with the entities carrying out early child5 hood education and child care programs in the 

6 community; 

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

8 programs, a review and assessment of whether 

9 a program is in conformity with the income eli10 gibility requirements, as defined in section 645 

11 and regulations promulgated thereunder; 

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

13 programs, a review and assessment of whether 

14 programs have adequately addressed the popu15 lation and community needs (including popu16 lations of children with a limited English pro17 ficiency and children of migrant and seasonal 

18 farm-working families); 

19 ‘‘(H) include as part of the review the ex20 tent to which the program addresses the com21 munity needs and strategic plan identified in 

22 section 640(g)(2)(C); and 

23 ‘‘(I) are conducted in a manner that evalu24 ates program performance, quality, and overall 

25 operations with consistency and objectivity, and 
61 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 based on a transparent and reliable system of 

2 review.’’. 

3 (d) CORRECTIVE ACTION; TERMINATION.—Section 

4 641A(d) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(d)) is 

5 amended— 

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

7 preceding subparagraph (A) to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary deter9 mines, on the basis of a review pursuant to sub10 section (c), that a Head Start agency designated 

11 pursuant to section 641 fails to meet the standards 

12 described in subsection (a) or results-based perform13 ance measures developed by the Secretary under 

14 subsection (b), or fails to adequately address the 

15 community needs and strategic plan identified in 

16 640(g)(2)(C), the Secretary shall—’’; 

17 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(2) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN.— 

20 ‘‘(A) AGENCY AND PROGRAM RESPONSIBIL21 ITIES.—In order to retain a designation as a 

22 Head Start agency under this subchapter, or in 

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

24 continue to receive funds from such agency, a 

25 Head Start agency, or Head Start program 
62 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 that is the subject of a determination described 

2 in paragraph (1) (other than an agency or pro3 gram required to correct a deficiency imme4 diately or during a 90-day period under clause 

5 (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(B)) shall— 

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

7 quality improvement plan that shall be 

8 subject to the approval of the Secretary, or 

9 in the case of a program, the sponsoring 

10 agency, and which shall specify— 

11 ‘‘(I) the deficiencies to be cor12 rected; 

13 ‘‘(II) the actions to be taken to 

14 correct such deficiencies; and 

15 ‘‘(III) the timetable for accom16 plishment of the corrective actions 

17 specified; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) eliminate each deficiency identi19 fied, not later than the date for elimination 

20 of such deficiency specified in such plan 

21 (which shall not be later than 1 year after 

22 the date the agency or program received 

23 notice of the determination and of the spe24 cific deficiency to be corrected). 
63 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(B) SECRETARIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Not 

2 later than 30 days after receiving from a Head 

3 Start agency a proposed quality improvement 

4 plan pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Sec5 retary shall either approve such proposed plan 

6 or specify the reasons why the proposed plan 

7 cannot be approved. 

8 ‘‘(C) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRO9 GRAM IMPROVEMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

10 after receiving from a Head Start program, a 

11 proposed quality improvement plan pursuant to 

12 subparagraph (A), the sponsoring agency shall 

13 either approve such proposed plan or specify 

14 the reasons why the proposed plan cannot be 

15 approved.’’; and 

16 (3) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘and pro17 grams’’ after ‘‘agencies’’; 

18 (4) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol19 lows: 

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

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

22 Secretary shall publish a summary report on the findings 

23 of reviews conducted under subsection (c) and on the out24 comes of quality improvement plans implemented under 

25 subsection (d), during such fiscal year. Such information 
64 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 shall be made available to all parents with children receiv2 ing assistance under this subchapter in an understandable 

3 and uniform format, and to the extent practicable, pro4 vided in a language that the parents can understand, and 

5 in addition, make the information widely available through 

6 public means such as distribution through public agencies, 

7 and at a minimum posting such information on the Inter8 net immediately upon publication.’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(f) REDUCTION OF GRANTS AND REDISTRIBUTION

11 OF FUNDS IN CASES OF UNDER-ENROLLMENT.— 

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

13 ‘‘(A) ACTUAL ENROLLMENT.—The term 

14 ‘actual enrollment’ means, with respect to a 

15 Head Start program, the actual number of chil16 dren enrolled in such program in a given 

17 month. 

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

19 means, with respect to a Head Start agency for 

20 a fiscal year, that portion of the grant de21 rived— 

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

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

24 Head Start agency administering an In-
65 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 dian Head Start program or migrant and 

2 seasonal Head Start program; 

3 ‘‘(ii) from amounts reserved for pay4 ments under section 640(a)(2)(B); or 

5 ‘‘(iii) from amounts available under 

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

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

8 ‘‘(C) FUNDED ENROLLMENT.—The term 

9 ‘funded enrollment’ means, with respect to the 

10 program of a Head Start agency in a fiscal 

11 year, the number of children that the agency is 

12 funded to serve through a grant for the pro13 gram during such fiscal year, as indicated in 

14 the grant agreement. 

15 ‘‘(2) ENROLLMENT REPORTING REQUIREMENT

16 FOR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.—Each entity carrying 

17 out a Head Start program shall report on a monthly 

18 basis to the Secretary and the relevant Head Start 

19 agency— 

20 ‘‘(A) the actual enrollment in such pro21 gram; and 

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

23 the funded enrollment, any apparent reason for 

24 such enrollment shortfall. 
66 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND PLAN.—The 

2 Secretary shall— 

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

4 which Head Start agencies are operating with 

5 an actual enrollment that is less than the fund6 ed enrollment based on not less than the aver7 age of 4 consecutive months of data; 

8 ‘‘(B) for each such Head Start agency op9 erating a program with an actual enrollment 

10 that is less than 95 percent of its funded enroll11 ment, as determined under subparagraph (A), 

12 develop, in collaboration with such agency, a 

13 plan and timetable for reducing or eliminating 

14 under-enrollment taking into consideration— 

15 ‘‘(i) the quality and extent of the out16 reach, recruitment, and community needs 

17 assessment conducted by such agency; 

18 ‘‘(ii) changing demographics, mobility 

19 of populations, and the identification of 

20 new underserved low-income populations; 

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

22 impact enrollment; 

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

24 programs, where needed, through Head 

25 Start funds or through collaboration with 
67 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 entities carrying out other preschool or 

2 child care programs, or programs with 

3 other funding sources (where available); 

4 ‘‘(v) the availability and use by fami5 lies of other preschool and child care op6 tions (including parental care) in the local 

7 catchment area; and 

8 ‘‘(vi) agency management procedures 

9 that may impact enrollment; and 

10 ‘‘(C) provide timely and ongoing technical 

11 assistance to each agency described in subpara12 graph (B) for the purpose of implementing the 

13 plan described in such subparagraph. 

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

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

16 Head Start agency shall immediately implement the 

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

18 ‘‘(5) SECRETARIAL ACTION FOR CONVERSION

19 TO SERVE YOUNGER CHILDREN.—If, after imple20 menting the plan described in paragraph (3)(B), the 

21 grantee continues to operate a program at less than 

22 full enrollment, the grantee may, upon approval by 

23 the Secretary, be permitted to use a portion of the 

24 base grant equal to the percentage difference be25 tween funded enrollment and actual enrollment for 
68 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 the most then recent year, to serve persons described 

2 in section 645A(c) if such agency currently operates 

3 a grant described in section 645A and submits an 

4 application containing— 

5 ‘‘(A) evidence of community need for such 

6 services; 

7 ‘‘(B) a description of how the needs of 

8 pregnant women, infants, and toddlers will be 

9 addressed in accordance with section 645A(b) 

10 and with regulations prescribed by the Sec11 retary pursuant to section 641A in areas in12 cluding— 

13 ‘‘(i) the approach to childhood devel14 opment and health services; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the approach to family and com16 munity partnerships; and approach to pro17 gram design and management; 

18 ‘‘(C) assurances that the agency will par19 ticipate in technical assistance activities for 

20 newly funded and existing grantees under sec21 tion 654A; and 

22 ‘‘(D) evidence that the agency meets the 

23 eligibility criteria as grantees under section 

24 645A. 
69 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Any grantee permitted to serve children under this 

2 paragraph shall be subject to the rules, regulations, 

3 and conditions under section 645A. 

4 ‘‘(6) SECRETARIAL ACTION FOR CONTINUED

5 UNDER-ENROLLMENT.—If, 1 year after the date of 

6 implementation of the plan described in paragraph 

7 (3)(B), the Head Start agency continues to operate 

8 a program at less than full enrollment, the Secretary 

9 shall, where determined appropriate, continue to 

10 provide technical assistance to such agency. 

11 ‘‘(7) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT

12 FOR CHRONIC UNDER-ENROLLMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, after receiving 

14 technical assistance and developing and imple15 menting a plan to the extent described in para16 graphs (3), (4), (5), and (6) for 6 months, a 

17 Head Start agency is still operating a program 

18 with an actual enrollment that is less than 95 

19 percent of its funded enrollment, the Secretary 

20 may— 

21 ‘‘(i) designate such agency as chron22 ically under-enrolled; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) recapture, withhold, or reduce 

24 the base grant for the program by a per25 centage equal to the percentage difference 
70 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 between funded enrollment and actual en2 rollment for the program for the most re3 cent year in which the agency is deter4 mined to be under-enrolled under para5 graph (2)(B). 

6 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OR LIMITATION OF REDUC7 TIONS.—If the Secretary, after the implementa8 tion of the plan described in paragraph (3)(B), 

9 finds that— 

10 ‘‘(i) the shortfall can reasonably be 

11 expected to be temporary; or 

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

13 the agency is small enough that under-en14 rollment does not constitute a significant 

15 shortfall, 

16 the Secretary may, as appropriate, waive or re17 duce the percentage recapturing, withholding, 

18 or reduction otherwise required by subpara19 graph (A). 

20 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS; EF21 FECTIVE DATE.—The actions taken by the Sec22 retary under this paragraph with respect to a 

23 Head Start agency shall take effect 1 day after 

24 the date on which— 
71 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 section 646(a) expires without an appeal 

3 by the agency; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the action is upheld in an admin5 istrative hearing under section 646. 

6 ‘‘(8) REDISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Funds held by the 

8 Secretary as a result of recapturing, with9 holding, or reducing a base grant in accordance 

10 with paragraph (7) in a fiscal year shall be re11 distributed in such fiscal year as follows: 

12 ‘‘(i) 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 an Indian Head Start 

17 program, then such funds shall be redis18 tributed to increase enrollment in such fis19 cal year in 1 or more Indian Head Start 

20 programs. 

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

22 the portion of a base grant derived from 

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

24 payable, but for the operation of this para25 graph, to carry out a migrant and seasonal 
72 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Head Start program, then such funds shall 

2 be redistributed to increase enrollment in 

3 such fiscal year in 1 or more migrant and 

4 seasonal Head Start programs. 

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

6 the portion of a base grant derived from 

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

8 paragraph (1)(B) payable, but for the op9 eration of this paragraph, to carry out a 

10 Head Start program (excluding Indian 

11 Head Start programs, and migrant and 

12 seasonal Head Start programs) in a State, 

13 then such funds shall be redistributed to 

14 increase enrollment in such fiscal year in 1 

15 or more— 

16 ‘‘(I) other Head Start programs 

17 (excluding Indian Head Start pro18 grams and migrant and seasonal 

19 Head Start programs) that are car20 ried out in such State; or 

21 ‘‘(II) if the Secretary determines 

22 that children eligible under section 

23 641 are being adequately served with24 in such State, 1 or more Early Head 

25 Start programs (excluding Indian 
73 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Head Start programs and migrant 

2 and seasonal Head Start programs) or 

3 1 or more Head Start programs for 

4 the purpose of becoming a grantee 

5 pursuant to section 645A. 

6 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT TO FUNDED ENROLL7 MENT.—The Secretary shall adjust as necessary 

8 the requirements relating to funded enrollment 

9 indicated in the grant agreement of a Head 

10 Start agency receiving funds redistributed 

11 under this paragraph.’’. 

12 SEC. 9. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGEN13 CIES. 

14 (a) QUALIFICATIONS FOR DESIGNATION.—Section 

15 642(b) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837(b)) is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(b) In order to be so designated, a Head Start agen18 cy shall do all of the following: 

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

20 forth in section 641A(a)(1), with particular atten21 tion to the standards set forth in subparagraphs (A) 

22 and (B) of such section. 

23 ‘‘(2) Demonstrate capacity to serve eligible chil24 dren with scientifically-based curricula and other 
74 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 interventions that help promote the school readiness 

2 of children participating in the program. 

3 ‘‘(3) Establish effective procedures by which 

4 parents and area residents concerned will be enabled 

5 to directly participate in decisions that influence the 

6 character of programs affecting their interests. 

7 ‘‘(4) Establish an independent board of direc8 tors selected from among eligible individuals who 

9 shall serve on the board (or may designate an exist10 ing entity whose members are eligible individuals, 

11 that shall be such board) for a period not to exceed 

12 5 years, except that board members who oversee a 

13 public entity and who are selected by election (or 

14 members of a board of a local educational agency or 

15 a local council, appointed by an elected official or an 

16 official of a general purpose local government), may 

17 serve for such period as may be determined by the 

18 electing or appointing authority, as the case may be. 

19 An individual who has a conflict of interest is ineli20 gible to serve as a member of the board. Members 

21 of the board of all nonpublic entities shall include 

22 representatives of the local community (including at 

23 least 1 member with significant financial manage24 ment or accounting experience and the chair of (or 

25 the designee of the chair, approved by) the council 
75 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 described in section 642(b)(4)(B)(ii)). Additional 

2 members shall be selected for their expertise in edu3 cation, business administration, community affairs, 

4 government, legal affairs, and such other areas of 

5 expertise as may contribute to effective governance 

6 of the Head Start agency. All members of the board 

7 shall receive training in the management responsibil8 ities and obligations, ethics, and financial literacy 

9 and management, and shall adopt practices that as10 sure active, independent and informed governance of 

11 the Head Start agency, including independent over12 sight of the financial and management practices of 

13 such agency. The board shall provide direction to the 

14 executive director of the Head Start agency and 

15 shall operate as an entity independent of staff em16 ployed by the Head start agency, entity, or applicant 

17 and have the following duties and responsibilities: 

18 ‘‘(A) To provide independent oversight to 

19 ensure that the Head Start agency under the 

20 direction of the executive director is delivering 

21 high quality services to children and families in 

22 compliance with all applicable standards in ef23 fect under this subchapter and with the applica24 ble performance measures established by the 

25 Secretary under section 644. 
76 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(B) To establish 2 or more standing com2 mittees to facilitate governance of the Head 

3 Start agency which shall include both of the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(i) An audit and finance committee 

6 whose primary responsibility shall be— 

7 ‘‘(I) to approve annually the op8 erating budget of the Head Start 

9 agency; 

10 ‘‘(II) to review and recommend 

11 to the board the selection of inde12 pendent auditors who shall report all 

13 critical accounting policies and prac14 tices to the finance and audit com15 mittee except when the auditor is as16 signed by the State under State law; 

17 ‘‘(III) to review and recommend 

18 to the board the termination or exten19 sion of the existing audit firm at least 

20 once every 5 years; 

21 ‘‘(IV) to review and advise the 

22 board of the audit management letter 

23 provided pursuant to the chapter 75 

24 of title 31 of the United States Code, 

25 and of any audit findings; and 
77 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(V) to monitor agency actions to 

2 correct any such audit findings or 

3 other actions necessary to comply with 

4 applicable laws (including regulations) 

5 governing financial statements and ac6 counting practices. 

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

8 whose representatives shall be parents of 

9 children participating in a Head Start pro10 gram or in an Early Head Start program, 

11 or of children who participated in a Head 

12 Start program or in an Early Head Start 

13 program in the then most recent 5-year pe14 riod preceding the selection of the par15 ticular representative involved, and whose 

16 primary responsibility shall be to serve as 

17 a link between parents and the board of di18 rectors and to make and submit rec19 ommendations on the following activities to 

20 the Board: 

21 ‘‘(I) The strategic direction of 

22 the program, including long and 

23 short-term planning goals and objec24 tives. 
78 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(II) Program operation policies, 

2 including standards of conduct for 

3 program staff and volunteers. 

4 ‘‘(III) Activities to support the 

5 active involvement of parents in sup6 porting program operations. 

7 ‘‘(IV) Classroom activities and 

8 staffing. 

9 ‘‘(V) Program responsiveness to 

10 community and parent needs. 

11 ‘‘(VI) Other areas the committee 

12 identifies as necessary to improve pro13 gram operations. 

14 ‘‘(C) To approve the selection and dis15 missal of the Head Start director, and to review 

16 annually the human resources available to en17 sure the effective operation of the Head Start 

18 agency. 

19 ‘‘(D) To consult, on a regular basis, with 

20 the policy council and to take actions on rec21 ommendations submitted by such council. 

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

23 operational policies of the Head Start agency, 

24 including policies addressing accounting, finan25 cial management, procurement, record confiden-
79 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 tiality, and personnel (including specific stand2 ards governing salaries, salary adjustments, 

3 travel and per diem allowances, and other em4 ployee benefits). 

5 ‘‘(F) To ensure that the Head Start agen6 cy is operated in compliance with applicable 

7 Federal, State, and local laws (including regula8 tions), and to monitor agency implementation of 

9 any corrective action necessary to comply with 

10 applicable laws (including regulations); 

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

12 the Head Start agency, including adoption of 

13 the Head Start agency philosophy and mission 

14 statement, adoption of policies for determining 

15 community needs, setting long- and short-range 

16 goals and objectives, establishment of criteria 

17 for selecting families in Head Start programs 

18 or Early Head Start programs, and to oversee 

19 and approve the agency’s applications to receive 

20 funds made available under this subchapter; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(H) To establish, to adopt, and to peri23 odically update written standards of conduct 

24 that establish standards and formal procedures 

25 for disclosing, addressing, and resolving— 
80 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 appearance of a conflict of interest, by 

3 board members, officers, employees, con4 sultants, and agents who provide services 

5 or furnish goods to the Head Start agency; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) complaints, including investiga8 tions, when appropriate. 

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

10 residents, and local business in the design and im11 plementation of the program. 

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

13 needed to enable parents and area residents to se14 cure on their own behalf available assistance from 

15 public and private sources. 

16 ‘‘(7) To establish effective procedures to facili17 tate the involvement of parents of participating chil18 dren in activities designed to help such parents be19 come full partners in the education of their children, 

20 and to afford such parents the opportunity to par21 ticipate in the development and overall conduct of 

22 the program at the local level, including a process 

23 through which parents of children currently partici24 pating in a Head Start program or an Early Head 
81 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Start program select the parent representatives to 

2 serve on the council under section 642(b)(4)(B)(ii). 

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

4 children participating in Head Start programs en5 roll, local educational agencies, the local business 

6 community, community-based organizations, faith7 based organizations, museums, and libraries to gen8 erate support and leverage the resources of the en9 tire local community in order to improve school 

10 readiness. 

11 ‘‘(9) To offer (directly or through referral to 

12 local entities, such as entities carrying out Even 

13 Start programs under subpart 3 of part B of title 

14 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

15 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)), to parents of 

16 participating children, family literacy services and 

17 parenting skills training. 

18 ‘‘(10) To offer to parents of participating chil19 dren substance abuse counseling (either directly or 

20 through referral to local entities), including informa21 tion on drug-exposed infants and fetal alcohol syn22 drome. 

23 ‘‘(11) At the option of such agency, to offer (di24 rectly or through referral to local entities), to such 

25 parents— 
82 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(A) training in basic child development 

2 (including cognitive development); 

3 ‘‘(B) assistance in developing literacy and 

4 communication skills; 

5 ‘‘(C) opportunities to share experiences 

6 with other parents (including parent-mentor re7 lationships); 

8 ‘‘(D) mental and behavioral health serv9 ices; 

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

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

12 such parents become full partners in the edu13 cation of their children. 

14 ‘‘(12) To provide, with respect to each partici15 pating family, a family needs assessment that in16 cludes consultation with such parents about the ben17 efits of parent involvement and about the activities 

18 described in paragraphs (5) through (8) in which 

19 such parents may choose to be involved (taking into 

20 consideration their specific family needs, work sched21 ules, and other responsibilities). 

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

23 younger siblings of children participating in its Head 

24 Start program to obtain health services from other 

25 sources. 
83 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(14) To perform community outreach to en2 courage individuals previously unaffiliated with Head 

3 Start programs to participate in its Head Start pro4 gram as volunteers. 

5 ‘‘(15)(A) To inform custodial parents in single6 parent families that participate in programs, activi7 ties, or services carried out or provided under this 

8 subchapter about the availability of child support 

9 services for purposes of establishing paternity and 

10 acquiring child support; and 

11 ‘‘(B) To refer eligible parents to the child sup12 port offices of State and local governments. 

13 ‘‘(16) To provide parents of limited English 

14 proficient children outreach and services under this 

15 subchapter, in an understandable and uniform for16 mat and, to the extent practicable, in a language 

17 that such parents can understand.’’. 

18 (b) COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION.—Section 

19 642(c) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837(c)) is 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(c) The head of each Head Start agency shall co22 ordinate and collaborate with the State agency responsible 

23 for administering the State program carried out under the 

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

25 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and other early childhood education 
84 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 and development programs, including programs under 

2 subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

3 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431–11435), Even Start pro4 grams under subpart 3 of part B of title I of the Elemen5 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 2741 et seq.), and programs under Part C and section 

7 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

8 U.S.C. 1431–1445, 1419), and the Child Abuse Preven9 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a), serving the 

10 children and families served by the Head Start agency to 

11 carry out the provisions of this subchapter.’’. 

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

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

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

15 (4) as paragraph (5) through (7), respectively; 

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.— 

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

20 communities where both public prekindergarten 

21 programs and Head Start programs operate, a 

22 Head Start agency shall collaborate and coordi23 nate activities with the local educational agency 

24 or other public agency responsible for the oper25 ation of the prekindergarten program and pro-
85 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 viders of prekindergarten, including outreach 

2 activities to identify eligible children. 

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

4 staff shall, with the permission of the parents 

5 of children enrolled in Head Start programs, 

6 regularly communicate with the elementary 

7 schools such children will be attending— 

8 ‘‘(i) to share information about such 

9 children; 

10 ‘‘(ii) to receive advice and support 

11 from the teachers in such elementary 

12 schools participating in Early Reading 

13 First programs funded under subpart 1 of 

14 part B of title I of the Elementary and 

15 Secondary Education Act of 1965 regard16 ing scientifically based teaching strategies 

17 and options; and 

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

19 elementary school for such children. 

20 ‘‘(C) OTHER EARLY EDUCATION AND

21 CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.—The head 

22 of each Head Start agency shall coordinate ac23 tivities and collaborate with the State agency 

24 responsible for administering the State program 

25 carried out under the Child Care and Develop-
86 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 

2 et seq.), and other entities carrying out early 

3 childhood education and development programs, 

4 programs under subtitle B of title VII of the 

5 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 11431–11435), Even Start programs 

7 under subpart 3 of part B of title I of the Ele8 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 6381 et seq.), and programs under 

10 section 619 and part C of the Individuals with 

11 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C 1419, 

12 1431 et seq.), serving the children and families 

13 served by the Head Start agency. 

14 ‘‘(D) OTHER PROGRAMS.—Each Head 

15 Start agency shall collaborate, as appropriate, 

16 with providers of social and community services 

17 available to children and families participating 

18 in Head Start programs, and may support such 

19 partnerships with financial agreements, when 

20 applicable, for the provision of such services. 

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

22 shall take steps to coordinate activities with the local 

23 educational agency serving the community involved 

24 and with schools in which children participating in 
87 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 a Head Start program operated by such agency will 

2 enroll following such program, including— 

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

4 transportation and facilities; 

5 ‘‘(B) collaborating to enhance the effi6 ciency of services while increasing the program 

7 participation of underserved populations of eli8 gible children; and 

9 ‘‘(C) exchanging information on the provi10 sion of noneducational services to such children. 

11 ‘‘(4) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.—In order to 

12 promote the continued involvement of the parents 

13 (including grandparents and kinship caregivers, as 

14 appropriate) of children that participate in Head 

15 Start programs in the education of their children 

16 upon transition to school, the Head Start agency 

17 shall work with the local educational agency— 

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

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

20 rights and responsibilities concerning the 

21 education of their children; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) to enable the parents— 

23 ‘‘(I) to understand and work with 

24 schools in order to communicate with 

25 teachers and other school personnel; 
88 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(II) to support the schoolwork 

2 of their children; and 

3 ‘‘(III) to participate, as appro4 priate, in decisions relating to the 

5 education of their children; and 

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

7 and feasible, to support the active involvement 

8 of the parents with schools, school personnel, 

9 and school-related organizations.’’; 

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

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

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

13 ‘‘shall’’; 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub15 paragraph (A); 

16 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

17 subparagraph (C); and 

18 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(B) collaborating to increase the program par21 ticipation of underserved populations of eligible chil22 dren; and’’; and 

23 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(8) Head Start agencies shall implement a research25 based early childhood curricula that promotes young chil-
89 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 dren’s school readiness in the areas of language and cog2 nitive development, early reading and premathematics 

3 skills, socio-emotional development, physical development, 

4 and approaches to learning. Such curricula shall be— 

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

6 have standardized training procedures and published 

7 curriculum materials to support implementation; and 

8 ‘‘(B) comprehensive, outcomes based, and 

9 linked to ongoing assessment with instructional 

10 goals and measurable objectives. 

11 ‘‘(9) Head Start agencies shall use ongoing, research12 based assessment methods that are developmentally ap13 propriate, culturally and linguistically responsive, and tied 

14 to children’s daily activities in order to support the edu15 cational instruction of children in the program, including 

16 language skills, prereading knowledge and premathematics 

17 knowledge. Assessment instruments shall be those de18 signed and validated for making decisions about teaching 

19 and learning and aligned with the program’s curricula and 

20 Section 641A(a)(1). 

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

22 standards, Head Start agencies shall use high-quality re23 search-based developmental screening tools that have been 

24 demonstrated to be standardized, reliable, valid, and accu-
90 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 rate for children from a range of racial, ethnic, linguistic, 

2 and cultural backgrounds. 

3 ‘‘(11) Head Start agencies may develop or maintain 

4 partnerships with institutions of higher education and 

5 non-profit organizations that recruit, train, place, and 

6 support college students to serve as mentors and reading 

7 coaches to preschool children in Head Start programs.’’. 

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

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 9837) is amended by striking subsection 

10 (e) and inserting the following: 

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

12 adopt, in consultation with experts in child development 

13 and with classroom teachers, an assessment to be used 

14 when hiring or evaluating any classroom teacher in a cen15 ter-based Head Start program. Such assessment shall 

16 measure whether such teacher has mastered the functions 

17 described in section 648A(a)(1) and attained a level of lit18 eracy appropriate to implement Head Start curricula. 

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

20 Head Start agency shall enroll 100 percent of its funded 

21 enrollment and maintain an active waiting list at all times 

22 with ongoing outreach to the community and activities to 

23 identify underserved populations.’’. 
91 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 SEC. 10. HEAD START ALIGNMENT WITH K–12 EDUCATION. 

2 Section 642A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 9837a) is amended— 

4 (1) by amending the heading to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 642A. HEAD START ALIGNMENT WITH K–12 EDU6 CATION.’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘ongoing’’ after ‘‘estab9 lishing’’; and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘McKinney-Vento liaisons 

11 as established under section 722 (g)(1)(J)(ii) of 

12 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)),’’ after ‘‘social 

14 workers,’’; 

15 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

16 (7) as paragraphs (5) through (9), respectively; and 

17 (4) by inserting the following after paragraph 

18 (2): 

19 ‘‘(3) developing continuity of developmentally 

20 appropriate curricula between Head Start and local 

21 educational agencies to ensure an effective transition 

22 and appropriate shared expectations for children’s 

23 learning and development as they make such transi24 tion to school; 
92 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(4) organizing and participating in joint train2 ing, including transition-related training for school 

3 staff and Head Start staff;’’; 

4 (5) by amending paragraph (7), as so redesig5 nated, to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(7) developing and implementing a family out7 reach and support program in cooperation with enti8 ties carrying out parental involvement efforts under 

9 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

10 Act of 1965 and family outreach and support efforts 

11 under subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento 

12 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431– 

13 11435);’’; 

14 (6) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘and continuity in paren16 tal involvement activities’’ after ‘‘developmental 

17 continuity’’; and 

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

19 (7) by amending paragraph (9), as so redesig20 nated, to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(9) linking the services provided in such Head 

22 Start program with the education services, including 

23 services relating to language, literacy, and 

24 numeracy, provided by such local educational agen25 cy;’’; and 
93 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (8) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(10) helping parents (including grandparents 

3 and kinship caregivers, as appropriate) to under4 stand the importance of parental involvement in a 

5 child’s academic success while teaching them strate6 gies for maintaining parental involvement as their 

7 child moves from Head Start to elementary school; 

8 ‘‘(11) developing and implementing a system to 

9 increase program participation of underserved popu10 lations of eligible children; and 

11 ‘‘(12) coordinating activities and collaborating 

12 to ensure that curricula used in the Head Start pro13 gram is aligned with— 

14 ‘‘(A) State early learning standards with 

15 regard to cognitive, social, emotional, and phys16 ical competencies that children entering kinder17 garten are expected to demonstrate; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the Head Start Child Outcomes 

19 Framework developed by the Secretary.’’. 

20 SEC. 11. LOCAL AND STATE INTEGRATION OF EARLY 

21 CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. 

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

23 amended by inserting after section 642A the following: 
94 

HR 2123 PCS 

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 

14 of understanding with any local educational agencies 

15 or 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. 
95 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(B) Public information dissemination and 

2 access to programs for families contacting any 

3 of the early childhood programs. 

4 ‘‘(C) Selection priorities for eligible chil5 dren 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 

10 methods. 

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 

22 Start agency shall enter into a memorandum of un23 derstanding under paragraph (1) not later than 1 

24 year after the effective date of this section. 
96 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL REVIEW.—Each memo2 randum of understanding entered into under para3 graph (1) shall be submitted to the Secretary not 

4 later than 30 days after entering into such memo5 randum. 

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

7 comply with the requirement in (1) the Head 

8 Start agency shall notify the Secretary and the 

9 chief executive officer of the State not later 

10 than 30 days after determining that they are 

11 unable to enter into such memorandum. The 

12 Secretary, in cooperation with the State Early 

13 Learning Council and the State Director of 

14 Head Start Collaboration, shall evaluate the 

15 causes of failure to enter into a memorandum 

16 of understanding under paragraph (1). With 

17 the assistance of the State Early Learning 

18 Council and the State Director of Head Start 

19 Collaboration, all parties shall again attempt to 

20 enter into a memorandum of understanding 

21 under paragraph (1). Then if no such memo22 randum of understanding is entered into within 

23 30 days, the Secretary shall make 1 of the fol24 lowing determinations: 
97 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(i) The local educational agency, 

2 local council, or other appropriate entity is 

3 unable or unwilling to enter into such a 

4 memorandum despite reasonable efforts on 

5 the part of the Head Start agency. 

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

7 engaged in reasonable efforts to success8 fully negotiate and enter into a memo9 randum of understanding pursuant to 

10 paragraph (1). 

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

12 funded prekindergarten in the service area 

13 of the Head Start agency. 

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

15 Start agency is not making reasonable efforts 

16 to enter into a memorandum of understanding 

17 pursuant to paragraph (1), the Head Start 

18 agency shall be found to have a deficiency and 

19 shall be considered by the Secretary in the 

20 same manner as other deficiency findings. 

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

22 local educational agency, local council, or other 

23 appropriate entity is not making reasonable ef24 forts to reach such a memorandum of under-
98 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 standing, the Head Start agency shall not be 

2 found out of compliance with paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(4) REVISION OF MEMORANDA.—Each memo4 randum of understanding shall be revised and re5 newed annually by the parties to such memorandum, 

6 in alignment with the beginning of the school year. 

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

8 absence of publicly funded prekindergarten in the 

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

10 agency shall submit notice to the Secretary and the 

11 chief executive officer of the State, and shall work 

12 with the State Early Learning Council and the State 

13 Director of Head Start Collaboration to improve co14 ordination in their service area. 

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

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

17 shall award an early learning collaboration grant to each 

18 State for the purposes of supporting a State Early Learn19 ing Council responsible for advancing the development of 

20 a coordinated early childhood services delivery system in 

21 the State. A State that receives a grant under this sub22 paragraph shall— 

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

24 which shall include the State Director of Head Start 

25 Collaboration, representatives from the State pre-
99 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 school programs, representatives of local educational 

2 agencies, the State official who oversees child care 

3 programs, the State official who oversees section 619 

4 and part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu5 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.), the State 

6 official who oversees the State educational agency, 

7 and representatives from Head Start agencies lo8 cated in the State, including migrant and seasonal 

9 Head Start programs and Indian Head Start pro10 grams. The chief executive officer of the State may 

11 designate an existing entity to serve as the Early 

12 Learning Council if such entity includes representa13 tives described in this paragraph; 

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

15 State for a fiscal year to carry out this subsection 

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

17 percent of the cost of carrying out this subsection; 

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

19 ‘‘(A) to increase coordination and collabo20 ration among State preschool, Head Start pro21 grams, child care programs, early childhood 

22 special education, and other early childhood 

23 programs, including in the areas of outcomes 

24 and standards, technical assistance, coordina25 tion of services, cross-sector professional devel-
100 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 opment and training, community outreach, com2 munication, and better serving the needs of 

3 working families through provision of full-day 

4 and full-year early education services; 

5 ‘‘(B) to work with State agencies respon6 sible for education, child care, and early inter7 vention to provide leadership and assistance to 

8 local Head Start programs, school districts, and 

9 State and locally funded preschool and child 

10 care programs to increase integration among 

11 early childhood programs through adoption of 

12 local memoranda of understanding described in 

13 subparagraph (A) and other means; 

14 ‘‘(C) to work with State agencies respon15 sible for education, child care, and early inter16 vention to provide leadership and assistance to 

17 develop a coherent sequence of standards for 

18 children age 3 through the early elementary 

19 grades to effect a smooth transition to and suc20 cess in the early elementary grades; 

21 ‘‘(D) to conduct periodic statewide needs 

22 assessments concerning early care and edu23 cation programs for children from birth to 

24 school entry; 
101 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(E) to work to identify and address bar2 riers to and opportunities for integration be3 tween entities carrying out Federal and State 

4 child development, child care, and early child5 hood education programs; 

6 ‘‘(F) to develop recommendations regard7 ing means of establishing a unified data collec8 tion system for early care and education pro9 grams operating throughout the State; 

10 ‘‘(G) to address coordination of early 

11 learning programs with health care (including 

12 mental and behavioral health care), welfare, 

13 family literacy and services for homeless chil14 dren; 

15 ‘‘(H) to support a State system of early 

16 childhood education, and training and technical 

17 assistance that improves the quality of early 

18 learning programs and the capacity of such pro19 grams to deliver services pursuant to section 

20 648(b); and 

21 ‘‘(I) to develop a plan for increasing the 

22 participation of children underrepresented in 

23 State early childhood education and child care 

24 programs, including Head Start, State pre25 school programs, and programs carried out 
102 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 under the Child Care and Development Block 

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

3 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be con4 strued to provide the Early Learning Council with 

5 authority to alter the provisions of this Act. 

6 ‘‘(5) Funds made available under this section 

7 shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other 

8 Federal, State, and local funds that would otherwise 

9 be expended to carry out the purposes of this sec10 tion.’’. 

11 SEC. 12. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND STAND12 ARDS. 

13 Section 644 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 9839(f)(2)) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1) STANDARDS.—’’ 

17 after ‘‘(a)’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting after the 3d sentence the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each Head Start agency 

21 shall make available to the public a report published at 

22 least once in each fiscal year that discloses the following 

23 information from the then most recently concluded fiscal 

24 year, except that reporting such information shall not re-
103 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 veal personally identifiable information about an indi2 vidual child: 

3 ‘‘(A) The total amount of public and private 

4 funds received and the amount from each source. 

5 ‘‘(B) An explanation of budgetary expenditures 

6 and proposed budget for the following fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(C) The total number of children and families 

8 served and percent of average monthly enrollment, 

9 including the percent of eligible children served. 

10 ‘‘(D) The results of the most recent review by 

11 the Secretary and the financial audit. 

12 ‘‘(E) The percentage of enrolled children that 

13 received medical and dental exams. 

14 ‘‘(F) Information about parent involvement ac15 tivities. 

16 ‘‘(G) The agency’s efforts to prepare children 

17 for kindergarten. 

18 ‘‘(H) Any other information that describes the 

19 activities of the agency. 

20 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURAL CONDUCT.—’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (f)(2) 

22 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

23 through (E) as subparagraphs (B) through (F), 

24 respectively; and 
104 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), 

2 as so redesignated, the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) a description of the consultation conducted 

4 by the Head Start agency with the providers in the 

5 community demonstrating capacity and capability to 

6 provide services under this subchapter, and of the 

7 potential for collaboration with such providers and 

8 the cost effectiveness of such collaboration as op9 posed to the cost effectiveness of the purchase of a 

10 facility;’’. 

11 SEC. 13. ELIGIBILITY. 

12 Section 645(a) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 9840) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘to a reasonable ex17 tent’’ and inserting ‘‘not to exceed 10 per18 cent of the total enrollment’’; 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘benefit from such 

20 programs’’ and inserting ‘‘benefit from 

21 such programs, including children referred 

22 by child welfare services,’’; and 

23 (iii) by inserting ‘‘(a homeless child 

24 shall be deemed to meet the low-income 

25 criteria)’’ before the semicolon; and 
105 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 ‘‘(3) The amount of a basic allowance provided under 

3 section 403 of title 37, United States Code, on behalf of 

4 an individual who is a member of the uniformed services 

5 for housing that is acquired or constructed under the au6 thority of subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United 

7 States Code, or any other related provision of law, shall 

8 not be considered to be income for purposes of deter9 mining the eligibility of a child of the individual for pro10 grams assisted under this subchapter.’’. 

11 SEC. 14. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 645A(b) of the Head 

13 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a(b)) is amended— 

14 (1) by amending paragraphs (4) and (5) to 

15 read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(4) provide services to parents to support their 

17 role as parents (including parenting skills training 

18 and training in basic child development) and to help 

19 the families move toward self-sufficiency (including 

20 educational and employment services as appro21 priate); 

22 ‘‘(5) coordinate services with services (including 

23 home-based services) provided by programs in the 

24 State and programs in the community (including 

25 programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities 
106 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 and programs for homeless infants and toddlers) to 

2 ensure a comprehensive array of services (such as 

3 health and mental health services, and family sup4 port services);’’; 

5 (2) by amending paragraph (8) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(8) ensure formal linkages with the agencies 

8 and entities described in section 644(b) of the Indi9 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

10 1444(b)) and providers of early intervention services 

11 for infants and toddlers with disabilities under the 

12 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

13 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) and the agency responsible for 

14 administering section 106 of the Child Abuse Pre15 vention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a);’’; 

16 (3) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para17 graph (11); and 

18 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(9) develop and implement a systematic proce21 dure for transitioning children and parents from an 

22 Early Head Start program into a Head Start pro23 gram or another local early childhood education pro24 gram; 
107 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(10) establish channels of communication be2 tween staff of Early Head Start programs and staff 

3 of Head Start programs or other local early child4 hood education programs, to facilitate the coordina5 tion of programs; and’’. 

6 (b) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL PROGRAMS; 

7 COMMUNITY- AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.—Sec8 tion 645A(d) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a(d)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(1) entities operating Head Start programs 

13 under this subpart, including migrant and seasonal 

14 Head Start programs; and’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘, including 

16 community- and faith-based organizations’’ after 

17 ‘‘entities’’ the 2d place it appears. 

18 (c) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AC19 COUNT.—Section 645A(g)(2)(B) of the Head Start Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 9640a(g)(2)(B)) is amended— 

21 (1) in clause (iii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

22 (2) in clause (iv) by striking the period at the 

23 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 
108 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(v) providing professional develop2 ment designed to increase program partici3 pation for underserved populations of eligi4 ble children.’’. 

5 (d) CENTER-BASED STAFF.—Section 645A of the 

6 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(h) CENTER-BASED STAFF.—The Secretary shall 

9 ensure that, not later than September 30, 2008, all teach10 ers providing direct services to children and families par11 ticipating in Early Head Start programs located in Early 

12 Head Start centers have a minimum of a child develop13 ment associate credential or an associate degree, and have 

14 been trained (or have equivalent course work) in early 

15 childhood development.’’. 

16 SEC. 15. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR NON17 EMERGENCY INTRUSIVE PHYSICAL EXAMINA18 TIONS. 

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

20 amended by inserting after section 645A the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 645B. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR 

22 HEALTH CARE SERVICES, INCLUDING NON23 EMERGENCY INTRUSIVE PHYSICAL EXAMINA24 TIONS. 

25 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
109 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘health care service’ includes— 

2 ‘‘(A) any nonemergency intrusive physical 

3 examination; and 

4 ‘‘(B) any screening, included but not lim5 ited to, a medical, dental, developmental, men6 tal health, social, or behavioral screening. 

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘nonemergency intrusive physical 

8 examination’ means, with respect to a child, a phys9 ical examination that— 

10 ‘‘(A) is not immediately necessary to pro11 tect the health or safety of such child, or the 

12 health or safety of another individual; and 

13 ‘‘(B) includes incision or is otherwise 

14 invasive, or includes exposure of private body 

15 parts. 

16 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—Before administering any 

17 health care service to a child (or referring a child to obtain 

18 such service) in connection with participation in a program 

19 under this subchapter, a Head Start agency or an entity 

20 that receives assistance under section 645A shall obtain 

21 the informed written consent of a parent of such child in22 dicating consent for each specific health care service to 

23 be performed. 

24 ‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
110 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(1) Nothing in this section shall be construed 

2 to prohibit a Head Start agency or an entity that re3 ceives assistance under section 645A from using es4 tablished methods for handling cases of suspected or 

5 known child abuse or neglect that are in compliance 

6 with applicable Federal, State, or tribal law. 

7 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this subchapter shall be con8 strued to permit a Head Start agency, an entity that 

9 receives assistance under section 645A, or the per10 sonnel of such agency or entity to administer any 

11 health care service to a child (or to refer a child to 

12 obtain such service) without the informed written 

13 consent of a parent of such child indicating consent 

14 for each specific health care service to be performed. 

15 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed 

16 to require a Head Start agency or an entity that re17 ceives assistance under section 645A to provide sep18 arate consent forms for each specific health care 

19 service.’’. 

20 SEC. 16. RIGHT TO APPEAL. 

21 Section 646(a)(3) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 9841(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(3) if financial assistance under this sub24 chapter is terminated or reduced, an application for 

25 a noncompeting continuation award is denied based 
111 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 on a previous failure to comply with terms applicable 

2 to financial assistance previously provided this sub3 chapter, or suspension of financial assistance is con4 tinued for more than 30 days, the recipient with re5 spect to whom such action is taken shall have the 

6 opportunity to appeal such action in accordance with 

7 such procedures, except that no funds made avail8 able under this subchapter may be used to reimburse 

9 any such recipient for legal fees and other costs in10 curred in pursuing such an appeal;’’. 

11 SEC. 17. AUDITS. 

12 Section 647 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) 

13 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(c)(1) Not later than 270 days after the end of each 

15 fiscal year, each Head Start agency and each entity that 

16 receives assistance under section 645A shall, with finan17 cial assistance provided by this subchapter— 

18 ‘‘(A) undergo a single audit under the require19 ments of the Single Audit Act and submit its finan20 cial statement audit and compliance audit of Federal 

21 assistance to the Secretary and to the Federal Audit 

22 Clearinghouse an independent financial audit of the 

23 Head Start program if subject to the Single Audit 

24 Act Amendments of 1996; or 
112 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(B) undergo a financial statement audit in ac2 cordance with the generally accepted government au3 diting standards issued by the American Institute of 

4 Certified Public Accountants and Government Audit5 ing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of 

6 the United States, if not subject to the Single Audit 

7 Act. 

8 ‘‘(2) Audits described in subparagraph (A) and (B) 

9 shall be carried out by an auditor selected through a com10 petitive process by the board described in section 

11 642(b)(4) except when conducted by the State auditor as 

12 required by State law. 

13 ‘‘(3) No audit partner shall perform audits of such 

14 agency for a period exceeding 5 consecutive fiscal years 

15 except when such agency notifies the Secretary that rota16 tion is not possible because an alternate audit partner is 

17 not available or would present a significant challenge to 

18 the agency. 

19 ‘‘(4) Not later than 60 days after receiving such 

20 audit, the Secretary shall provide to such agency or such 

21 entity, and to the chief executive officer of the State in 

22 which such program is operated, a notice identifying the 

23 actions such agency or such entity is required to take to 

24 correct all deficiencies identified in such audit. 
113 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(d) Each recipient of financial assistance under this 

2 subchapter shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) maintain, and annually submit to the Sec4 retary, a complete accounting of its administrative 

5 expenses (including a detailed statement identifying 

6 the amount of financial assistance provided under 

7 this subchapter used to pay expenses for salaries 

8 and compensation and the amount (if any) of other 

9 funds used to pay such expenses); and 

10 ‘‘(2) provide such additional documentation as 

11 the Secretary may require.’’. 

12 SEC. 18. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. 

13 (a) ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES.—Section 648(c) of 

14 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843(c)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘and for ac16 tivities described in section 1221(b)(3) of the Ele17 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965’’ 

18 after ‘‘disabilities’’ ; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (5) by inserting ‘‘, including 

20 the needs of homeless children and their families’’ 

21 after ‘‘assessment’’; 

22 (3) in paragraph (10) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

23 end; 

24 (4) in paragraph (11) by striking the period at 

25 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
114 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 ‘‘(12) assist Head Start agencies and programs 

3 in increasing program participation of homeless chil4 dren; and 

5 ‘‘(13) assist Head Start agencies and Head 

6 Start programs in improving outreach to, and the 

7 quality of services available to, limited English pro8 ficient children and their families, particularly in 

9 communities that have experienced a large percent10 age increase in the population of limited English 

11 proficient individuals, as measured by the Bureau of 

12 the Census.’’. 

13 (b) TRAINING IN USE OF MEDIA.—Section 648(d) of 

14 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843(d)) is amended by 

15 inserting ‘‘, including community- and faith-based organi16 zations’’ after ‘‘entities’’ the first place such term appears. 

17 (c) CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND NATIONAL ASSESS18 MENT PROGRAM.—Section 648(e) of the Head Start Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 9843(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 

21 through grants or other arrangements, funds from pro22 grams authorized under this subchapter to support an or23 ganization to administer a centralized child development 

24 and national assessment program leading to recognized 

25 credentials for personnel working in early childhood devel-
115 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 opment and child care programs, training for personnel 

2 providing services to limited English proficient children 

3 (including services to promote the acquisition of the 

4 English language), training for personnel providing serv5 ices to children determined to be abused or neglected, 

6 training for personnel providing services to children re7 ferred by or receiving child welfare services, training for 

8 personnel in helping children cope with community vio9 lence, and resource access projects for personnel working 

10 with disabled children.’’. 

11 (d) ADDRESSING UNIQUE NEEDS.—Section 648 of 

12 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 

15 through grants, or other arrangements, funds for training 

16 of Head Start personnel in addressing the unique needs 

17 of migrant and seasonal working families, families with 

18 one or more children with disabilities, families with a lim19 ited English proficiency, and homeless families. 

20 ‘‘(g) More than 50 percent of funds expended under 

21 this section shall be used to provide high quality, sus22 tained, intensive, and classroom-focused training and tech23 nical assistance in order to have a positive and lasting im24 pact on classroom instruction. Funds shall be used to 

25 carry out activities related to any or all of the following: 
116 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(1) Education and early childhood develop2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(2) Child health, nutrition, and safety. 

4 ‘‘(3) Family and community partnerships. 

5 ‘‘(4) Other areas that impact the quality or 

6 overall effectiveness of Head Start programs. 

7 ‘‘(h) The Secretary shall develop and implement an 

8 outreach program to train and recruit African-American 

9 and Latino-American men to become Head Start teachers 

10 in order to increase the provision of quality services and 

11 instruction to children with diverse backgrounds. 

12 ‘‘(i) Funds under this subchapter used for training 

13 shall be used for needs identified annually by a grant ap14 plicant or delegate agency in their program improvement 

15 plan, except that funds shall not be used for long-distance 

16 travel expenses for training activities available locally or 

17 regionally or for training activities substantially similar to 

18 locally or regionally available training activities. 

19 ‘‘(j)(1) The Secretary shall work in collaboration with 

20 the Head Start agencies that carry out migrant and sea21 sonal Head Start programs and Indian Head Start pro22 grams, State Directors of Head Start Collaboration, the 

23 Indian Head Start Collaboration Director, the migrant 

24 and seasonal Head Start collatoration director, and other 

25 appropriate entities, including tribal governments— 
117 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(A) to accurately determine the number of 

2 children nationwide who are eligible to participate in 

3 migrant and seasonal Head Start programs and in 

4 Indian Head Start programs each year; 

5 ‘‘(B) to document how many of these children 

6 are receiving Head Start services each year; and 

7 ‘‘(C) to the extent practicable, to ensure that 

8 access to migrant and seasonal Head Start pro9 grams and in Indian Head Start programs for eligi10 ble children is comparable to access to other Head 

11 Start programs for other eligible children; 

12 ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary 

13 shall consult with the Secretary of Education about the 

14 Department of Education’s systems for collecting and re15 porting data about, and maintaining records on, students 

16 from migrant and seasonal farmworker families and 

17 American Indian and Alaska Native students. 

18 ‘‘(3) Not later than 9 months after the effective date 

19 of this subsection, the Secretary shall publish in the Fed20 eral Register a notice of how the Secretary plans to carry 

21 out paragraph (1) and shall provide a period for public 

22 comment. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall 

23 consider comments received before submitting a report to 

24 the Congress. 
118 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(4) Not later than 1 year after the effective date 

2 of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit a report to 

3 the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

4 House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 

5 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, detailing 

6 how the Department of Health and Human Services plans 

7 to carry out paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall submit annually a report to 

9 the Congress detailing the number of children of migrant 

10 and seasonal farmworkers, American Indian and Alaska 

11 Native children who are eligible to participate in Head 

12 Start programs and the number of such children who are 

13 enrolled in Head Start programs. 

14 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall take appropriate action, con15 sistent with section 444 of the General Education Provi16 sions Act, to ensure the protection of the confidentiality 

17 of any personally identifiable data, information, and 

18 records collected or maintained by the Secretary, by Head 

19 Start agencies that carry out migrant and seasonal Head 

20 Start programs and in Indian Head Start programs, by 

21 State Directors of Head Start Collaboration, by the Mi22 grant and Seasonal Farmworker Collaboration Project Di23 rector, by the Indian Head Start Collaboration Project Di24 rector, and by other appropriate entities pursuant to this 

25 subsection. 
119 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(7) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

2 authorize the development of a nationwide database of 

3 personally identifiable information on individuals involved 

4 in studies or other collections of data under this sub5 section. 

6 ‘‘(k) For purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible 

7 entities’ means an institution of higher education or other 

8 entity with expertise in delivering training in early child9 hood development, family support, and other assistance 

10 designed to improve the delivery of Head Start services.’’. 

11 SEC. 19. STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT. 

12 (a) CLASSROOM TEACHERS.—Section 648A(a)(2) of 

13 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a(a)(2)) is amended 

14 to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(2) DEGREE REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

17 ensure that not later than September 30, 2011, 

18 at least 50 percent of all Head Start teachers 

19 nationwide in center-based programs have— 

20 ‘‘(i) a baccalaureate or advanced de21 gree in early childhood education; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) a baccalaureate or advanced de23 gree in a field related to early childhood 

24 education, with experience in teaching pre25 school children. 
120 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(B) PROGRESS.—Each Head Start agen2 cy shall provide to the Secretary a report indi3 cating the number and percentage of classroom 

4 instructors with child development associate 

5 credentials and associate, baccalaureate, or ad6 vanced degrees. The Secretary shall compile all 

7 program reports and make them available to 

8 the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

9 of the United States House of Representatives 

10 and the Committee on Health, Education, 

11 Labor, and Pensions of the United States Sen12 ate. 

13 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT FOR NEW HEAD

14 START TEACHERS.—Within 3 years after the ef15 fective date of this subparagraph, the Secretary 

16 shall require that all Head Start teachers na17 tionwide in center-based programs hired fol18 lowing the effective date of this subparagraph— 

19 ‘‘(i) have an associate, baccalaureate, 

20 or advanced degree in early childhood edu21 cation or a related field; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) be currently enrolled in a pro23 gram of study leading to an associate de24 gree in early childhood education and 
121 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 agree to complete degree requirements 

2 within 3 years from the date of hire. 

3 ‘‘(D) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec4 retary shall establish requirements to ensure 

5 that individuals who receive financial assistance 

6 under this subchapter in order to comply with 

7 the requirements under section 648A(a)(2) 

8 shall subsequently teach in a Head Start center 

9 for a period of time equivalent to the period for 

10 which they received assistance or repay the 

11 amount of the funds. 

12 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall 

13 require 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 
122 

HR 2123 PCS 

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 

10 research, for addressing the needs of low-in11 come preschool children (including children with 

12 disabilities and children determined to be 

13 abused or neglected) and their families and 

14 communities (including demonstrations of inno15 vative non-center based program models such as 

16 home-based and mobile programs), and other17 wise to further the purposes of this sub18 chapter.’’. 

19 (b) STUDY.—Section 649(d) of the Head Start Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 9844(d) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (8) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

22 end; 

23 (2) in paragraph (9) by striking the semicolon 

24 and inserting a period; 

25 (3) by striking paragraph (10); and 
123 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (4) by striking the last sentence. 

2 (c) EXPERT PANEL.—Section 649(g) of the Head 

3 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9844(g)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

5 (A) by striking clause (i); and 

6 (B) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) 

7 as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (7)(C)(i) is amended to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(i) Not later than September 30, 

11 2007, the Secretary shall transmit to the 

12 committees specified in clause (ii) the final 

13 report.’’. 

14 (d) NAS STUDY.—Section 649(h) of the Head Start 

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 9844(h)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(h) NAS STUDY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use 

18 funds allocated in section 640(a)(2)(C)(iii) to con19 tract with the National Academy of Sciences for the 

20 Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the Na21 tional Research Council to establish an independent 

22 panel of experts to review and synthesize research, 

23 theory and applications in the social, behavioral and 

24 biological sciences and to make recommendations on 
124 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 early childhood pedagogy with regard to each of the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(A) Age and developmentally appropriate 

4 Head Start academic requirements and out5 comes, including the domains in 641A(a)(B). 

6 ‘‘(B) Differences in the type, length, mix 

7 and intensity of services necessary to ensure 

8 that children from challenging family and social 

9 backgrounds including: low-income children, 

10 children of color, children with special needs, 

11 and children with limited English proficiency 

12 enter kindergarten ready to succeed. 

13 ‘‘(C) Appropriate assessments of young 

14 children (including systematic observation as15 sessment in a child’s natural environment, and 

16 parent and provider interviews) for purposes of 

17 improving instruction, services, and program 

18 quality, and accommodations for children with 

19 disabilities and appropriate assessments for 

20 children with special needs (including needs re21 lated to the acquisition of the English lan22 guage). 

23 ‘‘(D) An evaluation of the current and ap24 propriate uses of the National Reporting Sys25 tem developed by the Secretary. 
125 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The panel shall consist of 

2 multiple experts in each of the following areas: 

3 ‘‘(A) Child development and education, in4 cluding cognitive, social, emotional, physical, 

5 approaches to learning, and other domains of 

6 child development and learning. 

7 ‘‘(B) Professional development, including 

8 teacher preparation, to individuals who teach 

9 young children in programs. 

10 ‘‘(C) Assessment of young children, includ11 ing screening, diagnostic and classroom-based 

12 instructional assessment; children with special 

13 needs, including children with disabilities and 

14 limited English proficient children. 

15 ‘‘(3) TIMING.—The National Academy of 

16 Sciences and the Board shall establish the panel not 

17 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

18 of the School Readiness Act of 2005. The panel shall 

19 complete its recommendations within 18 months of 

20 its convening. 

21 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF PANEL RECOMMENDA22 TIONS.—The recommendations of the panel shall be 

23 used as guidelines by the Secretary to develop, in24 form and revise, where appropriate, the Head Start 

25 education performance measures and standards and 
126 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 the assessments utilized in the Head Start pro2 gram.’’. 

3 (e) STUDY OF STATUS OF LIMITED ENGLISH PRO4 FICIENT CHILDREN.—Section 649 of the Head Start Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 9844) is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(i) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT CHILDREN.— 

8 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the 

9 date of enactment of the School Readiness Act of 

10 2005, the Secretary shall conduct a study on the 

11 status of limited English proficient children and 

12 their families in Head Start programs and Early 

13 Head Start programs. 

14 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare 

15 and submit to Congress, not later than September 

16 2008, a report containing the results of such study, 

17 including information on— 

18 ‘‘(A)(i) the demographics of limited 

19 English proficient children less than 5 years of 

20 age and the geographical distribution of such 

21 children; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the number of such children receiving 

23 Head Start services and the number of such 

24 children receiving Early Head Start services, 
127 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 and the geographical distribution of such chil2 dren receiving such services; 

3 ‘‘(B) the nature of the Head Start services 

4 and of the Early Head Start services provided 

5 to limited English proficient children and their 

6 families, including the types, content, duration, 

7 intensity, and costs of family services, language 

8 assistance, and educational services; 

9 ‘‘(C) procedures in Head Start programs 

10 for assessing language needs and for making 

11 the transition of limited English proficient chil12 dren to kindergarten, including the extent to 

13 which Head Start programs meet the require14 ments of section 642A for limited English pro15 ficient children; 

16 ‘‘(D) the qualifications and training pro17 vided to Head Start teachers and Early Head 

18 Start teachers who serve limited English pro19 ficient children and their families; 

20 ‘‘(E) the rate of progress made by limited 

21 English proficient children and their families in 

22 Head Start programs and in Early Head Start 

23 programs, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) the rate of progress made by lim25 ited English proficient children toward 
128 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 meeting the additional educational stand2 ards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) 

3 while enrolled in Head Start programs; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the correlation between such 

5 progress and the type and quality of in6 struction and educational programs pro7 vided to limited English proficient children; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(iii) the correlation between such 

10 progress and the health and family services 

11 provided by Head Start programs to lim12 ited English proficient children and their 

13 families; and 

14 ‘‘(F) the extent to which Head Start pro15 grams make use of funds under section 

16 640(a)(3) to improve the quality of Head Start 

17 services provided to limited English proficient 

18 children and their families.’’. 

19 (f) NATIONAL ASSESSMENET SYSTEM.—Section 649 

20 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9834), as amended by 

21 subsection (d), is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(j) NATIONAL REPORTING SYSTEM.—The Secretary 

24 shall temporarily suspend the implementation of the Na25 tional Reporting System pending the completion of the 
129 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 recommendations required by subsection (h), and shall in2 tegrate such recommendations to develop a national as3 sessment system, as appropriate, that will inform improv4 ing Head Start program success.’’. 

5 SEC. 21. REPORTS. 

6 (a) REPORT.—Section 650(a) of the Head Start Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 9845(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) by amending the first sentence to read as 

9 follows: ‘‘At least once during every 2-year period, 

10 the Secretary shall prepare and submit, to the Com11 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

13 Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Sen14 ate, a report concerning the status of children (in15 cluding disabled, homeless, and limited English pro16 ficient children) in Head Start programs, including 

17 the number of children and the services being pro18 vided to such children.’’; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (8) by inserting ‘‘, homeless20 ness’’ after ‘‘background’’. 

21 (b) NATIONAL REPORTING SYSTEM.—Section 650 of 

22 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9845) is amended by add23 ing at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL REPORTING SYSTEM.—The Secretary 

25 shall submit annually to the Committee on Education and 
130 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the 

2 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

3 the Senate, a report on the status of the National Report4 ing System developed by the Secretary. Such report shall 

5 include— 

6 ‘‘(1) information on all contracts, grants, and 

7 expenses relating to the development and implemen8 tation of the National Reporting System; 

9 ‘‘(2) information described in section 

10 641A(b)(3)(B); and 

11 ‘‘(3) a description of the recommendations 

12 made by the Technical Working Group, including 

13 issues of the technical adequacy, purpose, and ad14 ministration of the System, and an explanation of 

15 how the Secretary plans to address these rec16 ommendations.’’. 

17 SEC. 22. LIMITATION ON RATE OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR 

18 COMPENSATION. 

19 Section 653 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9848) 

20 is amended— 

21 (1) by striking the heading; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘SEC. 653. The’’ and inserting 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 653. WAGES AND COMPENSATION. 

25 ‘‘(a) COMPARABILITY OF WAGES.—The’’; and 
131 

HR 2123 PCS 

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

2 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL RATE LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding 

3 any other provision of law, no Federal funds shall be used 

4 to pay all or any part of the compensation of an individual 

5 employed by a Head Start agency in carrying out pro6 grams under this subchapter, either as direct or indirect 

7 costs or any proration thereof, at a rate in excess of the 

8 rate then payable for level II of the Executive Schedule 

9 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

10 SEC. 23. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS. 

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

12 amended by inserting after section 656 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 656A. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN USES OF FUNDS. 

14 ‘‘No funds made available to carry out this sub15 chapter may be used— 

16 ‘‘(1) for publicity or propaganda purposes not 

17 heretofore authorized by the Congress; or 

18 ‘‘(2) unless authorized by law in effect on the 

19 effective date of this section, to produce any pre20 packaged news story intended for broadcast or dis21 tribution unless such story includes a clear notifica22 tion contained within the text or audio of such story 

23 stating that the prepackaged news story was pre24 pared or funded by the Department of Health and 

25 Human Services.’’. 
132 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 SEC. 24. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

2 Section 641A(a)(2)(A) of the Head Start Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 9836a(a)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘non4 English language background’’ and inserting ‘‘limited 

5 English proficient’’. 

6 SEC. 25. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as pro8 vided in subsections (b) and (c), this Act and the amend9 ments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act. 

11 (b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—The amend12 ments made by this Act shall not apply with respect to 

13 any fiscal year that begins before the date of the enact14 ment of this Act. 

15 (c) PRIORITY IN THE DESIGNATION OF HEAD START

16 AGENCIES.— 

17 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 641(c), as 

18 amended by section 7(b) of this Act, shall take effect 

19 exactly twelve months from the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, except for section 641(c)(5), which 

21 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act. 

23 (2) IMPLEMENTATION RULE.—For purposes of 

24 carrying out section 641(c) of the Head Start Act, 

25 as amended by section 7(b) of this Act, the Sec26 retary may only consider the performance of a Head 
133 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Start program in meeting the requirements de2 scribed in section 641(c) of the Head Start Act, as 

3 amended by section 7(b) of this Act, from the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, except any performance 

5 that constitutes a deficiency since the then most re6 cent designation. 

7 SEC. 26. QUALITY STANDARDS; MONITORING OF HEAD 

8 START AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS. 

9 Section 641A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 9836a) is further amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(g) In carrying out the provisions of section 641A, 

13 and in addition to the use of whatever other resources the 

14 Secretary deems appropriate, the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) contract with an intermediary organization 

16 which, in the determination of the Secretary, meets 

17 each of the following criteria— 

18 ‘‘(A) focuses on improving the performance 

19 management and the use of technology for non20 profit, educational, and social service organiza21 tions; 

22 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated experience in pro23 viding a range of assistance, including but not 

24 limited to— 

25 ‘‘(i) assessing performance metrics; 
134 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(ii) the use of technology; 

2 ‘‘(iii) improving financial manage3 ment; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) developing recommendations to 

5 improve performance and the use of tech6 nology; 

7 ‘‘(C) has a proven methodology for sys8 temic change in the not-for-profit sector, includ9 ing governmental and nongovernmental entities; 

10 ‘‘(D) has demonstrated results in providing 

11 performance management support to small-, 

12 mid- and large-size not-for-profit organizations 

13 annually on a pro bono basis; 

14 ‘‘(E) has demonstrated the ability to iden15 tify areas for program improvement related 

16 to— 

17 ‘‘(i) accomplishing the goals and ob18 jectives as outlined in Head Start regula19 tions, reporting criteria and measurement 

20 of program outcomes; 

21 ‘‘(ii) meeting reporting requirements; 

22 ‘‘(iii) using technology in classrooms 

23 and enabling its use by administrators; 
135 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(F) has demonstrated the ability to de2 velop an implementation plan for recommended 

3 improvements by the organizations it assists; 

4 ‘‘(G) has demonstrated the ability to assist 

5 with and provide on-site, hands-on guidance 

6 with the implementation of the recommenda7 tions; 

8 ‘‘(H) has demonstrated the ability to tailor 

9 the assessment and implementation process to 

10 the children and communities served (where ap11 propriate); and 

12 ‘‘(I) has demonstrated the ability to create 

13 an online community that allows Head Start 

14 administrators, teachers, service providers, par15 ents, policy makers, and other stakeholders to 

16 communicate and provide support during and 

17 following the assessment and subsequent imple18 mentation process; 

19 ‘‘(2) utilize the intermediary organization se20 lected in paragraph (1) not later than 90 days from 

21 the date of enactment of this Act to— 

22 ‘‘(A) assess the performance of the Sec23 retary in overseeing the Head Start Bureau and 

24 ensuring the effective management of the Head 
136 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Start program in the areas of finance, oper2 ations, human capital, and customer service; 

3 ‘‘(B) evaluate the Department’s organiza4 tional structure, policies, and procedures for 

5 managing Head Start grant recipients, make 

6 recommendations to improve national program 

7 quality and maximize the efficiency in the use 

8 of program dollars, and support implementation 

9 of the recommendations; 

10 ‘‘(C) evaluate the Secretary’s administra11 tive resource allocations to determine if invest12 ment is properly targeted based on risk assess13 ment to address the program’s most significant 

14 national and local challenges, and propose ad15 justments as appropriate; 

16 ‘‘(D) evaluate and identify best practice 

17 Head Start models and build process models to 

18 enable their replication; 

19 ‘‘(E) develop early warning systems to 

20 identify Head Start programs that need inter21 vention; 

22 ‘‘(F) evaluate processes to assist Head 

23 Start programs that need intervention in imple24 menting necessary program improvements; 
137 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 ‘‘(G) evaluate the effectiveness of the cur2 rent process for selecting Head Start organiza3 tions and develop and implement improvements 

4 to ensure that performance metrics emerge as 

5 a key criteria for evaluating successful Head 

6 Start applicants, including the creation of eval7 uation criteria that ensure the selection of qual8 ity Head Start applicants; 

9 ‘‘(H) evaluate how the Department targets 

10 resources to remedy ongoing problems or defi11 ciencies in the program’s management or gov12 ernance, and propose solutions as appropriate; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(I) conduct a detailed assessment of the 

15 Secretary’s ability to monitor grantees.’’. 

16 SEC. 27. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS. 

17 Section 640(a)(2) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 9835) is further amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing new clause: 

20 ‘‘(v) not less than $7,500,000 of the 

21 amount in clause (iii) appropriated for fis22 cal years 2006 and 2007 shall be made 

23 available to carry out activities described in 

24 section 641A(g).’’. 
138 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 SEC. 28. TEACHER RETENTION REPORT. 

2 Not later than one year after implementation of the 

3 Head Start teacher qualifications and development under 

4 amendments made by this Act, the Secretary of Health 

5 and Human Services shall submit to Congress a report 

6 on Head Start teacher retention levels. 

7 SEC. 29. IMPROVING HEAD START ACCESS FOR HOMELESS 

8 AND FOSTER CHILDREN. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 637 of the Head Start 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 9832) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(18) The term ‘family’ means all persons liv13 ing in the same household who are— 

14 ‘‘(A) supported by the income of at least 1 

15 parent or guardian (including any relative act16 ing in place of a parent, such as a grandparent) 

17 of a child enrolling or participating in the Head 

18 Start program; and 

19 ‘‘(B) related to the parent or guardian by 

20 blood, marriage, or adoption. 

21 ‘‘(19) The term ‘homeless child’ means a child 

22 described in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento 

23 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)). 

24 ‘‘(20) The term ‘homeless family’ means the 

25 family of a homeless child.’’. 
139 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (b) ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS; LIMITATIONS ON AS2 SISTANCE.— 

3 (1) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT.—Section 

4 640(a)(3) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 9835(a)(3)) is amended— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

7 (i) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘chil8 dren in foster care, children referred to 

9 Head Start programs by child welfare 

10 agencies, ’’ after ‘‘background’’; and 

11 (ii) in clause (v), by inserting ‘‘, in12 cluding collaboration to increase program 

13 participation by underserved populations, 

14 including homeless children, eligible chil15 dren in foster care, and children referred 

16 to Head Start programs by child welfare 

17 agencies’’ before the period; and 

18 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 

19 (i) in clause (ii)(IV)— 

20 (I) by inserting ‘‘homeless chil21 dren, children in foster care, children 

22 referred to Head Start programs by 

23 child welfare agencies, ’’ after ‘‘dys24 functional families’’; and 
140 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (II) by inserting ‘‘and families’’ 

2 after ‘‘communities’’; 

3 (ii) in clause (v)— 

4 (I) by inserting ‘‘homeless chil5 dren, children in foster care, children 

6 referred to Head Start programs by 

7 child welfare agencies,’’ after ‘‘dys8 functional families’’; and 

9 (II) by inserting ‘‘and families’’ 

10 after ‘‘communities’’; 

11 (iii) by redesignating clause (vi) as 

12 clause (viii); and 

13 (iv) by inserting after clause (v) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(vi) To conduct outreach to homeless 

16 families and to increase Head Start pro17 gram participation by homeless children.’’. 

18 (2) COLLABORATION GRANTS.—Section 

19 640(a)(5)(C)(iv) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 9835(a)(5)(C)(iv)) is amended— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘child welfare (including 

22 child protective services),’’ after ‘‘child care,’’; 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘home-based services (in24 cluding home visiting services),’’ after ‘‘family 

25 literacy services’’; and 
141 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (3) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Section 640(g)(2) 

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

3 amended— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (C)— 

5 (i) by inserting ‘‘organizations and 

6 agencies providing family support services, 

7 child abuse prevention services, protective 

8 services, and foster care, and’’ after ‘‘(in9 cluding’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘and public entities 

11 serving children with disabilities’’ and in12 serting ‘‘, public entities, and individuals 

13 serving children with disabilities and home14 less children (including local educational 

15 agency liaisons designated under section 

16 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento 

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

18 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)))’’; 

19 (B) in subparagraph (H), by inserting 

20 ‘‘(including the local educational agency liaison 

21 designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 

22 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)))’’ after ‘‘community 

24 involved’’. 
142 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (c) RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUA2 TION.—Section 649 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 9844) is amended in subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking 

4 ‘‘disabilities)’’ and inserting ‘‘disabilities, homeless chil5 dren, children who have been abused or neglected, and 

6 children in foster care’’. 

7 (d) REPORTS.—Section 650(a) of the Head Start Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 9846(a)) is amended— 

9 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

10 striking ‘‘disabled and’’ and inserting ‘‘disabled chil11 dren, homeless children, children in foster care, 

12 and’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘homeless14 ness, whether the child is in foster care or was re15 ferred by a child welfare agency,’’ after ‘‘back16 ground’’. 

17 SEC. 30. CHILDREN AFFECTED BY HURRICANE KATRINA. 

18 (a) Definitions.—For the purposes of this section, the 

19 following definitions apply: 

20 (1) CHILDREN AFFECTED BY HURRICANE

21 KATRINA.—The term ‘‘children affected by Hurri22 cane Katrina’’ means a child who is not older than 

23 5 and who resides or who resided on August 22, 

24 2005, in an area in which the President has declared 

25 that a major disaster exists. 
143 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (2) IMPACTED HEAD START AGENCIES.—The 

2 term ‘‘impacted Head Start Agencies’’ means a 

3 Head Start agency receiving a significant number of 

4 children from an area in which a major disaster has 

5 been declared. 

6 (3) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘‘major dis7 aster’’ means a major disaster declared by the Presi8 dent in accordance with section 401 of the Robert 

9 T. Stafford Disaster Relief Emergency Assistance 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 4170), related to Hurricane Katrina. 

11 (b) TECHICAL ASSISTANCE, GUIDANCE, AND RE12 SOURCES.—The Secretary shall provide technical assist13 ance, guidance, and resources through the Region 4 and 

14 Region 6 offices of the Administration for Children and 

15 Families (and may provide technical assistance, guidance, 

16 and resources, through other regional offices of the Ad17 ministration, at the request of such offices, that admin18 ister affected Head Start agencies) to Head Start agencies 

19 in areas in which a major disaster has been declared, and 

20 to affected Head Start agencies, to assist the agencies in21 volved in providing Head Start services to children af22 fected by Hurricane Katrina. 

23 (c) WAIVER.—For such period up to March 31, 2006, 

24 and to such extent as the Secretary considers appropriate, 

25 the Secretary of Health and Human Services— 
144 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 (1) may waive section 640(b) of the Head Start 

2 Act; and 

3 (2) shall waive requirements of documentation 

4 for children affected by Hurricane Katrina who par5 ticipate in Head Start programs and Early Head 

6 Start programs funded under the Head Start Act. 

7 SEC. 31. DISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS. 

8 Section 654 of the Head Start Act is amended to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 654 NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary shall not provide financial as12 sistance for any program, project, or activity under this 

13 subchapter unless the grant or contract with respect there14 to specifically provides that no person with responsibilities 

15 in the operation thereof will discriminate with respect to 

16 any such program, project, or activity because of race, 

17 creed, color, national origin, sex, political affiliation, or be18 liefs. 

19 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a recipient of 

20 financial assistance under this subchapter that is a reli21 gious corporation, association, educational institution, or 

22 society, with respect to the employment of individuals of 

23 a particular religion to perform work connected with the 

24 carrying on by such corporation, association, educational 

25 institution, or society of its activities. Such recipients shall 
145 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 comply with the other requirements contained in this sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(b) No person in the United States shall on the 

4 ground of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied 

5 the benefits of, be subjected to discrimination under, or 

6 be denied employment in connection with any program or 

7 activity receiving assistance under this subchapter. The 

8 Secretary shall enforce the provisions of the preceding sen9 tence in accordance with section 602 of the Civil Rights 

10 Act of 1964. Section 603 of such Act shall apply with re11 spect to any action taken by the Secretary to enforce such 

12 sentence. This section shall not be construed as affecting 

13 any other legal remedy that a person may have if such 

14 person is excluded from participation in, denied the benefit 

15 of, subjected to discrimination under, or denied employ16 ment (except as provided in subsection (a)(2)), in the ad17 ministration of any program, project, or activity receiving 

18 assistance under this subchapter. 

19 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall not provide financial assist20 ance for any program, project, or activity under this sub21 chapter unless the grant or contract relating to the finan22 cial assistance specifically provides that no person with re23 sponsibilities in the operation of the program, project, or 

24 activity will discriminate against any individual because of 

25 a handicapping condition in violation of section 504 of the 
146 

HR 2123 PCS 

1 Rehabilitation Act of 1973, except as provided in sub2 section (a)(2).’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 22, 

2005. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk. 

Calendar No. 258 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2123 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the Head Start Act to improve the 

for other purposes. school readiness of disadvantaged children, and 

OCTOBER 25, 2005 

Read twice and placed on the calendar