II 

Calendar No. 104 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 556 

To reauthorize the Head Start Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2007 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. ENZI, Mr. DODD, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. HATCH, and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

MARCH 29, 2007 

Reported by Mr. KENNEDY, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Head Start Act, 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 ‘‘Head Start for School 

5 Readiness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

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

3 is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

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

6 school readiness of low-income children by enhancing their 

7 cognitive and social development— 

8 ‘‘(1) with a learning environment that supports 

9 cognitive development (including the growth of lan10 guage, pre-literacy, and premathematics skills) and 

11 the growth of social, emotional, and physical skills; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(2) through the provision to low-income chil14 dren and their families of health, educational, nutri15 tional, social, and other services that are determined, 

16 based on family needs assessments, to be nec17 essary.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

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

20 is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(including a 

22 community-based organization, as defined in section 

23 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

24 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801))’’ after ‘‘nonprofit’’; 

25 (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting ‘‘, includ26 ing financial literacy,’’ after ‘‘Parent literacy’’; 


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1 (3) in paragraph (17), by striking ‘‘Mariana Is2 lands,’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘Mariana 

3 Islands.’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(18) The term ‘deficiency’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) a systemic or substantial material 

7 failure of an agency in an area of performance 

8 that the Secretary determines involves— 

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

10 civil rights of children or staff; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a denial to parents of the exer12 cise of their full roles and responsibilities 

13 related to program operations; 

14 ‘‘(iii) a failure to comply with stand15 ards related to early childhood development 

16 and health services, family and community 

17 partnerships, or program design and man18 agement; 

19 ‘‘(iv) the misuse of funds under this 

20 subchapter; 

21 ‘‘(v) loss of legal status or financial 

22 viability, loss of permits, debarment from 

23 receiving Federal grants or contracts, or 

24 the improper use of Federal funds; or 


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1 ‘‘(vi) failure to meet any other Fed2 eral or State requirement that the agency 

3 has shown an unwillingness or inability to 

4 correct, after notice from the Secretary, 

5 within the period specified; 

6 ‘‘(B) systemic failure of the board of direc7 tors of an agency to fully exercise its legal and 

8 fiduciary responsibilities; 

9 ‘‘(C) substantial failure of an agency to 

10 meet the administrative requirements of section 

11 644(b); 

12 ‘‘(D) failure of an agency to demonstrate 

13 that the agency attempted to meet the coordi14 nation and collaboration requirements with enti15 ties described in section 640(a)(5)(D)(ii)(I); or 

16 ‘‘(E) having an unresolved area of non17 compliance. 

18 ‘‘(19) The term ‘homeless child’ means a child 

19 described in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento 

20 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)). 

21 ‘‘(20) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 

22 has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of 

23 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 1001(a)). 


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1 ‘‘(21) The term ‘interrater reliability’ means 

2 the extent to which 2 or more independent raters or 

3 observers consistently obtain the same result when 

4 using the same assessment tool. 

5 ‘‘(22) The term ‘limited English proficient’, 

6 used with respect to a child, means a child— 

7 ‘‘(A) who is enrolled or preparing to enroll 

8 in a Head Start program, Early Head Start 

9 program, or other early care and education pro10 gram; 

11 ‘‘(B)(i) who was not born in the United 

12 States or whose native language is a language 

13 other than English; 

14 ‘‘(ii)(I) who is a Native American, Alaska 

15 Native, or a native resident of an outlying area 

16 (as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary 

17 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 7801)); and 

19 ‘‘(II) who comes from an environment 

20 where a language other than English has had 

21 a significant impact on the child’s level of 

22 English language proficiency; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) who is migratory, whose native lan24 guage is a language other than English, and 


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1 who comes from an environment where a lan2 guage other than English is dominant; and 

3 ‘‘(C) whose difficulties in speaking or un4 derstanding the English language may be suffi5 cient to deny such child— 

6 ‘‘(i) the ability to successfully achieve 

7 in a classroom in which the language of in8 struction is English; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the opportunity to participate 

10 fully in society. 

11 ‘‘(23) The term ‘unresolved area of noncompli12 ance’ means failure to correct a noncompliance item 

13 within 120 days, or within such additional time (if 

14 any) authorized by the Secretary, after receiving 

15 from the Secretary notice of such noncompliance 

16 item, pursuant to section 641A(d).’’. 

17 SEC. 4. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PRO18 GRAMS. 

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

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

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

22 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

24 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 639. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap3 propriated for carrying out the provisions of this sub4 chapter $7,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, 

5 $7,650,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, $7,995,000,000 for 

6 fiscal year 2010, and such sums as may be necessary for 

7 each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012. 

8 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC PROGRAMS.—From the amount ap9 propriated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 

10 available to carry out research, demonstration, and evalua11 tion activities, including longitudinal studies under section 

12 649, not more than $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and 

13 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

14 2009 through 2012, of which not more than $7,000,000 

15 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 shall be avail16 able to carry out impact studies under section 649(g).’’. 

17 SEC. 6. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS. 

18 (a) ALLOTMENT.—Section 640(a) of the Head Start 

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

20 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) Indian Head Start programs, services for 

24 children with disabilities, and migrant and seasonal 

25 Head Start programs, except that the Secretary 

26 shall reserve for each fiscal year for use by Indian 


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1 Head Start and migrant and seasonal Head Start 

2 programs (referred to in this paragraph as ‘covered 

3 programs’), on a nationwide basis, a sum that is the 

4 total of a percentage specified by the Secretary that 

5 is not less than 4 percent of the amount appro6 priated under section 639 for that fiscal year (for 

7 Indian Head Start programs) and a percentage 

8 specified by the Secretary that is not less than 5 

9 percent of that appropriated amount (for migrant 

10 and seasonal Head Start programs) (referred to in 

11 this paragraph as the ‘specified percentages’), except 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(i) if reserving the specified percentages 

14 would reduce the number of children served by 

15 Head Start programs, relative to the number of 

16 children served on the date of enactment of the 

17 Head Start for School Readiness Act, taking 

18 into consideration an appropriate adjustment 

19 for inflation, the Secretary shall reserve per20 centages that approach, as closely as prac21 ticable, the specified percentages and that do 

22 not cause such a reduction; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding any other provision 

24 of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall re25 serve for each fiscal year for use by Indian 


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1 Head Start programs and by migrant and sea2 sonal Head Start programs, on a nationwide 

3 basis, not less than the amount that was obli4 gated for use by Indian Head Start programs 

5 and by migrant and seasonal Head Start pro6 grams for the previous fiscal year;’’; 

7 (B) by striking subparagraph (C) and in8 serting the following: 

9 ‘‘(C) training and technical assistance activities 

10 that are sufficient to meet the needs associated with 

11 program expansion and to foster program and man12 agement improvement activities as described in sec13 tion 648, in an amount for each fiscal year that is 

14 not less than 2 percent of the amount appropriated 

15 under section 639 for such fiscal year, of which— 

16 ‘‘(i) 50 percent shall be made available to 

17 Head Start agencies to use directly, or by es18 tablishing local or regional agreements with 

19 community experts, institutions of higher edu20 cation, or private consultants, for any of the 

21 following training and technical assistance ac22 tivities, including— 

23 ‘‘(I) activities that ensure that Head 

24 Start programs meet or exceed the proVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 gram performance standards described in 

2 section 641A(a)(1); 

3 ‘‘(II) activities that ensure that Head 

4 Start programs have adequate numbers of 

5 trained, qualified staff who have skills in 

6 working with children and families, includ7 ing children and families who are limited 

8 English proficient and children with dis9 abilities; 

10 ‘‘(III) activities to pay expenses, in11 cluding direct training for expert consult12 ants working with any staff, to improve the 

13 management and implementation of Head 

14 Start services and systems; 

15 ‘‘(IV) activities that help ensure that 

16 Head Start programs have qualified staff 

17 who can promote language skills and lit18 eracy growth of children and who can pro19 vide children with a variety of skills that 

20 have been identified as predictive of later 

21 reading achievement, school success, and 

22 the skills, knowledge, abilities, develop23 ment, and progress described in section 

24 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii); 


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1 ‘‘(V) activities to improve staff quali2 fications and to assist with the implemen3 tation of career development programs and 

4 to encourage the staff to continually im5 prove their skills and expertise, including 

6 developing partnerships with programs 

7 that recruit, train, place, and support col8 lege students in Head Start centers to de9 liver an innovative early learning program 

10 to preschool children; 

11 ‘‘(VI) activities that help local pro12 grams ensure that the arrangement, condi13 tion, and implementation of the learning 

14 environments in Head Start programs are 

15 conducive to providing effective program 

16 services to children and families; 

17 ‘‘(VII) activities to provide training 

18 necessary to improve the qualifications of 

19 Head Start staff and to support staff 

20 training, child counseling, health services, 

21 and other services necessary to address the 

22 needs of children enrolled in Head Start 

23 programs, including children from families 

24 in crises, children who experience chronic 

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1 perience substance abuse in their families, 

2 and children under 3 years of age, where 

3 applicable; 

4 ‘‘(VIII) activities to provide classes or 

5 in-service-type programs to improve or en6 hance parenting skills, job skills, adult and 

7 family literacy, including financial literacy, 

8 or training to become a classroom aide or 

9 bus driver in a Head Start program; 

10 ‘‘(IX) additional activities deemed ap11 propriate to the improvement of Head 

12 Start agencies’ programs, as determined by 

13 the agencies’ technical assistance and 

14 training plans; or 

15 ‘‘(X) any other activities regarding 

16 the use of funds as determined by the Sec17 retary; 

18 ‘‘(ii) 50 percent shall be made available to 

19 the Secretary— 

20 ‘‘(I) to provide directly early childhood 

21 education training and technical assistance 

22 or to support, through grants or other ar23 rangements, a State system of early child24 hood education training and technical as25 sistance (which may include such a system 


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1 for a consortium of States within a re2 gion); and 

3 ‘‘(II) to assist local programs (includ4 ing Indian Head Start programs and mi5 grant and seasonal Head Start programs) 

6 in meeting the standards described in sec7 tion 641A(a)(1); and 

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

9 amount in clause (ii) appropriated for such fis10 cal year shall be made available to carry out ac11 tivities described in section 648(d)(4);’’; 

12 (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

13 ‘‘agencies;’’ and inserting ‘‘agencies);’’; and 

14 (D) by adding at the end of the flush mat15 ter at the end the following: ‘‘In no case shall 

16 the Secretary use funds appropriated under this 

17 subchapter to expand or create additional slots 

18 or services in non-Indian and non-migrant and 

19 seasonal Head Start programs until the 

20 amounts based on the specified percentages for 

21 Indian Head Start programs and migrant and 

22 seasonal Head Start programs pursuant to sub23 paragraph (A) are reached. The Secretary shall 

24 require each Head Start agency to report at the 


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1 end of each budget year on how funds provided 

2 to carry out subparagraph (C)(i) were used.’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i)(I)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘60 percent of such ex6 cess amount for fiscal year 1999’’ and all 

7 that follows through ‘‘2003;’’; and 

8 (ii) by inserting the following: ‘‘30 

9 percent of such excess amount for fiscal 

10 year 2008, and 40 percent of such excess 

11 amount for each of fiscal years 2009 

12 through 2012;’’; 

13 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

14 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘perform15 ance standards’’ and all that follows and 

16 inserting ‘‘standards and measures pursu17 ant to section 641A.’’; 

18 (ii) by striking clause (ii) and insert19 ing the following: 

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

22 is furnished adequate training, including training to 

23 promote the development of language, premathemat24 ics, and pre-literacy skills in young children and in 

25 working with limited English proficient children, 


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1 children in foster care, children referred by child 

2 welfare services, and children with disabilities, when 

3 appropriate.’’; 

4 (iii) by striking clause (iii) and insert5 ing the following: 

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

7 and benefits standards under section 644(a) and 

8 section 653, in order to ensure that salary levels and 

9 benefits are adequate to attract and retain qualified 

10 staff for such programs.’’; 

11 (iv) by striking clause (iv) and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(iv) Using salary increases to— 

14 ‘‘(I) assist with the implementation of 

15 quality programs and improve staff qualifica16 tions; 

17 ‘‘(II) ensure that staff can promote the 

18 language skills and literacy growth of children 

19 and can provide children with a variety of skills 

20 that have been identified, through scientifically 

21 based early reading research, as predictive of 

22 later reading achievement, as well as the skills, 

23 knowledge, abilities, development, and progress 

24 described in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii); and 


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1 ‘‘(III) encourage the staff to continually 

2 improve their skills and expertise— 

3 ‘‘(aa) through the implementation of 

4 career development programs; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) through the completion of post6 secondary coursework in early childhood 

7 education.’’; 

8 (v) in clause (v)— 

9 (I) by striking ‘‘community-wide’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘communitywide’’; and 

11 (II) by inserting ‘‘, including col12 laborations to increase program par13 ticipation by underserved populations 

14 of eligible children’’ before the period; 

15 and 

16 (vi) by striking clauses (vii) and (viii) 

17 and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(vii) Providing assistance to complete postsec19 ondary coursework, to enable Head Start teachers to 

20 improve competencies and the resulting child out21 comes, including informing the teachers of the avail22 ability of Federal and State incentive and loan for23 giveness programs. 

24 ‘‘(viii) Promoting the regular attendance and 

25 stability of all Head Start children with particular 


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1 attention to highly mobile children, including chil2 dren from migrant and seasonal farmworking fami3 lies (where appropriate), homeless children, and chil4 dren in foster care. 

5 ‘‘(ix) Making such other improvements in the 

6 quality of such programs as the Secretary may des7 ignate.’’; 

8 (C) in subparagraph (C)— 

9 (i) in clause (i)(I), by striking the last 

10 sentence and inserting ‘‘Salary increases, 

11 in excess of cost-of-living allowances, pro12 vided with such funds shall be subject to 

13 the specific standards governing salaries 

14 and salary increases established pursuant 

15 to section 644(a).’’; 

16 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

17 (I) in the matter preceding sub18 clause (I), by striking ‘‘education per19 formance’’ and all that follows 

20 through ‘‘641A(a)(1)(B)’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘standards and measures de22 scribed in section 641A’’; 

23 (II) in subclause (I), by inserting 

24 ‘‘, pre-literacy,’’ after ‘‘language’’; 


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1 (III) by striking subclause (II) 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(II) to help limited English proficient 

4 children attain the knowledge, skills, abilities, 

5 and development specified in section 

6 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) and to promote the acquisi7 tion of the English language by such children 

8 and families;’’; and 

9 (IV) by striking subclause (IV) 

10 and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(IV) to provide education and training 

12 necessary to improve the qualifications of Head 

13 Start staff, particularly assistance to enable 

14 more instructors to be fully competent and to 

15 meet the degree requirements under section 

16 648A(a)(2)(A), and to support staff training, 

17 child counseling, and other services necessary to 

18 address the challenges of children participating 

19 in Head Start programs, including children 

20 from immigrant, refugee, and asylee families, 

21 children from families in crisis, homeless chil22 dren, children in foster care, children referred 

23 to Head Start programs by child welfare agen24 cies, and children who are exposed to chronic 

25 violence or substance abuse.’’; 


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1 (iii) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘, edu2 cational staff who have the qualifications 

3 described in section 648A(a),’’ after 

4 ‘‘ratio’’; 

5 (iv) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘pro6 grams, including’’ and all that follows and 

7 inserting ‘‘programs.’’; 

8 (v) by redesignating clause (vi) as 

9 clause (x); and 

10 (vi) by inserting after clause (v) the 

11 following: 

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

13 in an effort to increase the program participation of 

14 eligible homeless children. 

15 ‘‘(vii) To conduct outreach to migrant and sea16 sonal farmworking families and families with limited 

17 English proficient children. 

18 ‘‘(viii) To partner with institutions of higher 

19 education and nonprofit organizations, including 

20 community-based organizations, that recruit, train, 

21 place, and support college students, to serve as men22 tors and reading partners to preschool children in 

23 Head Start programs. 

24 ‘‘(ix) To upgrade the qualifications and skills of 

25 educational personnel to meet the professional 


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1 standards described in section 648A(a)(1), including 

2 certification and licensure as bilingual education 

3 teachers, teachers of English as a second language, 

4 and for other educational personnel who serve lim5 ited English proficient students.’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (4), in the first sentence— 

7 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

8 ‘‘1998’’ and inserting ‘‘2007’’; and 

9 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in10 serting the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) any amount available after all allotments 

12 are made under subparagraph (A) for such fiscal 

13 year shall be distributed as follows: 

14 ‘‘(i) Each State shall receive an amount 

15 sufficient to serve the same number of children 

16 in Head Start programs in each State as were 

17 served on the date of enactment of the Head 

18 Start for School Readiness Act, taking into con19 sideration an appropriate adjustment for infla20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(ii) After ensuring that each State has re22 ceived the amount described in clause (i), the 

23 Secretary shall distribute the remaining bal24 ance, by— 


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1 ‘‘(I) distributing 65 percent of the 

2 balance among the States serving less than 

3 60 percent (as determined by the Sec4 retary) of children who are 3 or 4 years of 

5 age from families whose income is below 

6 the poverty line, by allotting to each of 

7 those States an amount that bears the 

8 same relationship to that 65 percent as the 

9 number of children who are less than 5 

10 years of age from families whose income is 

11 below the poverty line (referred to in this 

12 clause as ‘young low-income children’) in 

13 that State bears to the number of young 

14 low-income children in all those States; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(II) distributing 35 percent of the 

17 balance among the States, by allotting to 

18 each State an amount that bears the same 

19 relationship to that 35 percent as the num20 ber of young low-income children in that 

21 State bears to the number of young low-in22 come children in all the States.’’; 

23 (4) in paragraph (5)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 

2 and (F) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respec3 tively; and 

4 (B) by striking subparagraphs (B), (C), 

5 and (D) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(B)(i) From the reserved sums, the Secretary shall 

7 award a collaboration grant to each State and to each na8 tional administrative office serving Indian Head Start pro9 grams and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs to 

10 facilitate collaboration between Head Start agencies and 

11 entities (including the State or national administrative of12 fice) that carry out other activities designed to benefit low13 income families and children from birth to school entry. 

14 The national administrative offices shall use the funds 

15 made available through the grants to carry out the au16 thorities and responsibilities described in subparagraphs 

17 (B) and (C). 

18 ‘‘(ii) Grants described in clause (i) shall be used to— 

19 ‘‘(I) assist Head Start agencies to collaborate 

20 with entities involved in State and local planning 

21 processes to better meet the needs of low-income 

22 families and children from birth to school entry; 

23 ‘‘(II) assist Head Start agencies to coordinate 

24 activities with the State agency responsible for ad25 ministering the State program carried out under the 


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1 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

2 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and entities providing 

3 resource and referral services in the State, to make 

4 full-working-day and full calendar year services 

5 available to children; 

6 ‘‘(III) promote alignment of Head Start serv7 ices with State early learning standards, as appro8 priate, and the Head Start Child Outcomes Frame9 work; 

10 ‘‘(IV) promote better linkages between Head 

11 Start agencies and other child and family agencies, 

12 including agencies that provide health, mental 

13 health, or family services, or other child or family 

14 supportive services, such as services provided under 

15 section 619 or part C of the Individuals with Dis16 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et 

17 seq.); and 

18 ‘‘(V) carry out the activities of the State Direc19 tor of Head Start Collaboration authorized in sub20 paragraph (D). 

21 ‘‘(C) In order to improve coordination and delivery 

22 of early education services to children in the State, a State 

23 that receives a collaboration grant under subparagraph 

24 (B) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) appoint or designate an individual to serve 

2 as, or carry out the responsibilities of, the State Di3 rector of Head Start Collaboration; 

4 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the State Director of Head 

5 Start Collaboration holds a position with sufficient 

6 authority and access to ensure that the collaboration 

7 described in subparagraph (B) is effective and in8 volves a range of State agencies; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) involve the State Head Start Association 

10 in the selection of the Director and involve the Asso11 ciation in determinations relating to the ongoing di12 rection of the collaboration office. 

13 ‘‘(D) The State Director of Head Start Collaboration, 

14 reporting to the State Advisory Council described in sub15 paragraph (E), shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) not later than 1 year after the State re17 ceives a collaboration grant under subparagraph (B), 

18 conduct an assessment that— 

19 ‘‘(I) addresses the needs of Head Start 

20 agencies in the State with respect to collabora21 tion, coordination of services, and alignment of 

22 services with State early learning standards, as 

23 appropriate, and the Head Start Child Out24 comes Framework; 


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1 ‘‘(II) shall be updated on an annual basis; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) shall be made available to the gen4 eral public within the State; 

5 ‘‘(ii) develop a strategic plan that is based on 

6 the assessment described in clause (i) that will— 

7 ‘‘(I) enhance collaboration and coordina8 tion of Head Start services with other entities 

9 providing early childhood programs and services 

10 (such as child care or services offered by muse11 ums), health care, mental health care, welfare, 

12 child protective services, education and commu13 nity service activities, family literacy services, 

14 reading readiness programs (including such 

15 programs offered by public and school librar16 ies), services relating to children with disabil17 ities, other early childhood programs and serv18 ices for limited English proficient children and 

19 homeless children, and services provided for 

20 children in foster care and children referred to 

21 Head Start programs by child welfare agencies, 

22 including agencies and State officials respon23 sible for such services; 

24 ‘‘(II) assist Head Start agencies to develop 

25 a plan for the provision of full-working-day, full 


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1 calendar year services for children enrolled in 

2 Head Start programs who need such care; 

3 ‘‘(III) assist Head Start agencies to align 

4 services with State early learning standards, as 

5 appropriate, and the Head Start Child Out6 comes Framework; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) enable Head Start agencies in the 

8 State to better access professional development 

9 opportunities for Head Start staff, such as 

10 by— 

11 ‘‘(aa) working with local Head Start 

12 agencies to meet the degree requirements 

13 described in section 648A(a)(2)(A), includ14 ing providing distance learning opportuni15 ties for Head Start staff, where needed to 

16 make higher education more accessible to 

17 Head Start staff; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) enabling the State Head Start 

19 agencies to better conduct outreach to eli20 gible families; 

21 ‘‘(iii) promote partnerships between Head Start 

22 agencies, State and local governments, and the pri23 vate sector to help ensure that children from low-in24 come families, who are in Head Start programs or 

25 are preschool age, are receiving comprehensive servVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ices to prepare the children to enter school ready to 

2 learn; 

3 ‘‘(iv) consult with the chief State school officer, 

4 local educational agencies, and providers of early 

5 childhood education and care, regarding early care 

6 and education services at both the State and local 

7 levels; 

8 ‘‘(v) promote partnerships (such as the partner9 ships involved with the Free to Grow initiative) be10 tween Head Start agencies, schools, law enforce11 ment, relevant community-based organizations, and 

12 substance abuse and mental health treatment agen13 cies to strengthen family and community environ14 ments and to reduce the impact on child develop15 ment of substance abuse, child abuse, domestic vio16 lence, and other high risk behaviors that compromise 

17 healthy development; 

18 ‘‘(vi) promote partnerships between Head Start 

19 agencies and other organizations in order to enhance 

20 the Head Start curriculum, including partnerships 

21 to promote inclusion of more books in Head Start 

22 classrooms and partnerships to promote coordination 

23 of activities with the Ready-to-Learn Television pro24 gram carried out under subpart 3 of part D of title 


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1 II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

2 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6775 et seq.); and 

3 ‘‘(vii) identify other resources and organizations 

4 (both public and private) for the provision of in-kind 

5 services to Head Start agencies in the State. 

6 ‘‘(E)(i) The Governor of the State shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) designate or establish a council to serve as 

8 the State advisory council on collaboration on early 

9 care and education activities for children from birth 

10 to school entry (in this subchapter referred to as the 

11 ‘State Advisory Council’); and 

12 ‘‘(II) designate an individual to coordinate ac13 tivities of the State Advisory Council, as described in 

14 clause (iv)(I). 

15 ‘‘(ii) The Governor may designate an existing entity 

16 to serve as the State Advisory Council, if the entity in17 cludes representatives consistent with clause (iii). 

18 ‘‘(iii) Members of the State Advisory Council shall in19 clude, to the maximum extent possible— 

20 ‘‘(I) the State Director of Head Start Collabo21 ration; 

22 ‘‘(II) a representative of the appropriate re23 gional office of the Administration for Children and 

24 Families; 


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1 ‘‘(III) a representative of the State educational 

2 agency and local educational agencies; 

3 ‘‘(IV) a representative of institutions of higher 

4 education; 

5 ‘‘(V) a representative (or representatives) of the 

6 State agency (or agencies) responsible for health or 

7 mental health care; 

8 ‘‘(VI) a representative of the State agency re9 sponsible for professional standards, certification, 

10 and licensing for early childhood educators; 

11 ‘‘(VII) a representative of the State agency re12 sponsible for child care; 

13 ‘‘(VIII) early childhood educators, including 

14 professionals with expertise in second language ac15 quisition and instructional strategies in teaching lim16 ited English proficient children; 

17 ‘‘(IX) kindergarten teachers and teachers in 

18 grades 1 through 3; 

19 ‘‘(X) health care professionals; 

20 ‘‘(XI) child development specialists, including 

21 specialists in prenatal, infant, and toddler develop22 ment; 

23 ‘‘(XII) a representative of the State agency re24 sponsible for assisting children with developmental 

25 disabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(XIII) a representative of the State agency re2 sponsible for programs under section 619 or part C 

3 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

4 (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); 

5 ‘‘(XIV) a representative of the State inter6 agency coordinating councils established under sec7 tion 641 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu8 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1441); 

9 ‘‘(XV) a representative of the State Head Start 

10 Association (where appropriate), and other rep11 resentatives of Head Start programs in the State; 

12 ‘‘(XVI) a representative of the State network of 

13 child care resource and referral agencies; 

14 ‘‘(XVII) a representative of community-based 

15 organizations; 

16 ‘‘(XVIII) a representative of State and local 

17 providers of early childhood education and child 

18 care; 

19 ‘‘(XIX) a representative of Indian Head Start 

20 programs (where appropriate) and a representative 

21 of migrant and seasonal Head Start programs 

22 (where appropriate); 

23 ‘‘(XX) parents; 

24 ‘‘(XXI) religious and business leaders; 


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1 ‘‘(XXII) the head of the State library adminis2 trative agency; 

3 ‘‘(XXIII) representatives of State and local or4 ganizations and other entities providing professional 

5 development to early care and education providers; 

6 ‘‘(XXIV) a representative from the Office of 

7 Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children and 

8 Youths in the State; 

9 ‘‘(XXV) a State legislator; and 

10 ‘‘(XXVI) a representative of other entities de11 termined to be relevant by the Governor of the 

12 State. 

13 ‘‘(iv)(I) The State Advisory Council shall be respon14 sible for, in addition to responsibilities assigned to the 

15 council by the Governor of the State— 

16 ‘‘(aa) conducting a periodic statewide needs as17 sessment concerning early care and education pro18 grams for children from birth to school entry; 

19 ‘‘(bb) identifying barriers to, and opportunities 

20 for, collaboration and coordination among entities 

21 carrying out federally-funded and State-funded child 

22 development, child care, and early childhood edu23 cation programs; 

24 ‘‘(cc) developing recommendations regarding 

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1 tem for early care and education programs through2 out the State; 

3 ‘‘(dd) developing a statewide professional devel4 opment and career ladder plan for early care and 

5 education in the State; 

6 ‘‘(ee) reviewing and approving the strategic 

7 plan, regarding collaborating and coordinating serv8 ices to better serve children enrolled in Head Start 

9 programs, developed by the State Director of Head 

10 Start Collaboration under subparagraph (D)(iii); 

11 ‘‘(ff) assessing the availability of high quality 

12 prekindergarten services for low-income children in 

13 the State; 

14 ‘‘(gg) assisting 2- and 4-year public and private 

15 institutions of higher education to develop articula16 tion agreements; 

17 ‘‘(hh) awarding grants to assist institutions of 

18 higher education to develop model early childhood 

19 education programs, including practica or intern20 ships for students to spend time in a Head Start or 

21 prekindergarten program; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) undertaking collaborative efforts to de23 velop, and make recommendations for improvements 

24 in, State early learning standards. 


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1 ‘‘(II) The State Advisory Council shall hold public 

2 hearings and provide an opportunity for public comment 

3 on the activities described in subclause (I). The State Ad4 visory Council shall submit a statewide strategic report ad5 dressing the activities described in subclause (I) to the 

6 State Director of Head Start Collaboration and the Gov7 ernor of the State. 

8 ‘‘(III) After submission of a statewide strategic re9 port under subclause (II), the State Advisory Council shall 

10 meet periodically to review any implementation of the rec11 ommendations in such report and any changes in State 

12 and local needs. 

13 ‘‘(F)(i)(I) Prior to carrying out paragraph (4), the 

14 Secretary shall reserve a portion to carry out this subpara15 graph for a fiscal year. The Secretary shall reserve the 

16 portion from the amount (if any) by which the funds ap17 propriated under section 639(a) for the fiscal year exceed 

18 the adjusted prior year appropriation (as defined in para19 graph (3)(A)(ii)), without reducing the share available for 

20 quality improvement funds described in paragraph (3)(B). 

21 ‘‘(II) To the extent consistent with subclause (I), the 

22 Secretary shall reserve $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

23 Funds reserved under this subclause shall remain avail24 able for obligation through fiscal year 2012. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall use the portion reserved 

2 under clause (i) to award, on a competitive basis, one-time 

3 startup grants of not less than $500,000 to eligible States 

4 to enable such States to pay for the Federal share of the 

5 cost of further developing and implementing the rec6 ommendations and plans for which the State’s State Advi7 sory Council is responsible under subparagraph (E)(iv)(I). 

8 Such grants shall— 

9 ‘‘(I) facilitate the development of high-quality 

10 systems of early care and early education programs 

11 and activities designed to improve school prepared12 ness; 

13 ‘‘(II) increase and make effective use of existing 

14 and new delivery systems and funds for early care 

15 and early education; and 

16 ‘‘(III) enhance existing early care and early 

17 education services (in existence on the date on which 

18 the grant involved is awarded). 

19 ‘‘(iii) To be eligible to receive a grant under this sub20 paragraph, a State shall prepare and submit to the Sec21 retary an application, for a 3-year period, at such time, 

22 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

23 Secretary shall require, including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a description of the State’s State Advisory 

2 Council’s responsibilities under subparagraph 

3 (E)(iv)(I); 

4 ‘‘(II) a description, for each fiscal year, of how 

5 the State will make effective use of funds available 

6 under this subparagraph, with funds described in 

7 clause (iv), to create an early childhood education 

8 system, by developing or enhancing programs and 

9 activities described in subparagraph (E)(iv)(I); 

10 ‘‘(III) a description of the State early learning 

11 standards and the State’s goals for increasing the 

12 number of children entering kindergarten ready to 

13 learn; 

14 ‘‘(IV) information identifying the agency or 

15 joint interagency office and individual designated to 

16 carry out the activities under this subparagraph, 

17 which may be the individual designated under sub18 paragraph (E)(i)(II); and 

19 ‘‘(V) a description of how the State plans to 

20 sustain activities under this subparagraph beyond 

21 the grant period. 

22 ‘‘(iv) The Federal share of the cost described in 

23 clause (ii) shall be 30 percent, and the State shall provide 

24 the non-Federal share. 


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1 ‘‘(v) Funds made available under this subparagraph 

2 shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Fed3 eral, State, and local funds expended to carry out activities 

4 related to early childhood education and care in the State. 

5 ‘‘(vi) Not later than 18 months after the date a State 

6 receives a grant under this subparagraph, the State shall 

7 submit an interim report to the Secretary. A State that 

8 receives a grant under this subparagraph shall submit a 

9 final report to the Secretary at the end of the grant pe10 riod.’’; and 

11 (5) in paragraph (6)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘7.5 

13 percent’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘not 

14 less than 12 percent for fiscal year 2008, not 

15 less than 14 percent for fiscal year 2009, not 

16 less than 16 percent for fiscal year 2010, not 

17 less than 18 percent for fiscal year 2011, and 

18 not less than 20 percent for fiscal year 2012, 

19 of the amount appropriated pursuant to section 

20 639(a).’’; 

21 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); 

22 (C) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking 

23 ‘‘required to be’’ each place it appears; and 

24 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

25 subparagraph (B). 


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

2 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(f)) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘(f) The’’ and inserting ‘‘(f)(1) 

4 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

5 of the Head Start for School Readiness Act, the’’; 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘needs.’’ and inserting ‘‘needs, 

7 including models that leverage the capacity and ca8 pabilities of the delivery system of early childhood 

9 education and child care.’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(2) In establishing the procedures the Secretary 

12 shall establish procedures to provide for— 

13 ‘‘(A) the conversion of part-day programs to 

14 full-day programs or part-day slots to full-day slots; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) serving additional infants and toddlers 

17 pursuant to section 645(a)(5).’’. 

18 (c) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—Section 640(g)(2) of the 

19 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(g)(2)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the applicant has un23 dertaken communitywide strategic planning and 

24 needs assessments involving other community orga25 nizations and Federal, State, and local public agenVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 cies serving children and families (including organi2 zations and agencies providing family support serv3 ices and protective services to children and families 

4 and organizations serving families in whose homes 

5 English is not the language customarily spoken), 

6 and individuals, organizations, and public entities 

7 serving children with disabilities, children in foster 

8 care, and homeless children including the local edu9 cational agency liaison designated under section 

10 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

11 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii));’’; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (D)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘community’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘communitywide’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘other local’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘the State and local’’; 

17 (3) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘would 

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

19 (4) in subparagraph (G), by inserting ‘‘leverage 

20 the existing delivery systems of such services and’’ 

21 after ‘‘manner that will’’; and 

22 (5) in subparagraph (H), by inserting ‘‘, includ23 ing the local educational agency liaison designated 

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1 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)),’’ after ‘‘community involved’’. 

3 (d) VEHICLE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

4 640(i) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(i)) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The regula6 tions shall also establish requirements to ensure the appro7 priate supervision of, and appropriate background checks 

8 for, individuals with whom the agencies contract to trans9 port those children.’’. 

10 (e) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL HEAD START PRO11 GRAMS.—Section 640(l) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 9835(l)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and insert13 ing the following: 

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

15 shall continue the administrative arrangement at the na16 tional level for meeting the needs of Indian children and 

17 children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and shall 

18 ensure— 

19 ‘‘(A) that appropriate funding is provided to 

20 meet such needs, including training and technical as21 sistance provided by staff with knowledge of and ex22 perience in working with such populations; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the appointment of a national Indian 

24 Head Start collaboration director and a national miVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 grant and seasonal Head Start program collabora2 tion director. 

3 ‘‘(4)(A) For the purposes of paragraph (3), the Sec4 retary shall conduct an annual consultation in each af5 fected Head Start region, with tribal governments oper6 ating Head Start and Early Head Start programs. 

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

8 better meeting the needs of American Indian and Alaska 

9 Native children and families pertinent to subsection 

10 (a)(2)(A), taking into consideration funding allocations, 

11 distribution formulas, and other issues affecting the deliv12 ery of Head Start services within tribal communities. 

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

14 consultations in the Federal Register prior to conducting 

15 the consultations. 

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

17 prepared and made available, on a timely basis, to all trib18 al governments receiving funds under this subchapter. 

19 ‘‘(5)(A) In order to increase access to Head Start 

20 services for children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers, 

21 the Secretary shall work in collaboration with providers 

22 of migrant and seasonal Head Start programs, the Sec23 retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Labor, and the Sec24 retary of Education to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) collect, report, and share data on farm2 workers and their families in order to adequately ac3 count for the number of children of migrant and 

4 seasonal farmworkers who are eligible for Head 

5 Start services and determine how many of such chil6 dren receive the services; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) identify barriers that prevent children of 

8 migrant and seasonal farmworkers who are eligible 

9 for Head Start services from accessing Head Start 

10 services, and develop a plan for eliminating such 

11 barriers, including certain requirements relating to 

12 tracking, health records, and educational documents. 

13 ‘‘(B) Not later than 1 year after the date of enact14 ment of the Head Start for School Readiness Act, the Sec15 retary shall publish in the Federal Register a notice about 

16 how the Secretary plans to carry out the activities identi17 fied in subparagraph (A) and shall provide a period for 

18 public comment. To the extent practicable, the Secretary 

19 shall consider comments received before implementing any 

20 of the activities identified in subparagraph (A). 

21 ‘‘(C) Not later than 18 months after the date of en22 actment of the Head Start for School Readiness Act, the 

23 Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Edu24 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives and the 

25 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 


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•S 556 RS

1 the Senate detailing how the Secretary plans to carry out 

2 the activities identified in subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall take appropriate caution to 

4 ensure the protection of the confidentiality of any person5 ally identifiable data, information, and records collected 

6 or maintained regarding children and families served by 

7 migrant and seasonal Head Start programs. 

8 ‘‘(E) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 

9 to authorize the development of a nationwide database of 

10 personally identifiable data, information, or records on in11 dividuals involved in studies or other collections of data 

12 under this paragraph.’’. 

13 (f) HOMELESS CHILDREN.—Section 640 of the Head 

14 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835) is amended by adding at the 

15 end the following: 

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

17 Secretary shall issue regulations to remove barriers to the 

18 enrollment and participation of homeless children in Head 

19 Start programs. Such regulations shall require Head Start 

20 agencies to— 

21 ‘‘(1) implement policies and procedures to en22 sure that homeless children are identified and re23 ceive appropriate priority for enrollment; 

24 ‘‘(2) allow homeless children to apply to, enroll 

25 in, and attend Head Start programs while required 


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•S 556 RS

1 documents, such as proof of residency, proof of im2 munization, and other medical records, birth certifi3 cates, and other documents, are obtained within a 

4 reasonable timeframe; and 

5 ‘‘(3) coordinate individual Head Start programs 

6 with efforts to implement subtitle B of title VII of 

7 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(n) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub10 chapter shall be construed to require a State to establish 

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

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

13 education in order to attend preschool, or to participate 

14 in any initial screening prior to participation in such pro15 gram, except as provided under section 612(a)(3) of the 

16 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

17 1412(a)(3)) and consistent with section 635(a)(5) of such 

18 Act (20 U.S.C. 1435(a)(5)). 

19 ‘‘(o) CURRICULA.—All curricula funded under this 

20 subchapter shall be scientifically based, developmentally 

21 and linguistically based (to the extent practicable), and 

22 age appropriate. The curricula shall reflect all areas of 

23 child development and learning. Parents shall have the op24 portunity to examine any such curricula or instructional 

25 materials funded under this subchapter.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. DESIGNATION OF HEAD START AGENCIES. 

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

3 is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 641. DESIGNATION OF HEAD START AGENCIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.— 

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

7 to designate as a Head Start agency any local public 

8 or private nonprofit or for-profit agency, within a 

9 community, including a community-based organiza10 tion that— 

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

12 the purpose of this subchapter and perform the 

13 functions set forth in section 642 within a com14 munity; and 

15 ‘‘(B) is determined to have the capacity to 

16 plan, conduct, administer, and evaluate, either 

17 directly or by other arrangements, a Head Start 

18 program. 

19 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED GOALS FOR DESIGNATION.—In 

20 order to be designated as a Head Start agency, an 

21 entity described in paragraph (1) shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) establish program goals for improving 

23 the school readiness of children participating in 

24 a program under this subchapter, including 

25 goals for meeting the performance standards 

26 and additional educational standards described 


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•S 556 RS

1 in section 641A and shall establish results2 based school readiness goals that are aligned 

3 with the Head Start Child Outcomes Frame4 work, State early learning standards (as appro5 priate), and requirements and expectations for 

6 local public schools; and 

7 ‘‘(B) have a governing body— 

8 ‘‘(i) with legal and fiscal responsibility 

9 for administering and overseeing programs 

10 under this subchapter; 

11 ‘‘(ii) that fully participates in the de12 velopment, planning, and evaluation of the 

13 programs to ensure the operation of pro14 grams of high quality; 

15 ‘‘(iii) that is responsible for ensuring 

16 compliance with Federal laws and regula17 tions, including the performance standards 

18 described in section 641A, as well as appli19 cable State, tribal, and local laws and reg20 ulations, including laws defining the nature 

21 and operations of the governing body; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) that has procedures to facilitate 

23 meaningful consultation and collaboration 

24 about decisions of the governing body and 


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•S 556 RS

1 the policy council established under para2 graph (3). 

3 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY COUNCIL

4 UPON DESIGNATION.—Upon receiving designation as 

5 a Head Start agency, the agency shall establish a 

6 policy council that— 

7 ‘‘(A) in accordance with paragraph (5)(C), 

8 shall make decisions that influence the char9 acter of programs consistent with paragraph 

10 (5)(F); and 

11 ‘‘(B) with the governing body, shall estab12 lish processes to resolve internal disputes. 

13 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY FOR SUBSEQUENT GRANTS.— 

14 In order to receive a grant under this subchapter 

15 subsequent to the initial grant provided following the 

16 date of enactment of the Head Start for School 

17 Readiness Act, an entity described in paragraph (1) 

18 shall demonstrate that the entity has met or is mak19 ing progress toward meeting the goals described in 

20 paragraph (2)(A). 

21 ‘‘(5) GOVERNING BODY AND POLICY COUN22 CIL.— 

23 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF GOVERNING

24 BODY.—Each Head Start agency shall establish 


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1 a governing body in accordance with paragraph 

2 (2)(B). 

3 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION OF GOVERNING

4 BODY.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The governing 

6 body shall be composed as follows: 

7 ‘‘(I) Not less than 1 member of 

8 the governing body shall have a back9 ground in fiscal management. 

10 ‘‘(II) Not less than 1 member of 

11 the governing body shall have a back12 ground in early childhood develop13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(III) Not less than 1 member of 

15 the governing body shall be a licensed 

16 attorney familiar with issues that 

17 come before the governing body. 

18 ‘‘(IV) Additional members shall 

19 reflect the community to be served, 

20 and include parents of children who 

21 are currently, or were formerly, en22 rolled in Head Start programs. 

23 ‘‘(V) In the case in which the 

24 governing body is a part of a Head 

25 Start agency that is a public agency, 


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1 members of the governing body shall 

2 include elected or appointed public of3 ficials. 

4 ‘‘(ii) CONSULTANTS.—In the case that 

5 persons described in clause (i) are not 

6 available to serve as members of the gov7 erning body, the governing body shall 

8 make use of consultants in the areas de9 scribed in clause (i) to work directly with 

10 the governing body. 

11 ‘‘(iii) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.— 

12 Members of the governing body shall— 

13 ‘‘(I) not have a conflict of inter14 est with the Head Start agency or del15 egate agencies; and 

16 ‘‘(II) not receive compensation 

17 for the purposes of serving on the 

18 governing body or for providing serv19 ices to the Head Start agency. 

20 ‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOVERNING

21 BODY.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The governing 

23 body shall be responsible for— 


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•S 556 RS

1 ‘‘(I) the selection of delegate 

2 agencies and such agencies’ service 

3 areas; 

4 ‘‘(II) establishing procedures and 

5 criteria for recruitment, selection, and 

6 enrollment; 

7 ‘‘(III) all funding applications 

8 and amendments to funding applica9 tions for programs under this sub10 chapter; 

11 ‘‘(IV) establishing procedures 

12 and guidelines to access and collect 

13 the information described in para14 graph (6); 

15 ‘‘(V) review and approval of— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the annual self-assess17 ment, financial audit, and find18 ings from the Federal monitoring 

19 review, of the Head Start agency 

20 or delegate agency; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) such agency’s progress 

22 in carrying out the programmatic 

23 and fiscal intent of such agency’s 

24 grant application; 


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1 ‘‘(VI) developing procedures for 

2 how members of the policy council of 

3 the Head Start agency are selected, 

4 consistent with subparagraph (E)(ii); 

5 ‘‘(VII) financial audits, account6 ing, and reporting; 

7 ‘‘(VIII) personnel policies and 

8 procedures regarding hiring, termi9 nation, salary scales (and changes 

10 made to the scale), and salaries of the 

11 Executive Director, Head Start Direc12 tor, the Director of Human Re13 sources, the Chief Fiscal Officer, and 

14 any equivalent position; and 

15 ‘‘(IX) review and approval of the 

16 community assessment, including any 

17 updates to such assessment. 

18 ‘‘(ii) CONDUCT OF RESPONSIBIL19 ITIES.—The governing body shall ensure 

20 the development and approval of an inter21 nal control structure to facilitate those re22 sponsibilities in order to— 

23 ‘‘(I) safeguard Federal funds; 


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1 ‘‘(II) comply with laws and regu2 lations that have an impact on finan3 cial statements; 

4 ‘‘(III) detect or prevent non5 compliance with this subchapter; and 

6 ‘‘(IV) receive financial audit re7 ports and direct and monitor staff im8 plementation of corrective actions. 

9 ‘‘(iii) COMMITTEES.—The governing 

10 body shall, to the extent practicable and 

11 appropriate, establish— 

12 ‘‘(I) advisory committees to over13 see responsibilities related to financial 

14 auditing and finances of the Head 

15 Start agency, as well as compliance 

16 with Federal, State, and local laws 

17 and regulations; and 

18 ‘‘(II) at the discretion of the gov19 erning body, additional advisory com20 mittees to study and make rec21 ommendations on areas related to the 

22 improvement of the Head Start pro23 gram. 


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1 ‘‘(D) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY COUN2 CIL.—Each Head Start agency shall establish a 

3 policy council in accordance with paragraph (3). 

4 ‘‘(E) COMPOSITION OF POLICY COUNCIL.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The policy council 

6 shall consist of— 

7 ‘‘(I) parents of children currently 

8 enrolled in the Head Start agency or 

9 delegate agency’s programs, which 

10 shall constitute a majority of the 

11 membership of the policy council; and 

12 ‘‘(II) members at large of the 

13 community served by the Head Start 

14 agency, which may include parents of 

15 children previously enrolled in the 

16 Head Start agency or delegate agen17 cy’s programs. 

18 ‘‘(ii) SELECTION.—Parents serving on 

19 the policy council shall be elected by par20 ents of children currently enrolled in the 

21 Head Start agency or delegate agency’s 

22 programs and shall represent, proportion23 ately, all program options and settings op24 erated by the Head Start agency or dele25 gate agency. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.— 

2 Members of the policy council shall— 

3 ‘‘(I) not have a conflict of inter4 est with the Head Start agency or del5 egate agencies; and 

6 ‘‘(II) not receive compensation 

7 for serving on the policy council or for 

8 providing services to the Head Start 

9 agency. 

10 ‘‘(F) RESPONSIBILITIES OF POLICY COUN11 CIL.—The policy council shall be responsible 

12 for— 

13 ‘‘(i) program planning, including— 

14 ‘‘(I) program design, including 

15 long- and short-term program goals, 

16 all funding applications and amend17 ments to funding applications, and ob18 jectives based on the annual com19 munitywide assessment and self-as20 sessment; 

21 ‘‘(II) program recruitment, selec22 tion, and enrollment priorities; and 

23 ‘‘(III) budget planning for pro24 gram expenditures consistent with 

25 subparagraph (C)(i)(VII), including 


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1 polices for reimbursement and partici2 pation in policy council activities; 

3 ‘‘(ii) program operation consistent 

4 with subparagraph (C)(i)(VIII), including 

5 implementation of standards of conduct for 

6 program staff, contractors, and volunteers 

7 and criteria for the employment and dis8 missal of program staff; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) activities to support the active 

10 involvement of parents in supporting pro11 gram operations, including policies to en12 sure that the Head Start program is re13 sponsive to community and parent needs. 

14 ‘‘(6) INFORMATION SHARING.—The governing 

15 body and the policy council shall share with each 

16 other regular and accurate information for use by 

17 both entities about program planning, policies, and 

18 Head Start agency operations, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) monthly financial statements (includ20 ing detailed credit card account expenditures 

21 for any employee with a Head Start agency 

22 credit card or who seeks reimbursement for 

23 charged expenses); 

24 ‘‘(B) monthly program information sum25 maries; 


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1 ‘‘(C) program enrollment reports, including 

2 attendance reports for children whose care is 

3 partially subsidized by another public agency; 

4 ‘‘(D) monthly reports of meals and snacks 

5 provided through programs of the Department 

6 of Agriculture; 

7 ‘‘(E) the financial audit; 

8 ‘‘(F) the annual self-assessment, including 

9 any findings related to the annual self-assess10 ment; 

11 ‘‘(G) the community assessment of the 

12 Head Start agency’s service area and any appli13 cable updates; 

14 ‘‘(H) communication and guidance from 

15 the Secretary; and 

16 ‘‘(I) the program information reports. 

17 ‘‘(7) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

18 Appropriate training and technical assistance shall 

19 be provided to the members of the governing body 

20 and the policy council to ensure that the members 

21 understand the information the members receive and 

22 can effectively oversee and participate in the pro23 grams of the Head Start agency. 

24 ‘‘(b) COMMUNITIES.—For purposes of this sub25 chapter, a community may be a city, county, or multicity 


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1 or multicounty unit within a State, an Indian reservation 

2 (including Indians in any off-reservation area designated 

3 by an appropriate tribal government in consultation with 

4 the Secretary), or a neighborhood or other area (irrespec5 tive of boundaries or political subdivisions) that provides 

6 a suitable organizational base and possesses the com7 monality of interest needed to operate a Head Start pro8 gram. 

9 ‘‘(c) REDESIGNATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In administering the provi11 sions of this section, the Secretary shall, in consulta12 tion with the Governor of the State involved, redes13 ignate as a Head Start agency any Head Start agen14 cy or delegate agency that is high performing, as de15 termined by meeting each of the following criteria: 

16 ‘‘(A) Is receiving assistance under this sub17 chapter. 

18 ‘‘(B) Meets or exceeds program and finan19 cial management requirements or standards de20 scribed in section 641A(a)(1). 

21 ‘‘(C) Has no unresolved deficiencies, in22 cluding having resolved any deficiencies found 

23 during the last triennial review under section 

24 641A(c). 


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1 ‘‘(D) Can demonstrate, through agree2 ments such as memoranda of understanding, 

3 active collaboration with the State or local com4 munity in the provision of services for children 

5 (such as the provision of extended day services, 

6 education, professional development and train7 ing for staff, and other types of cooperative en8 deavors). 

9 ‘‘(E) Completes and submits the appro10 priate reapplication forms as required by the 

11 Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A Head Start agency with 

13 a triennial review under section 641A(c) scheduled 

14 not later than 18 months after the date of enact15 ment of the Head Start for School Readiness Act 

16 shall not be subject to the criteria described in para17 graph (1) for that review in order to be redesig18 nated. The Head Start agency shall be subject to the 

19 criteria for any subsequent triennial review. 

20 ‘‘(d) DESIGNATION WHEN NO ENTITY IS REDESIG21 NATED.—If no entity in a community is redesignated ac22 cording to subsection (c), the Secretary shall, after con23 ducting an open competition, designate a Head Start 

24 agency from among qualified applicants in such commu25 nity. 


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1 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION AGAINST NON-INDIAN HEAD

2 START AGENCY RECEIVING A GRANT FOR AN INDIAN

3 HEAD START PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of law except as provided in paragraph (2), 

6 under no condition may a non-Indian Head Start 

7 agency receive a grant to carry out an Indian Head 

8 Start program. 

9 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—In a community in which 

10 there is no Indian Head Start agency available for 

11 designation to carry out an Indian Head Start pro12 gram, a non-Indian Head Start agency may receive 

13 a grant to carry out an Indian Head Start program 

14 but only until such time as an Indian Head Start 

15 agency in such community becomes available and is 

16 designated pursuant to this section. 

17 ‘‘(f) EFFECTIVENESS.—In selecting from among 

18 qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agen19 cy, the Secretary shall consider the effectiveness of each 

20 such applicant to provide Head Start services, based on— 

21 ‘‘(1) any past performance of such applicant in 

22 providing services comparable to Head Start serv23 ices, including how effectively such applicant pro24 vided such comparable services; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the plan of such applicant to provide com2 prehensive health, educational, nutritional, social, 

3 and other services needed to aid participating chil4 dren in attaining their full potential, and to prepare 

5 children to succeed in school; 

6 ‘‘(3) the capacity of such applicant to serve eli7 gible children with programs that use scientifically 

8 based research that promote school readiness of chil9 dren participating in the program; 

10 ‘‘(4) the plan of such applicant to meet stand11 ards set forth in section 641A(a)(1), with particular 

12 attention to the standards set forth in subpara13 graphs (A) and (B) of such section; 

14 ‘‘(5) the plan of such applicant to coordinate 

15 the Head Start program the applicant proposes to 

16 carry out with other preschool programs, includ17 ing— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Early Reading First and Even 

19 Start programs under subparts 2 and 3 of part 

20 B of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6371 et seq., 

22 6381 et seq.); 

23 ‘‘(B) other preschool program under title I 

24 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(C) programs under section 619 and part 

2 C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

3 Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); 

4 ‘‘(D) State prekindergarten programs; 

5 ‘‘(E) child care programs; 

6 ‘‘(F) the educational programs that the 

7 children in the Head Start program involved 

8 will enter at the age of compulsory school at9 tendance; and 

10 ‘‘(G) reading readiness programs such as 

11 those conducted by public and school libraries; 

12 ‘‘(6) the plan of such applicant to coordinate 

13 the Head Start program that the applicant proposes 

14 to carry out with public and private entities who are 

15 willing to commit resources to assist the Head Start 

16 program in meeting its program needs; 

17 ‘‘(7) the plan of such applicant to collaborate 

18 with a local library, where available, that is inter19 ested in that collaboration, to— 

20 ‘‘(A) develop innovative programs to excite 

21 children about the world of books, such as pro22 grams that involve— 

23 ‘‘(i) taking children to the library for 

24 a story hour; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) promoting the use of library 

2 cards; 

3 ‘‘(iii) developing a lending library or 

4 using a mobile library van; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) providing fresh books in the 

6 Head Start classroom on a regular basis; 

7 ‘‘(B) assist in literacy training for Head 

8 Start teachers; and 

9 ‘‘(C) support parents and other caregivers 

10 in literacy efforts; 

11 ‘‘(8) the plan of such applicant— 

12 ‘‘(A) to seek the involvement of parents of 

13 participating children in activities (at home and 

14 in the center involved where practicable) de15 signed to help such parents become full part16 ners in the education of their children; 

17 ‘‘(B) to afford such parents the oppor18 tunity to participate in the development and 

19 overall conduct of the program at the local 

20 level, including through providing transpor21 tation costs; 

22 ‘‘(C) to offer (directly or through referral 

23 to local entities, such as entities carrying out 

24 Even Start programs under subpart 3 of part 

25 B of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 


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1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6381 et 

2 seq.), public and school libraries, and entities 

3 carrying out family support programs) to such 

4 parents— 

5 ‘‘(i) family literacy services; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) parenting skills training; 

7 ‘‘(D) to offer to parents of participating 

8 children substance abuse counseling (either di9 rectly or through referral to local entities), in10 cluding information on the effect of drug expo11 sure on infants and fetal alcohol syndrome; 

12 ‘‘(E) at the option of such applicant, to 

13 offer (directly or through referral to local enti14 ties) to such parents— 

15 ‘‘(i) training in basic child develop16 ment (including cognitive development); 

17 ‘‘(ii) assistance in developing literacy 

18 and communication skills; 

19 ‘‘(iii) opportunities to share experi20 ences with other parents (including parent 

21 mentor relationships); 

22 ‘‘(iv) regular in-home visitation; or 

23 ‘‘(v) any other activity designed to 

24 help such parents become full partners in 

25 the education of their children; 


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1 ‘‘(F) to provide, with respect to each par2 ticipating family, a family needs assessment 

3 that includes consultation with such parents 

4 about the benefits of parent involvement and 

5 about the activities described in subparagraphs 

6 (C), (D), and (E) in which such parents may 

7 choose to become involved (taking into consider8 ation their specific family needs, work sched9 ules, and other responsibilities); and 

10 ‘‘(G) to extend outreach to fathers, in ap11 propriate cases, in order to strengthen the role 

12 of fathers in families, in the education of their 

13 young children, and in the Head Start program, 

14 by working directly with fathers and father fig15 ures through activities such as— 

16 ‘‘(i) in appropriate cases, including fa17 thers in home visits and providing opportu18 nities for direct father-child interactions; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) targeting increased male partici21 pation in the conduct of the program; 

22 ‘‘(9) the ability of such applicant to carry out 

23 the plans described in paragraphs (2), (4), and (5); 

24 ‘‘(10) other factors related to the requirements 

25 of this subchapter; 


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1 ‘‘(11) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

2 needs of limited English proficient children and their 

3 families, including procedures to identify such chil4 dren, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans 

5 to provide services to assist the children in making 

6 progress toward the acquisition of the English lan7 guage; 

8 ‘‘(12) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

9 needs of children with disabilities; 

10 ‘‘(13) the plan of such applicant who chooses to 

11 assist younger siblings of children who will partici12 pate in the Head Start program, to obtain health 

13 services from other sources; 

14 ‘‘(14) the plan of such applicant to collaborate 

15 with other entities carrying out early childhood edu16 cation and child care programs in the community; 

17 ‘‘(15) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

18 needs of homeless children and children in foster 

19 care, including the transportation needs of such chil20 dren; and 

21 ‘‘(16) the plan of such applicant to recruit and 

22 retain qualified staff. 

23 ‘‘(g) INTERIM BASIS.—If there is not a qualified ap24 plicant in a community for designation as a Head Start 

25 agency, the Secretary shall designate a qualified agency 


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•S 556 RS

1 to carry out the Head Start program in the community 

2 on an interim basis until a qualified applicant from the 

3 community is so designated. 

4 ‘‘(h) INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS AND AREA RESI5 DENTS.—The Secretary shall continue the practice of in6 volving parents and area residents who are affected by 

7 programs under this subchapter in the selection of quali8 fied applicants for designation as Head Start agencies. 

9 ‘‘(i) PRIORITY.—In selecting from among qualified 

10 applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the 

11 Secretary shall give priority to applicants that have dem12 onstrated capacity in providing effective, comprehensive, 

13 and well-coordinated early childhood services to children 

14 and their families.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. QUALITY STANDARDS; MONITORING OF HEAD 

16 START AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS. 

17 Section 641A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 9836a) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking 

21 ‘‘642(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘642(c)’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

23 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘edu24 cation performance standards’’ and insertVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ing ‘‘educational performance standards’’; 

2 and 

3 (ii) by striking clause (ii) and insert4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(ii) additional educational standards 

6 based on the recommendations of the National 

7 Academy of Sciences panel described in section 

8 649(h) and other experts in the field, to ensure 

9 that the curriculum involved addresses, and 

10 that the children participating in the program 

11 show appropriate progress toward developing 

12 and applying, the recommended educational 

13 outcomes, after the panel considers the appro14 priateness of additional educational standards 

15 relating to— 

16 ‘‘(I) language skills related to listen17 ing, understanding, speaking, and commu18 nicating; 

19 ‘‘(II) pre-literacy knowledge and 

20 skills; 

21 ‘‘(III) premathematics knowledge and 

22 skills; 

23 ‘‘(IV) scientific abilities; 


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1 ‘‘(V) general cognitive abilities related 

2 to academic achievement and child develop3 ment; 

4 ‘‘(VI) social and emotional develop5 ment related to early learning and school 

6 success; 

7 ‘‘(VII) physical development; and 

8 ‘‘(VIII) in the case of limited English 

9 proficient children, progress toward acqui10 sition of the English language (which may 

11 include progress made with linguistically 

12 appropriate instructional services) while 

13 making meaningful progress in attaining 

14 the knowledge, skills, abilities, and develop15 ment described in subclauses (I) through 

16 (VII);’’; 

17 (C) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking 

18 ‘‘projects; and’’ and inserting ‘‘projects, includ19 ing regulations that require that the facilities 

20 used by Head Start agencies (including Early 

21 Head Start agencies) and delegate agencies for 

22 regularly scheduled center-based and combina23 tion program option classroom activities— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall be in compliance with State 

2 and local requirements concerning licensing 

3 for such facilities; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) shall be accessible by State and 

5 local authorities for purposes of monitoring 

6 and ensuring compliance; and’’; 

7 (D) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

9 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘the 

10 date of enactment of this section’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘the date of enactment of 

12 the Head Start for School Readiness 

13 Act’’; 

14 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

15 ‘‘the date of enactment of this Act’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘the date of enactment 

17 of the Head Start for School Readi18 ness Act’’; 

19 (III) in clause (iii), by inserting 

20 ‘‘homeless children, children in foster 

21 care,’’ after ‘‘children with disabil22 ities,’’; 

23 (IV) in clause (vi), by striking 

24 ‘‘including the language’’ and all that 

25 follows and inserting ‘‘including 


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1 changes in the language background 

2 and family structure of such children, 

3 and changes in the population and 

4 number of such children who are in 

5 foster care or are homeless children;’’; 

6 (V) by striking clause (vii) and 

7 inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(vii) the unique challenges faced by 

9 individual programs, including those pro10 grams that are seasonal or short term and 

11 those programs that serve rural popu12 lations;’’; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik14 ing ‘‘the date of enactment of the Coats 

15 Human Services Reauthorization Act of 

16 1998.’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of enact17 ment of the Head Start for School Readi18 ness Act; and’’; and 

19 (iii) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(D) consult with Indian tribes, American 

22 Indian and Alaska Native experts in early child23 hood development, linguists, and the National 

24 Indian Head Start Directors Association on the 

25 review and promulgation of program standards 


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1 and measures (including standards and meas2 ures for language acquisition and school readi3 ness).’’; 

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

5 ‘‘(4) EVALUATIONS AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

6 FOR DELEGATE AGENCIES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) PROCEDURES.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

9 (ii), the Head Start agency shall establish 

10 procedures relating to its delegate agen11 cies, including— 

12 ‘‘(I) procedures for evaluating 

13 delegate agencies; 

14 ‘‘(II) procedures for defunding 

15 delegate agencies; and 

16 ‘‘(III) procedures for appealing a 

17 defunding decision relating to a dele18 gate agency. 

19 ‘‘(ii) TERMINATION.—The Head Start 

20 agency may not terminate a delegate agen21 cy’s contract or reduce a delegate agency’s 

22 service area without showing cause or dem23 onstrating the cost-effectiveness of such a 

24 decision. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS.—Each Head Start 

2 agency— 

3 ‘‘(i) shall evaluate its delegate agen4 cies using the procedures established pur5 suant to this section, including subpara6 graph (A); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) shall inform the delegate agen8 cies of the deficiencies identified through 

9 the evaluation that shall be corrected. 

10 ‘‘(C) REMEDIES TO ENSURE CORRECTIVE

11 ACTIONS.—In the event that the Head Start 

12 agency identifies a deficiency for a delegate 

13 agency through the evaluation, the Head Start 

14 agency shall take action, which may include— 

15 ‘‘(i) initiating procedures to terminate 

16 the designation of the agency unless the 

17 agency corrects the deficiency; 

18 ‘‘(ii) conducting monthly monitoring 

19 visits to such delegate agency until all defi20 ciencies are corrected or the Head Start 

21 agency decides to defund such delegate 

22 agency; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) releasing funds to such delegate 

24 agency— 


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1 ‘‘(I) only as reimbursements, 

2 until all deficiencies are corrected or 

3 the Head Start agency decides to 

4 defund such delegate agency; and 

5 ‘‘(II) only if there is continuity of 

6 services for children and families. 

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

8 in this paragraph shall be construed to impact 

9 or obviate the responsibilities of the Secretary 

10 with respect to Head Start agencies or delegate 

11 agencies receiving funding under this sub12 chapter.’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (i) by striking the paragraph heading 

16 and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) CHARACTERISTICS AND USE OF MEAS18 URES.—’’; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

20 ‘‘, not later than July 1, 1999; and’’ and 

21 inserting a semicolon; 

22 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

23 the period and inserting a semicolon; 

24 (iv) by striking the flush matter fol25 lowing subparagraph (C); and 


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

2 ‘‘(D) measure characteristics that are 

3 strongly predictive (as determined on a sci4 entific basis) of a child’s school readiness and 

5 later performance in school; 

6 ‘‘(E) be appropriate for the population 

7 served; and 

8 ‘‘(F) be reviewed not less than every 4 

9 years, based on advances in the science of early 

10 childhood development. 

11 The performance measures shall be issued by regula12 tion and shall include the performance standards 

13 and additional educational standards described in 

14 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1).’’; 

15 and 

16 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

18 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

20 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (iii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(C) to enable Head Start agencies to indi24 vidualize programs of instruction to better meet 

25 the needs of the child involved.’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (c)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

3 (i) by striking subparagraph (C) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) Unannounced site inspections of 

6 Head Start programs for health and safety rea7 sons, as appropriate.’’; 

8 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

9 (D) as subparagraph (E); and 

10 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

11 (C) the following: 

12 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (C), 

13 followup reviews, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) prompt return visits as necessary 

15 to agencies and programs that fail to meet 

16 1 or more of the performance measures de17 veloped by the Secretary under subsection 

18 (b); 

19 ‘‘(ii) a review of programs with cita20 tions that include findings of deficiencies 

21 not later than 6 months after the date of 

22 such citation; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) followup reviews that incor24 porate a monitoring visit without prior no25 tice of the visit to the agency involved or 


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1 with such limited prior notice as is nec2 essary to ensure the participation of par3 ents and key staff members.’’; and 

4 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF REVIEWS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

8 ensure that reviews described in paragraph 

9 (1)— 

10 ‘‘(i) are performed, to the maximum 

11 extent practicable, by employees of the De12 partment of Health and Human Services 

13 who are knowledgeable about Head Start 

14 programs; 

15 ‘‘(ii) are conducted by review teams 

16 that shall include individuals who are 

17 knowledgeable about Head Start and other 

18 early childhood education programs and, to 

19 the maximum extent practicable, the di20 verse (including linguistic and cultural) 

21 needs of eligible children (including chil22 dren with disabilities, homeless children, 

23 and children in foster care) and limited 

24 English proficient children and their fami25 lies, and personnel management, financial 


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1 accountability, and systems development 

2 and monitoring; 

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

4 the programs, a review and assessment of 

5 program effectiveness, including strengths 

6 and weaknesses, as measured in accord7 ance with the results-based performance 

8 measures developed by the Secretary pur9 suant to subsection (b) and with the stand10 ards established pursuant to subpara11 graphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1); 

12 ‘‘(iv) seek information from the com13 munities and States where Head Start pro14 grams exist about innovative or effective 

15 collaborative efforts, barriers to collabora16 tion, and the efforts of the Head Start 

17 agencies to collaborate with the entities 

18 carrying out early childhood education and 

19 child care programs in the community; 

20 ‘‘(v) include as part of the reviews of 

21 the programs, a review and assessment of 

22 whether the programs are in conformity 

23 with the income eligibility requirements 

24 under section 645 and regulations promul25 gated under such section; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) include as part of the reviews of 

2 the programs, a review and assessment of 

3 whether programs have adequately ad4 dressed population and community needs 

5 (including needs of populations of limited 

6 English proficient children and children of 

7 migrant and seasonal farmworking fami8 lies); 

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

10 the programs, a review and assessment of 

11 whether programs have adequately ad12 dressed the needs of children with disabil13 ities; 

14 ‘‘(viii) include as part of the reviews 

15 of the programs, data from the results of 

16 periodic child assessments, and a review 

17 and assessment of child outcomes and per18 formance as they relate to agency-deter19 mined school readiness goals described in 

20 section 641(a)(2)(A); and 

21 ‘‘(ix) in the case of Early Head Start 

22 programs, are conducted by a review team 

23 that includes individuals who are knowl24 edgeable about the development of infants 

25 and toddlers. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TRAINING; QUALITY AND CONSIST2 ENCY.—The Secretary, from funds available 

3 under section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii), shall provide 

4 periodic training for supervisors and members 

5 of review teams in such topics as program man6 agement and financial audit performance. The 

7 Secretary shall ensure the quality and consist8 ency across and within regions of reviews and 

9 non-compliance and deficiency determinations 

10 by conducting periodic interrater reliability 

11 checks.’’; 

12 (4) in subsection (d)(1)— 

13 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

14 (A), by inserting ‘‘or fails to address the com15 munitywide strategic plan and needs assessment 

16 identified in section 640(g)(2)(C),’’ after ‘‘sub17 section (b),’’; and 

18 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

19 ‘‘and identify the technical assistance to be pro20 vided consistent with paragraph (3)’’ after ‘‘cor21 rected’’; 

22 (5) in subsection (e), by striking the last sen23 tence and inserting ‘‘The information contained in 

24 such report shall be made available to all parents 

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1 chapter in an understandable and uniform format, 

2 and to the extent practicable, in a language that the 

3 parents can understand. Such information shall be 

4 made widely available through public means such as 

5 distribution through public agencies, and, at a min6 imum, by posting such information on the Internet 

7 immediately upon publication.’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(f) SELF-ASSESSMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

11 once each program year, with the consultation and 

12 participation of policy councils, and, as applicable, 

13 policy committees, and, as appropriate, other com14 munity members, each agency receiving funds under 

15 this subchapter shall conduct a comprehensive self16 assessment of the effectiveness and progress in 

17 meeting program goals and objectives and in imple18 menting and complying with Head Start program 

19 performance standards. 

20 ‘‘(2) REPORT AND IMPROVEMENT PLANS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REPORT.—An agency conducting a 

22 self-assessment shall report the findings of the 

23 self-assessment to the relevant policy council, 

24 policy committee, governing body, and regional 

25 office of the Administration for Children and 


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1 Families of the Department of Health and 

2 Human Services. Each self-assessment shall 

3 identify areas of strength and weakness. 

4 ‘‘(B) IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—The agency 

5 shall develop an improvement plan approved by 

6 the governing body of the agency to strengthen 

7 any areas identified in the self-assessment as 

8 weaknesses or in need of improvement. The 

9 agency shall report the areas to the appropriate 

10 regional office of the Administration for Chil11 dren and Families. 

12 ‘‘(3) ONGOING MONITORING.—Each Head Start 

13 agency, Early Head Start agency, and delegate 

14 agency shall establish and implement procedures for 

15 the ongoing monitoring of their Head Start and 

16 Early Head Start programs, to ensure that the oper17 ations of the programs work toward meeting pro18 gram goals and objectives and Head Start perform19 ance standards. 

20 ‘‘(4) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

21 Funds may be made available, through section 

22 648(d)(13), for training and technical assistance to 

23 assist agencies in conducting self-assessments. 

24 ‘‘(g) REDUCTION OF GRANTS AND REDISTRIBUTION

25 OF FUNDS IN CASES OF UNDER-ENROLLMENT.— 


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

2 ‘‘(A) ACTUAL ENROLLMENT.—The term 

3 ‘actual enrollment’ means, with respect to the 

4 program of a Head Start agency, the actual 

5 number of children enrolled in such program 

6 and reported by the agency (as required in 

7 paragraph (2)) in a given month. 

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

9 means, with respect to a Head Start agency for 

10 a fiscal year, that portion of the grant de11 rived— 

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

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

14 Head Start agency administering an In15 dian Head Start program or migrant and 

16 seasonal Head Start program; 

17 ‘‘(ii) from amounts reserved for pay18 ments under section 640(a)(2)(B); or 

19 ‘‘(iii) from amounts available under 

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

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

22 ‘‘(C) FUNDED ENROLLMENT.—The term 

23 ‘funded enrollment’ means, with respect to the 

24 program of a Head Start agency in a fiscal 

25 year, the number of children that the agency is 


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1 funded to serve through a grant for the pro2 gram during such fiscal year, as indicated in 

3 the grant award. 

4 ‘‘(2) ENROLLMENT REPORTING REQUIREMENT

5 FOR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.—Each entity carrying 

6 out a Head Start program shall report on a monthly 

7 basis to the Secretary and the relevant Head Start 

8 agency— 

9 ‘‘(A) the actual enrollment in such pro10 gram; and 

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

12 the funded enrollment, any apparent reason for 

13 such enrollment shortfall. 

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

15 Secretary shall— 

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

17 which Head Start agencies are operating with 

18 an actual enrollment that is less than the fund19 ed enrollment based on not less than 4 consecu20 tive months of data; 

21 ‘‘(B) for each such Head Start agency op22 erating a program with an actual enrollment 

23 that is less than 95 percent of its funded enroll24 ment, as determined under subparagraph (A), 

25 develop, in collaboration with such agency, a 


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1 plan and timetable for reducing or eliminating 

2 under-enrollment taking into consideration— 

3 ‘‘(i) the quality and extent of the out4 reach, recruitment, and communitywide 

5 needs assessment conducted by such agen6 cy; 

7 ‘‘(ii) changing demographics, mobility 

8 of populations, and the identification of 

9 new underserved low-income populations; 

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

11 impact enrollment; 

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

13 programs, where needed, through Head 

14 Start funds or through collaboration with 

15 entities carrying out other preschool or 

16 child care programs, or programs with 

17 other funding sources (where available); 

18 ‘‘(v) the availability and use by fami19 lies of other preschool and child care op20 tions (including parental care) in the local 

21 catchment area; and 

22 ‘‘(vi) agency management procedures 

23 that may impact enrollment; and 

24 ‘‘(C) provide timely and ongoing technical 

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1 graph (B) for the purpose of implementing the 

2 plan described in such subparagraph. 

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

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

5 Head Start agency shall immediately implement the 

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

7 ‘‘(5) SECRETARIAL ACTION FOR CONTINUED

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

9 implementation of the plan described in paragraph 

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

11 a program at less than full enrollment, the Secretary 

12 shall, where determined appropriate, continue to 

13 provide technical assistance to such agency. 

14 ‘‘(6) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT

15 FOR CHRONIC UNDER-ENROLLMENT.— 

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

17 technical assistance and developing and imple18 menting a plan to the extent described in para19 graphs (3), (4), and (5) for 9 months, a Head 

20 Start agency is still operating a program with 

21 an actual enrollment that is less than 95 per22 cent of its funded enrollment, the Secretary 

23 may— 

24 ‘‘(i) designate such agency as chron25 ically under-enrolled; and 


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

2 the base grant for the program by a per3 centage equal to the percentage difference 

4 between funded enrollment and actual en5 rollment for the program for the most re6 cent year in which the agency is deter7 mined to be under-enrolled under para8 graph (3)(A). 

9 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OR LIMITATION OF REDUC10 TIONS.—If the Secretary, after the implementa11 tion of the plan described in paragraph (3)(B), 

12 finds that— 

13 ‘‘(i) the causes of the enrollment 

14 shortfall, or a portion of the shortfall, are 

15 beyond the agency’s control (such as serv16 ing significant numbers of migrant or sea17 sonal farmworker children, homeless chil18 dren, children in foster care, or other high19 ly mobile children); 

20 ‘‘(ii) the shortfall can reasonably be 

21 expected to be temporary; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) the number of slots allotted to 

23 the agency is small enough that under-en24 rollment does not constitute a significant 

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1 priate, waive or reduce the percentage re2 capturing, withholding, or reduction other3 wise required by subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS; EF5 FECTIVE DATE.—The actions taken by the Sec6 retary under this paragraph with respect to a 

7 Head Start agency shall take effect 1 day after 

8 the date on which— 

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

10 section 646(a) expires without an appeal 

11 by the agency; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the action is upheld in an admin13 istrative hearing under section 646. 

14 ‘‘(7) REDISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

16 use amounts recovered from a Head Start agen17 cy through recapturing, withholding, or reduc18 tion under paragraph (6) in a fiscal year— 

19 ‘‘(i) in the case of a Head Start agen20 cy administering an Indian Head Start 

21 program or a migrant and seasonal Head 

22 Start program, whose base grant is derived 

23 from amounts specified in paragraph 

24 (1)(B)(i), to redirect funds to 1 or more 

25 agencies that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) are administering Head 

2 Start programs serving the same spe3 cial population; and 

4 ‘‘(II) demonstrate that the agen5 cies will use such redirected funds to 

6 increase enrollment in their Head 

7 Start programs in such fiscal year; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a Head Start agen9 cy in a State, whose base grant is derived 

10 from amounts specified in clause (ii) or 

11 (iii) of paragraph (1)(B), to redirect funds 

12 to 1 or more agencies that— 

13 ‘‘(I) are administering Head 

14 Start programs in the same State; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(II) make the demonstration de17 scribed in clause (i)(II). 

18 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—If there is no agen19 cy located in a State that meets the require20 ments of subclauses (I) and (II) of subpara21 graph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall use amounts 

22 described in subparagraph (A) to redirect funds 

23 to Head Start agencies located in other States 

24 that make the demonstration described in sub25 paragraph (A)(i)(II). 


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1 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT TO FUNDED ENROLL2 MENT.—The Secretary shall adjust as necessary 

3 the requirements relating to funded enrollment 

4 indicated in the grant agreement of a Head 

5 Start agency receiving redistributed amounts 

6 under this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(h) CONTRACT WITH NONPROFIT INTERMEDIARY

8 ORGANIZATION.—From funds reserved under clause (i) or 

9 (ii) of section 640(a)(2)(C) or from whatever other re10 sources the Secretary determines appropriate, in carrying 

11 out the provisions of this section, the Secretary or a Head 

12 Start agency may contract with a nonprofit intermediary 

13 organization that— 

14 ‘‘(1) provides evaluations and technical assist15 ance to improve overall performance management; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) has an exclusive focus of improving the 

18 performance management and the use of technology 

19 in assessing performance and meeting Head Start 

20 regulations and can provide on-site, hands-on guid21 ance with the implementation of the recommenda22 tions.’’. 

23 SEC. 9. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD. 

24 The Head Start Act is amended by inserting after 

25 section 641A (42 U.S.C. 9836a) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 641B. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILD2 HOOD. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘center 

4 of excellence’ means a Center of Excellence in Early Child5 hood designated under subsection (b). 

6 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION AND BONUS GRANTS.—The Sec7 retary shall, subject to the availability of funds under this 

8 subchapter, including under subsection (f), establish a 

9 program under which the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) designate not more than 200 exemplary 

11 Head Start agencies (including Early Head Start 

12 agencies, Indian Head Start agencies, and migrant 

13 and seasonal Head Start agencies) as Centers of Ex14 cellence in Early Childhood; and 

15 ‘‘(2) make bonus grants to the centers of excel16 lence to carry out the activities described in sub17 section (d). 

18 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION AND DESIGNATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) NOMINATION AND SUBMISSION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to 

22 receive a designation as a center of excel23 lence under subsection (b), except as pro24 vided in clause (ii), a Head Start agency in 

25 a State shall be nominated by the Gov26 ernor of the State and shall submit an apVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00089 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 plication to the Secretary at such time, in 

2 such manner, and containing such infor3 mation as the Secretary may require. 

4 ‘‘(ii) INDIAN AND MIGRANT AND SEA5 SONAL HEAD START PROGRAMS.—In the 

6 case of an Indian Head Start agency or a 

7 migrant or seasonal Head Start agency, to 

8 be eligible to receive a designation as a 

9 center of excellence under subsection (b), 

10 such an agency shall be nominated by the 

11 head of the appropriate regional office of 

12 the Department of Health and Human 

13 Services and shall submit an application to 

14 the Secretary in accordance with clause (i). 

15 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—At a minimum, the ap16 plication shall include— 

17 ‘‘(i) evidence that the Head Start pro18 gram carried out by the agency has signifi19 cantly improved the school readiness of, 

20 and enhanced academic outcomes for, chil21 dren who have participated in the program; 

22 ‘‘(ii) evidence that the program meets 

23 or exceeds standards and performance 

24 measures described in subsections (a) and 

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1 cessful completion of programmatic and 

2 monitoring reviews, and has no findings of 

3 deficiencies with respect to the standards 

4 and measures; 

5 ‘‘(iii) evidence that the program is 

6 making progress toward meeting the re7 quirements described in section 648A; 

8 ‘‘(iv) evidence demonstrating the ex9 istence of a collaborative partnership 

10 among the Head Start agency, the State 

11 (or a State agency), and other early care 

12 and education providers in the local com13 munity involved; 

14 ‘‘(v) a nomination letter from the 

15 Governor, or appropriate regional office, 

16 demonstrating the agency’s ability to carry 

17 out the coordination, transition, and train18 ing services of the program to be carried 

19 out under the bonus grant involved, includ20 ing coordination of activities with State 

21 and local agencies that provide early child22 hood services to children and families in 

23 the community served by the agency; 

24 ‘‘(vi) information demonstrating the 

25 existence of a local council for excellence in 


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1 early childhood, which shall include rep2 resentatives of all the institutions, agen3 cies, and groups involved in the work of 

4 the center for, and the local provision of 

5 services to, eligible children and other at6 risk children, and their families; and 

7 ‘‘(vii) a description of how the Center, 

8 in order to expand accessibility and con9 tinuity of quality early care and education, 

10 will coordinate the early care and edu11 cation activities assisted under this section 

12 with— 

13 ‘‘(I) programs carried out under 

14 the Child Care and Development 

15 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

16 9858 et seq.); 

17 ‘‘(II) other programs carried out 

18 under this subchapter, including the 

19 Early Head Start programs carried 

20 out under section 645A; 

21 ‘‘(III)(aa) Early Reading First 

22 and Even Start programs carried out 

23 under subparts 2 and 3 of part B of 

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1 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 6371 et seq., 6381 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(bb) other preschool programs 

4 carried out under title I of that Act 

5 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); and 

6 ‘‘(cc) the Ready-to-Learn Tele7 vision program carried out under sub8 part 3 of part D of title II of that Act 

9 (20 U.S.C. 6775 et seq.); 

10 ‘‘(IV) programs carried out 

11 under section 619 and part C of the 

12 Individuals with Disabilities Edu13 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et 

14 seq.); 

15 ‘‘(V) State prekindergarten pro16 grams; and 

17 ‘‘(VI) other early care and edu18 cation programs. 

19 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—In selecting agencies to des20 ignate as centers of excellence under subsection (b), 

21 the Secretary shall designate not less than 1 from 

22 each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, an 

23 Indian Head Start program, a migrant and seasonal 

24 Head Start program, and the Commonwealth of 

25 Puerto Rico. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making bonus grant deter2 minations under this section, the Secretary shall give 

3 priority to programs that, through their applications, 

4 demonstrate that they are of exceptional quality and 

5 would serve as exemplary models for programs in 

6 the same geographic region. The Secretary may also 

7 consider the populations served by the applicants, 

8 such as programs that serve large proportions of 

9 limited English proficient students or other under10 served populations, and may make bonus grants to 

11 programs that do an exceptional job meeting the 

12 needs of such children. 

13 ‘‘(4) TERM OF DESIGNATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara15 graph (B), the Secretary shall designate a Head 

16 Start agency as a center of excellence for a 5- 

17 year term. During the period of that designa18 tion, subject to the availability of appropria19 tions, the agency shall be eligible to receive a 

20 bonus grant under subsection (b). 

21 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—The Secretary may 

22 revoke an agency’s designation under subsection 

23 (b) if the Secretary determines that the agency 

24 is not demonstrating adequate performance or 


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1 has had findings of deficiencies described in 

2 paragraph (1)(B)(ii). 

3 ‘‘(5) AMOUNT OF BONUS GRANT.—The Sec4 retary shall base the amount of funding provided 

5 through a bonus grant made under subsection (b) to 

6 a center of excellence on the number of children eli7 gible for Head Start services in the community in8 volved. The Secretary shall, subject to the avail9 ability of funding, make such a bonus grant in an 

10 amount of not less than $200,000 per year. 

11 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES.—A center of excellence that 

13 receives a bonus grant under subsection (b)— 

14 ‘‘(A) shall use the funds made available 

15 through the bonus grant to model and dissemi16 nate, to other Head Start centers in the State 

17 involved, best practices for achieving early aca18 demic success, including achieving school readi19 ness and developing pre-literacy and 

20 premathematics skills for at-risk children and 

21 achieving the acquisition of the English lan22 guage for limited English proficient children, 

23 and to provide seamless service delivery for eli24 gible children and their families; 


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1 ‘‘(B) may use the funds made available 

2 through the bonus grant— 

3 ‘‘(i) to provide Head Start services to 

4 additional eligible children; 

5 ‘‘(ii) to better meet the needs of work6 ing families in the community served by 

7 the center by serving more children in ex8 isting Early Head Start programs (existing 

9 as of the date the center is designated 

10 under this section) or in full-working-day, 

11 full calendar year Head Start programs; 

12 ‘‘(iii) to further coordinate early child13 hood and social services available in the 

14 community served by the center for at-risk 

15 children (birth through age 8), their fami16 lies, and pregnant women; 

17 ‘‘(iv) to provide training and cross 

18 training for Head Start teachers and staff, 

19 child care providers, public and private 

20 preschool and elementary school teachers, 

21 and other providers of early childhood serv22 ices, and training and cross training to de23 velop agency leaders; 

24 ‘‘(v) to provide effective transitions 

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1 tary school, to facilitate ongoing commu2 nication between Head Start and elemen3 tary school teachers concerning children 

4 receiving Head Start services, and to pro5 vide training and technical assistance to 

6 providers who are public elementary school 

7 teachers and other staff of local edu8 cational agencies, child care providers, 

9 family service providers, and other pro10 viders of early childhood services, to help 

11 the providers described in this clause in12 crease their ability to work with low-in13 come, at-risk children and their families; 

14 ‘‘(vi) to develop or maintain partner15 ships with institutions of higher education 

16 and nonprofit organizations, including 

17 community-based organizations, that re18 cruit, train, place, and support college stu19 dents to serve as mentors and reading 

20 partners to preschool children in Head 

21 Start programs; and 

22 ‘‘(vii) to carry out other activities de23 termined by the center to improve the 

24 overall quality of the Head Start program 


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1 carried out by the agency and the program 

2 carried out under the bonus grant involved. 

3 ‘‘(2) INVOLVEMENT OF OTHER HEAD START

4 AGENCIES AND PROVIDERS.—A center that receives 

5 a bonus grant under subsection (b), in carrying out 

6 activities under this subsection, shall work with the 

7 center’s delegate agencies and several additional 

8 Head Start agencies (especially agencies that are 

9 low-performing on the standards or performance 

10 measures established under this subchapter), and 

11 other providers of early childhood services in the 

12 community involved, to encourage the agencies and 

13 providers described in this sentence to carry out 

14 model programs. 

15 ‘‘(e) RESEARCH AND REPORTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Secretary shall, subject 

17 to the availability of funds to carry out this sub18 section, award a grant or contract to an independent 

19 organization to conduct research on the ability of the 

20 centers of excellence to improve the school readiness 

21 of children receiving Head Start services, and to 

22 positively impact school results in the earliest 

23 grades. The organization shall also conduct research 

24 to measure the success of the centers of excellence 

25 at encouraging the center’s delegate agencies, addiVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 tional Head Start agencies, and other providers of 

2 early childhood services in the communities involved 

3 to meet measurable improvement goals, particularly 

4 in the area of school readiness. 

5 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 48 months after 

6 the date of enactment of the Head Start for School 

7 Readiness Act, the organization shall prepare and 

8 submit to the Secretary and Congress a report con9 taining the results of the research described in para10 graph (1). 

11 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 

13 2008 through 2012— 

14 ‘‘(1) $90,000,000 to make bonus grants to cen15 ters of excellence under subsection (b) to carry out 

16 activities described in subsection (d); 

17 ‘‘(2) $500,000 to pay for the administrative 

18 costs of the Secretary in carrying out this section; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(3) $2,000,000 for research activities de21 scribed in subsection (e).’’. 

22 SEC. 10. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGEN23 CIES. 

24 Section 642 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking all that precedes ‘‘In order’’ the 

2 first place it appears and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 642. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGEN4 CIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; and 

6 (2) by striking subsections (b) through (e) and 

7 inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In order to be 

9 designated as a Head Start agency under this subchapter, 

10 a Head Start agency shall also— 

11 ‘‘(1) establish a program with all standards set 

12 forth in section 641A(a)(1), with particular atten13 tion to the standards set forth in subparagraphs (A) 

14 and (B) of such section; 

15 ‘‘(2) demonstrate the capacity to serve eligible 

16 children with scientifically based curricula and other 

17 interventions and support services that help promote 

18 the school readiness of children participating in the 

19 program; 

20 ‘‘(3) establish effective procedures and provide 

21 for the regular assessment of Head Start children, 

22 including observational and direct formal assess23 ment, where appropriate; 

24 ‘‘(4) establish effective procedures, for deter25 mining the needs of children, that include high qualVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ity research based developmental screening tools that 

2 have been demonstrated to be valid, reliable, and ac3 curate for children from a range of backgrounds; 

4 ‘‘(5) require each delegate agency to create a 

5 policy committee, which shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) be comprised of members of the com7 munity to be served, including parents of chil8 dren who are currently enrolled in the Head 

9 Start programs of the Head Start agency; and 

10 ‘‘(B) serve in an advisory capacity to the 

11 delegate agency, to make decisions and rec12 ommendations regarding program planning and 

13 operation and parental involvement. 

14 ‘‘(6) seek the involvement of parents, area resi15 dents, and local business in the design and imple16 mentation of the program; 

17 ‘‘(7) provide for the regular participation of 

18 parents and area residents in the implementation of 

19 the program; 

20 ‘‘(8) provide technical and other support needed 

21 to enable such parents and area residents to secure, 

22 on their own behalf, available assistance from public 

23 and private sources; 

24 ‘‘(9) establish effective procedures to facilitate 

25 the involvement of parents of participating children 


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1 in activities designed to help such parents become 

2 full partners in the education of their children, and 

3 to afford such parents the opportunity to participate 

4 in the development and overall conduct of the pro5 gram at the local level; 

6 ‘‘(10) conduct outreach to schools in which 

7 Head Start children will enroll, local educational 

8 agencies, the local business community, community9 based organizations, faith-based organizations, mu10 seums, and libraries to generate support and lever11 age the resources of the entire local community in 

12 order to improve school readiness; 

13 ‘‘(11) offer (directly or through referral to local 

14 entities, such as entities carrying out Even Start 

15 programs under subpart 3 of part B of title I of the 

16 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 6381 et seq.)), to parents of partici18 pating children, family literacy services, and par19 enting skills training; 

20 ‘‘(12) offer to parents of participating children 

21 substance abuse and other counseling (either directly 

22 or through referral to local entities), if needed, in23 cluding information on the effect of drug exposure 

24 on infants and fetal alcohol syndrome; 


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1 ‘‘(13) at the option of such agency, offer (di2 rectly or through referral to local entities), to such 

3 parents— 

4 ‘‘(A) training in basic child development 

5 (including cognitive development); 

6 ‘‘(B) assistance in developing literacy and 

7 communication skills; 

8 ‘‘(C) opportunities to share experiences 

9 with other parents (including parent mentor re10 lationships); 

11 ‘‘(D) regular in-home visitation; or 

12 ‘‘(E) any other activity designed to help 

13 such parents become full partners in the edu14 cation of their children; 

15 ‘‘(14) provide, with respect to each partici16 pating family, a family needs assessment that in17 cludes consultation with such parents (including fos18 ter parents and grandparents, where applicable) 

19 about the benefits of parent involvement and about 

20 the activities described in this subsection in which 

21 such parents may choose to be involved (taking into 

22 consideration their specific family needs, work sched23 ules, and other responsibilities); 

24 ‘‘(15) consider providing services to assist 

25 younger siblings of children participating in its Head 


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1 Start program, to obtain health services from other 

2 sources; 

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

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

7 ‘‘(17)(A) inform custodial parents in single-par8 ent families that participate in programs, activities, 

9 or services carried out or provided under this sub10 chapter about the availability of child support serv11 ices for purposes of establishing paternity and ac12 quiring child support; and 

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

14 offices of State and local governments; 

15 ‘‘(18) provide parents of limited English pro16 ficient children outreach and information in an un17 derstandable and uniform format and, to the extent 

18 practicable, in a language that the parents can un19 derstand; and 

20 ‘‘(19) at the option of such agency, partner 

21 with an institution of higher education and a non22 profit organization to provide college students with 

23 the opportunity to serve as mentors or reading part24 ners to Head Start participants. 


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1 ‘‘(c) TRANSITION ACTIVITIES TO FACILITATE CON2 TINUED PROGRESS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Head Start agency 

4 shall collaborate with the entities listed in this sub5 section, to the maximum extent possible, to ensure 

6 the successful transition of Head Start children to 

7 school, so that such children are able to build upon 

8 the developmental and educational gains achieved in 

9 Head Start programs in further schooling. 

10 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.— 

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

12 communities where both public prekindergarten 

13 programs and Head Start programs operate, a 

14 Head Start agency shall collaborate and coordi15 nate activities with the local educational agency 

16 or other public agency responsible for the oper17 ation of the prekindergarten program and pro18 viders of prekindergarten, including outreach 

19 activities to identify eligible children. 

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

21 staff shall, with the permission of the parents 

22 of children enrolled in Head Start programs, 

23 regularly communicate with the elementary 

24 schools such children will be attending to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) share information about such 

2 children; 

3 ‘‘(ii) collaborate with the teachers in 

4 such elementary schools regarding teaching 

5 strategies and options; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) ensure a smooth transition to el7 ementary school for such children. 

8 ‘‘(C) OTHER PROGRAMS.—The head of 

9 each Head Start agency shall coordinate activi10 ties and collaborate with the State agency re11 sponsible for administering the State program 

12 carried out under the Child Care and Develop13 ment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 

14 et seq.), other entities carrying out early child15 hood education and development programs, and 

16 the agencies responsible for administering sec17 tion 106 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 

18 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a), parts B and 

19 E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.), programs 

21 under subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney22 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 11431 et seq.), Even Start programs under 

24 subpart 3 of part B of title I of the Elementary 

25 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 


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1 U.S.C. 6381 et seq.), and programs under sec2 tion 619 and part C of the Individuals with 

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

4 1431 et seq.), serving the children and families 

5 served by the Head Start agency. 

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

7 shall take steps to coordinate activities with the local 

8 educational agency serving the community involved 

9 and with schools in which children participating in 

10 a Head Start program operated by such agency will 

11 enroll following such program, including— 

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

13 transportation and facilities, in appropriate 

14 cases; 

15 ‘‘(B) collaborating to reduce the duplica16 tion of services while increasing the program 

17 participation of underserved populations of eli18 gible children; and 

19 ‘‘(C) exchanging information on the provi20 sion of noneducational services to such children. 

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

22 promote the continued involvement of the parents of 

23 children that participate in Head Start programs in 

24 the education of their children, the Head Start agen25 cy shall— 


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

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

3 rights and responsibilities concerning the 

4 education of their children; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) to enable the parents, upon the 

6 transition of their children to school— 

7 ‘‘(I) to understand and work with 

8 schools in order to communicate with 

9 teachers and other school personnel; 

10 ‘‘(II) to support the schoolwork 

11 of their children; and 

12 ‘‘(III) to participate as appro13 priate in decisions relating to the edu14 cation of their children; and 

15 ‘‘(B) take other actions, as appropriate 

16 and feasible, to support the active involvement 

17 of the parents with schools, school personnel, 

18 and school-related organizations. 

19 ‘‘(d) ASSESSMENT OR EVALUATION.—Each Head 

20 Start agency shall adopt, in consultation with experts in 

21 child development and with classroom teachers, an assess22 ment or evaluation to measure whether classroom teachers 

23 have mastered the functions described in section 

24 648A(a)(1) and have attained a level of literacy appro25 priate to implement Head Start curricula. 


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1 ‘‘(e) FUNDED ENROLLMENT; WAITING LIST.—Each 

2 Head Start agency shall enroll 100 percent of its funded 

3 enrollment and maintain an active waiting list at all times 

4 with ongoing outreach to the community and activities to 

5 identify underserved populations. 

6 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING

7 PLAN.—In order to receive funds under this subchapter, 

8 a Head Start agency shall develop an annual technical as9 sistance and training plan. Such plan shall be based on 

10 the agency’s self-assessment, the communitywide needs as11 sessment, and the needs of parents to be served by such 

12 agency.’’. 

13 SEC. 11. HEAD START TRANSITION. 

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

15 9837a) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 642A. HEAD START TRANSITION AND ALIGNMENT 

17 WITH K–12 EDUCATION. 

18 ‘‘Each Head Start agency shall take steps to coordi19 nate activities with the local educational agency serving 

20 the community involved and with schools in which children 

21 participating in a Head Start program operated by such 

22 agency will enroll following such program, which may in23 clude— 

24 ‘‘(1) developing and implementing a systematic 

25 procedure for transferring, with parental consent, 


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1 Head Start program records for each participating 

2 child to the school in which such child will enroll; 

3 ‘‘(2) establishing ongoing channels of commu4 nication between Head Start staff and their counter5 parts in the schools (including teachers, social work6 ers, health staff, and local educational agency liai7 sons designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 

8 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii))) to facilitate coordination 

10 of programs; 

11 ‘‘(3) establishing comprehensive transition poli12 cies and procedures that support children 

13 transitioning to school, including by engaging the 

14 local education agency in the establishment of such 

15 policies; 

16 ‘‘(4) developing a continuity of developmentally 

17 appropriate curricular objectives and practices be18 tween the Head Start agency and local educational 

19 agency, that reflect shared expectations for chil20 dren’s learning and development for the transition to 

21 school; 

22 ‘‘(5) conducting outreach to parents, elemen23 tary school (such as kindergarten) teachers, and 

24 Head Start teachers to discuss the educational, de25 velopmental, and other needs of individual children; 


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

3 staff and Head Start staff; 

4 ‘‘(7) developing and implementing a family out5 reach and support program, in cooperation with en6 tities carrying out parental involvement efforts 

7 under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), and 

9 family outreach and support efforts under subtitle B 

10 of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist11 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.), taking into con12 sideration the language needs of limited English pro13 ficient parents; 

14 ‘‘(8) assisting families, administrators, and 

15 teachers in enhancing educational and developmental 

16 continuity and continuity of parental involvement in 

17 activities between Head Start services and elemen18 tary school classes; 

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

20 Start program with the education services, including 

21 services relating to language, literacy, and 

22 numeracy, provided by such local educational agen23 cy; 

24 ‘‘(10) helping parents understand the impor25 tance of parental involvement in a child’s academic 


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1 success while teaching the parents strategies for 

2 maintaining parental involvement as their child 

3 moves from the Head Start program to elementary 

4 school; 

5 ‘‘(11) helping parents understand the instruc6 tional and other services provided by the school in 

7 which their child will enroll after participation in the 

8 Head Start program; and 

9 ‘‘(12) coordinating activities and collaborating 

10 to ensure that curricula used in the Head Start pro11 gram are aligned with State early learning standards 

12 and the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework 

13 with regard to cognitive development (including lan14 guage, pre-literacy, and premathematics com15 petencies), and social, emotional, and physical com16 petencies that children entering kindergarten are ex17 pected to demonstrate.’’. 

18 SEC. 12. SUBMISSION OF PLANS TO GOVERNORS. 

19 Section 643 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9838) 

20 is amended— 

21 (1) in the first sentence— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘chief executive officer’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘Governor’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘45’’ and inserting ‘‘30’’; 


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1 (2) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘, how2 ever,’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘This 

4 section shall not apply to contracts, agreements, 

5 grants, loans, or other assistance for Indian Head 

6 Start programs and migrant and seasonal Head 

7 Start programs.’’. 

8 SEC. 13. COSTS OF DEVELOPING AND ADMINISTERING A 

9 PROGRAM. 

10 Section 644(b) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 9839(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) Ex13 cept’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(2)(A) The limitation prescribed by paragraph (1) 

16 shall not prohibit a Head Start agency from expending 

17 an amount in excess of allowable direct costs associated 

18 with developing and administering a program assisted 

19 under this subchapter, if— 

20 ‘‘(i) the agency submits an application for a 

21 grant year containing an assurance that— 

22 ‘‘(I) the agency will serve a greater per23 centage of children in the community involved 

24 than were served in the preceding grant year; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the agency will not diminish services 

2 provided to currently enrolled children (as of 

3 the date of the application), including the num4 ber of hours and days such services are pro5 vided; 

6 ‘‘(ii) any such excess amount does not exceed 5 

7 percent of the total costs, including the required 

8 non-Federal contributions to such costs, of such pro9 gram; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) in the event that the applicant applies to 

11 expend any such excess amount in a subsequent 

12 grant year, the applicant continues to serve the same 

13 number of children as proposed in the initial applica14 tion submitted under this paragraph and accom15 plishes, relative to the prior Head Start agency, at 

16 least 3 of the 5 improved outcomes. 

17 ‘‘(B) In subparagraph (A), the term ‘improved out18 come’ means— 

19 ‘‘(i) an increase in average teacher salary; 

20 ‘‘(ii) an increase in the number of qualified 

21 teachers; 

22 ‘‘(iii) a significant increase in the number of 

23 children who receive full-day Head Start services; 

24 ‘‘(iv) a decrease in the caseload for family work25 ers; or 


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1 ‘‘(v) an increase in transportation options for 

2 families. 

3 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall approve not more than 10 

4 applications described in subparagraph (A) for a fiscal 

5 year, and to the extent practicable shall ensure participa6 tion under this paragraph of a diverse group of Head 

7 Start agencies, including public, private nonprofit, and 

8 for-profit agencies operating Head Start programs.’’. 

9 SEC. 14. PARTICIPATION IN HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

10 Section 645 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

15 ‘‘130 percent of’’ after ‘‘below’’; and 

16 (ii) in the flush matter at the end, by 

17 adding at the end the following: ‘‘A home18 less child shall be deemed eligible for Head 

19 Start services.’’; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(3)(A) In this paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(i) The term ‘dependent’ has the meaning 

23 given the term in paragraphs (2)(A) and (4)(A)(i) of 

24 section 401(a) of title 37, United States Code. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The terms ‘member’ and ‘uniformed serv2 ices’ have the meanings given the terms in para3 graphs (23) and (3), respectively, of section 101 of 

4 title 37, United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(B) The following amounts of pay and allowance of 

6 a member of the uniformed services shall not be consid7 ered to be income for purposes of determining the eligi8 bility of a dependent of such member for programs funded 

9 under this subchapter: 

10 ‘‘(i) The amount of any special pay payable 

11 under section 310 of title 37, United States Code, 

12 relating to duty subject to hostile fire or imminent 

13 danger. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The amount of basic allowance payable 

15 under section 403 of such title, including any such 

16 amount that is provided on behalf of the member for 

17 housing that is acquired or constructed under the al18 ternative authority for the acquisition and improve19 ment of military housing under subchapter IV of 

20 chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code, or any 

21 other related provision of law. 

22 ‘‘(4) After demonstrating a need through a com23 munitywide needs assessment, a Head Start agency may 

24 apply to the Secretary to convert part-day sessions, parVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00116 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ticularly consecutive part-day sessions, into full-day ses2 sions. 

3 ‘‘(5)(A) Consistent with a communitywide needs as4 sessment, a Head Start agency may apply to the Secretary 

5 to serve additional infants and toddlers if the agency sub6 mits an application to the Secretary containing— 

7 ‘‘(i) a description of how the needs of pregnant 

8 women, infants, and toddlers will be addressed in ac9 cordance with section 645A(b), and with regulations 

10 prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to section 

11 641A in areas including the agency’s approach to 

12 child development and provision of health services, 

13 approach to family and community partnerships, 

14 and approach to program design and management; 

15 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the needs of eligible 

16 Head Start children are being and will be served; 

17 ‘‘(iii) assurances that the agency will participate 

18 in technical assistance activities (including a plan19 ning period, start-up site visits, and national train20 ing activities) in the same manner as recipients of 

21 grants under section 645A; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) evidence that the agency meets the same 

23 eligibility criteria as recipients of grants under sec24 tion 645A. 


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1 ‘‘(B) In approving such applications, the Secretary 

2 shall take into account the costs of serving persons under 

3 section 645A. 

4 ‘‘(C) Any Head Start agency designated under this 

5 section and permitted to use grant funds under subpara6 graph (A) to serve additional infants and toddlers shall 

7 be considered to be an Early Head Start agency and shall 

8 be subject to the same rules, regulations, and conditions 

9 as apply to recipients of grants under section 645A for 

10 those grant funds.’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

14 an Indian tribe that operates both a Head Start program 

15 and an Early Head Start program under section 645A 

16 may, at its discretion, at any time during the grant period 

17 involved, reallocate funds between the Head Start pro18 gram and the Early Head Start program in order to ad19 dress fluctuations in client population, including pregnant 

20 women and children birth to compulsory school age. The 

21 reallocation of such funds between programs by an Indian 

22 tribe shall not serve as the basis for the Secretary to re23 duce a base grant (as defined in section 641A(g)(1)) for 

24 either program in succeeding years.’’. 


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1 SEC. 15. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

2 Section 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 9840a) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking the section heading and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 645A. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS.’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (b)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘provide 

9 services to parents to support their role as par10 ents’’ and inserting ‘‘provide additional services 

11 and research-based activities to parents to sup12 port their role as parents (including parenting 

13 skills training and training in basic child devel14 opment)’’; 

15 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 

16 (7), (8), and (9) as paragraphs (6), (8), (11), 

17 (12), and (13), respectively; 

18 (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(5) where appropriate and in conjunction with 

21 services provided under this section to the children’s 

22 immediate families (or as approved by the Sec23 retary), provide home-based services to family child 

24 care homes, and kin caregivers, caring for infants 

25 and toddlers who also participate in Early Head 

26 Start programs, to provide continuity in supporting 


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1 the children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and phys2 ical development;’’; 

3 (D) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by 

4 subparagraph (B)— 

5 (i) by inserting ‘‘(including home6 based services)’’ after ‘‘with services’’; 

7 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and homeless infants 

8 and toddlers’’ after ‘‘disabilities’’; and 

9 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, and family sup10 port services’’ after ‘‘health services’’; 

11 (E) by inserting after paragraph (6), as re12 designated by subparagraph (B), the following: 

13 ‘‘(7) ensure that children with documented be14 havioral problems, including problems involving be15 havior related to prior or existing trauma, receive 

16 appropriate screening and deferral;’’; 

17 (F) by inserting after paragraph (8), as re18 designated by subparagraph (B), the following: 

19 ‘‘(9) develop and implement a systematic proce20 dure for transitioning children and parents from an 

21 Early Head Start program into a Head Start pro22 gram or another local early childhood education pro23 gram; 

24 ‘‘(10) establish channels of communication be25 tween staff of Early Head Start programs and staff 


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1 of Head Start programs or other local early child2 hood education programs, to facilitate the coordina3 tion of programs;’’; and 

4 (G) in paragraph (12), as redesignated by 

5 subparagraph (B)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘and providers’’ and in7 serting ‘‘, providers’’; and 

8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and the agencies 

9 responsible for administering section 106 

10 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat11 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a) and parts B 

12 and E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.)’’ 

14 after ‘‘(20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.)’’; 

15 (3) in subsection (d)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, in17 cluding tribal governments and entities oper18 ating migrant and seasonal Head Start pro19 grams’’ after ‘‘subchapter’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, in21 cluding community-based organizations’’ after 

22 ‘‘private entities’’; 

23 (4) in subsection (g)(2)(B), by striking clause 

24 (iv) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(iv) providing professional develop2 ment and personnel enhancement activi3 ties, including the provision of funds to re4 cipients of grants under subsection (a), re5 lating to— 

6 ‘‘(I) effective methods of con7 ducting parent education, home vis8 iting, and promoting quality early 

9 childhood development; 

10 ‘‘(II) recruiting and retaining 

11 qualified staff; and 

12 ‘‘(III) increasing program partici13 pation for underserved populations of 

14 eligible children.’’; 

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

16 ‘‘(h) STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) CENTER-BASED STAFF.—The Secretary 

18 shall establish staff qualification goals to ensure 

19 that, not later than September 30, 2012, all teachers 

20 providing direct services to Early Head Start chil21 dren and families in Early Head Start centers have 

22 a minimum of a child development associate creden23 tial or an associate degree, and have been trained 

24 (or have equivalent course work) in early childhood 


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1 development with a focus on infant and toddler de2 velopment. 

3 ‘‘(2) HOME VISITOR STAFF.— 

4 ‘‘(A) STANDARDS.—In order to further en5 hance the quality of home visiting services pro6 vided to families of children participating in 

7 home-based, center-based, or combination pro8 gram options under this subchapter, the Sec9 retary shall establish standards for training, 

10 qualifications, and the conduct of home visits 

11 for home visitor staff in Early Head Start pro12 grams. 

13 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The standards for 

14 training, qualifications, and the conduct of 

15 home visits shall include content related to— 

16 ‘‘(i) structured child-focused home vis17 iting that promotes parents’ ability to sup18 port the child’s cognitive, social, emotional, 

19 and physical development; 

20 ‘‘(ii) effective strengths-based parent 

21 education, including methods to encourage 

22 parents as their child’s first teachers; 

23 ‘‘(iii) early childhood development 

24 with respect to children from birth through 

25 age 3; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) methods to help parents promote 

2 emergent literacy in their children from 

3 birth through age 3, including use of re4 search-based strategies to support the de5 velopment of literacy and language skills 

6 for children who are limited English pro7 ficient; 

8 ‘‘(v) health, vision, hearing, and devel9 opmental screenings; 

10 ‘‘(vi) strategies for helping families 

11 coping with crisis; and 

12 ‘‘(vii) the relationship of health and 

13 well-being of pregnant women to prenatal 

14 and early child development.’’. 

15 SEC. 16. APPEALS, NOTICE, AND HEARING AND RECORDS 

16 AND FINANCIAL AUDITS. 

17 (a) APPEALS, NOTICE, AND HEARING.—Section 

18 646(a) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9841(a)) is 

19 amended by striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) financial assistance under this subchapter 

22 may be terminated or reduced, and an application 

23 for refunding may be denied, after the recipient has 

24 been afforded reasonable notice and opportunity for 

25 a full and fair hearing, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a right to file a notice of appeal of a 

2 decision within 30 days of notice of the decision 

3 from the Secretary; and 

4 ‘‘(B) access to a full and fair hearing of 

5 the appeal, not later than 120 days from receipt 

6 by the Secretary of the notice of appeal; 

7 ‘‘(4) the Secretary shall develop and publish 

8 procedures (including mediation procedures) to be 

9 used in order to— 

10 ‘‘(A) resolve in a timely manner conflicts 

11 potentially leading to an adverse action be12 tween— 

13 ‘‘(i) recipients of financial assistance 

14 under this subchapter; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) delegate agencies, or policy coun16 cils of Head Start agencies; 

17 ‘‘(B) avoid the need for an administrative 

18 hearing on an adverse action; and 

19 ‘‘(C) prohibit a Head Start agency from 

20 expending financial assistance awarded under 

21 this subchapter for the purpose of paying legal 

22 fees pursuant to an appeal under paragraph 

23 (3), except that such fees shall be reimbursed 

24 by the Secretary if the agency prevails in such 

25 decision; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) the Secretary may suspend funds to a 

2 grantee under this subchapter— 

3 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

4 (B), for not more than 30 days; or 

5 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grantee under this 

6 subchapter that has multiple and recurring de7 ficiencies for 180 days or more and has not 

8 made substantial and significant progress to9 ward meeting the goals of the grantee’s quality 

10 improvement plan or eliminating all deficiencies 

11 identified by the Secretary, during the hearing 

12 of an appeal described in paragraph (3), for 

13 any amount of time, including permanently.’’. 

14 (b) RECORDS AND FINANCIAL AUDITS.— 

15 (1) HEADING.—Section 647 of the Head Start 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) is amended by striking the 

17 section heading and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘RECORDS AND FINANCIAL AUDITS’’. 

19 (2) RECIPIENTS.—Section 647(a) of the Head 

20 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842(a)) is amended by strik21 ing ‘‘Each recipient of’’ and inserting ‘‘Each Head 

22 Start agency, Head Start center, or Early Head 

23 Start center receiving’’. 

24 (3) FINANCIAL AUDITS.—Subsections (a) and 

25 (b) of section 647 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 9842) are amended by striking ‘‘audit’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘financial audit’’. 

3 (4) ACCOUNTING.—Section 647 of the Head 

4 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) Each Head Start agency, Head Start center, or 

7 Early Head Start center receiving financial assistance 

8 under this subchapter shall maintain, and annually submit 

9 to the Secretary, a complete accounting of its administra10 tive expenses, including expenses for salaries and com11 pensation funded under this subchapter and provide such 

12 additional documentation as the Secretary may require.’’. 

13 SEC. 17. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. 

14 Section 648 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘(b) and 

17 (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘(b), (c), and (d)’’; 

18 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) 

19 as subsections (c) through (f), respectively; 

20 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall make available funds set 

23 aside in section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) to support a State system 

24 of early childhood education training and technical assist25 ance (which may include such a system for a consortium 


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1 of States within a region) that improves the capacity of 

2 Head Start programs to deliver services in accordance 

3 with the standards described in section 641A(a)(1), with 

4 particular attention to the standards described in subpara5 graphs (A) and (B) of such section. The Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) ensure that agencies with demonstrated 

7 expertise in providing high-quality training and tech8 nical assistance to improve the delivery of Head 

9 Start services, including the State Head Start Asso10 ciations, State agencies, Indian Head Start agencies, 

11 migrant and seasonal Head Start agencies, and 

12 other entities providing training and technical assist13 ance in early education, for the State (including 

14 such a consortium of States within a region) are in15 cluded in the planning and coordination of the sys16 tem; and 

17 ‘‘(2) encourage States (including such con18 sortia) to supplement the funds authorized in section 

19 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) with Federal, State, or local funds 

20 other than Head Start funds, to expand training and 

21 technical assistance activities beyond Head Start 

22 agencies to include other providers of other early 

23 childhood services within a State (including such a 

24 consortium).’’; 

25 (4) in subsection (d), as so redesignated— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking 

2 ‘‘educational performance measures’’ and in3 serting ‘‘measures’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and 

5 for activities described in section 1222(d) of the 

6 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6372(d))’’ after ‘‘children with 

8 disabilities’’; 

9 (C) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, in10 cluding assessing the needs of homeless children 

11 and their families’’ after ‘‘needs assessment’’; 

12 (D) by striking paragraph (7) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(7) assist Head Start agencies in better serv15 ing the needs of families with very young children, 

16 including providing support and program planning 

17 and implementation assistance for Head Start agen18 cies that apply to serve or are serving additional in19 fants and toddlers with funds previously used for 3- 

20 and 4-year-olds in accordance with section 

21 645(a)(5);’’; 

22 (E) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

23 and inserting a semicolon; 

24 (F) in paragraph (11), by striking the pe25 riod and inserting a semicolon; and 


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

2 ‘‘(12) assist Head Start agencies in increasing 

3 the program participation of homeless children; 

4 ‘‘(13) provide training and technical assistance 

5 to members of governing bodies, policy councils, and, 

6 as appropriate, policy committees, to ensure that the 

7 members can fulfill their functions; 

8 ‘‘(14) provide training and technical assistance 

9 to Head Start agencies to assist such agencies in 

10 conducting self-assessments; 

11 ‘‘(15) assist Head Start agencies in improving 

12 outreach to, and the quality of services available to, 

13 limited English proficient children and their families, 

14 including such services to help such families learn 

15 English, particularly in communities that have expe16 rienced a large percentage increase in the population 

17 of limited English proficient individuals, as meas18 ured by the Bureau of the Census; 

19 ‘‘(16) provide activities that help ensure that 

20 Head Start programs have qualified staff who can 

21 promote prevention of childhood obesity by inte22 grating into the programs developmentally appro23 priate research-based initiatives that stress the im24 portance of physical activity and nutrition choices 


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1 made by children and family, through daily class2 room and family routines; and 

3 ‘‘(17) assist Indian Head Start agencies to pro4 vide on-site and off-site training to staff, using ap5 proaches that identify and enhance the positive re6 sources and strengths of Indian children and fami7 lies, to improve parent and family engagement and 

8 staff development, particularly with regard to child 

9 and family development.’’; 

10 (5) in subsection (e), as so redesignated, by in11 serting ‘‘including community-based organizations,’’ 

12 after ‘‘nonprofit entities,’’; 

13 (6) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by in14 serting ‘‘or providing services to children determined 

15 to be abused or neglected, training for personnel 

16 providing services to children referred by entities 

17 providing child welfare services or receiving child 

18 welfare services,’’ after ‘‘English language)’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 

21 through grants or other arrangements, funds for training 

22 of Head Start personnel in addressing the unique needs 

23 of migrant and seasonal farmworking families, families 

24 with limited English proficiency, and homeless families. 


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1 ‘‘(h) Funds used under this section shall be used to 

2 provide high quality, sustained, and intensive, training 

3 and technical assistance in order to have a positive and 

4 lasting impact on classroom instruction. Funds shall be 

5 used to carry out activities related to 1 or more of the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(1) Education and early childhood develop8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(2) Child health, nutrition, and safety. 

10 ‘‘(3) Family and community partnerships. 

11 ‘‘(4) Other areas that impact the quality or 

12 overall effectiveness of Head Start programs. 

13 ‘‘(i) Funds used under this section for training shall 

14 be used for needs identified annually by a grant applicant 

15 or delegate agency in its program improvement plan, ex16 cept that funds shall not be used for long-distance travel 

17 expenses for training activities— 

18 ‘‘(1) available locally or regionally; or 

19 ‘‘(2) substantially similar to locally or regionally 

20 available training activities. 

21 ‘‘(j)(1) To support local efforts to enhance early lan22 guage and preliteracy development of children in Head 

23 Start programs, and to provide the children with high24 quality oral language skills, and environments that are 

25 rich in literature, in which to acquire language and 


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1 preliteracy skills, each Head Start agency, in coordination 

2 with the appropriate State office and the relevant State 

3 Head Start collaboration office, shall ensure that all of 

4 the agency’s Head Start teachers receive ongoing training 

5 in language and emergent literacy (referred to in this sub6 section as ‘literacy training’), including appropriate cur7 ricula and assessments to improve instruction and learn8 ing. Such training shall include training in methods to 

9 promote phonological awareness (including phonemic 

10 awareness) and vocabulary development in an age-appro11 priate and culturally and linguistically appropriate man12 ner. 

13 ‘‘(2) The literacy training shall be provided at the 

14 local level in order— 

15 ‘‘(A) to be provided, to the extent feasible, in 

16 the context of the Head Start programs of the State 

17 involved and the children the program involved 

18 serves; and 

19 ‘‘(B) to be tailored to the early childhood lit20 eracy background and experience of the teachers in21 volved. 

22 ‘‘(3) The literacy training shall be culturally and lin23 guistically appropriate and support children’s development 

24 in their home language. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The literacy training shall include training in 

2 how to work with parents to enhance positive language 

3 and early literacy development at home. 

4 ‘‘(5) The literacy training shall include specific meth5 ods to best address the needs of children who are limited 

6 English proficient. 

7 ‘‘(6) The literacy training shall include training on 

8 how to best address the language and literacy needs of 

9 children with disabilities, including training on how to 

10 work with specialists in language development.’’. 

11 SEC. 18. STAFF QUALIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT. 

12 Section 648A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 9843a) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2) 

15 and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) DEGREE REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

18 establish staff qualification goals to ensure 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(i) not later than September 30, 

21 2012, all Head Start teachers nationwide 

22 in center-based programs have at least— 

23 ‘‘(I)(aa) an associate degree (or 

24 equivalent coursework) relating to 

25 early childhood; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) an associate degree in a re2 lated educational area and, to the ex3 tent practicable, coursework relating 

4 to early childhood; and 

5 ‘‘(II) demonstrated teaching com6 petencies, as determined by the pro7 gram director involved (including, at a 

8 minimum, an appropriate level of lit9 eracy, a demonstrated capacity to be 

10 highly engaged with children, and a 

11 demonstrated ability to effectively im12 plement an early childhood cur13 riculum); 

14 ‘‘(ii) not later than September 30, 

15 2010, all Head Start curriculum specialists 

16 and education coordinators nationwide in 

17 center-based programs have— 

18 ‘‘(I) the capacity to offer assist19 ance to other teachers in the imple20 mentation and adaptation of curricula 

21 to the group and individual needs of a 

22 class; and 

23 ‘‘(II)(aa) a baccalaureate or ad24 vanced degree relating to early child25 hood; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) a baccalaureate or ad2 vanced degree and coursework equiva3 lent to a major relating to early child4 hood; 

5 ‘‘(iii) not later than September 30, 

6 2010, all Head Start teaching assistants 

7 nationwide in center-based programs 

8 have— 

9 ‘‘(I) at least a child development 

10 associate credential; 

11 ‘‘(II) enrolled in a program lead12 ing to an associate or baccalaureate 

13 degree; or 

14 ‘‘(III) enrolled in a child develop15 ment associate credential program to 

16 be completed within 2 years; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) not later than September 30, 

18 2013, 50 percent of all Head Start teach19 ers in center-based programs in each State 

20 (and geographic region for Indian Head 

21 Start programs and for migrant and sea22 sonal Head Start programs) have a bacca23 laureate degree relating to early childhood 

24 (or a related educational area), and dem25 onstrated teaching competencies, as deterVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00136 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 mined by the program director involved 

2 (including, at a minimum, an appropriate 

3 level of literacy, a demonstrated capacity 

4 to be highly engaged with children, and a 

5 demonstrated ability to effectively imple6 ment an early childhood curriculum). 

7 ‘‘(B) TEACHER IN-SERVICE REQUIRE8 MENT.—Each Head Start teacher shall attend 

9 not less than 15 clock hours of professional de10 velopment per year. Such professional develop11 ment shall be high quality, sustained, intensive, 

12 and classroom-focused in order to have a posi13 tive and lasting impact on classroom instruction 

14 and the teacher’s performance in the classroom, 

15 and regularly evaluated for effectiveness. 

16 ‘‘(C) PROGRESS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—The Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(I) require Head Start agencies 

19 to— 

20 ‘‘(aa) describe continuing 

21 progress each year toward achiev22 ing the goals described in sub23 paragraph (A); 

24 ‘‘(bb) submit to the Sec25 retary a report indicating the 


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1 number and percentage of class2 room instructors in center-based 

3 programs with child development 

4 associate credentials or associate, 

5 baccalaureate, or graduate de6 grees; and 

7 ‘‘(II) compile and submit a sum8 mary of all program reports described 

9 in subclause (I)(bb) to the Committee 

10 on Education and Labor of the House 

11 of Representatives and the Committee 

12 on Health, Education, Labor, and 

13 Pensions of the Senate. 

14 ‘‘(ii) DEMONSTRATE PROGRESS.—A 

15 Head Start agency may demonstrate 

16 progress by partnering with institutions of 

17 higher education or other programs that 

18 recruit, train, place, and support college 

19 students to deliver an innovative early 

20 learning program to preschool children. 

21 ‘‘(D) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec22 retary shall establish requirements to ensure 

23 that, in order to enable Head Start agencies to 

24 comply with the requirements of subparagraph 

25 (A), individuals who receive financial assistance 


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1 under this subchapter to pursue a degree de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) teach or work in a Head Start 

4 program for a minimum of 3 years after 

5 receiving the degree; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) repay the total or a prorated 

7 amount of the financial assistance received 

8 based on the length of service completed 

9 after receiving the degree.’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (c)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

12 the end; 

13 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe14 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(4) promote the use of appropriate strategies 

17 to meet the needs of special populations (including 

18 limited English proficient populations).’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (d)(3)(C) by inserting ‘‘, in20 cluding a center,’’ after ‘‘any agency’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(f) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS.—Every 

23 Head Start agency and center shall create, in consultation 

24 with employees of the agency or center (including family 

25 service workers), a professional development plan for emVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00139 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ployees who provide direct services to children, including 

2 a plan for classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, and 

3 education coordinators to meet the requirements set forth 

4 in subsection (a).’’. 

5 SEC. 19. TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HEAD 

6 START PARTNERSHIP. 

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

8 amended by inserting after section 648A the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 648B. TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY HEAD START 

10 PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 

12 promote social competencies and school readiness in In13 dian children. 

14 ‘‘(b) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY HEAD START

15 PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

17 award grants, for periods of not less than 5 years, 

18 to Tribal Colleges and Universities to— 

19 ‘‘(A) implement education programs that 

20 include education concerning tribal culture and 

21 language and increase the number of associate, 

22 baccalaureate, and graduate degrees in early 

23 childhood education and related fields that are 

24 earned by Indian Head Start agency staff mem25 bers, parents of children served by such an 


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1 agency, and members of the tribal community 

2 involved; 

3 ‘‘(B) develop and implement the programs 

4 under subparagraph (A) in technology-mediated 

5 formats, including providing the programs 

6 through such means as distance learning and 

7 use of advanced technology, as appropriate; and 

8 ‘‘(C) provide technology literacy programs 

9 for Indian Head Start agency staff members 

10 and children and families of children served by 

11 such an agency. 

12 ‘‘(2) STAFFING.—The Secretary shall ensure 

13 that the American Indian Programs Branch of the 

14 Head Start Bureau of the Department of Health 

15 and Human Services shall have staffing sufficient to 

16 administer the programs under this section and to 

17 provide appropriate technical assistance to Tribal 

18 Colleges and Universities receiving grants under this 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each Tribal College or Univer21 sity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an 

22 application to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, 

23 and containing such information as the Secretary may re24 quire, including a certification that the Tribal College or 

25 University has established a partnership with 1 or more 


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1 Indian Head Start agencies for the purpose of conducting 

2 the activities described in subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

5 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may 

6 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012. 

7 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

9 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

10 meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 

11 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

12 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

13 term ‘Tribal College or University’— 

14 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term in 

15 section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 

16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c); and 

17 ‘‘(B) means an institution determined to 

18 be accredited or a candidate for accreditation 

19 by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or 

20 association.’’. 

21 SEC. 20. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUATION. 

22 Section 649 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9844) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘, chil25 dren determined to be abused or neglected, homeless 


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1 children, and children in foster care’’ after ‘‘children 

2 with disabilities’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (d)— 

4 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 

5 (7), (8), (9), and (10), as paragraphs (6), (7), 

6 (8), (9), (10), and (11); 

7 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(5) identify successful strategies that promote 

10 good oral health and provide effective linkages to 

11 quality dental services through pediatric dental re12 ferral networks, for infants and toddlers partici13 pating in Early Head Start programs and children 

14 participating in Head Start programs;’’; 

15 (C) in paragraph (9), as redesignated by 

16 subparagraph (A), by adding ‘‘and’’ after the 

17 semicolon; 

18 (D) by striking paragraph (10), as redesig19 nated by subparagraph (A); 

20 (E) by redesignating paragraph (11), as 

21 redesignated by subparagraph (A), as para22 graph (10); and 

23 (F) by striking the last sentence; 

24 (3) in subsection (g)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 


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1 (i) by striking clause (i); and 

2 (ii) by redesignating clauses (ii) and 

3 (iii) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; 

4 and 

5 (B) in paragraph (7)(C)— 

6 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘2003’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘2008’’; and 

8 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

9 (I) by striking ‘‘Education and 

10 the Workforce’’ and inserting ‘‘Edu11 cation and Labor’’; and 

12 (II) by striking ‘‘Labor and 

13 Human Resources’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘Health, Education, Labor, and Pen15 sions’’; and 

16 (4) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(h) REVIEW OF ASSESSMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION OF STUDY.—When the study 

20 on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for 

21 Young Children by the National Academy of 

22 Sciences is made available to the Secretary, the Sec23 retary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) incorporate the results of the study, 

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1 graphs (2) and (3), into each assessment used 

2 in the Head Start programs; and 

3 ‘‘(B) use the results of the study to de4 velop, inform, and revise the standards and 

5 measures described in section 641A. 

6 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT AND REFINEMENT.—In de7 veloping and refining any assessment used in the 

8 Head Start programs, the Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) receive recommendations from the 

10 Panel on Developmental Outcomes and Assess11 ments for Young Children of the National 

12 Academy of Sciences; and 

13 ‘‘(B) with respect to the development or 

14 refinement of such assessment, ensure— 

15 ‘‘(i) consistency with relevant, nation16 ally recognized professional and technical 

17 standards; 

18 ‘‘(ii) validity and reliability for all 

19 purposes for which assessments under this 

20 subchapter are designed and used; 

21 ‘‘(iii) developmental and linguistic ap22 propriateness of such assessments for chil23 dren assessed, including children who are 

24 limited English proficient; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) that the results can be used to 

2 improve the quality of, accountability of, 

3 and training and technical assistance in, 

4 Head Start programs. 

5 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec6 retary, in carrying out the process described under 

7 paragraph (2), shall ensure that— 

8 ‘‘(A) staff administering any assessments 

9 under this subchapter have received appropriate 

10 training to administer such assessments; 

11 ‘‘(B) appropriate accommodations for chil12 dren with disabilities and children who are lim13 ited English proficient are made; 

14 ‘‘(C) the English and Spanish (and any 

15 other language, as appropriate) forms of such 

16 assessments are valid and reliable; and 

17 ‘‘(D) such assessments are not used to ex18 clude children from Head Start programs. 

19 ‘‘(4) SUSPENDED IMPLEMENTATION OF NA20 TIONAL REPORTING SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) suspend implementation and termi22 nate further development and use of the Na23 tional Reporting System; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) incorporate, as appropriate, rec2 ommendations under paragraph (2)(A) into any 

3 assessment used in the Head Start programs. 

4 ‘‘(i) SPECIAL RULE.—The use of assessment items 

5 and data on any assessment authorized under this sub6 chapter by an agent or agents of the Federal Government 

7 to rank, compare, or otherwise evaluate individual children 

8 or teachers, or to provide rewards or sanctions for indi9 vidual children or teachers is prohibited. The Secretary 

10 shall not use the results of a single assessment as the sole 

11 method for assessing program effectiveness or making 

12 grantee funding determinations at the national, regional, 

13 or local level. 

14 ‘‘(j) SERVICES TO LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT

15 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

17 study on the status of limited English proficient 

18 children and their families in Head Start or Early 

19 Head Start programs. 

20 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare 

21 and submit to Congress, not later than September 

22 2011, a report containing the results of the study, 

23 including information on— 

24 ‘‘(A) the demographics of limited English 

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1 cluding the number of such children receiving 

2 Head Start or Early Head Start services and 

3 the geographic distribution of children described 

4 in this subparagraph; 

5 ‘‘(B) the nature of Head Start or Early 

6 Head Start services provided to limited English 

7 proficient children and their families, including 

8 the types, content, duration, intensity, and costs 

9 of family services, language assistance, and 

10 educational services; 

11 ‘‘(C) procedures in Head Start programs 

12 for the assessment of language needs and the 

13 transition of limited English proficient children 

14 to kindergarten, including the extent to which 

15 Head Start programs meet the requirements of 

16 section 642A for limited English proficient chil17 dren; 

18 ‘‘(D) the qualifications of and training pro19 vided to Head Start and Early Head Start 

20 teachers serving limited English proficient chil21 dren and their families; 

22 ‘‘(E) the rate of progress made by limited 

23 English proficient children and their families in 

24 Head Start programs and Early Head Start 

25 programs, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the rate of progress of the limited 

2 English proficient children toward meeting 

3 the additional educational standards de4 scribed in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) while 

5 enrolled in Head Start programs, meas6 ured between 1990 and 2006; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the correlation between such 

8 progress and the type of instruction and 

9 educational program provided to the lim10 ited English proficient children; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the correlation between such 

12 progress and the health and family services 

13 provided by Head Start programs to lim14 ited English proficient children and their 

15 families; and 

16 ‘‘(F) the extent to which Head Start pro17 grams make use of funds under section 

18 640(a)(3) to improve the quality of Head Start 

19 services provided to limited English proficient 

20 children and their families.’’. 

21 SEC. 21. REPORTS. 

22 Section 650 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9846) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

2 (1)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘Education and the 

4 Workforce’’ and inserting ‘‘Education and 

5 Labor’’; 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘Labor and Human 

7 Resources’’ and inserting ‘‘Health, Edu8 cation, Labor, and Pensions’’; and 

9 (iii) by striking ‘‘(including disabled 

10 and non-English language background chil11 dren)’’ and inserting ‘‘(including children 

12 with disabilities, limited English proficient 

13 children, and children participating in In14 dian Head Start programs and migrant 

15 and seasonal Head Start programs)’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘home17 lessness, children in foster care,’’ after ‘‘ethnic 

18 background,’’; and 

19 (C) in the flush matter at the end— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘Education and the 

21 Workforce’’ and inserting ‘‘Education and 

22 Labor’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘Labor and Human 

24 Resources’’ and inserting ‘‘Health, Edu25 cation, Labor, and Pensions’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘Education and the Work3 force’’ and inserting ‘‘Education and Labor’’; 

4 and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘Labor and Human Re6 sources’’ and inserting ‘‘Health, Education, 

7 Labor, and Pensions’’. 

8 SEC. 22. COMPARABILITY OF WAGES. 

9 Section 653 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9848) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall take’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall take’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(b) No Federal funds shall be used to pay the com15 pensation of an individual employed by a Head Start agen16 cy in carrying out programs under this subchapter, either 

17 as direct or indirect costs or any proration of such costs, 

18 in an amount in excess of an amount based on the rate 

19 payable for level II of the Executive Schedule under sec20 tion 5313 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

21 SEC. 23. LIMITATION WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN UNLAW22 FUL ACTIVITIES. 

23 Section 655 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9850) 

24 is amended by inserting ‘‘or in’’ after ‘‘assigned by’’. 


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1 SEC. 24. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. 

2 Section 656 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9851) 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) by striking all that precedes ‘‘chapter 15’’ 

5 and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 656. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. 

7 ‘‘(a) STATE OR LOCAL AGENCY.—For purposes of’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A program assisted under 

13 this subchapter, and any individual employed by, or 

14 assigned to, a program assisted under this sub15 chapter (during the hours in which such individual 

16 is working on behalf of such program), shall not en17 gage in— 

18 ‘‘(A) any partisan or nonpartisan political 

19 activity or any other political activity associated 

20 with a candidate, or contending faction or 

21 group, in an election for public or party office; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(B) any activity to provide voters or pro24 spective voters with transportation to the polls 

25 or similar assistance in connection with any 

26 such election. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Sec2 retary, after consultation with the Director of the 

3 Office of Personnel Management, may issue rules 

4 and regulations to provide for the enforcement of 

5 this section, which may include provisions for sum6 mary suspension of assistance or other action nec7 essary to permit enforcement on an emergency 

8 basis.’’. 

9 SEC. 25. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR HEALTH 

10 SERVICES. 

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

12 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 657A. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR NON14 EMERGENCY INTRUSIVE PHYSICAL EXAMINA15 TIONS. 

16 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—The term ‘nonemergency intru17 sive physical examination’ means, with respect to a child, 

18 a physical examination that— 

19 ‘‘(1) is not immediately necessary to protect the 

20 health or safety of the child or the health or safety 

21 of another individual; and 

22 ‘‘(2) requires incision or is otherwise invasive, 

23 or involves exposure of private body parts. 

24 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—A Head Start agency shall ob25 tain written parental consent before administration of, or 


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1 referral for, any health care service provided or arranged 

2 to be provided, including any nonemergency intrusive 

3 physical examination of a child in connection with partici4 pation in a program under this subchapter. 

5 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec6 tion shall be construed to prohibit agencies from using es7 tablished methods, for handling cases of suspected or 

8 known child abuse and neglect, that are in compliance 

9 with applicable Federal, State, or tribal law.’’ 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Head Start for School 

12 Readiness Act’’. 

13 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

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

15 is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

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

18 school readiness of low-income children by enhancing their 

19 cognitive and social development— 

20 ‘‘(1) with a learning environment that supports 

21 cognitive development (including the growth of lan22 guage, pre-literacy, and premathematics skills) and 

23 the growth of social, emotional, and physical skills; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) through the provision to low-income chil2 dren and their families of health, educational, nutri3 tional, social, and other services that are determined, 

4 based on family needs assessments, to be necessary.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

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

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(including a 

9 community-based organization, as defined in section 

10 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

11 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801))’’ after ‘‘nonprofit’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting ‘‘, includ13 ing financial literacy,’’ after ‘‘Parent literacy’’; 

14 (3) in paragraph (17), by striking ‘‘Mariana Is15 lands,’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘Mariana 

16 Islands.’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(18) The term ‘deficiency’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) a systemic or substantial material fail20 ure of an agency in an area of performance that 

21 the Secretary determines involves— 

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

23 civil rights of children or staff; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a denial to parents of the exercise 

2 of their full roles and responsibilities related 

3 to program operations; 

4 ‘‘(iii) a failure to comply with stand5 ards related to early childhood development 

6 and health services, family and community 

7 partnerships, or program design and man8 agement; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the misuse of funds under this 

10 subchapter; 

11 ‘‘(v) loss of legal status or financial vi12 ability, loss of permits, debarment from re13 ceiving Federal grants or contracts, or the 

14 improper use of Federal funds; or 

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

16 or State requirement that the agency has 

17 shown an unwillingness or inability to cor18 rect, after notice from the Secretary, within 

19 the period specified; 

20 ‘‘(B) systemic failure of the board of direc21 tors of an agency to fully exercise its legal and 

22 fiduciary responsibilities; 

23 ‘‘(C) substantial failure of an agency to 

24 meet the administrative requirements of section 

25 644(b); 


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1 ‘‘(D) failure of an agency to demonstrate 

2 that the agency attempted to meet the coordina3 tion and collaboration requirements with entities 

4 described in section 640(a)(5)(D)(ii)(I); or 

5 ‘‘(E) having an unresolved area of non6 compliance. 

7 ‘‘(19) The term ‘homeless child’ means a child 

8 described in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento 

9 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)). 

10 ‘‘(20) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 

11 has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of 

12 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

13 1001(a)). 

14 ‘‘(21) The term ‘interrater reliability’ means the 

15 extent to which 2 or more independent raters or ob16 servers consistently obtain the same result when using 

17 the same assessment tool. 

18 ‘‘(22) The term ‘limited English proficient’, used 

19 with respect to a child, means a child— 

20 ‘‘(A) who is enrolled or preparing to enroll 

21 in a Head Start program (which may include 

22 an Early Head Start program), or other early 

23 care and education program; 


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1 ‘‘(B)(i) who was not born in the United 

2 States or whose native language is a language 

3 other than English; 

4 ‘‘(ii)(I) who is a Native American, Alaska 

5 Native, or a native resident of an outlying area 

6 (as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary 

7 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 7801)); and 

9 ‘‘(II) who comes from an environment 

10 where a language other than English has had a 

11 significant impact on the child’s level of English 

12 language proficiency; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) who is migratory, whose native lan14 guage is a language other than English, and who 

15 comes from an environment where a language 

16 other than English is dominant; and 

17 ‘‘(C) whose difficulties in speaking or un18 derstanding the English language may be suffi19 cient to deny such child— 

20 ‘‘(i) the ability to successfully achieve 

21 in a classroom in which the language of in22 struction is English; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the opportunity to participate 

24 fully in society. 


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

3 within 120 days, or within such additional time (if 

4 any) authorized by the Secretary, after receiving from 

5 the Secretary notice of such noncompliance item, pur6 suant to section 641A(d).’’. 

7 SEC. 4. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PRO8 GRAMS. 

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

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

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

12 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

14 is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 639. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro17 priated for carrying out the provisions of this subchapter 

18 $7,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $7,650,000,000 for fis19 cal year 2009, $7,995,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, and such 

20 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 and 

21 2012. 

22 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC PROGRAMS.—From the amount appro23 priated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 

24 available to carry out research, demonstration, and evalua25 tion activities, including longitudinal studies under section 


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1 649, not more than $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and 

2 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 

3 through 2012, of which not more than $7,000,000 for each 

4 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 shall be available to carry 

5 out impact studies under section 649(g).’’. 

6 SEC. 6. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS. 

7 (a) ALLOTMENT.—Section 640(a) of the Head Start 

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

9 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Indian Head Start programs, services for 

13 children with disabilities, and migrant and seasonal 

14 Head Start programs, except that the Secretary shall 

15 reserve for each fiscal year for use by Indian Head 

16 Start and migrant and seasonal Head Start pro17 grams (referred to in this paragraph as ‘covered pro18 grams’), on a nationwide basis, a sum that is the 

19 total of a percentage specified by the Secretary that 

20 is not less than 4 percent of the amount appropriated 

21 under section 639 for that fiscal year (for Indian 

22 Head Start programs) and a percentage specified by 

23 the Secretary that is not less than 5 percent of that 

24 appropriated amount (for migrant and seasonal 


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1 Head Start programs) (referred to in this paragraph 

2 as the ‘specified percentages’), except that— 

3 ‘‘(i) if reserving the specified percentages 

4 would reduce the number of children served by 

5 Head Start programs, relative to the number of 

6 children served on the date of enactment of the 

7 Head Start for School Readiness Act, taking into 

8 consideration an appropriate adjustment for in9 flation, the Secretary shall reserve percentages 

10 that approach, as closely as practicable, the spec11 ified percentages and that do not cause such a 

12 reduction; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding any other provision 

14 of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall reserve 

15 for each fiscal year for use by Indian Head Start 

16 programs and by migrant and seasonal Head 

17 Start programs, on a nationwide basis, not less 

18 than the amount that was obligated for use by 

19 Indian Head Start programs and by migrant 

20 and seasonal Head Start programs for the pre21 vious fiscal year;’’; 

22 (B) by striking subparagraph (C) and in23 serting the following: 

24 ‘‘(C) training and technical assistance activities 

25 that are sufficient to meet the needs associated with 


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1 program expansion and to foster program and man2 agement improvement activities as described in any 

3 of paragraphs (1) through (17) of section 648(d), in 

4 an amount for each fiscal year that is not less than 

5 2 percent of the amount appropriated under section 

6 639 for such fiscal year, of which— 

7 ‘‘(i) 50 percent shall be made available to 

8 Head Start agencies to use directly, or by estab9 lishing local or regional agreements with com10 munity experts, institutions of higher education, 

11 or private consultants, for any of the following 

12 training and technical assistance activities, in13 cluding— 

14 ‘‘(I) activities that ensure that Head 

15 Start programs meet or exceed the program 

16 performance standards described in section 

17 641A(a)(1); 

18 ‘‘(II) activities that ensure that Head 

19 Start programs have adequate numbers of 

20 trained, qualified staff who have skills in 

21 working with children and families, includ22 ing children who are limited English pro23 ficient and their families and children with 

24 disabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(III) activities to pay expenses, in2 cluding direct training for expert consult3 ants working with any staff, to improve the 

4 management and implementation of Head 

5 Start services and systems; 

6 ‘‘(IV) activities that help ensure that 

7 Head Start programs have qualified staff 

8 who can promote language skills and lit9 eracy growth of children and who can pro10 vide children with a variety of skills that 

11 have been identified as predictive of later 

12 reading achievement, school success, and the 

13 skills, knowledge, abilities, development, and 

14 progress described in section 

15 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii); 

16 ‘‘(V) activities to improve staff quali17 fications and to assist with the implementa18 tion of career development programs and to 

19 encourage the staff to continually improve 

20 their skills and expertise, including devel21 oping partnerships with programs that re22 cruit, train, place, and support college stu23 dents in Head Start centers to deliver an 

24 innovative early childhood development pro25 gram to preschool children; 


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1 ‘‘(VI) activities that help local pro2 grams ensure that the arrangement, condi3 tion, and implementation of the learning 

4 environments in Head Start programs are 

5 conducive to providing effective program 

6 services to children and families; 

7 ‘‘(VII) activities to provide training 

8 necessary to improve the qualifications of 

9 Head Start staff and to support staff train10 ing, child counseling, health services, and 

11 other services necessary to address the needs 

12 of children enrolled in Head Start pro13 grams, including children from families in 

14 crises, children who experience chronic vio15 lence or homelessness, children who experi16 ence substance abuse in their families, and 

17 children under 3 years of age, where appli18 cable; 

19 ‘‘(VIII) activities to provide classes or 

20 in-service-type programs to improve or en21 hance parenting skills, job skills, adult and 

22 family literacy, including financial lit23 eracy, or training to become a classroom 

24 aide or bus driver in a Head Start pro25 gram; 


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1 ‘‘(IX) additional activities determined 

2 appropriate for the improvement of Head 

3 Start agencies’ programs, as determined in 

4 the agencies’ technical assistance and train5 ing plans; or 

6 ‘‘(X) any other activities regarding the 

7 use of funds as determined by the Secretary; 

8 ‘‘(ii) 50 percent shall be made available to 

9 the Secretary— 

10 ‘‘(I) to provide directly training and 

11 technical assistance on early childhood edu12 cation and care or to support, through 

13 grants or other arrangements, a State sys14 tem of training and technical assistance 

15 (which may include such a system for a 

16 consortium of States within a region); and 

17 ‘‘(II) to assist local programs (includ18 ing Indian Head Start programs and mi19 grant and seasonal Head Start programs) 

20 in meeting the standards described in sec21 tion 641A(a)(1); and 

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

23 amount in clause (ii) appropriated for such fis24 cal year shall be made available to carry out ac25 tivities described in section 648(d)(4);’’; 


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1 (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

2 ‘‘agencies;’’ and inserting ‘‘agencies);’’; and 

3 (D) by adding at the end of the flush matter 

4 at the end the following: ‘‘In no case shall the 

5 Secretary use funds appropriated under this sub6 chapter to expand or create additional slots or 

7 services in non-Indian and non-migrant and 

8 seasonal Head Start programs until the amounts 

9 based on the specified percentages for Indian 

10 Head Start programs and migrant and seasonal 

11 Head Start programs pursuant to subparagraph 

12 (A) are reached. The Secretary shall require each 

13 Head Start agency to report at the end of each 

14 budget year on how funds provided to carry out 

15 subparagraph (C)(i) were used.’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i)(I)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘60 percent of such ex19 cess amount for fiscal year 1999’’ and all 

20 that follows through ‘‘2003;’’; and 

21 (ii) by inserting the following: ‘‘30 per22 cent of such excess amount for fiscal year 

23 2008, and 40 percent of such excess amount 

24 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012;’’; 

25 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘perform2 ance standards’’ and all that follows and 

3 inserting ‘‘standards and measures pursu4 ant to section 641A.’’; 

5 (ii) by striking clause (ii) and insert6 ing the following: 

7 ‘‘(ii) Ensuring that such programs have ade8 quate numbers of qualified staff, and that such staff 

9 is furnished adequate training, including training to 

10 promote the development of language, 

11 premathematics, and pre-literacy skills in young chil12 dren and in working with limited English proficient 

13 children, children in foster care, children referred by 

14 child welfare services, and children with disabilities, 

15 when appropriate.’’; 

16 (iii) by striking clause (iii) and insert17 ing the following: 

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

19 and benefits standards under section 644(a) and sec20 tion 653, in order to ensure that salary levels and 

21 benefits are adequate to attract and retain qualified 

22 staff for such programs.’’; 

23 (iv) by striking clause (iv) and insert24 ing the following: 

25 ‘‘(iv) Using salary increases to— 


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1 ‘‘(I) assist with the implementation of qual2 ity programs and improve staff qualifications; 

3 ‘‘(II) ensure that staff can promote the lan4 guage skills and literacy growth of children and 

5 can provide children with a variety of skills that 

6 have been identified, through scientifically based 

7 early reading research, as predictive of later 

8 reading achievement, as well as the skills, knowl9 edge, abilities, development, and progress de10 scribed in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii); and 

11 ‘‘(III) encourage the staff to continually im12 prove their skills and expertise— 

13 ‘‘(aa) through the implementation of 

14 career development programs; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) through the completion of post16 secondary coursework in early childhood 

17 education.’’; 

18 (v) in clause (v)— 

19 (I) by striking ‘‘community-wide’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘communitywide’’; and 

21 (II) by inserting ‘‘, including col22 laborations to increase program par23 ticipation by underserved populations 

24 of eligible children’’ before the period; 

25 and 


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1 (vi) by striking clauses (vii) and (viii) 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(vii) Providing assistance to complete postsec4 ondary coursework, to enable Head Start teachers to 

5 improve competencies and the resulting child out6 comes, including informing the teachers of the avail7 ability of Federal and State incentive and loan for8 giveness programs. 

9 ‘‘(viii) Promoting the regular attendance and 

10 stability of all Head Start children with particular 

11 attention to highly mobile children, including chil12 dren of migrant or seasonal farmworkers (where ap13 propriate), homeless children, and children in foster 

14 care. 

15 ‘‘(ix) Making such other improvements in the 

16 quality of such programs as the Secretary may des17 ignate.’’; 

18 (C) in subparagraph (C)— 

19 (i) in clause (i)(I), by striking the last 

20 sentence and inserting ‘‘Salary increases, in 

21 excess of cost-of-living allowances, provided 

22 with such funds shall be subject to the spe23 cific standards governing salaries and sal24 ary increases established pursuant to section 

25 644(a).’’; 


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1 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

2 (I) in the matter preceding sub3 clause (I), by striking ‘‘education per4 formance’’ and all that follows through 

5 ‘‘641A(a)(1)(B)’’and inserting ‘‘stand6 ards and measures described in section 

7 641A’’; 

8 (II) in subclause (I), by inserting 

9 ‘‘, pre-literacy,’’ after ‘‘language’’; 

10 (III) by striking subclause (II) 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(II) to help limited English proficient chil13 dren attain the knowledge, skills, abilities, and 

14 development specified in section 

15 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) and to promote the acquisition 

16 of the English language by such children and 

17 their families;’’; and 

18 (IV) by striking subclause (IV) 

19 and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(IV) to provide education and training 

21 necessary to improve the qualifications of Head 

22 Start staff, particularly assistance to enable 

23 more instructors to be fully competent and to 

24 meet the degree requirements under section 

25 648A(a)(2)(A), and to support staff training, 


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1 child counseling, and other services necessary to 

2 address the challenges of children participating 

3 in Head Start programs, including children 

4 from immigrant, refugee, and asylee families, 

5 children from families in crisis, homeless chil6 dren, children in foster care, children referred to 

7 Head Start programs by child welfare agencies, 

8 and children who are exposed to chronic violence 

9 or substance abuse.’’; 

10 (iii) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘, 

11 educational staff who have the qualifica12 tions described in section 648A(a),’’ after 

13 ‘‘ratio’’; 

14 (iv) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘pro15 grams, including’’ and all that follows and 

16 inserting ‘‘programs.’’; 

17 (v) by redesignating clause (vi) as 

18 clause (x); and 

19 (vi) by inserting after clause (v) the 

20 following: 

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

22 an effort to increase the program participation of eli23 gible homeless children. 


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1 ‘‘(vii) To conduct outreach to migrant and sea2 sonal farmworker families and families with limited 

3 English proficient children. 

4 ‘‘(viii) To partner with institutions of higher 

5 education and nonprofit organizations, including 

6 community-based organizations, that recruit, train, 

7 place, and support college students, to serve as men8 tors and reading partners to preschool children in 

9 Head Start programs. 

10 ‘‘(ix) To upgrade the qualifications and skills of 

11 educational personnel to meet the professional stand12 ards described in section 648A(a)(1), including cer13 tification and licensure as bilingual education teach14 ers, as teachers of English as a second language, and 

15 for other educational personnel who serve limited 

16 English proficient children.’’; 

17 (3) in paragraph (4), in the first sentence— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

19 ‘‘1998’’ and inserting ‘‘2007’’; and 

20 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in21 serting the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) any amount available after all allotments 

23 are made under subparagraph (A) for such fiscal year 

24 shall be distributed as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Each State shall receive an amount 

2 sufficient to serve the same number of children in 

3 Head Start programs in each State as were 

4 served on the date of enactment of the Head 

5 Start for School Readiness Act, taking into con6 sideration an appropriate adjustment for infla7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(ii) After ensuring that each State has re9 ceived the amount described in clause (i), the 

10 Secretary shall distribute the remaining balance, 

11 by— 

12 ‘‘(I) distributing 65 percent of the bal13 ance among the States serving less than 60 

14 percent (as determined by the Secretary) of 

15 children who are 3 or 4 years of age from 

16 families whose income is below the poverty 

17 line, by allotting to each of those States an 

18 amount that bears the same relationship to 

19 that 65 percent as the number of children 

20 who are less than 5 years of age from fami21 lies whose income is below the poverty line 

22 (referred to in this clause as ‘young low-in23 come children’) in that State bears to the 

24 number of young low-income children in all 

25 those States; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) distributing 35 percent of the bal2 ance among the States, by allotting to each 

3 State an amount that bears the same rela4 tionship to that 35 percent as the number 

5 of young low-income children in that State 

6 bears to the number of young low-income 

7 children in all the States.’’; 

8 (4) in paragraph (5)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after 

10 ‘‘paragraph (4)’’ the following: ‘‘(and amounts 

11 reserved, before such allotments, for national ad12 ministrative offices)’’; 

13 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 

14 and (F) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respec15 tively; 

16 (C) by striking subparagraphs (B), (C), and 

17 (D) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(B)(i) From the reserved sums, the Secretary shall 

19 award a collaboration grant to each State and to each na20 tional administrative office serving Indian Head Start pro21 grams and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs to 

22 facilitate collaboration between Head Start agencies and 

23 entities (including the State or national administrative of24 fice) that carry out other activities designed to benefit low25 income families and children from birth to school entry. The 


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1 national administrative offices shall use the funds made 

2 available through the grants to carry out the authorities 

3 and responsibilities described in subparagraphs (B) and 

4 (C). 

5 ‘‘(ii) Grants described in clause (i) shall be used to— 

6 ‘‘(I) assist Head Start agencies to collaborate 

7 with entities involved in State and local planning 

8 processes to better meet the needs of low-income fami9 lies and children from birth to school entry; 

10 ‘‘(II) assist Head Start agencies to coordinate 

11 activities with the State agency responsible for ad12 ministering the State program carried out under the 

13 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 

14 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and entities providing re15 source and referral services in the State, to make full16 working-day and full calendar year services available 

17 to children; 

18 ‘‘(III) promote alignment of Head Start services 

19 with State early learning standards, as appropriate, 

20 and the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework; 

21 ‘‘(IV) promote better linkages between Head 

22 Start agencies and other child and family agencies, 

23 including agencies that provide health, mental health, 

24 or family services, or other child or family supportive 

25 services, such as services provided under section 619 


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1 or part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu2 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); and 

3 ‘‘(V) carry out the activities of the State Director 

4 of Head Start Collaboration authorized in subpara5 graph (D). 

6 ‘‘(C) In order to improve coordination and delivery 

7 of early childhood education and care to children in the 

8 State, a State that receives a collaboration grant under sub9 paragraph (B) shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) appoint or designate an individual to serve 

11 as, or carry out the responsibilities of, the State Di12 rector of Head Start Collaboration; 

13 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the State Director of Head 

14 Start Collaboration holds a position with sufficient 

15 authority and access to ensure that the collaboration 

16 described in subparagraph (B) is effective and in17 volves a range of State agencies; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) involve the State Head Start Association 

19 in the selection of the Director and involve the Asso20 ciation in determinations relating to the ongoing di21 rection of the collaboration office involved. 

22 ‘‘(D) The State Director of Head Start Collaboration, 

23 reporting to the State Advisory Council described in sub24 paragraph (E), shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) not later than 1 year after the State receives 

2 a collaboration grant under subparagraph (B), con3 duct an assessment that— 

4 ‘‘(I) addresses the needs of Head Start agen5 cies in the State with respect to collaboration, co6 ordination of services, and alignment of services 

7 with State early learning standards, as appro8 priate, and the Head Start Child Outcomes 

9 Framework; 

10 ‘‘(II) shall be updated on an annual basis; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(III) shall be made available to the general 

13 public within the State; 

14 ‘‘(ii) develop a strategic plan that is based on the 

15 assessment described in clause (i) that will— 

16 ‘‘(I) enhance collaboration and coordination 

17 of Head Start services with other entities pro18 viding early childhood education and care (such 

19 as child care or services offered by museums), 

20 health care, mental health care, welfare, child 

21 protective services, education and community 

22 service activities, family literacy services, read23 ing readiness programs (including such pro24 grams offered by public and school libraries), 

25 services relating to children with disabilities, 


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1 other early childhood education and care for lim2 ited English proficient children and homeless 

3 children, and services provided for children in 

4 foster care and children referred to Head Start 

5 programs by child welfare agencies, including 

6 agencies and State officials responsible for such 

7 services; 

8 ‘‘(II) assist Head Start agencies to develop 

9 a plan for the provision of full-working-day, full 

10 calendar year services for children enrolled in 

11 Head Start programs who need such care; 

12 ‘‘(III) assist Head Start agencies to align 

13 services with State early learning standards, as 

14 appropriate, and the Head Start Child Outcomes 

15 Framework; and 

16 ‘‘(IV) enable Head Start agencies in the 

17 State to better access professional development 

18 opportunities for Head Start staff, such as by— 

19 ‘‘(aa) working with local Head Start 

20 agencies to meet the degree requirements de21 scribed in section 648A(a)(2)(A), including 

22 providing distance learning opportunities 

23 for Head Start staff, where needed to make 

24 higher education more accessible to Head 

25 Start staff; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) enabling the State Head Start 

2 agencies to better conduct outreach to eligi3 ble families; 

4 ‘‘(iii) promote partnerships between Head Start 

5 agencies, State and local governments, and the pri6 vate sector to help ensure that children from low-in7 come families, who are in Head Start programs or 

8 are preschool age, are receiving comprehensive services 

9 to prepare the children to enter school ready to learn; 

10 ‘‘(iv) consult with the chief State school officer, 

11 local educational agencies, and providers of early 

12 childhood education and care, regarding early child13 hood education and care at both the State and local 

14 levels; 

15 ‘‘(v) promote partnerships (such as the partner16 ships involved with the Free to Grow initiative) be17 tween Head Start agencies, schools, law enforcement, 

18 relevant community-based organizations, and sub19 stance abuse and mental health treatment agencies to 

20 strengthen family and community environments and 

21 to reduce the impact on child development of sub22 stance abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, and other 

23 high risk behaviors that compromise healthy develop24 ment; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) promote partnerships between Head Start 

2 agencies and other organizations in order to enhance 

3 the Head Start curriculum, including partnerships to 

4 promote inclusion of more books in Head Start class5 rooms and partnerships to promote coordination of 

6 activities with the Ready-to-Learn Television pro7 gram carried out under subpart 3 of part D of title 

8 II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

9 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6775 et seq.); and 

10 ‘‘(vii) identify other resources and organizations 

11 (both public and private) for the provision of in-kind 

12 services to Head Start agencies in the State. 

13 ‘‘(E)(i) The Governor of the State shall— 

14 ‘‘(I) designate or establish a council to serve as 

15 the State advisory council on collaboration on early 

16 childhood education and care for children from birth 

17 to school entry (in this subchapter referred to as the 

18 ‘State Advisory Council’); and 

19 ‘‘(II) designate an individual to coordinate ac20 tivities of the State Advisory Council, as described in 

21 clause (iv)(I). 

22 ‘‘(ii) The Governor may designate an existing entity 

23 to serve as the State Advisory Council, if the entity includes 

24 representatives consistent with clause (iii). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Members of the State Advisory Council shall in2 clude, to the maximum extent possible— 

3 ‘‘(I) the State Director of Head Start Collabora4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(II) a representative of the appropriate regional 

6 office of the Administration for Children and Fami7 lies; 

8 ‘‘(III) a representative of the State educational 

9 agency and local educational agencies; 

10 ‘‘(IV) a representative of institutions of higher 

11 education; 

12 ‘‘(V) a representative (or representatives) of the 

13 State agency (or agencies) responsible for health or 

14 mental health care; 

15 ‘‘(VI) a representative of the State agency re16 sponsible for professional standards, certification, and 

17 licensing for early childhood educators; 

18 ‘‘(VII) a representative of the State agency re19 sponsible for child care; 

20 ‘‘(VIII) early childhood educators, including pro21 fessionals with expertise in second language acquisi22 tion and instructional strategies in teaching limited 

23 English proficient children; 

24 ‘‘(IX) kindergarten teachers and teachers in 

25 grades 1 through 3; 


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1 ‘‘(X) health care professionals; 

2 ‘‘(XI) child development specialists, including 

3 specialists in prenatal, infant, and toddler develop4 ment; 

5 ‘‘(XII) a representative of the State agency re6 sponsible for assisting children with developmental 

7 disabilities; 

8 ‘‘(XIII) a representative of the State agency re9 sponsible for programs under section 619 or part C 

10 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

11 (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); 

12 ‘‘(XIV) a representative of the State interagency 

13 coordinating councils established under section 641 of 

14 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

15 U.S.C. 1441); 

16 ‘‘(XV) a representative of the State Head Start 

17 Association (where appropriate), and other represent18 atives of Head Start programs in the State; 

19 ‘‘(XVI) a representative of the State network of 

20 child care resource and referral agencies; 

21 ‘‘(XVII) a representative of community-based or22 ganizations; 

23 ‘‘(XVIII) a representative of State and local pro24 viders of early childhood education and care; 


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1 ‘‘(XIX) a representative of Indian Head Start 

2 programs (where appropriate) and a representative of 

3 migrant and seasonal Head Start programs (where 

4 appropriate); 

5 ‘‘(XX) parents; 

6 ‘‘(XXI) religious and business leaders; 

7 ‘‘(XXII) the head of the State library adminis8 trative agency; 

9 ‘‘(XXIII) representatives of State and local orga10 nizations and other entities providing professional de11 velopment to early childhood educators and child care 

12 providers; 

13 ‘‘(XXIV) a representative from the Office of Co14 ordinator for Education of Homeless Children and 

15 Youths in the State; 

16 ‘‘(XXV) a State legislator; and 

17 ‘‘(XXVI) a representative of other entities deter18 mined to be relevant by the Governor of the State. 

19 ‘‘(iv)(I) The State Advisory Council shall be respon20 sible for, in addition to responsibilities assigned to the 

21 council by the Governor of the State— 

22 ‘‘(aa) conducting a periodic statewide needs as23 sessment concerning early childhood education and 

24 care for children from birth to school entry; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) identifying barriers to, and opportunities 

2 for, collaboration and coordination among entities 

3 carrying out federally-funded and State-funded child 

4 development, child care, and early childhood edu5 cation programs; 

6 ‘‘(cc) developing recommendations regarding 

7 means of establishing a unified data collection system 

8 for early childhood education and care throughout the 

9 State; 

10 ‘‘(dd) developing a statewide professional devel11 opment and career ladder plan for early childhood 

12 education and care in the State; 

13 ‘‘(ee) reviewing and approving the strategic 

14 plan, regarding collaborating and coordinating serv15 ices to better serve children enrolled in Head Start 

16 programs, developed by the State Director of Head 

17 Start Collaboration under subparagraph (D)(iii); 

18 ‘‘(ff) assessing the availability of high quality 

19 prekindergarten services for low-income children in 

20 the State; 

21 ‘‘(gg) assisting 2- and 4-year public and private 

22 institutions of higher education to develop articula23 tion agreements; 

24 ‘‘(hh) awarding grants to assist institutions of 

25 higher education to develop model programs of early 


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1 childhood education and care, including practica or 

2 internships for students to spend time in a Head 

3 Start or prekindergarten program; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) undertaking collaborative efforts to develop, 

5 and make recommendations for improvements in, 

6 State early learning standards. 

7 ‘‘(II) The State Advisory Council shall hold public 

8 hearings and provide an opportunity for public comment 

9 on the activities described in subclause (I). The State Advi10 sory Council shall submit a statewide strategic report ad11 dressing the activities described in subclause (I) to the State 

12 Director of Head Start Collaboration and the Governor of 

13 the State. 

14 ‘‘(III) After submission of a statewide strategic report 

15 under subclause (II), the State Advisory Council shall meet 

16 periodically to review any implementation of the rec17 ommendations in such report and any changes in State and 

18 local needs. 

19 ‘‘(F)(i)(I) Prior to carrying out paragraph (4), the 

20 Secretary shall reserve a portion to carry out this subpara21 graph for a fiscal year. The Secretary shall reserve the por22 tion from the amount (if any) by which the funds appro23 priated under section 639(a) for the fiscal year exceed the 

24 adjusted prior year appropriation (as defined in paragraph 


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1 (3)(A)(ii)), without reducing the share available for quality 

2 improvement funds described in paragraph (3)(B). 

3 ‘‘(II) To the extent consistent with subclause (I), the 

4 Secretary shall reserve $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

5 Funds reserved under this subclause shall remain available 

6 for obligation through fiscal year 2012. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall use the portion reserved 

8 under clause (i) to award, on a competitive basis, one-time 

9 startup grants of not less than $500,000 to eligible States 

10 to enable such States to pay for the Federal share of the 

11 cost of further developing and implementing the rec12 ommendations and plans for which the State’s State Advi13 sory Council is responsible under subparagraph (E)(iv)(I). 

14 Such grants shall— 

15 ‘‘(I) facilitate the development of high-quality 

16 systems of early childhood education and care de17 signed to improve school preparedness; 

18 ‘‘(II) increase and make effective use of existing 

19 and new delivery systems and funds for early child20 hood education and care; and 

21 ‘‘(III) enhance existing early childhood education 

22 and care (in existence on the date on which the grant 

23 involved is awarded). 

24 ‘‘(iii) To be eligible to receive a grant under this sub25 paragraph, a State shall prepare and submit to the SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00186 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 retary an application, for a 3-year period, at such time, 

2 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

3 Secretary shall require, including— 

4 ‘‘(I) a description of the State’s State Advisory 

5 Council’s responsibilities under subparagraph 

6 (E)(iv)(I); 

7 ‘‘(II) a description, for each fiscal year, of how 

8 the State will make effective use of funds available 

9 under this subparagraph, with funds described in 

10 clause (iv), to create an early childhood education 

11 and care system, by developing or enhancing pro12 grams and activities described in subparagraph 

13 (E)(iv)(I); 

14 ‘‘(III) a description of the State early learning 

15 standards and the State’s goals for increasing the 

16 number of children entering kindergarten ready to 

17 learn; 

18 ‘‘(IV) information identifying the agency or joint 

19 interagency office and individual designated to carry 

20 out the activities under this subparagraph, which 

21 may be the individual designated under subpara22 graph (E)(i)(II); and 

23 ‘‘(V) a description of how the State plans to sus24 tain activities under this subparagraph beyond the 

25 grant period. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The Federal share of the cost described in clause 

2 (ii) shall be 30 percent, and the State shall provide the non3 Federal share. 

4 ‘‘(v) Funds made available under this subparagraph 

5 shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Fed6 eral, State, and local funds expended to carry out activities 

7 related to early childhood education and care in the State. 

8 ‘‘(vi) Not later than 18 months after the date a State 

9 receives a grant under this subparagraph, the State shall 

10 submit an interim report to the Secretary. A State that re11 ceives a grant under this subparagraph shall submit a final 

12 report to the Secretary at the end of the grant period.’’; 

13 and 

14 (D) in subparagraph (G), as redesignated 

15 by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph— 

16 (i) in clause (i)(I), by striking ‘‘child 

17 care and early childhood education pro18 grams and resources’’ and inserting ‘‘early 

19 childhood education and care programs and 

20 resources’’; and 

21 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘Federal 

22 child care or early childhood education’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘Federal early childhood edu24 cation or child care’’; and 

25 (5) in paragraph (6)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘7.5 

2 percent’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘not 

3 less than 12 percent for fiscal year 2008, not less 

4 than 14 percent for fiscal year 2009, not less 

5 than 16 percent for fiscal year 2010, not less 

6 than 18 percent for fiscal year 2011, and not less 

7 than 20 percent for fiscal year 2012, of the 

8 amount appropriated pursuant to section 

9 639(a).’’; 

10 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); 

11 (C) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ‘‘re12 quired to be’’ each place it appears; and 

13 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

14 subparagraph (B). 

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

16 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(f)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘(f) The’’ and inserting ‘‘(f)(1) 

18 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

19 the Head Start for School Readiness Act, the’’; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘needs.’’ and inserting ‘‘needs, 

21 including models that leverage the capacity and capa22 bilities of the delivery system of early childhood edu23 cation and care.’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(2) In establishing the procedures the Secretary shall 

2 establish procedures to provide for— 

3 ‘‘(A) the conversion of part-day programs to full4 day programs or part-day slots to full-day slots; and 

5 ‘‘(B) serving additional infants and toddlers 

6 pursuant to section 645(a)(5).’’. 

7 (c) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—Section 640(g)(2) of the 

8 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(g)(2)) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the applicant has un12 dertaken communitywide strategic planning and 

13 needs assessments involving other community organi14 zations and Federal, State, and local public agencies 

15 serving children and families (including organiza16 tions and agencies providing family support services 

17 and protective services to children and families and 

18 organizations serving families in whose homes 

19 English is not the language customarily spoken), and 

20 individuals, organizations, and public entities serving 

21 children with disabilities, children in foster care, and 

22 homeless children including the local educational 

23 agency liaison designated under section 

24 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As25 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii));’’; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (D)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘community’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘communitywide’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘other local’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘the State and local’’; 

6 (3) in subparagraph (E)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘would like to participate 

8 but’’ after ‘‘community who’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘early childhood program’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘early childhood education and 

11 care program’’; 

12 (4) in subparagraph (G), by inserting ‘‘leverage 

13 the existing delivery systems of such services (existing 

14 as of the date of the allocation decision) and’’ after 

15 ‘‘manner that will’’; and 

16 (5) in subparagraph (H), by inserting ‘‘, includ17 ing the local educational agency liaison designated 

18 under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento 

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

20 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)),’’ after ‘‘community involved’’. 

21 (d) VEHICLE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

22 640(i) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(i)) is amend23 ed— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘(i)(1)’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by add2 ing at the end the following: ‘‘The regulations shall 

3 also establish requirements to ensure the appropriate 

4 supervision of, and appropriate background checks 

5 for, individuals with whom the agencies contract to 

6 transport those children.’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(2)(A) For purposes of part 1310 of title 45, Code 

9 of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment 

10 of the Head Start for School Readiness Act, any vehicle in 

11 use to transport children for a Head Start program as of 

12 January 1, 2007, shall not be subject to a requirement 

13 under that part regarding rear emergency exit doors for 2 

14 years after that date of enactment. 

15 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall revise allowable alternate ve16 hicle standards described in that part 1310 (or any cor17 responding similar regulation or ruling) to exempt from 

18 Federal seat spacing requirements any vehicle used to 

19 transport children for a Head Start program, if the vehicle 

20 is equipped with child restraint systems consistent with 

21 that part 1310 (or any corresponding similar regulation 

22 or ruling). Such revision shall be made in a manner con23 sistent with the findings of the Federal Transit Administra24 tion of the Department of Transportation, pursuant to its 

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1 cles, related to Government Accountability Office report 

2 GAO-06-767R.’’. 

3 (e) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL HEAD START PRO4 GRAMS.—Section 640(l) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 9835(l)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and seasonal 

7 farmworker families’’ and inserting ‘‘or seasonal 

8 farmworkers’’; and 

9 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

10 following: 

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

12 shall continue the administrative arrangement at the na13 tional level for meeting the needs of Indian children and 

14 children of migrant or seasonal farmworkers and shall en15 sure— 

16 ‘‘(A) that appropriate funding is provided to 

17 meet such needs, including training and technical as18 sistance provided by staff with knowledge of and expe19 rience in working with such populations; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the appointment of a national Indian Head 

21 Start collaboration director and a national migrant 

22 and seasonal Head Start program collaboration direc23 tor. 

24 ‘‘(4)(A) For the purposes of paragraph (3), the Sec25 retary shall conduct an annual consultation in each affected 


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1 Head Start region, with tribal governments operating Head 

2 Start (including Early Head Start) programs. 

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

4 meeting the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native 

5 children and families pertinent to subsection (a)(2)(A), tak6 ing into consideration funding allocations, distribution for7 mulas, and other issues affecting the delivery of Head Start 

8 services within tribal communities. 

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

10 consultations in the Federal Register prior to conducting 

11 the consultations. 

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

13 prepared and made available, on a timely basis, to all trib14 al governments receiving funds under this subchapter. 

15 ‘‘(5)(A) In order to increase access to Head Start serv16 ices for children of migrant or seasonal farmworkers, the 

17 Secretary shall work in collaboration with providers of mi18 grant and seasonal Head Start programs, the Secretary of 

19 Agriculture, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of 

20 Education to— 

21 ‘‘(i) collect, report, and share data on farm22 workers and their families in order to adequately ac23 count for the number of children of migrant or sea24 sonal farmworkers who are eligible for Head Start 


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1 services and determine how many of such children re2 ceive the services; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) identify barriers that prevent children of 

4 migrant or seasonal farmworkers who are eligible for 

5 Head Start services from accessing Head Start serv6 ices, and develop a plan for eliminating such barriers, 

7 including certain requirements relating to tracking, 

8 health records, and educational documents. 

9 ‘‘(B) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

10 of the Head Start for School Readiness Act, the Secretary 

11 shall publish in the Federal Register a notice about how 

12 the Secretary plans to carry out the activities identified in 

13 subparagraph (A) and shall provide a period for public 

14 comment. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall con15 sider comments received before implementing any of the ac16 tivities identified in subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(C) Not later than 18 months after the date of enact18 ment of the Head Start for School Readiness Act, the Sec19 retary shall submit a report to the Committee on Education 

20 and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

22 Senate detailing how the Secretary plans to carry out the 

23 activities identified in subparagraph (A). 

24 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall take appropriate caution to 

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1 ally identifiable data, information, and records collected or 

2 maintained regarding children and families served by mi3 grant and seasonal Head Start programs. 

4 ‘‘(E) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to 

5 authorize the development of a nationwide database of per6 sonally identifiable data, information, or records on indi7 viduals involved in studies or other collections of data under 

8 this paragraph.’’. 

9 (f) HOMELESS CHILDREN.—Section 640 of the Head 

10 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835) is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

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

13 Secretary shall issue regulations to remove barriers to the 

14 enrollment and participation of homeless children in Head 

15 Start programs. Such regulations shall require Head Start 

16 agencies to— 

17 ‘‘(1) implement policies and procedures to ensure 

18 that homeless children are identified and receive ap19 propriate priority for enrollment; 

20 ‘‘(2) allow homeless children to apply to, enroll 

21 in, and attend Head Start programs while required 

22 documents, such as proof of residency, proof of immu23 nization, and other medical records, birth certificates, 

24 and other documents, are obtained within a reason25 able timeframe; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) coordinate individual Head Start programs 

2 with efforts to implement subtitle B of title VII of the 

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

4 11431 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(n) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub6 chapter shall be construed to require a State to establish 

7 a program of early childhood education and care for chil8 dren in the State, to require any child to participate in 

9 a program in order to attend preschool, or to participate 

10 in any initial screening prior to participation in a pro11 gram of early childhood education and care, except as pro12 vided under section 612(a)(3) of the Individuals with Dis13 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(3)) and con14 sistent with section 635(a)(5) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

15 1435(a)(5)). 

16 ‘‘(o) CURRICULA.—All curricula funded under this 

17 subchapter shall be scientifically based, developmentally 

18 and linguistically based (to the extent practicable), and age 

19 appropriate. The curricula shall reflect all areas of child 

20 development and learning. Parents shall have the oppor21 tunity to examine any such curricula or instructional ma22 terials funded under this subchapter.’’. 

23 SEC. 7. DESIGNATION OF HEAD START AGENCIES. 

24 Section 641 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836) 

25 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 641. DESIGNATION OF HEAD START AGENCIES. 

2 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.— 

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

4 to designate as a Head Start agency any local public 

5 or private nonprofit or for-profit agency, within a 

6 community, including a community-based organiza7 tion that— 

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

9 the purpose of this subchapter and perform the 

10 functions set forth in section 642 within a com11 munity; and 

12 ‘‘(B) is determined to have the capacity to 

13 plan, conduct, administer, and evaluate, either 

14 directly or by other arrangements, a Head Start 

15 program. 

16 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED GOALS FOR DESIGNATION.—In 

17 order to be designated as a Head Start agency, an en18 tity described in paragraph (1) shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) establish program goals for improving 

20 the school readiness of children participating in 

21 a program under this subchapter, including 

22 goals for meeting the performance standards and 

23 additional educational standards described in 

24 section 641A and shall establish results-based 

25 school readiness goals that are aligned with the 

26 Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, State 


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1 early learning standards (as appropriate), and 

2 requirements and expectations for local public 

3 schools; and 

4 ‘‘(B) have a governing body— 

5 ‘‘(i) with legal and fiscal responsibility 

6 for administering and overseeing programs 

7 under this subchapter; 

8 ‘‘(ii) that fully participates in the de9 velopment, planning, and evaluation of the 

10 programs to ensure the operation of pro11 grams of high quality; 

12 ‘‘(iii) that is responsible for ensuring 

13 compliance with Federal laws and regula14 tions, including the performance standards 

15 described in section 641A, as well as appli16 cable State, tribal, and local laws and regu17 lations, including laws defining the nature 

18 and operations of the governing body; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) that has procedures to facilitate 

20 meaningful consultation and collaboration 

21 about decisions of the governing body and 

22 the policy council established under para23 graph (3). 

24 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY COUNCIL UPON

25 DESIGNATION.—Upon receiving designation as a 


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1 Head Start agency, the agency shall establish a policy 

2 council that— 

3 ‘‘(A) in accordance with paragraph (5)(C), 

4 shall make decisions that influence the character 

5 of programs consistent with paragraph (5)(F); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) with the governing body, shall estab8 lish processes to resolve internal disputes. 

9 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY FOR SUBSEQUENT GRANTS.— 

10 In order to receive a grant under this subchapter sub11 sequent to the initial grant provided following the 

12 date of enactment of the Head Start for School Readi13 ness Act, an entity described in paragraph (1) shall 

14 demonstrate that the entity has met or is making 

15 progress toward meeting the goals described in para16 graph (2)(A). 

17 ‘‘(5) GOVERNING BODY AND POLICY COUNCIL.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF GOVERNING

19 BODY.—Each Head Start agency shall establish 

20 a governing body in accordance with paragraph 

21 (2)(B). 

22 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION OF GOVERNING BODY.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The governing body 

24 shall be composed as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(I) Not less than 1 member of the 

2 governing body shall have a back3 ground in fiscal management. 

4 ‘‘(II) Not less than 1 member of 

5 the governing body shall have a back6 ground in early childhood education 

7 and care. 

8 ‘‘(III) Not less than 1 member of 

9 the governing body shall be a licensed 

10 attorney familiar with issues that come 

11 before the governing body. 

12 ‘‘(IV) Additional members shall 

13 reflect the community to be served, and 

14 include parents of children who are 

15 currently, or were formerly, enrolled in 

16 Head Start programs. 

17 ‘‘(V) In the case in which the gov18 erning body is a part of a Head Start 

19 agency that is a public agency, mem20 bers of the governing body shall include 

21 elected or appointed public officials. 

22 ‘‘(ii) CONSULTANTS.—In the case that 

23 persons described in clause (i) are not 

24 available to serve as members of the gov25 erning body, the governing body shall make 


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1 use of consultants in the areas described in 

2 clause (i) to work directly with the gov3 erning body. 

4 ‘‘(iii) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—Mem5 bers of the governing body shall— 

6 ‘‘(I) not have a conflict of interest 

7 with the Head Start agency (including 

8 any delegate agency); and 

9 ‘‘(II) not receive compensation for 

10 the purposes of serving on the gov11 erning body or for providing services to 

12 the Head Start agency. 

13 ‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOVERNING

14 BODY.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The governing body 

16 shall be responsible for— 

17 ‘‘(I) the selection of delegate agen18 cies and such agencies’ service areas; 

19 ‘‘(II) establishing procedures and 

20 criteria for recruitment, selection, and 

21 enrollment; 

22 ‘‘(III) all funding applications 

23 and amendments to funding applica24 tions for programs under this sub25 chapter; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) establishing procedures and 

2 guidelines to access and collect the in3 formation described in paragraph (6); 

4 ‘‘(V) review and approval of— 

5 ‘‘(aa) the annual self-assess6 ment, financial audit, and find7 ings from the Federal monitoring 

8 review, of the Head Start agency 

9 (including any delegate agency); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(bb) such agency’s progress 

12 in carrying out the programmatic 

13 and fiscal intent of such agency’s 

14 grant application; 

15 ‘‘(VI) developing procedures for 

16 how members of the policy council of 

17 the Head Start agency are selected, 

18 consistent with subparagraph (E)(ii); 

19 ‘‘(VII) financial audits, account20 ing, and reporting; 

21 ‘‘(VIII) personnel policies and 

22 procedures regarding hiring, termi23 nation, salary scales (and changes 

24 made to the scale), and salaries of the 

25 Executive Director, Head Start DirecVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00203 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 tor, the Director of Human Resources, 

2 the Chief Fiscal Officer, and any 

3 equivalent position; and 

4 ‘‘(IX) review and approval of the 

5 community assessment, including any 

6 updates to such assessment. 

7 ‘‘(ii) CONDUCT OF RESPONSIBIL8 ITIES.—The governing body shall ensure the 

9 development and approval of an internal 

10 control structure to facilitate those respon11 sibilities in order to— 

12 ‘‘(I) safeguard Federal funds; 

13 ‘‘(II) comply with laws and regu14 lations that have an impact on finan15 cial statements; 

16 ‘‘(III) detect or prevent non17 compliance with this subchapter; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) receive financial audit re19 ports and direct and monitor staff im20 plementation of corrective actions. 

21 ‘‘(iii) COMMITTEES.—The governing 

22 body shall, to the extent practicable and ap23 propriate, establish— 

24 ‘‘(I) advisory committees to over25 see responsibilities related to financial 


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1 auditing and finances of the Head 

2 Start agency, as well as compliance 

3 with Federal, State, and local laws 

4 and regulations; and 

5 ‘‘(II) at the discretion of the gov6 erning body, additional advisory com7 mittees to study and make rec8 ommendations on areas related to the 

9 improvement of the Head Start pro10 gram. 

11 ‘‘(D) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY COUN12 CIL.—Each Head Start agency shall establish a 

13 policy council in accordance with paragraph (3). 

14 ‘‘(E) COMPOSITION OF POLICY COUNCIL.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The policy council 

16 shall consist of— 

17 ‘‘(I) parents of children currently 

18 enrolled in the programs of the Head 

19 Start agency (including any delegate 

20 agency), which shall constitute a ma21 jority of the membership of the policy 

22 council; and 

23 ‘‘(II) members at large of the com24 munity served by the Head Start agen25 cy, which may include parents of chilVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00205 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 dren previously enrolled in the pro2 grams of the Head Start agency (in3 cluding any delegate agency). 

4 ‘‘(ii) SELECTION.—Parents serving on 

5 the policy council shall be elected by parents 

6 of children currently enrolled in the pro7 grams of the Head Start agency (including 

8 any delegate agency) and shall represent, 

9 proportionately, all program options and 

10 settings operated by the Head Start agency 

11 (including any delegate agency). 

12 ‘‘(iii) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—Mem13 bers of the policy council shall— 

14 ‘‘(I) not have a conflict of interest 

15 with the Head Start agency (including 

16 any delegate agency); and 

17 ‘‘(II) not receive compensation for 

18 serving on the policy council or for 

19 providing services to the Head Start 

20 agency. 

21 ‘‘(F) RESPONSIBILITIES OF POLICY COUN22 CIL.—The policy council shall be responsible 

23 for— 

24 ‘‘(i) program planning, including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) program design, including 

2 long and short term program goals, all 

3 funding applications and amendments 

4 to funding applications, and objectives 

5 based on the annual communitywide 

6 assessment and self-assessment; 

7 ‘‘(II) program recruitment, selec8 tion, and enrollment priorities; and 

9 ‘‘(III) budget planning for pro10 gram expenditures consistent with sub11 paragraph (C)(i)(VII), including po12 lices for reimbursement and participa13 tion in policy council activities; 

14 ‘‘(ii) program operation consistent 

15 with subparagraph (C)(i)(VIII), including 

16 implementation of standards of conduct for 

17 program staff, contractors, and volunteers 

18 and criteria for the employment and dis19 missal of program staff; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) activities to support the active 

21 involvement of parents in supporting pro22 gram operations, including policies to en23 sure that the Head Start program is re24 sponsive to community and parent needs. 


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1 ‘‘(6) INFORMATION SHARING.—The governing 

2 body and the policy council shall share with each 

3 other regular and accurate information for use by 

4 both entities about program planning, policies, and 

5 Head Start agency operations, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) monthly financial statements (includ7 ing detailed credit card account expenditures for 

8 any employee with a Head Start agency credit 

9 card or who seeks reimbursement for charged ex10 penses); 

11 ‘‘(B) monthly program information sum12 maries; 

13 ‘‘(C) program enrollment reports, including 

14 attendance reports for children whose care is 

15 partially subsidized by another public agency; 

16 ‘‘(D) monthly reports of meals and snacks 

17 provided through programs of the Department of 

18 Agriculture; 

19 ‘‘(E) the financial audit; 

20 ‘‘(F) the annual self-assessment, including 

21 any findings related to the annual self-assess22 ment; 

23 ‘‘(G) the community assessment of the Head 

24 Start agency’s service area and any applicable 

25 updates; 


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1 ‘‘(H) communication and guidance from the 

2 Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(I) the program information reports. 

4 ‘‘(7) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

5 Appropriate training and technical assistance shall 

6 be provided to the members of the governing body and 

7 the policy council to ensure that the members under8 stand the information the members receive and can ef9 fectively oversee and participate in the programs of 

10 the Head Start agency. 

11 ‘‘(b) COMMUNITIES.—For purposes of this subchapter, 

12 a community may be a city, county, or multicity or multi13 county unit within a State, an Indian reservation (includ14 ing Indians in any off-reservation area designated by an 

15 appropriate tribal government in consultation with the Sec16 retary), or a neighborhood or other area (irrespective of 

17 boundaries or political subdivisions) that provides a suit18 able organizational base and possesses the commonality of 

19 interest needed to operate a Head Start program. 

20 ‘‘(c) REDESIGNATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In administering the provi22 sions of this section, the Secretary shall, in consulta23 tion with the Governor of the State involved, redesig24 nate as a Head Start agency any Head Start agency 

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1 forming, as determined by meeting each of the fol2 lowing criteria: 

3 ‘‘(A) Is receiving assistance under this sub4 chapter. 

5 ‘‘(B) Meets or exceeds standards described 

6 in section 641A(a)(1) (including program and 

7 financial management requirements). 

8 ‘‘(C) Has no unresolved deficiencies, includ9 ing having resolved any deficiencies found dur10 ing the last triennial review under section 

11 641A(c). 

12 ‘‘(D) Can demonstrate, through agreements 

13 such as memoranda of understanding, active col14 laboration with the State or local community in 

15 the provision of services for children (such as the 

16 provision of extended day services, education, 

17 professional development and training for staff, 

18 and other types of cooperative endeavors). 

19 ‘‘(E) Completes and submits the appro20 priate reapplication forms as required by the 

21 Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A Head Start agency with a 

23 triennial review under section 641A(c) scheduled not 

24 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 

25 the Head Start for School Readiness Act shall not be 


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1 subject to the criteria described in paragraph (1) for 

2 that review in order to be redesignated. The Head 

3 Start agency shall be subject to the criteria for any 

4 subsequent triennial review. 

5 ‘‘(d) DESIGNATION WHEN NO ENTITY IS REDESIG6 NATED.—If no entity in a community is redesignated ac7 cording to subsection (c), the Secretary shall, after con8 ducting an open competition, designate a Head Start agen9 cy from among qualified applicants in such community. 

10 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVENESS.—In selecting from among quali11 fied applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the 

12 Secretary shall consider the effectiveness of each such appli13 cant to provide Head Start services, based on— 

14 ‘‘(1) any past performance of such applicant in 

15 providing services comparable to Head Start services, 

16 including how effectively such applicant provided 

17 such comparable services; 

18 ‘‘(2) the plan of such applicant to provide com19 prehensive health, educational, nutritional, social, 

20 and other services needed to aid participating chil21 dren in attaining their full potential, and to prepare 

22 children to succeed in school; 

23 ‘‘(3) the capacity of such applicant to serve eligi24 ble children with programs that use scientifically 


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1 based research that promote school readiness of chil2 dren participating in the program; 

3 ‘‘(4) the plan of such applicant to meet stand4 ards set forth in section 641A(a)(1), with particular 

5 attention to the standards set forth in subparagraphs 

6 (A) and (B) of such section; 

7 ‘‘(5) the plan of such applicant to coordinate the 

8 Head Start program the applicant proposes to carry 

9 out with other preschool programs, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Early Reading First and Even 

11 Start programs under subparts 2 and 3 of part 

12 B of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6371 et seq., 

14 6381 et seq.); 

15 ‘‘(B) other preschool program under title I 

16 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); 

17 ‘‘(C) programs under section 619 and part 

18 C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

19 Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); 

20 ‘‘(D) State prekindergarten programs; 

21 ‘‘(E) child care programs; 

22 ‘‘(F) the educational programs that the chil23 dren in the Head Start program involved will 

24 enter at the age of compulsory school attendance; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(G) reading readiness programs such as 

2 those conducted by public and school libraries; 

3 ‘‘(6) the plan of such applicant to coordinate the 

4 Head Start program that the applicant proposes to 

5 carry out with public and private entities who are 

6 willing to commit resources to assist the Head Start 

7 program in meeting its program needs; 

8 ‘‘(7) the plan of such applicant to collaborate 

9 with a local library, where available, that is inter10 ested in that collaboration, to— 

11 ‘‘(A) develop innovative programs to excite 

12 children about the world of books, such as pro13 grams that involve— 

14 ‘‘(i) taking children to the library for 

15 a story hour; 

16 ‘‘(ii) promoting the use of library 

17 cards; 

18 ‘‘(iii) developing a lending library or 

19 using a mobile library van; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) providing fresh books in the Head 

21 Start classroom on a regular basis; 

22 ‘‘(B) assist in literacy training for Head 

23 Start teachers; and 

24 ‘‘(C) support parents and other caregivers 

25 in literacy efforts; 


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1 ‘‘(8) the plan of such applicant— 

2 ‘‘(A) to facilitate the involvement of parents 

3 of participating children in activities (at home 

4 and in the center involved where practicable) de5 signed to help such parents become full partners 

6 in the education of their children; 

7 ‘‘(B) to afford such parents the opportunity 

8 to participate in the development and overall 

9 conduct of the program at the local level, includ10 ing through providing transportation costs; 

11 ‘‘(C) to offer (directly or through referral to 

12 local entities, such as entities carrying out Even 

13 Start programs under subpart 3 of part B of 

14 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6381 et seq.), pub16 lic and school libraries, and entities carrying out 

17 family support programs) to such parents— 

18 ‘‘(i) family literacy services; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) parenting skills training; 

20 ‘‘(D) to offer to parents of participating 

21 children substance abuse counseling (either di22 rectly or through referral to local entities), if 

23 needed, including information on the effect of 

24 drug exposure on infants and fetal alcohol syn25 drome; 


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1 ‘‘(E) at the option of such applicant, to 

2 offer (directly or through referral to local enti3 ties) to such parents— 

4 ‘‘(i) training in basic child develop5 ment (including cognitive development); 

6 ‘‘(ii) assistance in developing literacy 

7 and communication skills; 

8 ‘‘(iii) opportunities to share experi9 ences with other parents (including parent 

10 mentor relationships); 

11 ‘‘(iv) regular in-home visitation; or 

12 ‘‘(v) any other activity designed to help 

13 such parents become full partners in the 

14 education of their children; 

15 ‘‘(F) to provide, with respect to each par16 ticipating family, a family needs assessment that 

17 includes consultation with such parents (includ18 ing foster parents and grandparents, where ap19 plicable) about the benefits of parent involvement 

20 and about the activities described in subpara21 graphs (C), (D), and (E) in which such parents 

22 may choose to become involved (taking into con23 sideration their specific family needs, work 

24 schedules, and other responsibilities); and 


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1 ‘‘(G) to extend outreach to fathers, in ap2 propriate cases, in order to strengthen the role of 

3 fathers in families, in the education of their 

4 young children, and in the Head Start program, 

5 by working directly with fathers and father fig6 ures through activities such as— 

7 ‘‘(i) in appropriate cases, including fa8 thers in home visits and providing opportu9 nities for direct father-child interactions; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) targeting increased male partici12 pation in the conduct of the program; 

13 ‘‘(9) the ability of such applicant to carry out 

14 the plans described in paragraphs (2), (4), and (5); 

15 ‘‘(10) other factors related to the requirements of 

16 this subchapter; 

17 ‘‘(11) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

18 needs of limited English proficient children and their 

19 families, including procedures to identify such chil20 dren, plans to provide trained personnel, and plans 

21 to provide services to assist the children in making 

22 progress toward the acquisition of the English lan23 guage; 

24 ‘‘(12) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

25 needs of children with disabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(13) the plan of such applicant who chooses to 

2 assist younger siblings of children who will partici3 pate in the Head Start program, to obtain health 

4 services from other sources; 

5 ‘‘(14) the plan of such applicant to collaborate 

6 with other entities providing early childhood edu7 cation and care in the community; 

8 ‘‘(15) the plan of such applicant to meet the 

9 needs of homeless children and children in foster care, 

10 including the transportation needs of such children; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(16) the plan of such applicant to recruit and 

13 retain qualified staff. 

14 ‘‘(f) INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS AND AREA RESI15 DENTS.—The Secretary shall continue the practice of in16 volving parents and area residents who are affected by pro17 grams under this subchapter in the selection of qualified 

18 applicants for designation as Head Start agencies. 

19 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY.—In selecting from among qualified 

20 applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the Sec21 retary shall give priority to applicants that have dem22 onstrated capacity in providing effective, comprehensive, 

23 and well-coordinated early childhood education and care to 

24 children and their families. 


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1 ‘‘(h) INTERIM BASIS.—If there is not a qualified ap2 plicant in a community for designation as a Head Start 

3 agency, the Secretary shall designate a qualified agency to 

4 carry out the Head Start program in the community on 

5 an interim basis until a qualified applicant from the com6 munity is so designated. 

7 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION AGAINST NON-INDIAN HEAD START

8 AGENCY RECEIVING A GRANT FOR AN INDIAN HEAD START

9 PROGRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of law except as provided in paragraph (2), 

12 under no condition may a non-Indian Head Start 

13 agency receive a grant to carry out an Indian Head 

14 Start program. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—In a community in which 

16 there is no Indian Head Start agency available for 

17 designation to carry out an Indian Head Start pro18 gram, a non-Indian Head Start agency may receive 

19 a grant to carry out an Indian Head Start program 

20 but only until such time as an Indian Head Start 

21 agency in such community becomes available and is 

22 designated pursuant to this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. QUALITY STANDARDS; MONITORING OF HEAD 

2 START AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS. 

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

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking 

7 ‘‘642(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘642(c)’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

9 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘education 

10 performance standards’’ and inserting ‘‘edu11 cational performance standards’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking clause (ii) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(ii) additional educational standards 

15 based on the recommendations of the National 

16 Academy of Sciences panel described in section 

17 649(h) and other experts in the field, to ensure 

18 that the curriculum involved addresses, and that 

19 the children participating in the program show 

20 appropriate progress toward developing and ap21 plying, the recommended educational outcomes, 

22 after the panel considers the appropriateness of 

23 additional educational standards relating to— 

24 ‘‘(I) language skills related to listening, 

25 understanding, speaking, and commu26 nicating; 


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1 ‘‘(II) pre-literacy knowledge and skills; 

2 ‘‘(III) premathematics knowledge and 

3 skills; 

4 ‘‘(IV) scientific abilities; 

5 ‘‘(V) general cognitive abilities related 

6 to academic achievement and child develop7 ment; 

8 ‘‘(VI) social and emotional develop9 ment related to early learning and school 

10 success; 

11 ‘‘(VII) physical development; and 

12 ‘‘(VIII) in the case of limited English 

13 proficient children, progress toward acquisi14 tion of the English language (which may 

15 include progress made with linguistically 

16 appropriate instructional services) while 

17 making meaningful progress in attaining 

18 the knowledge, skills, abilities, and develop19 ment described in subclauses (I) through 

20 (VII);’’; 

21 (C) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking 

22 ‘‘projects; and’’ and inserting ‘‘projects, includ23 ing regulations that require that the facilities 

24 used by Head Start agencies (including Early 

25 Head Start agencies and including any delegate 


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1 agencies) for regularly scheduled center-based 

2 and combination program option classroom ac3 tivities— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall be in compliance with State 

5 and local requirements concerning licensing 

6 for such facilities; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) shall be accessible by State and 

8 local authorities for purposes of monitoring 

9 and ensuring compliance; and’’; 

10 (D) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

12 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘the 

13 date of enactment of this section’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘the date of enactment of the 

15 Head Start for School Readiness Act’’; 

16 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

17 ‘‘the date of enactment of this Act’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘the date of enactment of the 

19 Head Start for School Readiness Act’’; 

20 (III) in clause (iii)— 

21 (aa) by striking ‘‘early child22 hood education and development’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘early childhood 

24 education and care’’; and 


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1 (bb) by inserting ‘‘homeless 

2 children, children in foster care,’’ 

3 after ‘‘children with disabilities,’’; 

4 (IV) in clause (vi), by striking 

5 ‘‘including the language’’ and all that 

6 follows and inserting ‘‘including 

7 changes in the language background 

8 and family structure of such children, 

9 and changes in the population and 

10 number of such children who are in 

11 foster care or are homeless children;’’; 

12 (V) by striking clause (vii) and 

13 inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(vii) the unique challenges faced by 

15 individual programs, including those pro16 grams that are seasonal or short term and 

17 those programs that serve rural popu18 lations;’’; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik20 ing ‘‘the date of enactment of the Coats 

21 Human Services Reauthorization Act of 

22 1998.’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of enactment 

23 of the Head Start for School Readiness Act; 

24 and’’; and 


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1 (iii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(D) consult with Indian tribes, American 

4 Indian and Alaska Native experts in early child5 hood education and care, linguists, and the Na6 tional Indian Head Start Directors Association 

7 on the review and promulgation of program 

8 standards and measures (including standards 

9 and measures for language acquisition and 

10 school readiness).’’; 

11 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) EVALUATIONS AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

13 FOR DELEGATE AGENCIES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) PROCEDURES.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

16 (ii), the Head Start agency shall establish 

17 procedures relating to its delegate agencies, 

18 including— 

19 ‘‘(I) procedures for evaluating del20 egate agencies; 

21 ‘‘(II) procedures for defunding 

22 delegate agencies; and 

23 ‘‘(III) procedures for appealing a 

24 defunding decision relating to a dele25 gate agency. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) TERMINATION.—The Head Start 

2 agency may not terminate a delegate agen3 cy’s contract or reduce a delegate agency’s 

4 service area without showing cause or dem5 onstrating the cost-effectiveness of such a de6 cision. 

7 ‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS.—Each Head Start 

8 agency— 

9 ‘‘(i) shall evaluate its delegate agencies 

10 using the procedures established pursuant to 

11 this section, including subparagraph (A); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) shall inform the delegate agencies 

14 of the deficiencies identified through the 

15 evaluation that shall be corrected. 

16 ‘‘(C) REMEDIES TO ENSURE CORRECTIVE

17 ACTIONS.—In the event that the Head Start 

18 agency identifies a deficiency for a delegate 

19 agency through the evaluation, the Head Start 

20 agency shall take action, which may include— 

21 ‘‘(i) initiating procedures to terminate 

22 the designation of the agency unless the 

23 agency corrects the deficiency; 

24 ‘‘(ii) conducting monthly monitoring 

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1 ciencies are corrected or the Head Start 

2 agency decides to defund such delegate agen3 cy; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) releasing funds to such delegate 

5 agency— 

6 ‘‘(I) only as reimbursements, until 

7 all deficiencies are corrected or the 

8 Head Start agency decides to defund 

9 such delegate agency; and 

10 ‘‘(II) only if there is continuity of 

11 services for children and families. 

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

13 this paragraph shall be construed to impact or 

14 obviate the responsibilities of the Secretary with 

15 respect to Head Start agencies (including any 

16 delegate agencies) receiving funding under this 

17 subchapter.’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) by striking the paragraph heading 

21 and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) CHARACTERISTICS AND USE OF MEAS23 URES.—’’; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘, not later than July 1, 1999; and’’ and 

3 inserting a semicolon; 

4 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

5 the period and inserting a semicolon; 

6 (iv) by striking the flush matter fol7 lowing subparagraph (C); and 

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

9 ‘‘(D) measure characteristics that are 

10 strongly predictive (as determined on a scientific 

11 basis) of a child’s school readiness and later per12 formance in school; 

13 ‘‘(E) be appropriate for the population 

14 served; and 

15 ‘‘(F) be reviewed not less than every 4 

16 years, based on advances in the science of early 

17 childhood development. 

18 The performance measures shall be issued by regula19 tion and shall include the performance standards and 

20 additional educational standards described in sub21 paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1).’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

24 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (iii) by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(C) to enable Head Start agencies to indi6 vidualize programs of instruction to better meet 

7 the needs of the child involved.’’; 

8 (3) in subsection (c)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (i) by striking subparagraph (C) and 

11 inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(C) Unannounced site inspections for 

13 health and safety reasons, as appropriate.’’; 

14 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (D) 

15 as subparagraph (E); and 

16 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

17 (C) the following: 

18 ‘‘(D) Followup reviews, including— 

19 ‘‘(i) prompt return visits as necessary 

20 for failure to meet 1 or more of the perform21 ance measures developed by the Secretary 

22 under subsection (b); 

23 ‘‘(ii) a review of agencies and pro24 grams with citations that include findings 


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1 of deficiencies not later than 6 months after 

2 the date of such citation; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) followup reviews that incorporate 

4 a monitoring visit without prior notice of 

5 the visit to the agency or program involved 

6 or with such limited prior notice as is nec7 essary to ensure the participation of parents 

8 and key staff members.’’; and 

9 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF REVIEWS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en13 sure that reviews described in paragraph (1)— 

14 ‘‘(i) are performed, to the maximum 

15 extent practicable, by employees of the De16 partment of Health and Human Services 

17 who are knowledgeable about Head Start 

18 programs; 

19 ‘‘(ii) are conducted by review teams 

20 that shall include individuals who are 

21 knowledgeable about Head Start programs 

22 and other early childhood education and 

23 care and, to the maximum extent prac24 ticable, the diverse (including linguistic and 

25 cultural) needs of eligible children (includVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00228 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ing children with disabilities, homeless chil2 dren, and children in foster care) and lim3 ited English proficient children and their 

4 families, and personnel management, finan5 cial accountability, and systems develop6 ment and monitoring; 

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

8 the programs, a review and assessment of 

9 program effectiveness, including strengths 

10 and weaknesses, as measured in accordance 

11 with the results-based performance measures 

12 developed by the Secretary pursuant to sub13 section (b) and with the standards estab14 lished pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and 

15 (B) of subsection (a)(1); 

16 ‘‘(iv) seek information from the com17 munities and States where Head Start pro18 grams exist about innovative or effective col19 laborative efforts, barriers to collaboration, 

20 and the efforts of the Head Start agencies to 

21 collaborate with the entities providing early 

22 childhood education and care in the commu23 nity; 

24 ‘‘(v) include as part of the reviews of 

25 the programs, a review and assessment of 


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1 whether the programs are in conformity 

2 with the income eligibility requirements 

3 under section 645 and regulations promul4 gated under such section; 

5 ‘‘(vi) include as part of the reviews of 

6 the programs, a review and assessment of 

7 whether programs have adequately ad8 dressed population and community needs 

9 (including needs of populations of limited 

10 English proficient children and children of 

11 migrant or seasonal farmworkers); 

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

13 the programs, a review and assessment of 

14 whether programs have adequately ad15 dressed the needs of children with disabil16 ities; 

17 ‘‘(viii) include as part of the reviews of 

18 the programs, data from the results of peri19 odic child assessments, and a review and 

20 assessment of child outcomes and perform21 ance as they relate to agency-determined 

22 school readiness goals described in section 

23 641(a)(2)(A); and 

24 ‘‘(ix) in the case of Early Head Start 

25 agencies and programs, are conducted by a 


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1 review team that includes individuals who 

2 are knowledgeable about the development of 

3 infants and toddlers. 

4 ‘‘(B) TRAINING; QUALITY AND CONSIST5 ENCY.—The Secretary, from funds available 

6 under section 640(a)(2)(D), shall provide peri7 odic training for supervisors and members of re8 view teams in such topics as program manage9 ment and financial audit performance. The Sec10 retary shall ensure the quality and consistency 

11 across and within regions of reviews and non12 compliance and deficiency determinations by 

13 conducting periodic interrater reliability 

14 checks.’’; 

15 (4) in subsection (d)(1)— 

16 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

17 (A), by inserting ‘‘or fails to address the com18 munitywide strategic plan and needs assessment 

19 identified in section 640(g)(2)(C),’’ after ‘‘sub20 section (b),’’; and 

21 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and 

22 identify the assistance to be provided consistent 

23 with paragraph (3)’’ after ‘‘corrected’’; 

24 (5) in subsection (e), by striking the last sentence 

25 and inserting ‘‘The information contained in such reVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00231 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 port shall be made available to parents with children 

2 receiving assistance under this subchapter in an un3 derstandable and uniform format, and to the extent 

4 practicable, in a language that the parents can un5 derstand. Such information shall be made widely 

6 available through public means such as distribution 

7 through public agencies, and, at a minimum, by post8 ing such information on the Internet immediately 

9 upon publication.’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(f) SELF-ASSESSMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than once 

13 each program year, with the consultation and partici14 pation of policy councils, and, as applicable, policy 

15 committees, and, as appropriate, other community 

16 members, each agency receiving funds under this sub17 chapter shall conduct a comprehensive self-assessment 

18 of the agency’s effectiveness and progress in meeting 

19 program goals and objectives and in implementing 

20 and complying with standards described in subsection 

21 (a)(1). 

22 ‘‘(2) REPORT AND IMPROVEMENT PLANS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) REPORT.—An agency conducting a 

24 self-assessment shall report the findings of the 

25 self-assessment to the relevant policy council, polVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00232 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 icy committee, governing body, and regional of2 fice of the Administration for Children and 

3 Families of the Department of Health and 

4 Human Services. Each self-assessment shall 

5 identify areas of strength and weakness. 

6 ‘‘(B) IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—The agency 

7 shall develop an improvement plan approved by 

8 the governing body of the agency to strengthen 

9 any areas identified in the self-assessment as 

10 weaknesses or in need of improvement. The agen11 cy shall report the areas to the appropriate re12 gional office of the Administration for Children 

13 and Families. 

14 ‘‘(3) ONGOING MONITORING.—Each Head Start 

15 agency (including each Early Head Start agency and 

16 including any delegate agency) shall establish and 

17 implement procedures for the ongoing monitoring of 

18 their Head Start (including Early Head Start) pro19 grams, to ensure that the operations of the programs 

20 work toward meeting program goals and objectives 

21 and Head Start performance standards. 

22 ‘‘(4) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

23 Funds may be made available, through section 

24 648(d), for training and technical assistance to assist 

25 agencies in conducting self-assessments. 


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1 ‘‘(g) REDUCTION OF GRANTS AND REDISTRIBUTION OF

2 FUNDS IN CASES OF UNDER-ENROLLMENT.— 

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

4 ‘‘(A) ACTUAL ENROLLMENT.—The term ‘ac5 tual enrollment’ means, with respect to the pro6 gram of a Head Start agency, the actual number 

7 of children enrolled in such program and re8 ported by the agency (as required in paragraph 

9 (2)) in a given month. 

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

11 means, with respect to a Head Start agency for 

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

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

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

15 Head Start agency administering an In16 dian Head Start program or migrant or 

17 seasonal Head Start program; 

18 ‘‘(ii) from amounts reserved for pay19 ments under section 640(a)(2)(B); or 

20 ‘‘(iii) from amounts available under 

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

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

23 ‘‘(C) FUNDED ENROLLMENT.—The term 

24 ‘funded enrollment’ means, with respect to the 

25 program of a Head Start agency in a fiscal 


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1 year, the number of children that the agency is 

2 funded to serve through a grant for the program 

3 during such fiscal year, as indicated in the grant 

4 award. 

5 ‘‘(2) ENROLLMENT REPORTING REQUIREMENT

6 FOR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.—Each entity carrying 

7 out a Head Start program shall report on a monthly 

8 basis to the Secretary and the relevant Head Start 

9 agency— 

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

11 and 

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

13 the funded enrollment, any apparent reason for 

14 such enrollment shortfall. 

15 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND PLAN.—The Sec16 retary shall— 

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

18 which Head Start agencies are operating with 

19 an actual enrollment that is less than the funded 

20 enrollment based on not less than 4 consecutive 

21 months of data; 

22 ‘‘(B) for each such Head Start agency oper23 ating a program with an actual enrollment that 

24 is less than 95 percent of its funded enrollment, 

25 as determined under subparagraph (A), develop, 


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1 in collaboration with such agency, a plan and 

2 timetable for reducing or eliminating under-en3 rollment taking into consideration— 

4 ‘‘(i) the quality and extent of the out5 reach, recruitment, and communitywide 

6 needs assessment conducted by such agency; 

7 ‘‘(ii) changing demographics, mobility 

8 of populations, and the identification of 

9 new underserved low-income populations; 

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

11 impact enrollment; 

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

13 programs, where needed, through funds 

14 made available under this subchapter or 

15 through collaboration with entities carrying 

16 out other preschool or child care programs, 

17 or programs with other funding sources 

18 (where available); 

19 ‘‘(v) the availability and use by fami20 lies of other preschool and child care options 

21 (including parental care) in the community 

22 served; and 

23 ‘‘(vi) agency management procedures 

24 that may impact enrollment; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) provide timely and ongoing technical 

2 assistance to each agency described in subpara3 graph (B) for the purpose of implementing the 

4 plan described in such subparagraph. 

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

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

7 Head Start agency shall immediately implement the 

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

9 ‘‘(5) SECRETARIAL ACTION FOR CONTINUED

10 UNDER-ENROLLMENT.—If, 1 year after the date of im11 plementation of the plan described in paragraph 

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

13 program at less than funded enrollment, the Secretary 

14 shall, where determined appropriate, continue to pro15 vide technical assistance to such agency. 

16 ‘‘(6) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT

17 FOR CHRONIC UNDER-ENROLLMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, after receiving tech19 nical assistance and developing and imple20 menting a plan to the extent described in para21 graphs (3), (4), and (5) for 9 months, a Head 

22 Start agency is still operating a program with 

23 an actual enrollment that is less than 95 percent 

24 of its funded enrollment, the Secretary may— 


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1 ‘‘(i) designate such agency as chron2 ically under-enrolled; and 

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

4 base grant for the program by a percentage 

5 equal to the percentage difference between 

6 funded enrollment and actual enrollment for 

7 the program for the most recent year in 

8 which the agency is determined to be under9 enrolled under paragraph (3)(A). 

10 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OR LIMITATION OF REDUC11 TIONS.—If the Secretary, after the implementa12 tion of the plan described in paragraph (3)(B), 

13 finds that— 

14 ‘‘(i) the causes of the enrollment short15 fall, or a portion of the shortfall, are beyond 

16 the agency’s control (such as serving signifi17 cant numbers of children of migrant or sea18 sonal farmworkers, homeless children, chil19 dren in foster care, or other highly mobile 

20 children); 

21 ‘‘(ii) the shortfall can reasonably be ex22 pected to be temporary; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) the number of slots allotted to the 

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1 fall, the Secretary may, as appropriate, 

2 waive or reduce the percentage recapturing, 

3 withholding, or reduction otherwise required 

4 by subparagraph (A). 

5 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS; EFFEC6 TIVE DATE.—The actions taken by the Secretary 

7 under this paragraph with respect to a Head 

8 Start agency shall take effect 1 day after the date 

9 on which— 

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

11 section 646(a) expires without an appeal by 

12 the agency; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the action is upheld in an admin14 istrative hearing under section 646. 

15 ‘‘(7) REDISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use 

17 amounts recovered from a Head Start agency 

18 through recapturing, withholding, or reduction 

19 under paragraph (6) in a fiscal year— 

20 ‘‘(i) in the case of a Head Start agency 

21 administering an Indian Head Start pro22 gram or a migrant or seasonal Head Start 

23 program, whose base grant is derived from 

24 amounts specified in paragraph (1)(B)(i), 


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1 to redirect funds to 1 or more agencies 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(I) are administering Head 

4 Start programs serving the same spe5 cial population; and 

6 ‘‘(II) demonstrate that the agen7 cies will use such redirected funds to 

8 increase enrollment in their Head 

9 Start programs in such fiscal year; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a Head Start agen11 cy in a State, whose base grant is derived 

12 from amounts specified in clause (ii) or 

13 (iii) of paragraph (1)(B), to redirect funds 

14 to 1 or more agencies that— 

15 ‘‘(I) are administering Head 

16 Start programs in the same State; and 

17 ‘‘(II) make the demonstration de18 scribed in clause (i)(II). 

19 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—If there is no agency 

20 located in a State that meets the requirements of 

21 subclauses (I) and (II) of subparagraph (A)(ii), 

22 in the case of a Head Start agency described in 

23 subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall use 

24 amounts described in subparagraph (A) to redi25 rect funds to Head Start agencies located in 


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1 other States that make the demonstration de2 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i)(II). 

3 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT TO FUNDED ENROLL4 MENT.—The Secretary shall adjust as necessary 

5 the requirements relating to funded enrollment 

6 indicated in the grant agreement of a Head 

7 Start agency receiving redistributed amounts 

8 under this paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(h) CONTRACT WITH NONPROFIT INTERMEDIARY OR10 GANIZATION.—From funds reserved under clause (i) or (ii) 

11 of section 640(a)(2)(C) or from whatever other resources the 

12 Secretary determines appropriate, in carrying out the pro13 visions of this section, the Secretary or a Head Start agency 

14 may contract with a nonprofit intermediary organization 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(1) provides evaluations and technical assist17 ance to improve overall performance management; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(2) has an exclusive focus of improving the per20 formance management and the use of technology in 

21 assessing performance and meeting Head Start regu22 lations and can provide on-site, hands-on guidance 

23 with the implementation of Head Start programs.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD. 

2 The Head Start Act is amended by inserting after sec3 tion 641A (42 U.S.C. 9836a) the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 641B. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILD5 HOOD. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘center of 

7 excellence’ means a Center of Excellence in Early Childhood 

8 designated under subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION AND BONUS GRANTS.—The Sec10 retary shall, subject to the availability of funds under this 

11 subchapter, including under subsection (f), establish a pro12 gram under which the Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) designate not more than 200 exemplary 

14 Head Start agencies (including Early Head Start 

15 agencies, Indian Head Start agencies, and migrant 

16 and seasonal Head Start agencies) as Centers of Ex17 cellence in Early Childhood; and 

18 ‘‘(2) make bonus grants to the centers of excel19 lence to carry out the activities described in sub20 section (d). 

21 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION AND DESIGNATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) NOMINATION AND SUBMISSION.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re25 ceive a designation as a center of excellence 

26 under subsection (b), except as provided in 


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1 clause (ii), a Head Start agency in a State 

2 shall be nominated by the Governor of the 

3 State and shall submit an application to 

4 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

5 and containing such information as the 

6 Secretary may require. 

7 ‘‘(ii) INDIAN AND MIGRANT AND SEA8 SONAL HEAD START PROGRAMS.—In the 

9 case of an Indian Head Start agency or a 

10 migrant or seasonal Head Start agency, to 

11 be eligible to receive a designation as a cen12 ter of excellence under subsection (b), such 

13 an agency shall be nominated by the head 

14 of the appropriate regional office of the De15 partment of Health and Human Services 

16 and shall submit an application to the Sec17 retary in accordance with clause (i). 

18 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—At a minimum, the ap19 plication shall include— 

20 ‘‘(i) evidence that the Head Start pro21 gram carried out by the agency has signifi22 cantly improved the school readiness of, and 

23 enhanced academic outcomes for, children 

24 who have participated in the program; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) evidence that the program meets 

2 or exceeds standards and performance meas3 ures described in subsections (a) and (b) of 

4 section 641A, as evidenced by successful 

5 completion of programmatic and moni6 toring reviews, and has no findings of defi7 ciencies with respect to the standards and 

8 measures; 

9 ‘‘(iii) evidence that the program is 

10 making progress toward meeting the re11 quirements described in section 648A; 

12 ‘‘(iv) evidence demonstrating the exist13 ence of a collaborative partnership among 

14 the Head Start agency, the State (or a 

15 State agency), and other providers of early 

16 childhood education and care in the local 

17 community involved; 

18 ‘‘(v) a nomination letter from the Gov19 ernor, or appropriate regional office, dem20 onstrating the agency’s ability to provide 

21 the coordination, transition, and training 

22 services of the program to be carried out 

23 under the bonus grant involved, including 

24 coordination of activities with State and 

25 local agencies that provide early childhood 


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1 education and care to children and families 

2 in the community served by the agency; 

3 ‘‘(vi) information demonstrating the 

4 existence of a local council for excellence in 

5 early childhood, which shall include rep6 resentatives of all the institutions, agencies, 

7 and groups involved in the work of the cen8 ter for, and the local provision of services 

9 to, eligible children and other at-risk chil10 dren, and their families; and 

11 ‘‘(vii) a description of how the Center, 

12 in order to expand accessibility and con13 tinuity of quality early childhood education 

14 and care, will coordinate activities assisted 

15 under this section with— 

16 ‘‘(I) programs carried out under 

17 the Child Care and Development Block 

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

19 seq.); 

20 ‘‘(II) other programs carried out 

21 under this subchapter, including the 

22 Early Head Start programs carried 

23 out under section 645A; 

24 ‘‘(III)(aa) Early Reading First 

25 and Even Start programs carried out 


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•S 556 RS

1 under subparts 2 and 3 of part B of 

2 title I of the Elementary and Sec3 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 6371 et seq., 6381 et seq.); 

5 ‘‘(bb) other preschool programs 

6 carried out under title I of that Act 

7 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); and 

8 ‘‘(cc) the Ready-to-Learn Tele9 vision program carried out under sub10 part 3 of part D of title II of that Act 

11 (20 U.S.C. 6775 et seq.); 

12 ‘‘(IV) programs carried out under 

13 section 619 and part C of the Individ14 uals with Disabilities Education Act 

15 (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(V) State prekindergarten pro17 grams; and 

18 ‘‘(VI) other programs of early 

19 childhood education and care. 

20 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—In selecting agencies to des21 ignate as centers of excellence under subsection (b), 

22 the Secretary shall designate not less than 1 from 

23 each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, an In24 dian Head Start program, a migrant or seasonal 


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1 Head Start program, and the Commonwealth of 

2 Puerto Rico. 

3 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making bonus grant deter4 minations under this section, the Secretary shall give 

5 priority to programs that, through their applications, 

6 demonstrate that they are of exceptional quality and 

7 would serve as exemplary models for programs in the 

8 same geographic region. The Secretary may also con9 sider the populations served by the applicants, such 

10 as programs that serve large proportions of limited 

11 English proficient or other underserved populations, 

12 and may make bonus grants to programs that do an 

13 exceptional job meeting the needs of children in such 

14 populations. 

15 ‘‘(4) TERM OF DESIGNATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara17 graph (B), the Secretary shall designate a Head 

18 Start agency as a center of excellence for a 5- 

19 year term. During the period of that designation, 

20 subject to the availability of appropriations, the 

21 agency shall be eligible to receive a bonus grant 

22 under subsection (b). 

23 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—The Secretary may re24 voke an agency’s designation under subsection 

25 (b) if the Secretary determines that the agency is 


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1 not demonstrating adequate performance or has 

2 had findings of deficiencies described in para3 graph (1)(B)(ii). 

4 ‘‘(5) AMOUNT OF BONUS GRANT.—The Secretary 

5 shall base the amount of funding provided through a 

6 bonus grant made under subsection (b) to a center of 

7 excellence on the number of children eligible for Head 

8 Start services in the community involved. The Sec9 retary shall, subject to the availability of funding, 

10 make such a bonus grant in an amount of not less 

11 than $200,000 per year. 

12 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES.—A center of excellence that re14 ceives a bonus grant under subsection (b)— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall use the funds made available 

16 through the bonus grant to model and dissemi17 nate, to other Head Start centers in the State in18 volved, best practices for achieving early aca19 demic success, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) best practices for achieving school 

21 readiness and developing pre-literacy and 

22 premathematics skills for at-risk children 

23 and achieving the acquisition of the English 

24 language for limited English proficient chil25 dren; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) best practices for providing seam2 less service delivery for eligible children and 

3 their families; 

4 ‘‘(B) may use the funds made available 

5 through the bonus grant— 

6 ‘‘(i) to provide Head Start services to 

7 additional eligible children; 

8 ‘‘(ii) to better meet the needs of work9 ing families in the community served by the 

10 center by serving more children in existing 

11 Early Head Start programs (existing as of 

12 the date the center is designated under this 

13 section) or in full-working-day, full cal14 endar year Head Start programs; 

15 ‘‘(iii) to further coordinate early child16 hood education and care and social services 

17 available in the community served by the 

18 center for at-risk children (birth through 

19 age 8), their families, and pregnant women; 

20 ‘‘(iv) to provide training and cross 

21 training for Head Start teachers and staff, 

22 child care providers, public and private 

23 preschool and elementary school teachers, 

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1 cation and care, and training and cross 

2 training to develop agency leaders; 

3 ‘‘(v) to provide effective transitions be4 tween Head Start programs and elementary 

5 school, to facilitate ongoing communication 

6 between Head Start and elementary school 

7 teachers concerning children receiving Head 

8 Start services, and to provide training and 

9 technical assistance to providers who are 

10 public elementary school teachers and other 

11 staff of local educational agencies, child care 

12 providers, family service providers, and 

13 other providers of early childhood education 

14 and care, to help the providers described in 

15 this clause increase their ability to work 

16 with low-income, at-risk children and their 

17 families; 

18 ‘‘(vi) to develop or maintain partner19 ships with institutions of higher education 

20 and nonprofit organizations, including 

21 community-based organizations, that re22 cruit, train, place, and support college stu23 dents to serve as mentors and reading part24 ners to preschool children in Head Start 

25 programs; and 


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1 ‘‘(vii) to carry out other activities de2 termined by the center to improve the over3 all quality of the Head Start program car4 ried out by the agency and the program 

5 carried out under the bonus grant involved. 

6 ‘‘(2) INVOLVEMENT OF OTHER HEAD START

7 AGENCIES AND PROVIDERS.—A center that receives a 

8 bonus grant under subsection (b), in carrying out ac9 tivities under this subsection, shall work with the cen10 ter’s delegate agencies and several additional Head 

11 Start agencies (especially agencies that are low-per12 forming on the standards or performance measures 

13 described in subsection (a) or (b) of section 641A), 

14 and other providers of early childhood education and 

15 care in the community involved, to encourage the 

16 agencies and providers described in this paragraph to 

17 carry out model programs. 

18 ‘‘(e) RESEARCH AND REPORTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Secretary shall, subject to 

20 the availability of funds to carry out this subsection, 

21 award a grant or contract to an independent organi22 zation to conduct research on the ability of the centers 

23 of excellence to improve the school readiness of chil24 dren receiving Head Start services, and to positively 

25 impact school results in the earliest grades. The orgaVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00251 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 nization shall also conduct research to measure the 

2 success of the centers of excellence at encouraging the 

3 center’s delegate agencies, additional Head Start 

4 agencies, and other providers of early childhood edu5 cation and care in the communities involved to meet 

6 measurable improvement goals, particularly in the 

7 area of school readiness. 

8 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 48 months after 

9 the date of enactment of the Head Start for School 

10 Readiness Act, the organization shall prepare and 

11 submit to the Secretary and Congress a report con12 taining the results of the research described in para13 graph (1). 

14 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

15 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2008 

16 through 2012— 

17 ‘‘(1) $90,000,000 to make bonus grants to centers 

18 of excellence under subsection (b) to carry out activi19 ties described in subsection (d); 

20 ‘‘(2) $500,000 to pay for the administrative costs 

21 of the Secretary in carrying out this section; and 

22 ‘‘(3) $2,000,000 for research activities described 

23 in subsection (e).’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGEN2 CIES. 

3 Section 642 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) by striking all that precedes ‘‘In order’’ the 

6 first place it appears and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 642. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGEN8 CIES. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; and 

10 (2) by striking subsections (b) through (e) and 

11 inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In order to be des13 ignated as a Head Start agency under this subchapter, a 

14 Head Start agency shall also— 

15 ‘‘(1) establish a program with all standards set 

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

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

18 (B) of such section; 

19 ‘‘(2) demonstrate the capacity to serve eligible 

20 children with scientifically based curricula and other 

21 interventions and support services that help promote 

22 the school readiness of children participating in the 

23 program; 

24 ‘‘(3) establish effective procedures and provide for 

25 the regular assessment of Head Start children, includVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00253 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ing observational and direct formal assessment, where 

2 appropriate; 

3 ‘‘(4) establish effective procedures, for deter4 mining the needs of children, that include high qual5 ity research based developmental screening tools that 

6 have been demonstrated to be valid, reliable, and ac7 curate for children from a range of backgrounds; 

8 ‘‘(5) require each delegate agency to create a pol9 icy committee, which shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) be comprised of members of the com11 munity to be served, including parents of chil12 dren who are currently enrolled in the Head 

13 Start programs of the Head Start agency; and 

14 ‘‘(B) serve in an advisory capacity to the 

15 delegate agency, to make decisions and rec16 ommendations regarding program planning and 

17 operation and parental involvement. 

18 ‘‘(6) seek the involvement of parents, area resi19 dents, and local business in the design and implemen20 tation of the program; 

21 ‘‘(7) provide for the regular participation of par22 ents and area residents in the implementation of the 

23 program; 

24 ‘‘(8) provide technical and other support needed 

25 to enable such parents and area residents to secure, 


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1 on their own behalf, available assistance from public 

2 and private sources; 

3 ‘‘(9) establish effective procedures to carry out 

4 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 641(f)(8); 

5 ‘‘(10) conduct outreach to schools in which Head 

6 Start children will enroll, local educational agencies, 

7 the local business community, community-based orga8 nizations, faith-based organizations, museums, and li9 braries to generate support and leverage the resources 

10 of the entire local community in order to improve 

11 school readiness; 

12 ‘‘(11) establish effective procedures to carry out 

13 section 641(f)(8)(C); 

14 ‘‘(12) establish effective procedures to carry out 

15 section 641(f)(8)(D); 

16 ‘‘(13) establish effective procedures to carry out 

17 section 641(f)(8)(E); 

18 ‘‘(14) establish effective procedures to carry out 

19 section 641(f)(8)(F); 

20 ‘‘(15) consider providing services to assist young21 er siblings of children participating in its Head Start 

22 program, to obtain health services from other sources; 

23 ‘‘(16) perform community outreach to encourage 

24 individuals previously unaffiliated with Head Start 


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1 programs to participate in its Head Start program 

2 as volunteers; 

3 ‘‘(17)(A) inform custodial parents in single-par4 ent families that participate in programs, activities, 

5 or services carried out or provided under this sub6 chapter about the availability of child support serv7 ices for purposes of establishing paternity and acquir8 ing child support; and 

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

10 offices of State and local governments; 

11 ‘‘(18) provide parents of limited English pro12 ficient children outreach and information in an un13 derstandable and uniform format and, to the extent 

14 practicable, in a language that the parents can un15 derstand; and 

16 ‘‘(19) at the option of such agency, partner with 

17 an institution of higher education and a nonprofit or18 ganization to provide college students with the oppor19 tunity to serve as mentors or reading partners to 

20 Head Start participants. 

21 ‘‘(c) TRANSITION ACTIVITIES TO FACILITATE CONTIN22 UED PROGRESS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Head Start agency 

24 shall collaborate with the entities listed in this sub25 section, to the maximum extent possible, to ensure the 


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1 successful transition of Head Start children to school, 

2 so that such children are able to build upon the devel3 opmental and educational gains achieved in Head 

4 Start programs in further schooling. 

5 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—In 

7 communities where both public prekindergarten 

8 programs and Head Start programs operate, a 

9 Head Start agency shall collaborate and coordi10 nate activities with the local educational agency 

11 or other public agency responsible for the oper12 ation of the prekindergarten program and pro13 viders of prekindergarten, including outreach ac14 tivities to identify eligible children. 

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

16 staff shall, with the permission of the parents of 

17 children enrolled in Head Start programs, regu18 larly communicate with the elementary schools 

19 such children will be attending to— 

20 ‘‘(i) share information about such chil21 dren; 

22 ‘‘(ii) collaborate with the teachers in 

23 such elementary schools regarding teaching 

24 strategies and options; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ensure a smooth transition to el2 ementary school for such children. 

3 ‘‘(C) OTHER PROGRAMS.—The head of each 

4 Head Start agency shall coordinate activities 

5 and collaborate with the State agency responsible 

6 for administering the State program carried out 

7 under the Child Care and Development Block 

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

9 entities providing early childhood education and 

10 care, and the agencies responsible for admin11 istering section 106 of the Child Abuse Preven12 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a), 

13 parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.), pro15 grams under subtitle B of title VII of the McKin16 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 11431 et seq.), Even Start programs under sub18 part 3 of part B of title I of the Elementary and 

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

20 6381 et seq.), and programs under section 619 

21 and part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 

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

23 serving the children and families served by the 

24 Head Start agency. 


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

2 shall take steps to coordinate activities with the local 

3 educational agency serving the community involved 

4 and with schools in which children participating in 

5 a Head Start program operated by such agency will 

6 enroll following such program, including— 

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

8 transportation and facilities, in appropriate 

9 cases; 

10 ‘‘(B) collaborating to reduce the duplication 

11 of services while increasing the program partici12 pation of underserved populations of eligible 

13 children; and 

14 ‘‘(C) exchanging information on the provi15 sion of noneducational services to such children. 

16 ‘‘(4) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.—In order to pro17 mote the continued involvement of the parents of chil18 dren that participate in Head Start programs in the 

19 education of their children, the Head Start agency 

20 shall— 

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

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

23 rights and responsibilities concerning the 

24 education of their children; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to enable the parents, upon the 

2 transition of their children to school— 

3 ‘‘(I) to understand and work with 

4 schools in order to communicate with 

5 teachers and other school personnel; 

6 ‘‘(II) to support the schoolwork of 

7 their children; and 

8 ‘‘(III) to participate as appro9 priate in decisions relating to the edu10 cation of their children; and 

11 ‘‘(B) take other actions, as appropriate and 

12 feasible, to support the active involvement of the 

13 parents with schools, school personnel, and 

14 school-related organizations. 

15 ‘‘(d) ASSESSMENT OR EVALUATION.—Each Head 

16 Start agency shall adopt, in consultation with experts in 

17 child development and with classroom teachers, an assess18 ment or evaluation to measure whether classroom teachers 

19 have mastered the functions described in section 648A(a)(1) 

20 and have attained a level of literacy appropriate to imple21 ment Head Start curricula. 

22 ‘‘(e) FUNDED ENROLLMENT; WAITING LIST.—Each 

23 Head Start agency shall enroll 100 percent of its funded 

24 enrollment and maintain an active waiting list at all times 


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1 with ongoing outreach to the community and activities to 

2 identify underserved populations. 

3 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING PLAN.— 

4 In order to receive funds under this subchapter, a Head 

5 Start agency shall develop an annual technical assistance 

6 and training plan. Such plan shall be based on the agency’s 

7 self-assessment, the communitywide needs assessment, and 

8 the needs of parents to be served by such agency.’’. 

9 SEC. 11. HEAD START TRANSITION. 

10 Section 642A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837a) 

11 is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 642A. HEAD START TRANSITION AND ALIGNMENT 

13 WITH K–12 EDUCATION. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each Head Start agency shall 

15 take steps to coordinate activities with the local educational 

16 agency serving the community involved and with schools 

17 in which children participating in a Head Start program 

18 operated by such agency will enroll following such program, 

19 which may include— 

20 ‘‘(1) developing and implementing a systematic 

21 procedure for transferring, with parental consent, 

22 Head Start program records for each participating 

23 child to the school in which such child will enroll; 

24 ‘‘(2) establishing ongoing channels of commu25 nication between Head Start staff and their counterVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00261 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 parts in the schools (including teachers, social work2 ers, health staff, and local educational agency liaisons 

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

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

5 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii))) to facilitate coordination of pro6 grams; 

7 ‘‘(3) establishing comprehensive transition poli8 cies and procedures that support children 

9 transitioning to school, including by engaging the 

10 local education agency in the establishment of such 

11 policies; 

12 ‘‘(4) developing a continuity of developmentally 

13 appropriate curricular objectives and practices be14 tween the Head Start agency and local educational 

15 agency, that reflect shared expectations for children’s 

16 learning and development for the transition to school; 

17 ‘‘(5) conducting outreach to parents, elementary 

18 school (such as kindergarten) teachers, and Head 

19 Start teachers to discuss the educational, develop20 mental, and other needs of individual children; 

21 ‘‘(6) organizing and participating in joint train22 ing, including transition-related training of school 

23 staff and Head Start staff; 

24 ‘‘(7) developing and implementing a family out25 reach and support program, in cooperation with entiVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00262 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ties carrying out parental involvement efforts under 

2 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

3 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), and family out4 reach and support efforts under subtitle B of title VII 

5 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.), taking into consideration the 

7 language needs of parents of limited English pro8 ficient children; 

9 ‘‘(8) assisting families, administrators, and 

10 teachers in enhancing educational and developmental 

11 continuity and continuity of parental involvement in 

12 activities between Head Start services and elementary 

13 school classes; 

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

15 Start program with the education services, including 

16 services relating to language, literacy, and numeracy, 

17 provided by such local educational agency; 

18 ‘‘(10) helping parents understand the importance 

19 of parental involvement in a child’s academic success 

20 while teaching the parents strategies for maintaining 

21 parental involvement as their child moves from the 

22 Head Start program to elementary school; 

23 ‘‘(11) helping parents understand the instruc24 tional and other services provided by the school in 


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1 which their child will enroll after participation in the 

2 Head Start program; and 

3 ‘‘(12) coordinating activities and collaborating 

4 to ensure that curricula used in the Head Start pro5 gram are aligned with State early learning stand6 ards, as appropriate, and the Head Start Child Out7 comes Framework with regard to cognitive develop8 ment (including language, pre-literacy, and 

9 premathematics competencies), and social, emotional, 

10 and physical competencies that children entering kin11 dergarten are expected to demonstrate. 

12 ‘‘(b) CONSTRUCTION.—In this section, a reference to 

13 a Head Start agency, or its program, services, facility, or 

14 personnel, shall not be construed to be a reference to an 

15 Early Head Start agency, or its program, services, facility, 

16 or personnel.’’. 

17 SEC. 12. SUBMISSION OF PLANS TO GOVERNORS. 

18 Section 643 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9838) 

19 is amended— 

20 (1) in the first sentence— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘chief executive officer’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘Governor’’; and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘45’’ and inserting ‘‘30’’; 

24 (2) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘, however,’’; 

25 and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘This sec2 tion shall not apply to contracts, agreements, grants, 

3 loans, or other assistance for Indian Head Start pro4 grams and migrant and seasonal Head Start pro5 grams.’’. 

6 SEC. 13. COSTS OF DEVELOPING AND ADMINISTERING A 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 Section 644(b) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 9839(b)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) Ex11 cept’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(2)(A) The limitation prescribed by paragraph (1) 

14 shall not prohibit a Head Start agency from expending an 

15 amount in excess of allowable direct costs associated with 

16 developing and administering a program assisted under 

17 this subchapter, if— 

18 ‘‘(i) the agency submits an application for a 

19 grant year containing an assurance that— 

20 ‘‘(I) the agency will serve a greater percent21 age of children in the community involved than 

22 were served in the preceding grant year; and 

23 ‘‘(II) the agency will not diminish services 

24 provided to currently enrolled children (as of the 


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1 date of the application), including the number of 

2 hours and days such services are provided; 

3 ‘‘(ii) any such excess amount does not exceed 5 

4 percent of the total costs, including the required non5 Federal contributions to such costs, of such program; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) in the event that the applicant applies to 

8 expend any such excess amount in a subsequent grant 

9 year, the applicant continues to serve the same num10 ber of children as proposed in the initial application 

11 submitted under this paragraph and accomplishes, 

12 relative to the prior Head Start agency, at least 3 of 

13 the 5 improved outcomes. 

14 ‘‘(B) In subparagraph (A), the term ‘improved out15 come’ means— 

16 ‘‘(i) an increase in average teacher salary; 

17 ‘‘(ii) an increase in the number of qualified 

18 teachers; 

19 ‘‘(iii) a significant increase in the number of 

20 children who receive full-day Head Start services; 

21 ‘‘(iv) a decrease in the caseload for family work22 ers; or 

23 ‘‘(v) an increase in transportation options for 

24 families. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall approve not more than 10 

2 applications described in subparagraph (A) for a fiscal 

3 year, and to the extent practicable shall ensure participa4 tion under this paragraph of a diverse group of Head Start 

5 agencies, including public, private nonprofit, and for-profit 

6 agencies operating Head Start programs.’’. 

7 SEC. 14. PARTICIPATION IN HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

8 Section 645 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

13 ‘‘130 percent of’’ after ‘‘below’’; and 

14 (ii) in the flush matter at the end, by 

15 adding at the end the following: ‘‘A home16 less child shall be deemed eligible for Head 

17 Start services.’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(3)(A) In this paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(i) The term ‘dependent’ has the meaning given 

21 the term in paragraphs (2)(A) and (4)(A)(i) of sec22 tion 401(a) of title 37, United States Code. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The terms ‘member’ and ‘uniformed serv24 ices’ have the meanings given the terms in paraVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00267 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 graphs (23) and (3), respectively, of section 101 of 

2 title 37, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(B) The following amounts of pay and allowance of 

4 a member of the uniformed services shall not be considered 

5 to be income for purposes of determining the eligibility of 

6 a dependent of such member for programs funded under this 

7 subchapter: 

8 ‘‘(i) The amount of any special pay payable 

9 under section 310 of title 37, United States Code, re10 lating to duty subject to hostile fire or imminent dan11 ger. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The amount of basic allowance payable 

13 under section 403 of such title, including any such 

14 amount that is provided on behalf of the member for 

15 housing that is acquired or constructed under the al16 ternative authority for the acquisition and improve17 ment of military housing under subchapter IV of 

18 chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code, or any 

19 other related provision of law. 

20 ‘‘(4) After demonstrating a need through a com21 munitywide needs assessment, a Head Start agency may 

22 apply to the Secretary to convert part-day sessions, particu23 larly consecutive part-day sessions, into full-day sessions. 

24 ‘‘(5)(A) Consistent with a communitywide needs as25 sessment, a Head Start agency may apply to the Secretary 


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1 to serve additional infants and toddlers if the agency sub2 mits an application to the Secretary containing— 

3 ‘‘(i) a description of how the needs of pregnant 

4 women, infants, and toddlers will be addressed in ac5 cordance with section 645A(b), and with regulations 

6 prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to section 641A 

7 in areas including the agency’s approach to child de8 velopment and provision of health services, approach 

9 to family and community partnerships, and approach 

10 to program design and management; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the needs of eligible 

12 Head Start children are being and will be served; 

13 ‘‘(iii) assurances that the agency will participate 

14 in technical assistance activities (including a plan15 ning period, start-up site visits, and national train16 ing activities) in the same manner as recipients of 

17 grants under section 645A; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) evidence that the agency meets the same eli19 gibility criteria as recipients of grants under section 

20 645A. 

21 ‘‘(B) In approving such applications, the Secretary 

22 shall take into account the costs of serving persons under 

23 section 645A. 

24 ‘‘(C) Any Head Start agency designated under this 

25 section and permitted to use grant funds under subparaVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00269 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 graph (A) to serve additional infants and toddlers shall be 

2 considered to be an Early Head Start agency and shall be 

3 subject to the same rules, regulations, and conditions as 

4 apply to recipients of grants under section 645A for those 

5 grant funds.’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

9 an Indian tribe that operates both an Early Head Start 

10 program under section 645A and a Head Start program 

11 may, at its discretion, at any time during the grant period 

12 involved, reallocate funds between the Early Head Start 

13 program and the Head Start program in order to address 

14 fluctuations in client population, including pregnant 

15 women and children birth to compulsory school age. The 

16 reallocation of such funds between programs by an Indian 

17 tribe shall not serve as the basis for the Secretary to reduce 

18 a base grant (as defined in section 641A(g)(1)) for either 

19 program in succeeding years.’’. 

20 SEC. 15. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS. 

21 Section 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a) 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) by striking the section heading and inserting 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 645A. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS.’’; 

2 (2) in subsection (b)— 

3 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘provide 

4 services to parents to support their role as par5 ents’’ and inserting ‘‘provide additional services 

6 and research-based activities to parents to sup7 port their role as parents (including parenting 

8 skills training and training in basic child devel9 opment)’’; 

10 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 

11 (7), (8), and (9) as paragraphs (6), (8), (11), 

12 (12), and (13), respectively; 

13 (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(5) where appropriate and in conjunction with 

16 services provided under this section to the children’s 

17 immediate families (or as approved by the Secretary), 

18 provide home-based services to family child care 

19 homes, and kin caregivers, caring for infants and tod20 dlers who also participate in Early Head Start pro21 grams, to provide continuity in supporting the chil22 dren’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical devel23 opment;’’; 

24 (D) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by 

25 subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘(including home2 based services)’’ after ‘‘with services’’; 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and homeless infants 

4 and toddlers’’ after ‘‘disabilities’’; and 

5 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, and family sup6 port services’’ after ‘‘health services’’; 

7 (E) by inserting after paragraph (6), as re8 designated by subparagraph (B), the following: 

9 ‘‘(7) ensure that children with documented be10 havioral problems, including problems involving be11 havior related to prior or existing trauma, receive ap12 propriate screening and deferral;’’; 

13 (F) by inserting after paragraph (8), as re14 designated by subparagraph (B), the following: 

15 ‘‘(9) develop and implement a systematic proce16 dure for transitioning children and parents from an 

17 Early Head Start program to a Head Start program 

18 or another local program of early childhood education 

19 and care; 

20 ‘‘(10) establish channels of communication be21 tween staff of Early Head Start programs and staff 

22 of Head Start programs or other local providers of 

23 early childhood education and care, to facilitate the 

24 coordination of programs;’’; and 


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1 (G) in paragraph (12), as redesignated by 

2 subparagraph (B)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘and providers’’ and in4 serting ‘‘, providers’’; and 

5 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and the agencies re6 sponsible for administering section 106 of 

7 the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 

8 Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a) and parts B and E 

9 of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.)’’ after 

11 ‘‘(20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.)’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, in14 cluding tribal governments and entities oper15 ating migrant and seasonal Head Start pro16 grams’’ after ‘‘subchapter’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, in18 cluding community-based organizations’’ after 

19 ‘‘private entities’’; 

20 (4) in subsection (g)(2)(B), by striking clause 

21 (iv) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(iv) providing professional develop23 ment and personnel enhancement activities, 

24 including the provision of funds to recipiVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00273 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ents of grants under subsection (a), relating 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(I) effective methods of con4 ducting parent education, home vis5 iting, and promoting quality early 

6 childhood development; 

7 ‘‘(II) recruiting and retaining 

8 qualified staff; and 

9 ‘‘(III) increasing program par10 ticipation for underserved populations 

11 of eligible children.’’; 

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

13 ‘‘(h) STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) CENTER-BASED STAFF.—The Secretary 

15 shall establish staff qualification goals to ensure that, 

16 not later than September 30, 2012, all teachers pro17 viding direct services to Early Head Start children 

18 and families in Early Head Start centers have a 

19 minimum of a child development associate credential 

20 or an associate degree, and have been trained (or have 

21 equivalent course work) in early childhood develop22 ment with a focus on infant and toddler development. 

23 ‘‘(2) HOME VISITOR STAFF.— 

24 ‘‘(A) STANDARDS.—In order to further en25 hance the quality of home visiting services proVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00274 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 vided to families of children participating in 

2 home-based, center-based, or combination pro3 gram options under this subchapter, the Sec4 retary shall establish standards for training, 

5 qualifications, and the conduct of home visits for 

6 home visitor staff in Early Head Start pro7 grams. 

8 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The standards for train9 ing, qualifications, and the conduct of home vis10 its shall include content related to— 

11 ‘‘(i) structured child-focused home vis12 iting that promotes parents’ ability to sup13 port the child’s cognitive, social, emotional, 

14 and physical development; 

15 ‘‘(ii) effective strengths-based parent 

16 education, including methods to encourage 

17 parents as their child’s first teachers; 

18 ‘‘(iii) early childhood development with 

19 respect to children from birth through age 3; 

20 ‘‘(iv) methods to help parents promote 

21 emergent literacy in their children from 

22 birth through age 3, including use of re23 search-based strategies to support the devel24 opment of literacy and language skills for 

25 children who are limited English proficient; 


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1 ‘‘(v) health, vision, hearing, and devel2 opmental screenings; 

3 ‘‘(vi) strategies for helping families 

4 coping with crisis; and 

5 ‘‘(vii) the relationship of health and 

6 well-being of pregnant women to prenatal 

7 and early child development.’’. 

8 SEC. 16. APPEALS, NOTICE, AND HEARING AND RECORDS 

9 AND FINANCIAL AUDITS. 

10 (a) APPEALS, NOTICE, AND HEARING.—Section 646(a) 

11 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9841(a)) is amended by 

12 striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) financial assistance under this subchapter 

14 may be terminated or reduced, and an application for 

15 refunding may be denied, after the recipient has been 

16 afforded reasonable notice and opportunity for a full 

17 and fair hearing, including— 

18 ‘‘(A) a right to file a notice of appeal of a 

19 decision not later than 30 days after notice of 

20 the decision from the Secretary; and 

21 ‘‘(B) access to a full and fair hearing of the 

22 appeal, not later than 120 days after receipt by 

23 the Secretary of the notice of appeal; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the Secretary shall develop and publish pro2 cedures (including mediation procedures) to be used 

3 in order to— 

4 ‘‘(A) resolve in a timely manner conflicts 

5 potentially leading to an adverse action be6 tween— 

7 ‘‘(i) recipients of financial assistance 

8 under this subchapter; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) delegate agencies, or policy coun10 cils of Head Start agencies; 

11 ‘‘(B) avoid the need for an administrative 

12 hearing on an adverse action; and 

13 ‘‘(C) prohibit a Head Start agency from ex14 pending financial assistance awarded under this 

15 subchapter for the purpose of paying legal fees 

16 pursuant to an appeal under paragraph (3), ex17 cept that such fees shall be reimbursed by the 

18 Secretary if the agency prevails in such decision; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(5) the Secretary may suspend funds to a 

21 grantee under this subchapter— 

22 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

23 (B), for not more than 30 days; or 

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grantee under this sub25 chapter that has multiple and recurring defiVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00277 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ciencies for 180 days or more and has not made 

2 substantial and significant progress toward 

3 meeting the goals of the grantee’s quality im4 provement plan or eliminating all deficiencies 

5 identified by the Secretary, during the hearing of 

6 an appeal described in paragraph (3), for any 

7 amount of time, including permanently.’’. 

8 (b) RECORDS AND FINANCIAL AUDITS.— 

9 (1) HEADING.—Section 647 of the Head Start 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) is amended by striking the sec11 tion heading and inserting the following: ‘‘RECORDS

12 AND FINANCIAL AUDITS’’. 

13 (2) RECIPIENTS.—Section 647(a) of the Head 

14 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842(a)) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘Each recipient of’’ and inserting ‘‘Each Head Start 

16 center, including each Early Head Start center, re17 ceiving’’. 

18 (3) FINANCIAL AUDITS.—Subsections (a) and (b) 

19 of section 647 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) 

20 are amended by striking ‘‘audit’’ and inserting ‘‘fi21 nancial audit’’. 

22 (4) ACCOUNTING.—Section 647 of the Head 

23 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) is amended by adding at 

24 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) Each Head Start center, including each Early 

2 Head Start center, receiving financial assistance under this 

3 subchapter shall maintain, and annually submit to the Sec4 retary, a complete accounting of its administrative ex5 penses, including expenses for salaries and compensation 

6 funded under this subchapter and provide such additional 

7 documentation as the Secretary may require.’’. 

8 SEC. 17. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. 

9 Section 648 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘(b) and 

12 (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘(b), (c), and (d)’’; 

13 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) 

14 as subsections (c) through (f), respectively; 

15 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall make available funds set aside 

18 in section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) to support a State system of 

19 training and technical assistance (which may include such 

20 a system for a consortium of States within a region) that 

21 improves the capacity of Head Start programs to deliver 

22 services in accordance with the standards described in sec23 tion 641A(a)(1), with particular attention to the standards 

24 described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such section. The 

25 Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ensure that agencies with demonstrated ex2 pertise in providing high-quality training and tech3 nical assistance to improve the delivery of Head Start 

4 services, including the State Head Start Associations, 

5 State agencies, Indian Head Start agencies, migrant 

6 and seasonal Head Start agencies, and other entities 

7 providing training and technical assistance in early 

8 childhood education and care, for the State (including 

9 such a consortium of States within a region), are in10 cluded in the planning and coordination of the sys11 tem; and 

12 ‘‘(2) encourage States (including such consortia) 

13 to supplement the funds authorized in section 

14 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) with Federal, State, or local funds 

15 other than funds made available under this sub16 chapter, to expand training and technical assistance 

17 activities beyond Head Start agencies to include other 

18 providers of other early childhood education and care 

19 within a State (including such a consortium).’’; 

20 (4) in paragraph (3) of subsection (c), as redes21 ignated by paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘child care and 

22 early childhood programs’’ and inserting ‘‘early child23 hood education and care programs’’; 

24 (5) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para25 graph (2)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking 

2 ‘‘educational performance measures’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘measures’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and for 

5 activities described in section 1222(d) of the Ele6 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

7 (20 U.S.C. 6372(d))’’ after ‘‘children with dis8 abilities’’; 

9 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘early 

10 childhood professional development systems’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘professional development systems re12 garding early childhood education and care’’; 

13 (D) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, in14 cluding assessing the needs of homeless children 

15 and their families’’ after ‘‘needs assessment’’; 

16 (E) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(7) assist Head Start agencies in better serving 

19 the needs of families with very young children, in20 cluding providing support and program planning 

21 and implementation assistance for Head Start agen22 cies that apply to serve or are serving additional in23 fants and toddlers with funds previously used for 3- 

24 and 4-year-olds in accordance with section 

25 645(a)(5);’’; 


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1 (F) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

2 and inserting a semicolon; 

3 (G) in paragraph (11), by striking the pe4 riod and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

6 ‘‘(12) assist Head Start agencies in increasing 

7 the program participation of homeless children; 

8 ‘‘(13) provide training and technical assistance 

9 to members of governing bodies, policy councils, and, 

10 as appropriate, policy committees, to ensure that the 

11 members can fulfill their functions; 

12 ‘‘(14) provide training and technical assistance 

13 to Head Start agencies to assist such agencies in con14 ducting self-assessments; 

15 ‘‘(15) assist Head Start agencies in improving 

16 outreach to, and the quality of services available to, 

17 limited English proficient children and their families, 

18 including such services to help such families learn 

19 English, particularly in communities that have expe20 rienced a large percentage increase in the population 

21 of limited English proficient individuals, as measured 

22 by the Bureau of the Census; 

23 ‘‘(16) provide activities that help ensure that 

24 Head Start programs have qualified staff who can 

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1 grating into the programs developmentally appro2 priate research-based initiatives that stress the impor3 tance of physical activity and nutrition choices made 

4 by children and family, through daily classroom and 

5 family routines; and 

6 ‘‘(17) assist Indian Head Start agencies to pro7 vide on-site and off-site training to staff, using ap8 proaches that identify and enhance the positive re9 sources and strengths of Indian children and families, 

10 to improve parent and family engagement and staff 

11 development, particularly with regard to child and 

12 family development.’’; 

13 (6) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para14 graph (2), by inserting ‘‘including community-based 

15 organizations,’’ after ‘‘nonprofit entities,’’; 

16 (7) in subsection (f), as redesignated by para17 graph (2)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘early childhood develop19 ment and child care programs’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘early childhood education and care programs’’; 

21 and 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘or providing services to 

23 children determined to be abused or neglected, 

24 training for personnel providing services to chil25 dren referred by entities providing child welfare 


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1 services or receiving child welfare services,’’ after 

2 ‘‘English language)’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 

5 through grants or other arrangements, funds for training 

6 of Head Start personnel in addressing the unique needs of 

7 migrant and seasonal farmworker families, families with 

8 limited English proficiency, and homeless families. 

9 ‘‘(h) Funds used under this section shall be used to 

10 provide high quality, sustained, and intensive, training and 

11 technical assistance in order to have a positive and lasting 

12 impact on classroom instruction. Funds shall be used to 

13 carry out activities related to 1 or more of the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) Education and early childhood development. 

15 ‘‘(2) Child health, nutrition, and safety. 

16 ‘‘(3) Family and community partnerships. 

17 ‘‘(4) Other areas that impact the quality or over18 all effectiveness of Head Start programs. 

19 ‘‘(i) Funds used under this section for training shall 

20 be used for needs identified annually by a grant applicant 

21 (including any delegate agency) in its program improve22 ment plan, except that funds shall not be used for long-dis23 tance travel expenses for training activities— 

24 ‘‘(1) available locally or regionally; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) substantially similar to locally or regionally 

2 available training activities. 

3 ‘‘(j)(1) To support local efforts to enhance early lan4 guage and preliteracy development of children in Head 

5 Start programs, and to provide the children with high-qual6 ity oral language skills, and environments that are rich in 

7 literature, in which to acquire language and preliteracy 

8 skills, each Head Start agency, in coordination with the 

9 appropriate State office and the relevant State Head Start 

10 collaboration office, shall ensure that all of the agency’s 

11 Head Start teachers receive ongoing training in language 

12 and emergent literacy (referred to in this subsection as ‘lit13 eracy training’), including appropriate curricula and as14 sessments to improve instruction and learning. Such train15 ing shall include training in methods to promote phono16 logical awareness (including phonemic awareness) and vo17 cabulary development in an age-appropriate and culturally 

18 and linguistically appropriate manner. 

19 ‘‘(2) The literacy training shall be provided at the local 

20 level in order— 

21 ‘‘(A) to be provided, to the extent feasible, in the 

22 context of the Head Start programs of the State in23 volved and the children the program involved serves; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) to be tailored to the early childhood literacy 

2 background and experience of the teachers involved. 

3 ‘‘(3) The literacy training shall be culturally and lin4 guistically appropriate and support children’s development 

5 in their home language. 

6 ‘‘(4) The literacy training shall include training in 

7 how to work with parents to enhance positive language and 

8 early literacy development at home. 

9 ‘‘(5) The literacy training shall include specific meth10 ods to best address the needs of children who are limited 

11 English proficient. 

12 ‘‘(6) The literacy training shall include training on 

13 how to best address the language and literacy needs of chil14 dren with disabilities, including training on how to work 

15 with specialists in language development.’’. 

16 SEC. 18. STAFF QUALIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT. 

17 Section 648A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) DEGREE REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es24 tablish staff qualification goals to ensure that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) not later than September 30, 2012, 

2 all Head Start teachers nationwide in cen3 ter-based programs have at least— 

4 ‘‘(I)(aa) an associate degree (or 

5 equivalent coursework) relating to 

6 early childhood; or 

7 ‘‘(bb) an associate degree in a re8 lated educational area and, to the ex9 tent practicable, coursework relating to 

10 early childhood; and 

11 ‘‘(II) demonstrated teaching com12 petencies, as determined by the pro13 gram director involved (including, at a 

14 minimum, an appropriate level of lit15 eracy, a demonstrated capacity to be 

16 highly engaged with children, and a 

17 demonstrated ability to effectively im18 plement an early childhood cur19 riculum); 

20 ‘‘(ii) not later than September 30, 

21 2010, all Head Start curriculum specialists 

22 and education coordinators nationwide in 

23 center-based programs have— 

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1 tation and adaptation of curricula to 

2 the group and individual needs of a 

3 class; and 

4 ‘‘(II)(aa) a baccalaureate or ad5 vanced degree relating to early child6 hood; or 

7 ‘‘(bb) a baccalaureate or advanced 

8 degree and coursework equivalent to a 

9 major relating to early childhood; 

10 ‘‘(iii) not later than September 30, 

11 2010, all Head Start teaching assistants 

12 nationwide in center-based programs 

13 have— 

14 ‘‘(I) at least a child development 

15 associate credential; 

16 ‘‘(II) enrolled in a program lead17 ing to an associate or baccalaureate de18 gree; or 

19 ‘‘(III) enrolled in a child develop20 ment associate credential program to 

21 be completed within 2 years; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) not later than September 30, 

23 2013, 50 percent of all Head Start teachers 

24 in center-based programs in each State 

25 (and geographic region for Indian Head 


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1 Start programs and for migrant and sea2 sonal Head Start programs) have a bacca3 laureate degree relating to early childhood 

4 (or a related educational area), and dem5 onstrated teaching competencies, as deter6 mined by the program director involved (in7 cluding, at a minimum, an appropriate 

8 level of literacy, a demonstrated capacity to 

9 be highly engaged with children, and a 

10 demonstrated ability to effectively imple11 ment an early childhood curriculum). 

12 ‘‘(B) TEACHER IN-SERVICE REQUIRE13 MENT.—Each Head Start teacher shall attend 

14 not less than 15 clock hours of professional devel15 opment per year. Such professional development 

16 shall be high quality, sustained, intensive, and 

17 classroom-focused in order to have a positive and 

18 lasting impact on classroom instruction and the 

19 teacher’s performance in the classroom, and reg20 ularly evaluated for effectiveness. 

21 ‘‘(C) PROGRESS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—The Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(I) require Head Start agencies 

24 to— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) describe continuing 

2 progress each year toward achiev3 ing the goals described in sub4 paragraph (A); 

5 ‘‘(bb) submit to the Secretary 

6 a report indicating the number 

7 and percentage of classroom in8 structors in center-based programs 

9 with child development associate 

10 credentials or associate, bacca11 laureate, or advanced degrees; and 

12 ‘‘(II) compile and submit a sum13 mary of all program reports described 

14 in subclause (I)(bb) to the Committee 

15 on Education and Labor of the House 

16 of Representatives and the Committee 

17 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen18 sions of the Senate. 

19 ‘‘(ii) DEMONSTRATE PROGRESS.—A 

20 Head Start agency may demonstrate that 

21 progress by partnering with institutions of 

22 higher education or other programs that re23 cruit, train, place, and support college stu24 dents to deliver an innovative program of 


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1 early childhood education and care to pre2 school children. 

3 ‘‘(D) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec4 retary shall establish requirements to ensure 

5 that, in order to enable Head Start agencies to 

6 comply with the requirements of subparagraph 

7 (A), individuals who receive financial assistance 

8 under this subchapter to pursue a degree or cre9 dential described in subparagraph (A) shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) teach or work in a Head Start 

11 program for a minimum of 3 years after re12 ceiving the degree; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) repay the total or a prorated 

14 amount of the financial assistance received 

15 based on the length of service completed 

16 after receiving the degree.’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘(i) or 

18 (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘(i) or (iv)’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period 

23 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(4) promote the use of appropriate strategies to 

2 meet the needs of special populations (including pop3 ulations of limited English proficient children).’’; 

4 (3) in subsection (d)(3)(C) by inserting ‘‘, in5 cluding a center,’’ after ‘‘any agency’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(f) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS.—Every 

8 Head Start agency and center shall create, in consultation 

9 with employees of the agency or center (including family 

10 service workers), a professional development plan for em11 ployees who provide direct services to children, including 

12 a plan for classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, and 

13 education coordinators, and teaching assistants to meet the 

14 requirements set forth in subsection (a). 

15 ‘‘(g) CONSTRUCTION.—In this section, a reference to 

16 a Head Start agency, or its program, services, facility or 

17 personnel, shall not be considered to be a reference to an 

18 Early Head Start agency, or its program, services, facility 

19 or personnel.’’. 

20 SEC. 19. TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HEAD 

21 START PARTNERSHIP. 

22 The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is amend23 ed by inserting after section 648A the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 648B. TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY HEAD START 

2 PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro4 mote social competencies and school readiness in Indian 

5 children. 

6 ‘‘(b) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY HEAD START

7 PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

9 award grants, for periods of not less than 5 years, to 

10 Tribal Colleges and Universities to— 

11 ‘‘(A) implement education programs that 

12 include education concerning tribal culture and 

13 language and increase the number of associate, 

14 baccalaureate, and advanced degrees in early 

15 childhood education and related fields that are 

16 earned by Indian Head Start agency staff mem17 bers, parents of children served by such an agen18 cy, and members of the tribal community in19 volved; 

20 ‘‘(B) develop and implement the programs 

21 under subparagraph (A) in technology-mediated 

22 formats, including providing the programs 

23 through such means as distance learning and use 

24 of advanced technology, as appropriate; and 

25 ‘‘(C) provide technology literacy programs 

26 for Indian Head Start agency staff members and 


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1 children and families of children served by such 

2 an agency. 

3 ‘‘(2) STAFFING.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

4 the American Indian Programs Branch of the Head 

5 Start Bureau of the Department of Health and 

6 Human Services shall have staffing sufficient to ad7 minister the programs under this section and to pro8 vide appropriate technical assistance to Tribal Col9 leges and Universities receiving grants under this sec10 tion. 

11 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each Tribal College or University 

12 desiring a grant under this section shall submit an applica13 tion to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and 

14 containing such information as the Secretary may require, 

15 including a certification that the Tribal College or Univer16 sity has established a partnership with 1 or more Indian 

17 Head Start agencies for the purpose of conducting the ac18 tivities described in subsection (b). 

19 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

21 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be 

22 necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012. 

23 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

25 term ‘institution of higher education’ has the meaning 


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1 given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

3 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

4 term ‘Tribal College or University’— 

5 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term in 

6 section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

7 (20 U.S.C. 1059c); and 

8 ‘‘(B) means an institution determined to be 

9 accredited or a candidate for accreditation by a 

10 nationally recognized accrediting agency or asso11 ciation.’’. 

12 SEC. 20. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUATION. 

13 Section 649 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9844) 

14 is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘, chil16 dren determined to be abused or neglected, homeless 

17 children, and children in foster care’’ after ‘‘children 

18 with disabilities’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 

21 (7), (8), (9), and (10), as paragraphs (6), (7), 

22 (8), (9), (10), and (11); 

23 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(5) identify successful strategies that promote 

2 good oral health and provide effective linkages to 

3 quality dental services through pediatric dental refer4 ral networks, for infants and toddlers participating 

5 in Early Head Start programs and children partici6 pating in other Head Start programs;’’; 

7 (C) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by 

8 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘child care, early 

9 childhood education, or child development serv10 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘early childhood education 

11 and care services’’; 

12 (D) in paragraph (9), as redesignated by 

13 subparagraph (A), by adding ‘‘and’’ after the 

14 semicolon; 

15 (E) by striking paragraph (10), as redesig16 nated by subparagraph (A); 

17 (F) by redesignating paragraph (11), as re18 designated by subparagraph (A), as paragraph 

19 (10); and 

20 (G) by striking the last sentence; 

21 (3) in subsection (e)(3), by striking ‘‘child care, 

22 early childhood education, or child development serv23 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘early childhood education and 

24 care services’’; 

25 (4) in subsection (g)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

2 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

3 by striking ‘‘education, and early childhood 

4 programs’’ and inserting ‘‘and early child5 hood education and care programs’’; 

6 (ii) by striking clause (i); and 

7 (iii) by redesignating clauses (ii) and 

8 (iii) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; 

9 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, and re10 search, education, and early childhood pro11 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘and research, and early 

12 childhood education and care programs’’; 

13 (C) in paragraph (5)(D)— 

14 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘early 

15 childhood programs’’ and inserting ‘‘early 

16 childhood education and care programs’’; 

17 and 

18 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘early 

19 childhood program’’ and inserting ‘‘early 

20 childhood education and care program’’; 

21 and 

22 (D) in paragraph (7)(C)— 

23 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘2003’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘2008’’; and 

25 (ii) in clause (ii)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘Education and 

2 the Workforce’’ and inserting ‘‘Edu3 cation and Labor’’; and 

4 (II) by striking ‘‘Labor and 

5 Human Resources’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘Health, Education, Labor, and Pen7 sions’’; and 

8 (5) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(h) REVIEW OF ASSESSMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION OF STUDY.—When the study 

12 on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for 

13 Young Children by the National Academy of Sciences 

14 is made available to the Secretary, the Secretary 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) incorporate the results of the study, as 

17 appropriate and in accordance with paragraphs 

18 (2) and (3), into each assessment used in the 

19 Head Start programs; and 

20 ‘‘(B) use the results of the study to develop, 

21 inform, and revise the standards and measures 

22 described in section 641A. 

23 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT AND REFINEMENT.—In de24 veloping and refining any assessment used in the 

25 Head Start programs, the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) receive recommendations from the 

2 Panel on Developmental Outcomes and Assess3 ments for Young Children of the National Acad4 emy of Sciences; and 

5 ‘‘(B) with respect to the development or re6 finement of such assessment, ensure— 

7 ‘‘(i) consistency with relevant, nation8 ally recognized professional and technical 

9 standards; 

10 ‘‘(ii) validity and reliability for all 

11 purposes for which assessments under this 

12 subchapter are designed and used; 

13 ‘‘(iii) developmental and linguistic ap14 propriateness of such assessments for chil15 dren assessed, including children who are 

16 limited English proficient; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) that the results can be used to 

18 improve the quality of, accountability of, 

19 and training and technical assistance in, 

20 Head Start programs. 

21 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec22 retary, in carrying out the process described under 

23 paragraph (2), shall ensure that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) staff administering any assessments 

2 under this subchapter have received appropriate 

3 training to administer such assessments; 

4 ‘‘(B) appropriate accommodations for chil5 dren with disabilities and children who are lim6 ited English proficient are made; 

7 ‘‘(C) the English and Spanish (and any 

8 other language, as appropriate) forms of such as9 sessments are valid and reliable; and 

10 ‘‘(D) such assessments are not used to ex11 clude children from Head Start programs. 

12 ‘‘(4) SUSPENDED IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL

13 REPORTING SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) suspend implementation and termi15 nate further development and use of the National 

16 Reporting System; and 

17 ‘‘(B) incorporate, as appropriate, rec18 ommendations under paragraph (2)(A) into any 

19 assessment used in the Head Start programs. 

20 ‘‘(i) SPECIAL RULE.—The use of assessment items and 

21 data on any assessment authorized under this subchapter 

22 by any agent of the Federal Government to rank, compare, 

23 or otherwise evaluate individual children or teachers, or to 

24 provide rewards or sanctions for individual children or 

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1 sults of a single assessment as the sole method for assessing 

2 program effectiveness or making grantee funding deter3 minations at the national, regional, or local level under this 

4 subchapter. 

5 ‘‘(j) SERVICES TO LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT

6 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

8 study on the status of limited English proficient chil9 dren and their families in Head Start (including 

10 Early Head Start) programs. 

11 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare and 

12 submit to Congress, not later than September 2011, a 

13 report containing the results of the study, including 

14 information on— 

15 ‘‘(A) the demographics of limited English 

16 proficient children from birth through age 5, in17 cluding the number of such children receiving 

18 Head Start (including Early Head Start) serv19 ices and the geographic distribution of children 

20 described in this subparagraph; 

21 ‘‘(B) the nature of Head Start (including 

22 Early Head Start) services provided to limited 

23 English proficient children and their families, 

24 including the types, content, duration, intensity, 


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1 and costs of family services, language assistance, 

2 and educational services; 

3 ‘‘(C) procedures in Head Start programs 

4 for the assessment of language needs and the 

5 transition of limited English proficient children 

6 to kindergarten, including the extent to which 

7 Head Start programs meet the requirements of 

8 section 642A for limited English proficient chil9 dren; 

10 ‘‘(D) the qualifications of and training pro11 vided to Head Start (including Early Head 

12 Start) teachers serving limited English proficient 

13 children and their families; 

14 ‘‘(E) the rate of progress made by limited 

15 English proficient children and their families in 

16 Head Start (including Early Head Start) pro17 grams, including— 

18 ‘‘(i) the rate of progress of the limited 

19 English proficient children toward meeting 

20 the additional educational standards de21 scribed in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) while 

22 enrolled in Head Start programs, measured 

23 between 1990 and 2006; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the correlation between the 

25 progress described in this subparagraph and 


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1 the type of instruction and educational pro2 gram provided to the limited English pro3 ficient children; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the correlation between the 

5 progress described in this subparagraph and 

6 the health and family services provided by 

7 Head Start programs to limited English 

8 proficient children and their families; and 

9 ‘‘(F) the extent to which Head Start pro10 grams make use of funds under section 640(a)(3) 

11 to improve the quality of Head Start services 

12 provided to limited English proficient children 

13 and their families.’’. 

14 SEC. 21. REPORTS. 

15 Section 650 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9846) 

16 is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

19 (1)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘Education and the 

21 Workforce’’ and inserting ‘‘Education and 

22 Labor’’; 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘Labor and Human 

24 Resources’’ and inserting ‘‘Health, Edu25 cation, Labor, and Pensions’’; and 


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1 (iii) by striking ‘‘(including disabled 

2 and non-English language background chil3 dren)’’ and inserting ‘‘(including children 

4 with disabilities, limited English proficient 

5 children, and children participating in In6 dian Head Start programs and migrant 

7 and seasonal Head Start programs)’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘home9 lessness, children in foster care,’’ after ‘‘ethnic 

10 background,’’; 

11 (C) in paragraph (14)— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘Alaskan Natives’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘Alaska Natives’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘migrant and’’ and in15 serting ‘‘migrant or’’; and 

16 (D) in the flush matter at the end— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘Education and the 

18 Workforce’’ and inserting ‘‘Education and 

19 Labor’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘Labor and Human 

21 Resources’’ and inserting ‘‘Health, Edu22 cation, Labor, and Pensions’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (b)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘Education and the Work25 force’’ and inserting ‘‘Education and Labor’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘Labor and Human Re2 sources’’ and inserting ‘‘Health, Education, 

3 Labor, and Pensions’’; and 

4 (C) by striking ‘‘Native Alaskan’’ and in5 serting ‘‘Alaska Native’’. 

6 SEC. 22. COMPARABILITY OF WAGES. 

7 Section 653 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9848) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall take’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall take’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(b) No Federal funds shall be used to pay the com13 pensation of an individual employed by a Head Start agen14 cy in carrying out programs under this subchapter, either 

15 as direct or indirect costs or any proration of such costs, 

16 in an amount in excess of an amount based on the rate 

17 payable for level II of the Executive Schedule under section 

18 5313 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

19 SEC. 23. LIMITATION WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN UNLAW20 FUL ACTIVITIES. 

21 Section 655 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9850) 

22 is amended by inserting ‘‘or in’’ after ‘‘assigned by’’. 

23 SEC. 24. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. 

24 Section 656 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9851) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking all that precedes ‘‘chapter 15’’ 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 656. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. 

4 ‘‘(a) STATE OR LOCAL AGENCY.—For purposes of’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A program assisted under 

10 this subchapter, and any individual employed by, or 

11 assigned to or in, a program assisted under this sub12 chapter (during the hours in which such individual is 

13 working on behalf of such program), shall not engage 

14 in— 

15 ‘‘(A) any partisan or nonpartisan political 

16 activity or any other political activity associated 

17 with a candidate, or contending faction or 

18 group, in an election for public or party office; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(B) any activity to provide voters or pro21 spective voters with transportation to the polls or 

22 similar assistance in connection with any such 

23 election. 

24 ‘‘(2) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, 

25 after consultation with the Director of the Office of 


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1 Personnel Management, may issue rules and regula2 tions to provide for the enforcement of this section, 

3 which may include provisions for summary suspen4 sion of assistance or other action necessary to permit 

5 enforcement on an emergency basis.’’. 

6 SEC. 25. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR HEALTH 

7 SERVICES. 

8 The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 657A. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR NON11 EMERGENCY INTRUSIVE PHYSICAL EXAMINA12 TIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—The term ‘nonemergency intrusive 

14 physical examination’ means, with respect to a child, a 

15 physical examination that— 

16 ‘‘(1) is not immediately necessary to protect the 

17 health or safety of the child or the health or safety of 

18 another individual; and 

19 ‘‘(2) requires incision or is otherwise invasive, or 

20 involves exposure of private body parts. 

21 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—A Head Start agency shall ob22 tain written parental consent before administration of, or 

23 referral for, any health care service provided or arranged 

24 to be provided, including any nonemergency intrusive physVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:59 Mar 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00307 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S556.RS S556

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1 ical examination of a child in connection with participa2 tion in a program under this subchapter. 

3 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec4 tion shall be construed to prohibit agencies from using es5 tablished methods, for handling cases of suspected or known 

6 child abuse and neglect, that are in compliance with appli7 cable Federal, State, or tribal law.’’. 

8 SEC. 26. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

9 Section 2501(c)(1)(C) of the Children’s Health Act of 

10 2000 (42 U.S.C. 247b–1 note) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘9840a(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘9840a’’. 


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Calendar No. 104 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 556 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Head Start Act, and for other 

purposes. 

MARCH 29, 2007 

Reported with an amendment 


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