II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1374 

To assist States in making voluntary high quality full-day prekindergarten 

programs available and economically affordable for the families of all 

children for at least 1 year preceding kindergarten. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2007 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To assist States in making voluntary high quality full-day 

prekindergarten programs available and economically affordable for the families of all children for at least 1 

year preceding kindergarten. 

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 ‘‘Prepare All Kids Act 

5 of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. HIGH QUALITY FULL-DAY PREKINDERGARTEN PRO2 GRAMS. 

3 Chapter 8 of subtitle A of title VI of the Omnibus 

4 Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Public Law 97–35; 

5 95 Stat. 357) is amended by inserting after subchapter 

6 C the following: 

7 ‘‘Subchapter D—High Quality Full-Day 

8 Prekindergarten Programs 

9 ‘‘SEC. 661. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

10 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find11 ings: 

12 ‘‘(1) Investments in children and early edu13 cation should be a national priority. 

14 ‘‘(2) The cost of high quality preschool is pro15 hibitive for poor families and is a significant finan16 cial strain for many working- and middle-class fami17 lies. 

18 ‘‘(3) State-funded preschool is the most rapidly 

19 expanding segment of the United States educational 

20 system, but in many States a lack of stable funding 

21 poses an enormous threat to the provision or con22 tinuation of high quality preschool. 

23 ‘‘(4) The provision of high quality prekinder24 garten is a cost-effective investment for children and 

25 for the Nation. Research shows that for every $1 in26 vested in high quality early childhood programs, taxVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:27 May 12, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1374.IS S1374

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1 payers save more than $17 in crime, welfare, edu2 cation, and other costs. 

3 ‘‘(5) Fewer than half the Nation’s poor pre4 school-age children attend preschool. The result is a 

5 significant preparation gap between poor and mid6 dle-class children and between minority and white 

7 children. 

8 ‘‘(6) High quality early education increases aca9 demic success for schoolchildren who received that 

10 education by— 

11 ‘‘(A) increasing high school graduation 

12 rates; 

13 ‘‘(B) improving children’s performance on 

14 standardized tests; 

15 ‘‘(C) reducing grade repetition; and 

16 ‘‘(D) reducing the number of children 

17 placed in special education. 

18 ‘‘(7) High quality early education promotes re19 sponsible behavior by teens and adults who received 

20 that education by— 

21 ‘‘(A) reducing crime, delinquency, and 

22 unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and drug 

23 use; 

24 ‘‘(B) lowering rates of teen pregnancy; 


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1 ‘‘(C) leading to greater employment and 

2 higher wages for adults; and 

3 ‘‘(D) contributing to more stable families. 

4 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to assist 

5 States in— 

6 ‘‘(1) making voluntary high quality full-day pre7 kindergarten programs available and economically 

8 affordable for the families of all children for at least 

9 1 year preceding kindergarten; and 

10 ‘‘(2) making the prekindergarten programs 

11 available to a target population of children from 

12 families with incomes at or below 200 percent of the 

13 poverty line, for whom the prekindergarten programs 

14 will be free of charge. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 662. DEFINITIONS. 

16 ‘‘(a) In this Act: 

17 ‘‘(1) FULL-DAY.—The term ‘full-day’, used with 

18 respect to a program, means a program with a min19 imum of a 6-hour schedule per day. 

20 ‘‘(2) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘poverty line’ 

21 has the meaning given the term in section 673(2) of 

22 the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 9902(2)) and includes any revision required by that 

24 section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PREKINDERGARTEN.—The term ‘pre2 kindergarten’ means a program that— 

3 ‘‘(A) serves children who are ages 3 

4 through 5; 

5 ‘‘(B) supports children’s cognitive, social, 

6 emotional, and physical development and ap7 proaches to learning; and 

8 ‘‘(C) helps prepare children for a success9 ful transition to kindergarten. 

10 ‘‘(4) PREKINDERGARTEN TEACHER.—The term 

11 ‘prekindergarten teacher’ means an individual who— 

12 ‘‘(A) has a bachelor of arts degree with a 

13 specialization in early childhood education or 

14 early childhood development; or 

15 ‘‘(B) during the 6-year period following the 

16 first date on which the individual is employed 

17 as such a teacher under this Act, is working to18 ward that degree. 

19 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED PREKINDERGARTEN PRO20 VIDER.—The term ‘qualified prekindergarten pro21 vider’ includes a provider of a prekindergarten pro22 gram, a Head Start agency, a provider of a child 

23 care program, a school, and a for-profit or nonprofit 

24 organization that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is in existence on the date of the 

2 qualification determination; and 

3 ‘‘(B) has met applicable requirements 

4 under State or local law that are designed to 

5 protect the health and safety of children and 

6 that are applicable to child care providers. 

7 ‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

8 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 663. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. 

10 ‘‘(a) PREKINDERGARTEN INCENTIVE FUND.—The 

11 Secretary, in collaboration and consultation with the Sec12 retary of Education, shall create a Prekindergarten Incen13 tive Fund, to be administered by the Secretary of Health 

14 and Human Services. 

15 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—In administering the Fund, the Sec16 retary shall award grants to eligible States, to pay for the 

17 Federal share of the cost of awarding subgrants to quali18 fied prekindergarten providers to establish, expand, or en19 hance voluntary high quality full-day prekindergarten pro20 grams. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 664. STATE APPLICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS. 

22 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATED STATE AGENCY.—To be eligible to 

23 receive a grant under this Act, a State shall designate a 

24 State agency to administer the State program of assist25 ance for prekindergarten programs funded through the 


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1 grant, including receiving and administering funds and 

2 monitoring the programs. 

3 ‘‘(b) STATE APPLICATION.—In order for a State to 

4 be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, the designated 

5 State agency shall submit an application to the Secretary 

6 at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor7 mation as the Secretary may reasonably require, includ8 ing— 

9 ‘‘(1) an assurance that, for prekindergarten 

10 programs funded through the grant, the State will 

11 ensure that the qualified prekindergarten providers 

12 target children from families with incomes at or 

13 below 200 percent of the poverty line, and provide 

14 prekindergarten programs to children from those 

15 families free of charge; 

16 ‘‘(2) an assurance that the State will award 

17 subgrants for prekindergarten programs that are 

18 sufficient to provide a high quality prekindergarten 

19 experience; 

20 ‘‘(3) an assurance that not less than 25 percent 

21 of the qualified prekindergarten providers receiving 

22 such subgrants will be providers of community-based 

23 programs; 

24 ‘‘(4) a description of the number of children in 

25 the State who are eligible for the prekindergarten 


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1 programs and the needs that will be served through 

2 the prekindergarten programs; 

3 ‘‘(5) a description of how the State will ensure 

4 that the subgrants are awarded to a wide range of 

5 types of qualified prekindergarten providers; 

6 ‘‘(6) a description of how the designated State 

7 agency will collaborate and coordinate activities with 

8 State-funded providers of prekindergarten programs, 

9 providers of federally funded programs such as Head 

10 Start agencies, local educational agencies, and child 

11 care providers; 

12 ‘‘(7) a description of how the State will ensure, 

13 through a monitoring process, that qualified pre14 kindergarten providers receiving the subgrants con15 tinue to place priority on the target population of 

16 children described in paragraph (1), provide pro17 grams that meet the standards of high quality early 

18 education, and use funds appropriately; 

19 ‘‘(8) a description of how the State will meet 

20 the needs of working parents; and 

21 ‘‘(9) a description of how the State will assist 

22 in providing professional development assistance to 

23 prekindergarten teachers and teacher aides. 

24 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

25 cost described in section 663(b) shall be 50 percent. The 


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1 State shall provide the non-Federal share of the cost in 

2 cash. 

3 ‘‘(d) SUPPLEMENTARY FEDERAL FUNDING.—Funds 

4 made available under this Act may be used only to supple5 ment and not supplant other Federal, State, local, or pri6 vate funds that would, in the absence of the funds made 

7 available under this Act, be made available for early child8 hood programs. 

9 ‘‘(e) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State that re10 ceives a grant under this Act for a fiscal year shall main11 tain the expenditures of the State for early childhood pro12 grams at a level not less than the level of such expendi13 tures of the State for the preceding fiscal year. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 665. STATE SET ASIDES AND EXPENDITURES. 

15 ‘‘(a) INFANT AND TODDLER SET ASIDE.—Notwith16 standing sections 662 and 663, a State shall set aside not 

17 less than 10 percent of the funds made available through 

18 a grant awarded under this Act for the purpose of funding 

19 high quality early childhood development programs for 

20 children who are ages 0 through 3. Funds made available 

21 under this subsection may also be used for professional 

22 development for teachers and teacher aides in classrooms 

23 for children who are ages 0 through 3. 

24 ‘‘(b) EXTENDED DAY AND EXTENDED YEAR SET

25 ASIDE.—Notwithstanding section 663, a State shall set 


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1 aside not less than 10 percent of the funds made available 

2 through a grant awarded under this Act for the purpose 

3 of extending the hours of early childhood programs to cre4 ate extended day and extended year programs. 

5 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 5 

6 percent of the funds made available through such a grant 

7 may be used for administrative expenses, including moni8 toring. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 666. LOCAL APPLICATIONS. 

10 ‘‘To be eligible to receive a subgrant under this Act, 

11 a qualified prekindergarten provider shall submit an appli12 cation to the designated State agency at such time, in such 

13 manner, and containing such information as the agency 

14 may reasonably require, including— 

15 ‘‘(1) a description of how the qualified pre16 kindergarten provider will meet the diverse needs of 

17 children in the community to be served, including 

18 children with disabilities, whose native language is 

19 not English, or with other special needs, children in 

20 the State foster care system, and homeless children; 

21 ‘‘(2) a description of how the qualified pre22 kindergarten provider will serve eligible children who 

23 are not served through similar services or programs; 

24 ‘‘(3) a description of a plan for involving fami25 lies in the prekindergarten program; 


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1 ‘‘(4) a description of how children in the pre2 kindergarten program, and their parents and fami3 lies, will receive assistance through supportive serv4 ices provided within the community; 

5 ‘‘(5) a description of how the qualified pre6 kindergarten provider collaborates with providers of 

7 other programs serving children and families, includ8 ing Head Start agencies, providers of child care pro9 grams, and local educational agencies, to meet the 

10 needs of children, families, and working families, as 

11 appropriate; and 

12 ‘‘(6) a description of how the qualified pre13 kindergarten provider will collaborate with local edu14 cational agencies to ensure a smooth transition for 

15 participating students from the prekindergarten pro16 gram to kindergarten and early elementary edu17 cation. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 667. LOCAL PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM REQUIRE19 MENTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) MANDATORY USES OF FUNDS.—A qualified pre21 kindergarten provider that receives a subgrant under this 

22 Act shall use funds received through the grant to estab23 lish, expand, or enhance prekindergarten programs for 

24 children who are ages 3 through 5, including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) providing a prekindergarten program that 

2 supports children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and 

3 physical development and approaches to learning, 

4 and helps prepare children for a successful transi5 tion to kindergarten; 

6 ‘‘(2) purchasing educational equipment, includ7 ing educational materials, necessary to provide a 

8 high quality prekindergarten program; and 

9 ‘‘(3) extending part-day prekindergarten pro10 grams to full-day prekindergarten programs. 

11 ‘‘(b) PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—A qualified pre12 kindergarten provider that receives a subgrant under this 

13 Act may use funds received through the grant to— 

14 ‘‘(1) pay for transporting students to and from 

15 a prekindergarten program; and 

16 ‘‘(2) provide professional development assist17 ance to prekindergarten teachers and teacher aides. 

18 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A qualified pre19 kindergarten provider that receives a subgrant under this 

20 Act shall carry out a high quality prekindergarten pro21 gram by— 

22 ‘‘(1) maintaining a maximum class size of 20 

23 children, with at least 1 prekindergarten teacher per 

24 classroom; 


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1 ‘‘(2) ensuring that the ratio of children to pre2 kindergarten teachers and teacher aides shall not ex3 ceed 10 to 1; 

4 ‘‘(3) utilizing a prekindergarten curriculum that 

5 is research- and evidence-based, developmentally ap6 propriate, and designed to support children’s cog7 nitive, social, emotional, and physical development, 

8 and approaches to learning; 

9 ‘‘(4) providing a program with a minimum of a 

10 6-hour schedule per day; and 

11 ‘‘(5) ensuring that prekindergarten teachers 

12 meet the requirements of this Act. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 668. REPORTING. 

14 ‘‘(a) QUALIFIED PREKINDERGARTEN PROVIDER RE15 PORTS.—Each qualified prekindergarten provider that re16 ceives a subgrant from a State under this Act shall submit 

17 an annual report, to the designated State agency, that re18 views the effectiveness of the prekindergarten program 

19 provided. Such annual report shall include— 

20 ‘‘(1) data specifying the number and ages of en21 rolled children, and the family income, race, gender, 

22 disability, and native language of such children; 

23 ‘‘(2) a description of— 

24 ‘‘(A) the curriculum used by the program; 


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1 ‘‘(B) how the curriculum supports chil2 dren’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical 

3 development and approaches to learning; and 

4 ‘‘(C) how the curriculum is appropriate for 

5 children of the culture, language, and ages of 

6 the children served; and 

7 ‘‘(3) a statement of all sources of funding re8 ceived by the program, including Federal, State, 

9 local, and private funds. 

10 ‘‘(b) STATE REPORTS.—Each State that receives a 

11 grant under this Act shall submit an annual report to the 

12 Secretary detailing the effectiveness of all prekindergarten 

13 programs funded under this Act in the State. 

14 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

15 submit an annual report to Congress that describes the 

16 State programs of assistance for prekindergarten pro17 grams funded under this Act. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 669. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 this Act— 

21 ‘‘(1) $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

22 ‘‘(2) $6,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

23 ‘‘(3) $7,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

24 ‘‘(4) $8,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) $9,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.’’. 

Æ 


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