I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1971 

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 

make grants to eligible entities to carry out full-day kindergarten programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2019 

Mr. GALLEGO (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. 

O’HALLERAN, and Mr. STANTON) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant 

program to make grants to eligible entities to carry out 

full-day kindergarten programs, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Universal Full-Day 

5 Kindergarten Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

8 grant program to make grants on a competitive basis to 


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1 eligible entities to carry out full-day kindergarten pro2 grams. 

3 (b) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec4 tion, an eligible entity shall submit an application at such 

5 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 

6 the Secretary may require. 

7 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

8 a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 

9 establish or maintain a full-day kindergarten program— 

10 (1) that permits children ages 4 through 6, in11 clusive, to be enrolled in such program; 

12 (2) that does not require payment for participa13 tion in such program; 

14 (3) that is offered for the full school year; 

15 (4) that is taught by teachers who meet the 

16 professional qualifications, including licensure and 

17 certification requirements, for kindergarten teachers 

18 in the State or Tribal organization in which the eli19 gible entity is located; 

20 (5) that includes academic standards that pre21 pare students to meet grade-level benchmarks; 

22 (6) that may include standards related to cog23 nitive development, socio-emotional learning, phys24 ical and behavioral skills development, and rec25 reational activity; and 


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1 (7) that, if supported by paraprofessionals, is 

2 supported by paraprofessionals who meet the quali3 fications outlined in the Elementary and Secondary 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 

5 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re7 ceives a grant under this section shall provide, from 

8 non-Federal sources, an amount equal to not less 

9 than 20 percent of the amount of the grant, which 

10 may be provided in cash or in-kind, to carry out the 

11 activities supported by the grant. 

12 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive all or 

13 part of the requirement under paragraph (1) for any 

14 fiscal year for an eligible entity if the Secretary de15 termines that applying the requirement would result 

16 in serious hardship or an inability to carry out the 

17 activities described in subsection (c). 

18 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

20 Secretary shall conduct a study and submit a report to 

21 Congress that— 

22 (1) specifies the number of State educational 

23 agencies, local educational agencies, and Tribal orga24 nizations that offer full-day kindergarten programs; 

25 and 


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1 (2) assesses the availability of such programs 

2 with respect to each State. 

3 (f) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—For each fiscal year, 

4 the Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent of the 

5 funds made available to carry out this section— 

6 (1) to provide technical assistance to potential 

7 applicants and to grantees; and 

8 (2) to carry out the requirements of subsection 

9 (e). 

10 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2020 

13 through 2025. 

14 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) BUREAU-FUNDED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘Bu16 reau-funded school’’ has the meaning given that 

17 term in section 1141 of the Education Amendments 

18 of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021). 

19 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti20 ty’’ means— 

21 (A) a State educational agency; 

22 (B) a local educational agency; 

23 (C) a Tribal government; or 

24 (D) a Bureau-funded school. 


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1 (3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu2 cational agency’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State educational 

3 agency’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec4 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

6 (4) FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM.—The 

7 term ‘‘full-day kindergarten program’’ means a kin8 dergarten program with a continuous duration of 

9 not less than 5 hours per day. 

10 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Education. 

12 (6) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

13 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 

14 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu15 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

Æ 


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