I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6302 

To provide professional development for elementary school principals in early 

childhood education and development. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 

Mr. ALTMIRE (for himself and Mr. HIMES) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To provide professional development for elementary school 

principals in early childhood education and development. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Early Learning Align5 ment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ELEMENTARY 

7 SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD 

8 EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title II of the Elemen10 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 


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1 6601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘Subpart 6—Professional Development for Elemen4 tary School Principals in Early Childhood Edu5 cation and Development 

6 ‘‘SEC. 2161. PURPOSE. 

7 ‘‘The purpose of this subpart is to improve the knowl8 edge of elementary school principals in areas related to 

9 early childhood education and development in order to— 

10 ‘‘(1) create high quality early learning environ11 ments; 

12 ‘‘(2) provide a continuum of learning through 

13 the third grade with developmentally effective and 

14 appropriate curricula and teaching practices; and 

15 ‘‘(3) establish partnerships and collaboration 

16 with community-based early childhood education 

17 providers and families to better support— 

18 ‘‘(A) learning at each stage; 

19 ‘‘(B) effective transition among settings; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(C) continuous family engagement. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2162. DEFINITION OF PRINCIPAL COMPETENCIES IN 

2 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND DEVEL3 OPMENT. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term ‘prin5 cipal competencies in early childhood education and devel6 opment’ means the skills that— 

7 ‘‘(1) elementary school principals must know 

8 and be able to do; and 

9 ‘‘(2) are acquired through high quality profes10 sional development in early childhood education and 

11 developmentally appropriate practice. 

12 ‘‘(b) INCLUSIONS.—The principal competencies in 

13 early childhood education and development include— 

14 ‘‘(1) supporting an expanded continuum of 

15 learning through the third grade to ensure an effec16 tive transition from early learning or home settings 

17 to the primary school years; 

18 ‘‘(2) engaging the school community to partner 

19 with early learning programs, and working with fam20 ilies to set a shared vision for understanding early 

21 childhood development; 

22 ‘‘(3) supporting teachers through strong in23 structional leadership; 

24 ‘‘(4) providing safe and supportive early learn25 ing environments that focus on the needs of the 

26 whole child, including the intellectual, social, emoVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:41 Oct 12, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6302.IH H6302

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1 tional, physical, and nutritional well-being of chil2 dren; and 

3 ‘‘(5) utilizing multiple measures of develop4 mentally appropriate assessment and acquiring the 

5 ability to manage and use data effectively to make 

6 instructional decisions. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 2163. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

8 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO PARTNERSHIPS.— 

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

10 to award grants, on a competitive basis, to partner11 ships described in paragraph (2) to enable the part12 nerships to carry out the authorized activities de13 scribed in subsection (b). 

14 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIPS.—A partnership referred 

15 to in paragraph (1) shall consist of— 

16 ‘‘(A) a public or private entity with a dem17 onstrated capacity to provide professional devel18 opment for elementary school principals; 

19 ‘‘(B) one or more public agencies, includ20 ing— 

21 ‘‘(i) a local educational agency; 

22 ‘‘(ii) a State educational agency; 

23 ‘‘(iii) a State human services agency; 

24 ‘‘(iv) a State lead agency admin25 istering a program under the Child Care 


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1 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 

2 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(v) a public agency administering a 

4 State funded prekindergarten program; or 

5 ‘‘(vi) a Head Start agency, including 

6 an Early Head Start agency; and 

7 ‘‘(C) one or more early childhood education 

8 organizations that provide professional develop9 ment to early childhood education providers. 

10 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award a 

11 grant under this subsection for a period of not less 

12 than 3 years. 

13 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED USES.—Each partnership re15 ceiving a grant under this subpart shall use the 

16 grant funds— 

17 ‘‘(A) to carry out professional development 

18 to help elementary school principals acquire the 

19 principal competencies in early childhood edu20 cation and development; 

21 ‘‘(B) to gain a knowledge base and capac22 ity to provide high quality early childhood edu23 cation; and 

24 ‘‘(C) to work collaboratively with early 

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1 viders, and families in creating a continuum of 

2 high quality development and learning for chil3 dren in the community and school settings. 

4 ‘‘(2) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—The activities 

5 described in paragraph (1) may include providing 

6 professional development programs for elementary 

7 school principals, including mentoring programs and 

8 other means of professional learning, in— 

9 ‘‘(A) early childhood education and devel10 opment in all domains (including language arts 

11 and literacy, mathematics, emotional develop12 ment, social development, approaches to learn13 ing, physical development, science, and creative 

14 arts), and the continuity of standards and high 

15 quality curriculum and teaching practices from 

16 prekindergarten through the third grade, with 

17 emphasis on meeting the needs of children with 

18 disabilities and English language learners; 

19 ‘‘(B) safe and supportive early learning en20 vironments that focus on the social, emotional, 

21 and cognitive needs of children; 

22 ‘‘(C) collaborating with early childhood 

23 education providers and other community based 

24 organizations to provide multiple educational 

25 and social service programs to meet the needs 


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1 of children in prekindergarten through the third 

2 grade related to learning and development; and 

3 ‘‘(D) providing ongoing transition services 

4 for children through active family engagement. 

5 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec6 tion the Secretary shall give priority to supporting profes7 sional development programs that target opportunities for 

8 elementary school principals— 

9 ‘‘(1) to participate in induction and mentoring 

10 programs for principals during the principals’ first 5 

11 years of employment as a principal; 

12 ‘‘(2) to better understand ways to enhance fam13 ily engagement and transition strategies, improve 

14 transition services, and work more collaboratively 

15 with community-based early childhood education 

16 providers; 

17 ‘‘(3) to create a continuum of high quality 

18 teaching and learning for children in prekinder19 garten through the third grade; and 

20 ‘‘(4) to participate in ongoing professional de21 velopment, which may include mentoring programs 

22 for veteran principals in the education field. 

23 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each partnership desiring 

25 a grant under this subpart shall submit an applicaVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:41 Oct 12, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6302.IH H6302

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1 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

2 and containing such information as the Secretary 

3 may require. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS REQUIRED.—Each application 

5 submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1) 

6 shall include— 

7 ‘‘(A) a description of the professional de8 velopment for elementary school principals that 

9 will be provided under the grant, including how 

10 the principals will access professional develop11 ment; 

12 ‘‘(B) a description of the professional de13 velopment described in subparagraph (A) that 

14 will be provided in rural areas if applicable; 

15 ‘‘(C) how the professional development will 

16 address— 

17 ‘‘(i) child development and learning 

18 and the relationship of such development 

19 and learning to providing— 

20 ‘‘(I) safe, supportive, and engag21 ing learning environments; and 

22 ‘‘(II) support for instructional 

23 and educational staff in using develop24 mentally appropriate curricula, assess25 ments, and other practices; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) outreach and engagement of 

2 families in their child’s learning; 

3 ‘‘(iii) opportunities to collaborate with 

4 community based organizations on con5 tinuity of standards, curricula, family edu6 cation, and transition services from com7 munity based settings to schools and from 

8 year to year; 

9 ‘‘(iv) collaborative planning to support 

10 developmentally appropriate interactions 

11 between teachers, children, and the fami12 lies of children; and 

13 ‘‘(v) sustainability of the ongoing pro14 fessional development upon completion of 

15 the grant term. 

16 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—Each partnership that re18 ceives a grant under this section shall conduct an 

19 ongoing evaluation to— 

20 ‘‘(A) assess the effectiveness of the pro21 grams and activities carried out under the 

22 grant; 

23 ‘‘(B) assess whether professional develop24 ment programs for elementary school principals 


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1 in early childhood education may lead to im2 proved school performance; and 

3 ‘‘(C) determine how effective professional 

4 development programs and activities can be rep5 licated. 

6 ‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION.—Using funds made 

7 available under this subpart, the Secretary shall es8 tablish a panel of leading experts in elementary and 

9 early childhood education, including researchers, ele10 mentary school principals, and classroom practi11 tioners, to— 

12 ‘‘(A) identify best practices in professional 

13 development for elementary school principals in 

14 early childhood education, and review effective 

15 coordination of professional development among 

16 the partnerships receiving grants under this 

17 subpart; and 

18 ‘‘(B) disseminate to the public the latest 

19 research and findings in professional develop20 ment for elementary school principals in early 

21 childhood education, including through reports 

22 and technical assistance. 

23 ‘‘(f) INAPPLICABILITY.—The provisions of subparts 1 

24 through 5 shall not apply to this subpart. 


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1 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

3 necessary to carry out this subpart for fiscal year 2011 

4 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

6 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

7 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

8 to section 2151 the following: 

‘‘SUBPART 6—PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PRINCIPALS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

‘‘Sec. 2161. Purpose. 

‘‘Sec. 2162. Definition of principal competencies in early childhood education 

and development. 

‘‘Sec. 2163. Grant program authorized.’’. 

Æ 


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