I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2411 

To support early learning. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 19, 2015 

Mr. HANNA (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To support early learning. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—PREKINDERGARTEN ACCESS 

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

Sec. 101. Purposes. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 


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Sec. 103. Program authorization. 

Sec. 104. Allotments and reservations of funds. 

Sec. 105. State eligibility criteria. 

Sec. 106. State applications. 

Sec. 107. State use of funds. 

Sec. 108. Additional prekindergarten services. 

Sec. 109. Performance measures and targets. 

Sec. 110. Matching requirements. 

Sec. 111. Eligible local entity applications. 

Sec. 112. Required subgrant activities. 

Sec. 113. Report and evaluation. 

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

Sec. 115. Coordination with Head Start programs. 

Sec. 116. Technical assistance in program administration. 

Sec. 117. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle B—Prekindergarten Development Grants 

Sec. 121. Prekindergarten development grants. 

TITLE II—EARLY LEARNING QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS 

Sec. 201. Purposes. 

Sec. 202. Early learning quality partnerships. 

TITLE III—AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES 

Sec. 301. Preschool grants. 

Sec. 302. Infants and toddlers with disabilities. 

TITLE IV—MATERNAL, INFANT, AND EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME 

VISITING PROGRAM 

Sec. 401. Sense of the House of Representatives. 

1 TITLE I—PREKINDERGARTEN 

2 ACCESS 

3 Subtitle A—Access to Voluntary 

4 Prekindergarten for Low- and 

5 Moderate-Income Families 

6 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this subtitle are to— 

8 (1) establish a Federal-State partnership to 

9 provide access to high-quality public prekindergarten 

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1 erate-income families to ensure that they enter kin2 dergarten prepared for success; 

3 (2) broaden participation in such programs to 

4 include children from additional middle-class fami5 lies; 

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

7 and high-quality early childhood education programs 

8 and settings for children; and 

9 (4) increase access to appropriate supports so 

10 children with disabilities and other special popu11 lations can fully participate in high-quality early 

12 education programs. 

13 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this subtitle: 

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

16 ‘‘child with a disability’’ has the meaning given the 

17 term in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil18 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

19 (2) COMPREHENSIVE EARLY LEARNING ASSESS20 MENT SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘comprehensive early 

21 learning assessment system’’— 

22 (A) means a coordinated and comprehen23 sive system of multiple assessments, each of 

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1 pose and for the population with which it will 

2 be used, that— 

3 (i) organizes information about the 

4 process and context of young children’s 

5 learning and development to help early 

6 childhood educators make informed in7 structional and programmatic decisions; 

8 and 

9 (ii) conforms to the recommendations 

10 of the National Research Council reports 

11 on early childhood; and 

12 (B) includes, at a minimum— 

13 (i) child screening measures to iden14 tify children who may need follow-up serv15 ices to address developmental, learning, or 

16 health needs in, at a minimum, areas of 

17 physical health, behavioral health, oral 

18 health, child development, vision, and hear19 ing; 

20 (ii) child formative assessments; 

21 (iii) measures of environmental qual22 ity; and 

23 (iv) measures of the quality of adult24 child interactions. 


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1 (3) DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 

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

3 limited English proficient. 

4 (4) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO5 GRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood education pro6 gram’’ has the meaning given the term under section 

7 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1003). 

9 (5) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen10 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec11 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

13 (6) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION DATE.—The 

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

15 used to determine eligibility for public elementary 

16 school in the community in which the eligible local 

17 entity involved is located. 

18 (7) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligi19 ble local entity’’ means— 

20 (A) a local educational agency, including a 

21 charter school or a charter management organi22 zation that acts as a local educational agency, 

23 or an educational service agency in partnership 

24 with a local educational agency; 


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1 (B) an entity (including a Head Start pro2 gram or licensed child care setting) that carries 

3 out, administers, or supports an early childhood 

4 education program; or 

5 (C) a consortium of entities described in 

6 subparagraph (A) or (B). 

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

8 day that is— 

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

10 public elementary schools in a State; and 

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

12 (9) HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDERGARTEN PRO13 GRAM.—The term ‘‘high-quality prekindergarten 

14 program’’ means a prekindergarten program sup15 ported by an eligible local entity that includes, at a 

16 minimum, the following elements based on nationally 

17 recognized standards: 

18 (A) Serves children who— 

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

20 3 or 4, by the eligibility determination date 

21 (including children who turn age 5 while 

22 attending the program); or 

23 (ii) have attained the legal age for 

24 State-funded prekindergarten. 


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1 (B) Requires high qualifications for staff, 

2 including that teachers meet the requirements 

3 of 1 of the following clauses: 

4 (i) The teacher has a bachelor’s de5 gree in early childhood education or a re6 lated field with coursework that dem7 onstrates competence in early childhood 

8 education. 

9 (ii) The teacher— 

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

11 field; 

12 (II) has demonstrated knowledge 

13 of early childhood education by pass14 ing a State-approved assessment in 

15 early childhood education; 

16 (III) while employed as a teacher 

17 in the prekindergarten program, is en18 gaged in on-going professional devel19 opment in early childhood education 

20 for not less than 2 years; and 

21 (IV) not more than 4 years after 

22 starting employment as a teacher in 

23 the prekindergarten program, enrolls 

24 in and completes a State-approved ed25 ucator preparation program in which 


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1 the teacher receives training and sup2 port in early childhood education. 

3 (iii) The teacher has bachelor’s degree 

4 with a credential, license, or endorsement 

5 that demonstrates competence in early 

6 childhood education. 

7 (C) Maintains an evidence-based maximum 

8 class size. 

9 (D) Maintains an evidence-based child to 

10 instructional staff ratio. 

11 (E) Offers a full-day program. 

12 (F) Provides developmentally appropriate 

13 learning environments and evidence-based cur14 ricula that are aligned with the State’s early 

15 learning and development standards described 

16 in section 115(1). 

17 (G) Offers instructional staff salaries com18 parable to kindergarten through grade 12 

19 teaching staff. 

20 (H) Provides for ongoing monitoring and 

21 program evaluation to ensure continuous im22 provement. 

23 (I) Offers accessible comprehensive services 

24 for children that include, at a minimum— 


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1 (i) screenings for vision, hearing, den2 tal, health (including mental health), and 

3 development (including early literacy and 

4 math skill development) and referrals, and 

5 assistance obtaining services, when appro6 priate; 

7 (ii) family engagement opportunities 

8 that take into account home language, 

9 such as parent conferences (including par10 ent input about their child’s development) 

11 and support services, such as parent edu12 cation, home visiting, and family literacy 

13 services; 

14 (iii) nutrition services, including nutri15 tious meals and snack options aligned with 

16 requirements set by the most recent Child 

17 and Adult Care Food Program guidelines 

18 promulgated by the Department of Agri19 culture as well as regular, age-appropriate, 

20 nutrition education for children and their 

21 families; 

22 (iv) programs in coordination with 

23 local educational agencies and entities pro24 viding services and supports authorized 

25 under part B, section 619, and part C of 


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1 the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

2 Act (20 U.S.C. 1419 and 1431 et seq.) to 

3 ensure the full participation of children 

4 with disabilities; 

5 (v) physical activity programs aligned 

6 with evidence-based guidelines, such as 

7 those recommended by the Institute of 

8 Medicine, and which take into account and 

9 accommodate children with disabilities; 

10 (vi) additional support services, as ap11 propriate, based on the findings of the 

12 needs analysis as described in section 110; 

13 and 

14 (vii) on-site coordination, to the max15 imum extent feasible. 

16 (J) Provides high-quality professional de17 velopment for all staff, including regular in18 classroom observation for teachers and teacher 

19 assistants by individuals trained in such obser20 vation and which may include evidence-based 

21 coaching. 

22 (K) Meets the education performance 

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

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

25 9836a(a)(1)(B)). 


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1 (L) Maintains evidence-based health and 

2 safety standards. 

3 (M) Maintains disciplinary policies that do 

4 not include expulsion or suspension of partici5 pating children, except only as a last resort in 

6 extraordinary circumstances where there is a 

7 determination of a serious safety threat and 

8 where there are policies to provide appropriate 

9 alternative early educational services to these 

10 children while they are out of school. 

11 (10) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

12 the chief executive officer of a State. 

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

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

15 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

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

17 (12) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

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

19 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

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

21 (13) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

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

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

24 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990 

25 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 


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1 (14) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT.—The 

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

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

4 (42 U.S.C. 9832). 

5 (15) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE

6 EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; EDUCATIONAL SERVICE

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

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

9 agency’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec10 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu11 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

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

14 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

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

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

17 area’’ means each of the United States Virgin Is18 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

19 of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic 

20 of Palau. 

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

22 means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of23 fice of Management and Budget)— 

24 (A) adjusted to reflect the percentage 

25 change in the Consumer Price Index for All 


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1 Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of 

2 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor 

3 for the most recent 12-month period or other 

4 interval for which the data are available; and 

5 (B) applicable to a family of the size in6 volved. 

7 (19) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec8 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

9 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

12 means the Secretary of Education. 

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

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

15 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

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

17 (22) STATE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON EARLY

18 CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE.—The term 

19 ‘‘State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu20 cation and Care’’ means the State Advisory Council 

21 on Early Childhood Education and Care established 

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

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


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1 SEC. 103. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. 

2 From amounts made available to carry out this sub3 title, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

4 Health and Human Services, shall award grants to States 

5 to implement high-quality prekindergarten programs, con6 sistent with the purposes of this subtitle described in sec7 tion 101. For each fiscal year, the funds provided under 

8 a grant by a State shall equal the allotment determined 

9 for the State under section 114. 

10 SEC. 104. ALLOTMENTS AND RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS. 

11 (a) RESERVATION.—From the amount made avail12 able each fiscal year to carry out this subtitle, the Sec13 retary shall— 

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

15 more than 2 percent for payments to Indian tribes 

16 and tribal organizations; 

(2) reserve 1 17 ⁄2 of 1 percent for the outlying 

18 areas to be distributed among the outlying areas on 

19 the basis of their relative need, as determined by the 

20 Secretary in accordance with the purposes of this 

21 subtitle; 

(3) reserve 1 22 ⁄2 of 1 percent for eligible local en23 tities that serve children in families who are engaged 

24 in migrant or seasonal agricultural labor; and 

25 (4) reserve not more than 1 percent or 

26 $30,000,000, whichever amount is less, for national 


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1 activities, including administration, technical assist2 ance, and evaluation. 

3 (b) ALLOTMENTS.— 

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

5 available each fiscal year to carry out this subtitle 

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

7 shall make allotments to States in accordance with 

8 paragraph (2) that have submitted an approved ap9 plication. 

10 (2) ALLOTMENT AMOUNT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara12 graph (B), the Secretary shall allot the amount 

13 made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal 

14 year among the States in proportion to the 

15 number of children who are age 4 who reside 

16 within the State and are from families with in17 comes at or below 200 percent of the poverty 

18 line for the most recent year for which satisfac19 tory data are available, compared to the num20 ber of such children who reside in all such 

21 States for that fiscal year. 

22 (B) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT AMOUNT.—No 

23 State receiving an allotment under subparagraph (A) may receive less than 1 24 ⁄2 of 1 percent 


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1 of the total amount allotted under such sub2 paragraph. 

3 (3) REALLOTMENT AND CARRY OVER.— 

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

5 do not receive an allotment under this sub6 section for any fiscal year, the Secretary may 

7 use the amount of the allotment for that State 

8 or States, in such amounts as the Secretary de9 termines appropriate, for either or both of the 

10 following: 

11 (i) To increase the allotments of 

12 States with approved applications for the 

13 fiscal year, consistent with subparagraph 

14 (B). 

15 (ii) To carry over the funds to the 

16 next fiscal year. 

17 (B) REALLOTMENT.—In increasing allot18 ments under subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary 

19 shall allot to each State with an approved appli20 cation an amount that bears the same relation21 ship to the total amount to be allotted under 

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

23 received under paragraph (2) for that fiscal 

24 year bears to the amount that all States re25 ceived under paragraph (2) for that fiscal year. 


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

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

3 District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 

4 Puerto Rico. 

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

6 adjustments to allotments under this subsection, which 

7 shall neither lead to a significant increase or decrease in 

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

9 on a set of factors, such as the level of program participa10 tion and the estimated cost of the activities specified in 

11 the State plan under section 116(a)(2). 

12 SEC. 105. STATE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA. 

13 A State is eligible to receive a grant under this sub14 title if the State demonstrates to the Secretary that the 

15 State— 

16 (1) has established or will establish early learn17 ing and development standards that describe what 

18 children from birth to kindergarten entry should 

19 know and be able to do, are universally designed and 

20 developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appro21 priate, are aligned with the State’s challenging aca22 demic content standards and challenging student 

23 academic achievement standards, as adopted under 

24 section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)), and 


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1 cover all of the essential domains of school readi2 ness, which address— 

3 (A) physical well-being and motor develop4 ment; 

5 (B) social and emotional development; 

6 (C) approaches to learning, including cre7 ative arts expression; 

8 (D) developmentally appropriate oral and 

9 written language and literacy development; and 

10 (E) cognition and general knowledge, in11 cluding early mathematics and early scientific 

12 development; 

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

14 link prekindergarten data with its elementary school 

15 and secondary school data for the purpose of col16 lecting longitudinal information for all children par17 ticipating in the State’s high-quality prekindergarten 

18 program and any other federally funded early child19 hood program that will remain with the child 

20 through the child’s public education through grade 

21 12; 

22 (3) offers State-funded kindergarten for chil23 dren who are eligible children for that service in the 

24 State; and 


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1 (4) has established a State Advisory Council on 

2 Early Childhood Education and Care. 

3 SEC. 106. STATE APPLICATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under this sub5 title, the Governor of a State, in consultation with the In6 dian tribes and tribal organizations in the State, if any, 

7 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

8 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

9 Secretary may reasonably require. At a minimum, each 

10 such application shall include— 

11 (1) an assurance that the State— 

12 (A) will coordinate with and continue to 

13 participate in the programs authorized under 

14 section 619 and part C of the Individuals with 

15 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419 and 

16 1431 et seq.), the Child Care and Development 

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

18 seq.), and the maternal, infant, and early child19 hood home visiting programs funded under sec20 tion 511 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 711) for the duration of the grant; 

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

23 as an agency or joint interagency office), se24 lected by the Governor, for the administration 

25 of the grant, which shall coordinate and consult 


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1 with the State educational agency if the entity 

2 is not the State educational agency; and 

3 (C) will establish, or certify the existence 

4 of, program standards for all State prekinder5 garten programs consistent with the definition 

6 of a high-quality prekindergarten program 

7 under section 102; 

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

9 (A) use funds received under this subtitle 

10 and the State’s matching funds to provide high11 quality prekindergarten programs, in accord12 ance with section 117(d), with open enrollment 

13 for all children in the State who— 

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

15 and 

16 (ii) are from families with incomes at 

17 or below 200 percent of the poverty line; 

18 (B) develop or enhance a system for moni19 toring eligible local entities that are receiving 

20 funds under this subtitle for compliance with 

21 quality standards developed by the State and to 

22 provide program improvement support, which 

23 may be accomplished through the use of a 

24 State-developed system for quality rating and 

25 improvement; 


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1 (C) if applicable, expand participation in 

2 the State’s high-quality prekindergarten pro3 grams to children from families with incomes 

4 above 200 percent of the poverty line; 

5 (D) carry out the State’s comprehensive 

6 early learning assessment system, or how the 

7 State plans to develop such a system, ensuring 

8 that any assessments are culturally, develop9 mentally, and age-appropriate and consistent 

10 with the recommendations from the study on 

11 Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for 

12 Young Children by the National Academy of 

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

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

15 (E) develop, implement, and make publicly 

16 available the performance measures and targets 

17 described in section 109; 

18 (F) increase the number of teachers with 

19 bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education, 

20 or with bachelor’s degrees in another closely re21 lated field and specialized training and dem22 onstrated competency in early childhood edu23 cation, including how institutions of higher edu24 cation will support increasing the number of 

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1 ing through the use of assessments of prior 

2 learning, knowledge, and skills to facilitate and 

3 expedite attainment of such degrees; 

4 (G) coordinate and integrate the activities 

5 funded under this subtitle with Federal, State, 

6 and local services and programs that support 

7 early childhood education and care, including 

8 programs supported under this subtitle, the El9 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

10 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals with 

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

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

13 seq.), the Community Services Block Grant Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.), the Child Care and 

15 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

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

17 for needy families program under part A of title 

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

19 seq.), the State incentive grant program under 

20 section 14006 of the American Recovery and 

21 Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5), 

22 federally funded early literacy programs, the 

23 maternal, infant, and early childhood home vis24 iting programs funded under section 511 of the 

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1 provements to child care funded under title 

2 XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 

3 et seq.), the program under subtitle B of title 

4 VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist5 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.), the Invest6 ing In Innovation program under section 14007 

7 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment 

8 Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5), programs au9 thorized under part E of title IV of the Social 

10 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), the Fos11 tering Connections to Success and Increasing 

12 Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–351), 

13 grants for infant and toddler care through 

14 Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships 

15 funded under the heading ‘‘Children and Fami16 lies Services Programs—Administration for 

17 Children and Families’’ in the Department of 

18 Health and Human Services Appropriations 

19 Act, 2014 (title II of division H of Public Law 

20 113–76; 128 Stat. 363), the preschool develop21 ment grants program funded under the heading 

22 ‘‘Innovation and Improvement’’ in the Depart23 ment of Education Appropriations Act, 2015 

24 (title III of division G of Public Law 113–235; 

25 128 Stat. 2492), and any other Federal, State, 


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1 or local early childhood education programs 

2 used in the State; 

3 (H) award subgrants to eligible local enti4 ties, and in awarding such subgrants, facilitate 

5 a delivery system of high-quality prekinder6 garten programs that includes diverse pro7 viders, such as providers in community-based, 

8 public school, and private settings, and consider 

9 the system’s impact on options for families; 

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

11 have a funding mechanism for subgranting 

12 funds to implement high-quality prekinder13 garten, use objective criteria in awarding sub14 grants to eligible local entities that will imple15 ment high-quality prekindergarten programs, 

16 including actions the State will take to ensure 

17 that eligible local entities will coordinate with 

18 local educational agencies or other early learn19 ing providers, as appropriate, to carry out ac20 tivities to provide children served under this 

21 subtitle with a successful transition from pre22 school into kindergarten, which activities shall 

23 include— 

24 (i) aligning curricular objectives and 

25 instruction; 


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1 (ii) providing staff professional devel2 opment, including opportunities for joint3 professional development on early learning 

4 and kindergarten through grade 3 stand5 ards, assessments, and curricula; 

6 (iii) coordinating family engagement 

7 and support services; and 

8 (iv) encouraging the shared use of fa9 cilities and transportation, as appropriate; 

10 (J) use the State early learning and devel11 opment standards described in section 105(1) 

12 to address the needs of dual language learners, 

13 including by incorporating benchmarks related 

14 to English language development; 

15 (K) identify barriers, and propose solutions 

16 to overcome such barriers, which may include 

17 seeking assistance under section 116, in the 

18 State to effectively use and integrate Federal, 

19 State, and local public funds and private funds 

20 for early childhood education that are available 

21 to the State on the date on which the applica22 tion is submitted; 

23 (L) support articulation agreements (as 

24 defined in section 486A of the Higher Edu25 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1093a)) between 


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

2 higher education and other credit-bearing pro3 fessional development in the State for early 

4 childhood teacher preparation programs and 

5 closely related fields; 

6 (M) ensure that the higher education pro7 grams in the State have the capacity to prepare 

8 a workforce to provide high-quality prekinder9 garten programs; 

10 (N) support workforce development, in11 cluding State and local policies that support 

12 prekindergarten instructional staff’s ability to 

13 earn a degree, certification, or other specializa14 tions or qualifications, including policies on 

15 leave, substitutes, and child care services, in16 cluding non-traditional hour child care; 

17 (O) hold eligible local entities accountable 

18 for use of funds; 

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

20 and development standards are integrated into 

21 the instructional and programmatic practices of 

22 high-quality prekindergarten programs and re23 lated programs and services, such as those pro24 vided to children under section 619 and part C 


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1 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

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

3 (Q) increase the number of children in the 

4 State who are enrolled in high-quality kinder5 garten programs and carry out a strategy to 

6 implement such a plan; 

7 (R) coordinate the State’s activities sup8 ported by grants under this subtitle with activi9 ties in State plans required under the Elemen10 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals with Dis12 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

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

14 seq.), the Child Care and Development Block 

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

16 and the Adult Education and Family Literacy 

17 Act (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.); 

18 (S) encourage eligible local entities to co19 ordinate with community-based learning re20 sources, such as libraries, arts and arts edu21 cation programs, appropriate media programs, 

22 family literacy programs, public parks and 

23 recreation programs, museums, nutrition edu24 cation programs, and programs supported by 


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1 the Corporation for National and Community 

2 Service; 

3 (T) work with eligible local entities, in con4 sultation with elementary school principals, to 

5 ensure that high-quality prekindergarten pro6 grams have sufficient and appropriate facilities 

7 to meet the needs of children eligible for pre8 kindergarten; 

9 (U) support local early childhood coordi10 nating entities, such as local early childhood 

11 councils, if applicable, and help such entities to 

12 coordinate early childhood education programs 

13 with high-quality prekindergarten programs to 

14 ensure effective and efficient delivery of early 

15 childhood education program services; 

16 (V) support shared services administering 

17 entities, if applicable; 

18 (W) ensure that the provision of high-qual19 ity prekindergarten programs will not lead to a 

20 diminution in the quality or supply of services 

21 for infants and toddlers or disrupt the care of 

22 infants and toddlers in the geographic area 

23 served by the eligible local entity, which may in24 clude demonstrating that the State will direct 

25 funds to provide high-quality early childhood 


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1 education and care to infants and toddlers in 

2 accordance with section 117(d); 

3 (X) encourage or promote socioeconomic, 

4 racial, and ethnic diversity in the classrooms of 

5 high-quality prekindergarten programs, as ap6 plicable; and 

7 (Y) ensure that all high-quality prekinder8 garten programs the State supports under this 

9 Act will conduct criminal history background 

10 checks that meet the requirements of subsection 

11 (b) on employees and applicants for employ12 ment with unsupervised access to children; and 

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

14 programs that prepare individuals for work in a 

15 high-quality prekindergarten program, including— 

16 (A) certification programs; 

17 (B) associate degree programs; 

18 (C) baccalaureate degree programs; 

19 (D) masters degree programs; and 

20 (E) other programs that lead to a speciali21 zation in early childhood education, or a related 

22 field. 

23 (b) CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The criminal history back2 ground checks required under subsection (a)(2)(Y) 

3 shall include— 

4 (A) a search of the State criminal registry 

5 or repository in the State in which the employee 

6 resides and previously resided; 

7 (B) a search of the State-based child abuse 

8 and neglect registries and databases in the 

9 State in which the employee resides and pre10 viously resided; 

11 (C) a Federal Bureau of Investigation fin12 gerprint check using the Integrated Automated 

13 Fingerprint Identification System; and 

14 (D) a search of the National Sex Offender 

15 Registry established under section 119 of the 

16 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 

17 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16919). 

18 (2) PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT.—To be eli19 gible to receive a grant under this subtitle, a State 

20 shall prohibit an individual with unsupervised access 

21 to children from employment with a program sup22 ported with grant funds under this subtitle if the in23 dividual has been convicted of a violent felony or any 

24 violent or sexual crime against a minor, as defined 

25 by the State. 


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1 (3) UPDATED CHECKS.—To be eligible to re2 ceive a grant under this subtitle, each criminal his3 tory background check conducted on an employee as 

4 required under subsection (a)(2)(Y) shall be periodi5 cally repeated or updated one time at least every five 

6 years. 

7 (4) SUBMISSION OF REQUESTS FOR BACK8 GROUND CHECKS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—A high-quality pre10 kindergarten program shall submit a request, to 

11 the appropriate State agency designated by a 

12 State, for a criminal background check de13 scribed in subsection (b)(1), for each individual 

14 employee with unsupervised access to children. 

15 (B) PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEES.—In the 

16 case of an individual who is a prospective em17 ployee with unsupervised access to children on 

18 or after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

19 the provider shall submit such a request— 

20 (i) prior to the date the individual be21 comes an employee; and 

22 (ii) not less than once during each 5- 

23 year period following the first submission 

24 date under this paragraph for that staff 

25 member. 


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1 (5) BACKGROUND CHECK RESULTS.— 

2 (A) BACKGROUND CHECK RESULTS.—The 

3 State shall carry out the request of a high-qual4 ity prekindergarten program for a criminal 

5 background check as expeditiously as possible, 

6 but not to exceed 45 days after the date on 

7 which such request was submitted, and shall 

8 provide the results of the criminal background 

9 check to such program and to the employee 

10 staff member. 

11 (B) PRIVACY.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall 

13 provide the results of the criminal back14 ground check to the high-quality pre15 kindergarten program in a statement that 

16 indicates whether an employee is eligible or 

17 ineligible for employment without revealing 

18 any disqualifying crime or other related in19 formation regarding the individual. 

20 (ii) INELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.—If the 

21 employee is ineligible for such employment 

22 due to the background check, the State 

23 will, when providing the results of the 

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1 lated to each disqualifying crime, in a re2 port to the employee. 

3 (iii) PUBLIC RELEASE OF RESULTS.— 

4 No State shall publicly release or share the 

5 results of individual background checks, 

6 except States may release aggregated data 

7 by crime from background check results, 

8 as long as such data does not contain per9 sonally identifiable information. 

10 (6) APPEALS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall provide 

12 for a process by which an employee may appeal 

13 the results of a criminal background check con14 ducted under this section to challenge the accu15 racy or completeness of the information con16 tained in such employee’s criminal background 

17 report. 

18 (B) APPEALS PROCESS.—The State shall 

19 ensure that— 

20 (i) each employee shall be given notice 

21 of the opportunity to appeal; 

22 (ii) an employee will receive instruc23 tions about how to complete the appeals 

24 process if the employee wishes to challenge 

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1 mation contained in such employee’s crimi2 nal background report; and 

3 (iii) the appeals process is completed 

4 in a timely manner for each employee not 

5 to exceed 45 days. 

6 (C) COSTS.—An employee who has suc7 cessfully challenged the findings contained in 

8 such employee’s criminal background check re9 port in the appeals process under this para10 graph shall be allowed to seek compensation for 

11 any reasonable costs incurred from such appeal. 

12 (7) REVIEW.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall estab14 lish a timely review process not to exceed 45 

15 days through which the State may determine 

16 that an employee identified in paragraph (2) is 

17 eligible for employment with the high-quality 

18 prekindergarten program. 

19 (B) FACTORS.—The review process shall 

20 be an individualized assessment consistent with 

21 title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

22 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) and the U.S. Equal Em23 ployment Opportunity Commission Enforcement 

24 Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and 

25 Conviction Records in Employment Decisions, 


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1 and may include consideration of the following 

2 factors— 

3 (i) nature and seriousness of the of4 fense; 

5 (ii) circumstances under which the of6 fense was committed; 

7 (iii) lapse of time since the offense 

8 was committed or the individual was re9 leased from prison; 

10 (iv) individual’s age at the time of the 

11 offense; 

12 (v) social conditions which may have 

13 fostered the offense; 

14 (vi) relationship of the nature of the 

15 offense to the position sought; 

16 (vii) number of criminal convictions; 

17 (viii) honesty and transparency of the 

18 candidate in admitting the conviction 

19 record; 

20 (ix) individual’s work history, includ21 ing evidence that the individual performed 

22 the same or similar work, post-conviction, 

23 with the same or different employer, with 

24 no known incidents of criminal conduct; 


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1 (x) evidence of rehabilitation as dem2 onstrated by the individual’s good conduct 

3 while in correctional custody and/or the 

4 community; counseling or psychiatric treat5 ment received; acquisition of additional 

6 academic or vocational schooling; success7 ful participation in correctional work-re8 lease programs and the recommendations 

9 of persons who have or have had the appli10 cant under their supervision; 

11 (xi) whether the individual is bonded 

12 under Federal, State, or local bonding pro13 gram; and 

14 (xii) any other factor that may lead to 

15 the conclusion that the individual does not 

16 pose a risk to children. 

17 (C) LIMITATION.—This paragraph shall 

18 not apply to an employee who has been con19 victed of a serious violent or sexual felony 

20 against a child, as determined by the State. 

21 (8) NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing 

22 in this section shall be construed to create a private 

23 right of action if a high-quality prekindergarten pro24 gram has acted in accordance with this section. 


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1 (9) FEES FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS.—Fees 

2 that a State may charge for the costs of processing 

3 applications and administering a criminal back4 ground check as required by this section shall not 

5 exceed the actual costs to the State for the proc6 essing and administration. 

7 (10) CONSTRUCTION.— 

8 (A) DISQUALIFICATION FOR OTHER

9 CRIMES.—Nothing in this section shall be con10 strued to prevent a State from disqualifying in11 dividuals as an employee based on their convic12 tion for crimes not specifically listed in this sec13 tion that bear upon the fitness of an individual 

14 to provide care for and have responsibility for 

15 the safety and well-being of children. 

16 (B) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—Nothing in 

17 this section shall be construed to alter or other18 wise affect the rights and remedies provided for 

19 an employee residing in a State that disqualifies 

20 individuals as an employee for crimes not spe21 cifically provided for under this section. 

22 (11) REPORTING.—Not later than one year 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec24 retary of Education shall report to Congress on— 


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1 (A) any information available about num2 bers of individuals restricted or disqualified 

3 from being an employee on the basis of a crimi4 nal record identified in the background check, 

5 pursuant to this section in total, and for each 

6 type of conviction, disaggregated by race, gen7 der, national origin, and ethnicity; 

8 (B) the identity of each State’s agency 

9 with jurisdiction over the background check re10 sults and appeals process described in para11 graph (6); 

12 (C) the identity of each State’s agency 

13 with jurisdiction over the individualized assess14 ment, as described in paragraph (7); 

15 (D) the numbers of individuals approved 

16 for consideration as an employee by the individ17 ualized assessment, as described in paragraph 

18 (7) in total, and for each type of conviction, 

19 disaggregated by race, gender, national origin, 

20 and ethnicity; and 

21 (E) the numbers of successful and unsuc22 cessful appeals to the accuracy and complete23 ness of records or information, in total, by 

24 State, and by type of conviction, disaggregated 

25 by race, gender, national origin, and ethnicity. 


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1 SEC. 107. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 

2 (a) RESERVATION FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AC3 TIVITIES.— 

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

5 grant under this subtitle may reserve for, not more 

6 than the first 4 years such State receives such a 

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

8 for quality improvement activities that support the 

9 elements of high-quality prekindergarten programs. 

10 Such quality improvement activities may include 

11 supporting teachers, center directors, and principals 

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

13 licensed or regulated child care, or Head Start pro14 grams to enable such teachers or directors to earn 

15 a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education, 

16 or closely related field, through activities which may 

17 include— 

18 (A) expanding or establishing scholarships, 

19 counseling, and compensation initiatives to 

20 cover the cost of tuition, fees, materials, trans21 portation, and release time for such teachers; 

22 (B) providing ongoing professional develop23 ment opportunities, including regular in-class24 room observation by individuals trained in such 

25 observation, for such teachers, directors, prin26 cipals, and teachers assistants to enable such 


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1 teachers, directors, principals, and teachers as2 sistants to carry out the elements of high-qual3 ity prekindergarten programs, which may in4 clude activities that address— 

5 (i) promoting children’s development 

6 across all of the essential domains of early 

7 learning and development; 

8 (ii) developmentally appropriate cur9 ricula and teacher-child interaction; 

10 (iii) effective family engagement; 

11 (iv) providing culturally competent in12 struction; 

13 (v) working with a diversity of chil14 dren and families, including children with 

15 special needs and dual language learners; 

16 (vi) childhood nutrition and physical 

17 education programs; 

18 (vii) supporting the implementation of 

19 evidence-based curricula; 

20 (viii) social and emotional develop21 ment; and 

22 (ix) incorporating age-appropriate 

23 strategies of positive behavioral interven24 tions and supports; and 


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1 (C) providing families with increased op2 portunities to learn how best to support their 

3 children’s physical, cognitive, social, and emo4 tional development during the first five years of 

5 life. 

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

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

8 the matching requirements under section 110. 

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

10 amount under paragraph (1) shall coordinate the 

11 use of such amount with activities funded under sec12 tion 658G of the Child Care and Development Block 

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

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

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

16 funds reserved under this subsection to meet the re17 quirement described in section 102(9)(G). 

18 (b) SUBGRANTS FOR HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDER19 GARTEN PROGRAMS.—A State that receives a grant under 

20 this subtitle shall award subgrants of sufficient size to eli21 gible local entities to enable such eligible local entities to 

22 implement high-quality prekindergarten programs for chil23 dren who— 

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

25 (2) reside within the State; and 


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

2 200 percent of the poverty line. 

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

4 under this subtitle may reserve not more than 1 percent 

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

6 may use part of that reservation for the maintenance of 

7 the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education 

8 and Care. 

9 (d) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PRO10 GRAMS FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS.— 

11 (1) USE OF ALLOTMENT FOR INFANTS AND

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

13 the appropriate Secretary may grant permission for 

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

15 funds made available through a grant received under 

16 this subtitle to award subgrants to early childhood 

17 education programs to provide, consistent with the 

18 State’s early learning and development guidelines for 

19 infants and toddlers, high-quality early childhood 

20 education and care to infants and toddlers who re21 side within the State and are from families with in22 comes at or below 200 percent of the poverty line. 

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

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

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1 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

2 such information as the Secretary may require. Such 

3 application shall, at a minimum, include a descrip4 tion of how the State will— 

5 (A) designate a lead agency which shall ad6 minister such funds; 

7 (B) ensure that such lead agency, in co8 ordination with the State’s Advisory Council on 

9 Early Childhood Education and Care, will col10 laborate with other agencies in administering 

11 programs supported under this subsection for 

12 infants and toddlers in order to obtain input 

13 about the appropriate use of such funds and en14 sure coordination with programs for infants and 

15 toddlers funded under the Child Care and De16 velopment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

17 9858 et seq.), the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 9831 et seq.) (including any Early Learning 

19 Quality Partnerships established in the State 

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

21 added by section 202), the Race to the Top and 

22 Early Learning Challenge program under sec23 tion 14006 of Public Law 111–5 (123 Stat. 

24 283), the maternal, infant, and early childhood 

25 home visiting programs funded under section 


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1 511 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711), 

2 part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu3 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), and grants 

4 for infant and toddler care through Early Head 

5 Start-Child Care Partnerships funded under the 

6 heading ‘‘Children and Families Services Pro7 grams—Administration for Children and Fami8 lies’’ in the Department of Health and Human 

9 Services Appropriations Act, 2014 (title II of 

10 division H of Public Law 113–76; 128 Stat. 

11 363); 

12 (C) ensure that infants and toddlers who 

13 benefit from amounts made available under this 

14 subsection will transition to and have the oppor15 tunity to participate in a high-quality pre16 kindergarten program supported under this 

17 subtitle; 

18 (D) in awarding subgrants, give preference 

19 to early childhood education programs that 

20 have a written formal plan with baseline data, 

21 benchmarks, and timetables to increase access 

22 to and full participation in high-quality pre23 kindergarten programs for children with special 

24 needs, including children with developmental 

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1 guage learners, homeless children, children who 

2 are in foster care, children of migrant families, 

3 children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch 

4 under the Richard B. Russell National School 

5 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), or children 

6 in the child welfare system; and 

7 (E) give priority to activities carried out 

8 under this subsection that will increase access 

9 to high-quality early childhood education pro10 grams for infants and toddlers in local areas 

11 with significant concentrations of low-income 

12 families that do not currently benefit from such 

13 programs. 

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

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

16 serve infants and toddlers only by working with 

17 early childhood education program providers that— 

18 (A) offer full-day, full-year care, or other19 wise meet the needs of working families; and 

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

21 (i) Early Head Start program per22 formance standards under the Head Start 

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

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

25 and reliable program standards that have 


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1 been established through a national entity 

2 that accredits early childhood education 

3 programs. 

4 (4) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu6 cation shall bear responsibility for obligating 

7 and disbursing funds to support activities under 

8 this subsection and ensuring compliance with 

9 applicable laws and administrative require10 ments, subject to paragraph (3). 

11 (B) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Sec12 retary of Education and the Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services shall jointly ad14 minister activities supported under this sub15 section on such terms as such Secretaries shall 

16 set forth in an interagency agreement. The Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services shall be 

18 responsible for any final approval of a State’s 

19 application under this subsection that addresses 

20 the use of funds designated for services to in21 fants and toddlers. 

22 (C) APPROPRIATE SECRETARY.—In this 

23 subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate Secretary’’ 

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1 retary designated for that function under the 

2 interagency agreement. 

3 SEC. 108. ADDITIONAL PREKINDERGARTEN SERVICES. 

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

5 State that certifies to the Secretary that the State pro6 vides universally available, voluntary, high-quality pre7 kindergarten programs for 4-year-old children who reside 

8 within the State and are from families with incomes at 

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

10 State’s allocation under section 104(b) to provide high11 quality prekindergarten programs for 3-year-old children 

12 who reside within the State and are from families with 

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

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

15 county, or local educational agency that provides univer16 sally available high-quality prekindergarten programs for 

17 4-year-old children who reside within the State and are 

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

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

20 allocation under section 104(b) to award subgrants to eli21 gible local entities to enable such eligible local entities to 

22 provide high-quality prekindergarten programs for 3-year23 old children who are from families with incomes at or 

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

25 such city, county or local educational agency. 


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1 SEC. 109. PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND TARGETS. 

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

3 under this subtitle shall develop, implement, and make 

4 publicly available the performance measures and targets 

5 for the activities carried out with grant funds. Such meas6 ures shall, at a minimum, track the State’s progress in— 

7 (1) increasing school readiness across all do8 mains for all categories of children, as described in 

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

10 and dual language learners; 

11 (2) narrowing school readiness gaps between 

12 minority and nonminority children, and low-income 

13 children and more advantaged children, in prepara14 tion for kindergarten entry; 

15 (3) decreasing placement for children in ele16 mentary school in special education programs and 

17 services as described in part B of the Individuals 

18 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et 

19 seq.); 

20 (4) increasing the number of programs meeting 

21 the criteria for high-quality prekindergarten pro22 grams across all types of local eligible entities, as de23 fined by the State and in accordance with section 

24 102; 

25 (5) decreasing the need for grade-to-grade re26 tention in elementary school; 


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1 (6) if applicable, ensuring that high-quality pre2 kindergarten programs do not experience instances 

3 of chronic absence among the children who partici4 pate in such programs; 

5 (7) increasing the number and percentage of 

6 low-income children in high-quality early childhood 

7 education programs that receive financial support 

8 through funds provided under this subtitle; and 

9 (8) providing high-quality nutrition services, 

10 nutrition education, physical activity, and obesity 

11 prevention programs. 

12 (b) PROHIBITION OF MISDIAGNOSIS PRACTICES.—A 

13 State shall not, in order to meet the performance meas14 ures and targets described in subsection (a), engage in 

15 practices or policies that will lead to the misdiagnosis or 

16 under-diagnosis of disabilities or developmental delays 

17 among children who are served through programs sup18 ported under this subtitle. 

19 SEC. 110. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS. 

20 (a) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), a State that receives a grant under this 

23 subtitle shall provide matching funds from non-Fed24 eral sources, as described in subsection (c), in an 

25 amount equal to— 


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1 (A) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro2 vided under the grant in the first year of grant 

3 administration; 

4 (B) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro5 vided under the grant in the second year of 

6 grant administration; 

7 (C) 20 percent of the Federal funds pro8 vided under the grant in the third year of grant 

9 administration; 

10 (D) 30 percent of the Federal funds pro11 vided under the grant in the fourth year of 

12 grant administration; 

13 (E) 40 percent of the Federal funds pro14 vided under the grant in the fifth year of grant 

15 administration; 

16 (F) 50 percent of the Federal funds pro17 vided under the grant in the sixth year of grant 

18 administration; 

19 (G) 75 percent of the Federal funds pro20 vided under the grant in the seventh year of 

21 grant administration; and 

22 (H) 100 percent of the Federal funds pro23 vided under the grant in the eighth and fol24 lowing years of grant administration. 


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1 (2) REDUCED MATCH RATE.—A State that 

2 meets the requirements under subsection (b) may 

3 provide matching funds from non-Federal sources at 

4 a reduced rate. The full reduced matching funds 

5 rate shall be in an amount equal to— 

6 (A) 5 percent of the Federal funds pro7 vided under the grant in the first year of grant 

8 administration; 

9 (B) 5 percent of the Federal funds pro10 vided under the grant in the second year of 

11 grant administration; 

12 (C) 10 percent of the Federal funds pro13 vided under the grant in the third year of grant 

14 administration; 

15 (D) 20 percent of the Federal funds pro16 vided under the grant in the fourth year of 

17 grant administration; 

18 (E) 30 percent of the Federal funds pro19 vided under the grant in the fifth year of grant 

20 administration; 

21 (F) 40 percent of the Federal funds pro22 vided under the grant in the sixth year of grant 

23 administration; 


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1 (G) 50 percent of the Federal funds pro2 vided under the grant in the seventh year of 

3 grant administration; 

4 (H) 75 percent of the Federal funds pro5 vided under the grant in the eighth year of 

6 grant administration; and 

7 (I) 100 percent of the Federal funds pro8 vided under the grant in the ninth and fol9 lowing years of the grant administration. 

10 (b) REDUCED MATCH RATE ELIGIBILITY.—A State 

11 that receives a grant under this subtitle may provide 

12 matching funds from non-Federal sources at the full re13 duced rate under subsection (a)(2) if the State— 

14 (1)(A) offers enrollment in high-quality pre15 kindergarten programs to not less than half of chil16 dren in the State who are— 

17 (i) age 4 on the eligibility determination 

18 date; and 

19 (ii) from families with incomes at or below 

20 200 percent of the poverty line; and 

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

22 to high-quality prekindergarten programs for such 

23 children in the State; and 

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

25 prekindergarten programs to children from moderate 


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1 income families whose income exceeds 200 percent of 

2 the poverty line. 

3 (c) NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES.— 

4 (1) IN CASH.—A State shall provide the match5 ing funds under this section in cash with non-Fed6 eral resources which may include State funding, 

7 local funding, or contributions from philanthropy or 

8 other private sources, or a combination thereof. 

9 (2) FUNDS TO BE CONSIDERED AS MATCHING

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

11 matching funds under this section, not more than 10 

12 percent of the amount of State funds designated for 

13 State prekindergarten programs or to supplement 

14 Head Start programs under the Head Start Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) as of the date of enactment of 

16 this Act, but may not include any funds that are at17 tributed as matching funds, as part of a non-Federal 

18 share, or as a maintenance of effort requirement, for 

19 any other Federal program. 

20 (d) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a State reduces its com22 bined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate ex23 penditures within the State to support early child24 hood education programs for any fiscal year that a 

25 State receives a grant authorized under this subtitle 


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1 relative to the previous fiscal year, the Secretary 

2 shall reduce support for such State under this sub3 title by the same amount as the decline in State and 

4 local effort for such fiscal year. 

5 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re6 quirements of paragraph (1) if— 

7 (A) the Secretary determines that a waiver 

8 would be appropriate due to a precipitous de9 cline in the financial resources of a State as a 

10 result of unforeseen economic hardship or a 

11 natural disaster that has necessitated across12 the-board reductions in State services, including 

13 early childhood education programs; or 

14 (B) due to the circumstances of a State re15 quiring reductions in specific programs, includ16 ing early childhood education, if the State pre17 sents to the Secretary a justification and dem18 onstration why other programs could not be re19 duced and how early childhood programs in the 

20 State will not be disproportionately harmed by 

21 such State action. 

22 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds re23 ceived under this subtitle shall be used to supplement and 

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


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1 expended on public prekindergarten programs in the 

2 State. 

3 SEC. 111. ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY APPLICATIONS. 

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

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

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

7 and containing such information as the State may reason8 ably require. 

9 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under 

10 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

11 (1) PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT.—A de12 scription of how the eligible local entity plans to en13 gage the parents and families of the children such 

14 entity serves and ensure that parents and families of 

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

16 of section 106(a)(2)(A), are aware of the services 

17 provided by the eligible local entity, which shall in18 clude a plan to— 

19 (A) carry out meaningful parent and fam20 ily engagement, through the implementation 

21 and replication of evidence-based or promising 

22 practices and strategies, which shall be coordi23 nated with parent and family engagement strat24 egies supported under the Individuals with Dis25 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) 


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1 and part A of title I and title V of the Elemen2 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.; 7201 et seq.) and strate4 gies in the Head Start Parent, Family, and 

5 Community Engagement Framework, if appli6 cable, to— 

7 (i) provide parents and family mem8 bers with the skills and opportunities nec9 essary to become engaged and effective 

10 partners in their children’s education, par11 ticularly the families of dual language 

12 learners and children with disabilities, 

13 which may include access to family literacy 

14 services; 

15 (ii) improve child development; and 

16 (iii) strengthen relationships among 

17 prekindergarten staff and parents and 

18 family members; and 

19 (B) participate in community outreach to 

20 encourage families with eligible children to par21 ticipate in the eligible local entity’s high-quality 

22 prekindergarten program, including— 

23 (i) homeless children; 

24 (ii) dual language learners; 

25 (iii) children in foster care; 


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1 (iv) children with disabilities; and 

2 (v) migrant children. 

3 (2) COORDINATION AND ALIGNMENT.—A de4 scription of how the eligible local entity will— 

5 (A) coordinate, if applicable, the eligible 

6 local entity’s activities with— 

7 (i) Head Start agencies (consistent 

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

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

10 entity is not a Head Start agency; 

11 (ii) local educational agencies, if the 

12 eligible local entity is not a local edu13 cational agency; 

14 (iii) providers of services under part C 

15 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu16 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 

17 (iv) programs carried out under sec18 tion 619 of the Individuals with Disabil19 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419); and 

20 (v) if feasible, other entities carrying 

21 out early childhood education programs 

22 and services within the area served by the 

23 local educational agency; 

24 (B) develop a process to promote con25 tinuity of developmentally appropriate instrucVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 May 28, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2411.IH H2411

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1 tional programs and shared expectations with 

2 local elementary schools for children’s learning 

3 and development as children transition to kin4 dergarten; 

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

6 joint training, when available, including transi7 tion-related training for school staff and early 

8 childhood education program staff; 

9 (D) establish comprehensive transition 

10 policies and procedures, with applicable elemen11 tary schools and principals, for the children 

12 served by the eligible local entity that support 

13 the school readiness of children transitioning to 

14 kindergarten, including the transfer of early 

15 childhood education program records, with pa16 rental consent; 

17 (E) conduct outreach to parents, families, 

18 and elementary school teachers and principals 

19 to discuss the educational, developmental, and 

20 other needs of children entering kindergarten; 

21 (F) help parents, including parents of chil22 dren who are dual language learners, under23 stand and engage with the instructional and 

24 other services provided by the kindergarten in 


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1 which such child will enroll after participation 

2 in a high-quality prekindergarten program; and 

3 (G) develop and implement a system to in4 crease program participation of underserved 

5 populations of eligible children, especially home6 less children, children eligible for a free or re7 duced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell 

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

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

10 learners, and parents of children with disabil11 ities. 

12 (3) FULL PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN FROM

13 SPECIAL POPULATIONS.—A description of how the 

14 eligible local entity will meet the diverse needs of 

15 children in the community to be served, including 

16 children with disabilities, children whose native lan17 guage is not English, children with other special 

18 needs, children in the State foster care system, and 

19 homeless children. Such description shall dem20 onstrate, at a minimum, how the entity plans to— 

21 (A) ensure the eligible local entity’s high22 quality prekindergarten program is accessible 

23 and appropriate for children with disabilities 

24 and dual language learners; 


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1 (B) establish effective procedures for en2 suring use of evidence-based practices in assess3 ment and instruction, including use of data for 

4 progress monitoring of child performance and 

5 provision of technical assistance support for 

6 staff to ensure fidelity with evidence-based 

7 practices; 

8 (C) establish effective procedures for time9 ly referral of children with disabilities to the 

10 State or local agency described in subparagraph 

11 (B); 

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

13 high-quality prekindergarten program works 

14 with appropriate entities to address the elimi15 nation of barriers to immediate and continuous 

16 enrollment for homeless children; and 

17 (E) ensure access to and continuity of en18 rollment in high-quality prekindergarten pro19 grams for migratory children, if applicable, and 

20 homeless children, including through policies 

21 and procedures that require— 

22 (i) outreach to identify migratory chil23 dren and homeless children; 

24 (ii) immediate enrollment, including 

25 enrollment during the period of time when 


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1 documents typically required for enroll2 ment, including health and immunization 

3 records, proof of eligibility, and other docu4 ments, are obtained; 

5 (iii) continuous enrollment and par6 ticipation in the same high-quality pre7 kindergarten program for a child, even if 

8 the child moves out of the program’s serv9 ice area, if that enrollment and participa10 tion are in the child’s best interest, includ11 ing by providing transportation when nec12 essary; 

13 (iv) professional development for high14 quality prekindergarten program staff re15 garding migratory children and homeless16 ness among families with young children; 

17 and 

18 (v) in serving homeless children, col19 laboration with local educational agency li20 aisons designated under section 

21 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento 

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

23 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), and local homeless 

24 service providers. 


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1 (4) ACCESSIBLE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES.— 

2 A description of how the eligible local entity plans to 

3 provide accessible comprehensive services, described 

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

5 entity serves. Such description shall provide informa6 tion on how the entity will— 

7 (A) conduct a data-driven community as8 sessment in coordination with members of the 

9 community, including parents and community 

10 organizations, or use a recently conducted data11 driven assessment, which— 

12 (i) may involve an external partner 

13 with expertise in conducting such needs 

14 analysis, to determine the most appro15 priate social or other support services to 

16 offer through the eligible local entity’s on17 site comprehensive services to children who 

18 participate in high-quality prekindergarten 

19 programs; and 

20 (ii) shall consider the resources avail21 able at the school, local educational agen22 cy, and community levels to address the 

23 needs of the community and improve child 

24 outcomes; and 


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1 (B) have a coordinated system to facilitate 

2 the screening, referral, and provision of services 

3 related to health, nutrition, mental health, dis4 ability, and family support for children served 

5 by the eligible local entity. 

6 (5) WORKFORCE.—A description of how the eli7 gible local entity plans to support the instructional 

8 staff of such entity’s high-quality prekindergarten 

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

10 to provide high-quality professional development, or 

11 facilitate the provision of high-quality professional 

12 development through an external partner with exper13 tise and a demonstrated track record of success, 

14 based on scientifically valid research, that will im15 prove the knowledge and skills of high-quality pre16 kindergarten teachers and staff through activities, 

17 which may include— 

18 (A) acquiring content knowledge and learn19 ing teaching strategies needed to provide effec20 tive instruction that addresses the State’s early 

21 learning and development standards described 

22 under section 105(1), including professional 

23 training to support the social and emotional de24 velopment of children; 


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1 (B) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

2 teachers and staff to pursue specialized training 

3 in early childhood development; 

4 (C) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

5 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

6 skills to provide instruction and appropriate 

7 language and support services to increase the 

8 English language skills of dual language learn9 ers; 

10 (D) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

11 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 

12 skills to provide developmentally appropriate in13 struction for children with disabilities; 

14 (E) promoting classroom management; 

15 (F) providing high-quality induction and 

16 support for incoming high-quality prekinder17 garten teachers and staff in high-quality pre18 kindergarten programs, including through the 

19 use of mentoring programs and coaching that 

20 have a demonstrated track record of success; 

21 (G) promoting the acquisition of relevant 

22 credentials, including in ways that support ca23 reer advancement through career ladders; and 

24 (H) enabling high-quality prekindergarten 

25 teachers and staff to acquire the knowledge and 


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1 skills to provide culturally competent instruc2 tion for children from diverse backgrounds. 

3 SEC. 112. REQUIRED SUBGRANT ACTIVITIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible local entity that re5 ceives a subgrant under section 107(b) shall use subgrant 

6 funds to implement the elements of a high-quality pre7 kindergarten program for the children described in section 

8 107(b). 

9 (b) COORDINATION.— 

10 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PARTNER11 SHIPS WITH LOCAL EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

12 PROGRAMS.—A local educational agency that re13 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall provide an 

14 assurance that the local educational agency will 

15 enter into strong partnerships with local early child16 hood education programs, including programs sup17 ported through the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 

18 et seq.). 

19 (2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITIES THAT ARE NOT

20 LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—An eligible local 

21 entity that is not a local educational agency that re22 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall provide an 

23 assurance that such entity will enter into strong 

24 partnerships with local educational agencies. 


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1 SEC. 113. REPORT AND EVALUATION. 

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

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

4 manner and containing such information as the Secretary 

5 may reasonably require. 

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

7 (a) shall contain, at a minimum— 

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

9 State has used the funds made available through the 

10 grant and a report of the expenditures made with 

11 the funds; 

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

13 providing access to high-quality prekindergarten pro14 grams for children eligible for such services, as de15 termined by the State, from families with incomes at 

16 or below 200 percent of the poverty line, including 

17 the percentage of funds spent on children from fami18 lies with incomes— 

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

20 line; 

21 (B) at or below between 101 and 150 per22 cent of the poverty line; and 

23 (C) at or below between 151 and 200 per24 cent of the poverty line; 


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

2 achieving the State’s performance targets, described 

3 in section 109; 

4 (4) data on the number of high-quality pre5 kindergarten program teachers and staff in the 

6 State (including teacher turnover rates and teacher 

7 compensation levels compared to teachers in elemen8 tary schools and secondary schools), according to the 

9 setting in which such teachers and staff work (which 

10 settings shall include, at a minimum, Head Start 

11 programs, public prekindergarten, and child care 

12 programs) who received training or education during 

13 the period of the grant and remained in the early 

14 childhood education program field; 

15 (5) data on the kindergarten readiness of chil16 dren in the State; 

17 (6) a description of the State’s progress in ef18 fectively using Federal, State, and local public funds 

19 and private funds, for early childhood education; 

20 (7) the number and percentage of children in 

21 the State participating in high-quality prekinder22 garten programs, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 

23 family income, child age, disability, whether the chil24 dren are homeless children, and whether the children 

25 are dual language learners; 


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

2 quality of infant and toddler care in the State; 

3 (9) the number of operational minutes per week 

4 and per year for each eligible local entity that re5 ceives a subgrant; 

6 (10) the local educational agency and zip code 

7 in which each eligible local entity that receives a 

8 subgrant operates; 

9 (11) information, for each of the local edu10 cational agencies described in paragraph (10), on 

11 the percentage of the costs of the public early child12 hood education programs that is funded from Fed13 eral, from State, and from local sources, including 

14 the percentages from specific funding programs; 

15 (12) data on the number and percentage of 

16 children in the State participating in public kinder17 garten programs, disaggregated by race, family in18 come, child age, disability, whether the children are 

19 homeless children, and whether the children are dual 

20 language learners, with information on whether such 

21 programs are offered— 

22 (A) for a full day; and 

23 (B) at no cost to families; 

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

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1 cable, to meet the baccalaureate degree requirement 

2 for high-quality prekindergarten programs, as de3 fined in section 102; and 

4 (14) information on— 

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

6 similar disciplinary action, of children in the 

7 State participating in high-quality prekinder8 garten programs, disaggregated by race, eth9 nicity, family income, child age, and disability; 

10 (B) the State’s progress in establishing 

11 policies on effective behavior management strat12 egies and training that promote positive social 

13 and emotional development to eliminate expul14 sions and suspensions of children participating 

15 in high-quality prekindergarten programs; and 

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

17 learning services to children in the State par18 ticipating in high-quality prekindergarten pro19 grams who have been suspended. 

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

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

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

23 Human Services, and the State Advisory Council on Early 

24 Childhood Education and Care. 


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1 (d) COOPERATION.—An eligible local entity that re2 ceives a subgrant under this subtitle shall cooperate with 

3 all Federal and State efforts to evaluate the effectiveness 

4 of the program the entity implements with subgrant funds. 

5 (e) NATIONAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall compile 

6 and summarize the annual State reports described under 

7 subsection (c) and shall prepare and submit an annual re8 port to Congress that includes a summary of such State 

9 reports. 

10 SEC. 114. PROHIBITION OF REQUIRED PARTICIPATION OR 

11 USE OF FUNDS FOR ASSESSMENTS. 

12 (a) PROHIBITION ON REQUIRED PARTICIPATION.—A 

13 State receiving a grant under this subtitle shall not re14 quire any child to participate in any Federal, State, local, 

15 or private early childhood education program, including a 

16 high-quality prekindergarten program. 

17 (b) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR ASSESS18 MENT.—A State receiving a grant under this subtitle and 

19 an eligible local entity receiving a subgrant under this sub20 title shall not use any grant or subgrant funds to carry 

21 out any of the following activities: 

22 (1) An assessment that provides rewards or 

23 sanctions for individual children, teachers, or prin24 cipals. 


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1 (2) An assessment that is used as the primary 

2 or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. 

3 (3) Evaluating children, other than for the pur4 poses of— 

5 (A) improving instruction or the classroom 

6 environment; 

7 (B) targeting professional development; 

8 (C) determining the need for health, men9 tal health, disability, or family support services; 

10 (D) program evaluation for the purposes of 

11 program improvement and parent information; 

12 and 

13 (E) improving parent and family engage14 ment. 

15 SEC. 115. COORDINATION WITH HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

16 (a) INCREASED ACCESS FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN.— 

17 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and 

19 Human Services shall develop a process— 

20 (1) for use in the event that Head Start pro21 grams funded under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 9831 et seq.) operate in States or regions that have 

23 achieved sustained universal, voluntary access to 4- 

24 year-old children who reside within the State and 

25 who are from families with incomes at or below 200 


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1 percent of the poverty line to high-quality prekinder2 garten programs; and 

3 (2) for how such Head Start programs will 

4 begin converting slots for children who are age 4 on 

5 the eligibility determination date to children who are 

6 age 3 on the eligibility determination date, or, when 

7 appropriate, converting Head Start programs into 

8 Early Head Start programs to serve infants and tod9 dlers. 

10 (b) COMMUNITY NEED AND RESOURCES.—The proc11 ess described in subsection (a) shall— 

12 (1) be carried out on a case-by-case basis and 

13 shall ensure that sufficient resources and time are 

14 allocated for the development of such a process so 

15 that no child or cohort is excluded from currently 

16 available services; and 

17 (2) ensure that any conversion shall be based 

18 on community need and not on the aggregate num19 ber of children served in a State or region that has 

20 achieved sustained, universal, voluntary access to 

21 high-quality prekindergarten programs. 

22 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT AND NOTICE.—Not fewer than 

23 90 days after the development of the proposed process de24 scribed in subsection (a), the Secretary and the Secretary 

25 of Health and Human Services shall publish a notice deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 May 28, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2411.IH H2411

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1 scribing such proposed process for conversion in the Fed2 eral Register providing at least 90 days for public com3 ment. The Secretaries shall review and consider public 

4 comments prior to finalizing the process for conversion of 

5 Head Start slots and programs. 

6 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Concurrently with 

7 publishing a notice in the Federal Register as described 

8 in subsection (c), the Secretaries shall provide a report 

9 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 

11 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate that pro12 vides a detailed description of the proposed process de13 scribed in subsection (a), including a description of the 

14 degree to which Head Start programs are providing State15 funded high-quality prekindergarten programs as a result 

16 of the grant opportunity provided under this subtitle in 

17 States where Head Start programs are eligible for conver18 sion described in subsection (a). 

19 SEC. 116. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN PROGRAM ADMINIS20 TRATION. 

21 In providing technical assistance to carry out activi22 ties under this subtitle, the Secretary shall coordinate that 

23 technical assistance, in appropriate cases, with technical 

24 assistance provided by the Secretary of Health and 

25 Human Services to carry out the programs authorized 


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

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

3 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and the maternal, infant and early 

4 childhood home visiting programs assisted under section 

5 511 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711). 

6 SEC. 117. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 this subtitle— 

9 (1) $1,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

10 (2) $3,250,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

11 (3) $5,780,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

12 (4) $7,580,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

13 (5) $8,960,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 

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

15 fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

16 Subtitle B—Prekindergarten 

17 Development Grants 

18 SEC. 121. PREKINDERGARTEN DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

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

20 consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 

21 Services, shall award competitive grants to States, local 

22 educational agencies, or other local government entities 

23 that wish to increase their capacity and build the infra24 structure within the State to offer high-quality prekinder25 garten programs. 


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1 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES.—A State that is not re2 ceiving funds under section 105 may compete for grant 

3 funds under this subtitle if the State provides an assur4 ance that the State will, through the support of grant 

5 funds awarded under this subtitle, meet the eligibility re6 quirements of section 105 not later than 3 years after the 

7 date the State first receives grant funds under this sub8 title. 

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

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

11 3 years. Such grants shall not be renewed. 

12 (d) APPLICATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Governor, or chief execu14 tive officer of a State, a local educational agency, or 

15 another local government entity that desires to re16 ceive a grant under this subtitle shall submit an ap17 plication to the Secretary of Education at such time, 

18 in such manner, and accompanied by such informa19 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require, includ20 ing, if applicable, a description of how the State 

21 plans to become eligible for grants under section 105 

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

23 first receives grant funds under this subtitle. 

24 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF STATE APPLICATION.— 

25 In developing an application for a grant under this 


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1 subtitle, a State shall consult with the State Advi2 sory Council on Early Childhood Education and 

3 Care and incorporate their recommendations, where 

4 applicable. 

5 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

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

7 grant under this subtitle, a State, local educational 

8 agency, or other local government entity shall con9 tribute for the activities for which the grant was 

10 awarded non-Federal matching funds in an amount 

11 equal to not less than 20 percent of the amount of 

12 the grant. 

13 (2) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—To satisfy the re14 quirement of paragraph (1), a State, local edu15 cational agency, or other local government entity 

16 may use— 

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

18 State funding, local funding, or contributions 

19 from philanthropy or other private sources, or 

20 a combination of such resources; or 

21 (B) in-kind contributions. 

22 (3) FINANCIAL HARDSHIP WAIVER.—The Sec23 retary may waive paragraph (1) or reduce the 

24 amount of matching funds required under that para25 graph for a State, local educational agency, or other 


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1 local government entity that has submitted an appli2 cation for a grant under this subsection if the State, 

3 local educational agency, or other local government 

4 entity demonstrates, in the application, a need for 

5 such a waiver or reduction due to extreme financial 

6 hardship, as determined by the Secretary. 

7 (f) SUBGRANTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State, local educational 

9 agency, or other local government entity awarded a 

10 grant under this subtitle may use the grant funds to 

11 award subgrants to eligible local entities, as defined 

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

13 grant. 

14 (2) SUBGRANTEES.—An eligible local entity 

15 awarded a subgrant under paragraph (1) shall com16 ply with the requirements of this subtitle relating to 

17 grantees, as appropriate. 

18 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec20 tion— 

21 (1) $750,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; and 

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

23 fiscal years 2017 through 2025. 


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1 TITLE II—EARLY LEARNING 

2 QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS 

3 SEC. 201. PURPOSES. 

4 The purposes of this title are to— 

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

6 high-quality early childhood education and care pro7 gramming for infants and toddlers; 

8 (2) support a higher quality of, and increase ca9 pacity for, that programming in both child care cen10 ters and family child care homes; 

11 (3) encourage the provision of comprehensive, 

12 coordinated full-day services and supports for in13 fants and toddlers; and 

14 (4) increase access to appropriate supports so 

15 children with disabilities and other special popu16 lations can fully participate in high-quality early 

17 education programs. 

18 SEC. 202. EARLY LEARNING QUALITY PARTNERSHIPS. 

19 The Head Start Act is amended— 

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

21 9840a(e)) to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(e) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—The Sec23 retary shall award grants under this section on a competi24 tive basis to applicants meeting the criteria in subsection 

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


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1 early, continuous, and comprehensive childhood develop2 ment and family services and entities that agree to partner 

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

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

5 (2) by inserting after section 645A (42 U.S.C. 

6 9840a) the following: 

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

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

9 to Early Head Start agencies to partner with center-based 

10 or family child care providers, particularly those that re11 ceive support under the Child Care and Development 

12 Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), that agree 

13 to meet program performance standards that are de14 scribed in section 641A(a)(1) and Early Head Start 

15 standards described in 645A are applicable to the ages of 

16 children served with funding and technical assistance from 

17 the Early Head Start agency. 

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

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary shall award grants 

21 under this section in a manner consistent with sec22 tion 645A(e). 

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

24 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give 

25 priority to applicants— 


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1 ‘‘(A) that propose to create strong align2 ment of programs with maternal, infant and 

3 early childhood home visiting programs assisted 

4 under section 511 of the Social Security Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 711), State-funded prekindergarten 

6 programs, programs carried out under the 

7 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 

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

9 programs supported under this Act, to create a 

10 strong continuum of high-quality services for 

11 children from birth to school entry; and 

12 ‘‘(B) that seek to work with child care pro13 viders across settings, including center-based 

14 and home-based programs. 

15 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION.—From funds appro17 priated to carry out this section, the Secretary 

18 shall reserve— 

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

20 funds for Indian Head Start programs 

21 that serve young children; 

22 ‘‘(ii) not less than 4.5 percent for mi23 grant and seasonal Head Start programs 

24 that serve young children; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) not less than .2 percent for pro2 grams funded under clause (iv) or (v) of 

3 section 640(a)(2)(B). 

4 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION AMONG STATES.—The 

5 Secretary shall allocate funds appropriated to 

6 carry out this section and not reserved under 

7 subparagraph (A) among the States proportion8 ally based on the number of young children 

9 from families whose income is below the poverty 

10 line residing in such States. 

11 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF CHILDREN.— 

12 ‘‘(1) Partnerships formed through assistance 

13 provided under this section may serve children 

14 through age 3; and 

15 ‘‘(2) the standards applied to children in sub16 section (a) shall be consistent with those applied to 

17 3-year-old children under this subchapter. 

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

19 that receives a grant under this section shall— 

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

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

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

23 provider meets the program performance standards 

24 described in subsection (a) through activities that 

25 may include— 


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

2 child care provider’s programs through financial 

3 support; 

4 ‘‘(B) providing training, technical assist5 ance, and support to the provider in order to 

6 help the provider meet the program perform7 ance standards, which may include supporting 

8 program and partner staff in earning a child 

9 development associate credential, associate’s de10 gree, or baccalaureate degree in early childhood 

11 education or a closely related field for working 

12 with infants and toddlers; and 

13 ‘‘(C) blending funds received under the 

14 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 

15 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and the Early 

16 Head Start program carried out under section 

17 645A in order to provide high-quality child 

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

19 performance standards; 

20 ‘‘(2) develop and implement a proposal to re21 cruit and enter into the contract with a center-based 

22 or family child care provider, particularly a provider 

23 that serves children who receive assistance under the 

24 Child Care and Development Block Grant of 1990 

25 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(3) create a clear and realizable timeline to in2 crease the quality and capacity of a center-based or 

3 family child care provider so that the provider meets 

4 the program performance standards described in 

5 subsection (a); and 

6 ‘‘(4) align activities and services provided 

7 through funding under this section with the Head 

8 Start Child Outcomes Framework. 

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

10 this section, the Secretary shall establish standards to en11 sure that the responsibility and expectations of the Early 

12 Head Start Agency and the partner child care providers 

13 are clearly defined. 

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

15 provider that receives assistance through a grant provided 

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

17 months, from the designation renewal requirements under 

18 section 641(c). 

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

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

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

22 of Early Head Start agencies to determine the extent of 

23 barriers to entering into Early Learning Quality Partner24 ship agreements on Early Head Start agencies and on 

25 child care providers, and submit this information, with 


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1 suggested steps to overcome such barriers, in a report to 

2 the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

3 House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 

4 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, including 

5 a detailed description of the degree to which Early Head 

6 Start agencies are utilizing the funds provided. 

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

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

10 ‘‘(1) $1,430,376,000 for fiscal year 2016; and 

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

12 of fiscal years 2017 through 2025.’’. 

13 TITLE III—AUTHORIZATIONS OF 

14 APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

15 EDUCATION OF CHILDREN 

16 WITH DISABILITIES 

17 SEC. 301. PRESCHOOL GRANTS. 

18 Section 619(j) of the Individuals with Disabilities 

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

20 as follows: 

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

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

23 $418,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. INFANTS AND TODDLERS WITH DISABILITIES. 

2 Section 644 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu3 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1444) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 644. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

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

7 2016.’’. 

8 TITLE IV—MATERNAL, INFANT, 

9 AND EARLY CHILDHOOD 

10 HOME VISITING PROGRAM 

11 SEC. 401. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

12 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 

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

14 kindergarten, children’s development rapidly pro15 gresses at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent 

16 stage of life; 

17 (2) as reported by the National Academy of 

18 Sciences in 2001, striking disparities exist in what 

19 children know and can do that are evident well be20 fore they enter kindergarten; these differences are 

21 strongly associated with social and economic cir22 cumstances, and they are predictive of subsequent 

23 academic performance; 

24 (3) research has consistently demonstrated that 

25 investments in high-quality programs that serve in26 fants and toddlers better positions those children for 


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1 success in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary 

2 education as well as helping children develop the 

3 critical physical, emotional, social, and cognitive 

4 skills that they will need for the rest of their lives; 

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

6 toddlers living in the United States and 49 percent 

7 of these children came from low-income families liv8 ing with incomes at or below 200 percent of the 

9 Federal poverty guidelines; 

10 (5) the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood 

11 Home Visiting (MIECHV) program was authorized 

12 by Congress to facilitate collaboration and partner13 ship at the Federal, State, and community levels to 

14 improve health and development outcomes for at-risk 

15 children, including those from low-income families, 

16 through evidence-based home visiting programs; 

17 (6) MIECHV is an evidence-based policy initia18 tive and its authorizing legislation requires that at 

19 least 75 percent of funds dedicated to the program 

20 must support programs to implement evidence-based 

21 home visiting models, which includes the home-based 

22 model of Early Head Start; and 

23 (7) Congress should continue to provide re24 sources to MIECHV to support the work of States 


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1 to help at-risk families voluntarily receive home vis2 its from nurses and social workers to— 

3 (A) promote maternal, infant, and child 

4 health; 

5 (B) improve school readiness and achieve6 ment; 

7 (C) prevent potential child abuse or neglect 

8 and injuries; 

9 (D) support family economic self-suffi10 ciency; 

11 (E) reduce crime or domestic violence; and 

12 (F) improve coordination or referrals for 

13 community resources and supports. 

Æ 


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