In the Senate of the United States,

June 19, 2007.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 1429) entitled ‘‘An Act to reauthorize the Head

Start Act, to improve program quality, to expand access, and

for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Head Start for School

3 Readiness Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

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

6 is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

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

9 school readiness of low-income children by enhancing their

10 cognitive and social development—
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1 ‘‘(1) with a learning environment that supports

2 cognitive development (including the growth of lan3 guage, pre-literacy, and premathematics skills) and

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

5 and

6 ‘‘(2) through the provision to low-income chil7 dren and their families of health, educational, nutri8 tional, social, and other services that are determined,

9 based on family needs assessments, to be necessary.’’.

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

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

12 is amended—

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

14 community-based organization, as defined in section

15 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education

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

17 (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting ‘‘, includ18 ing financial literacy,’’ after ‘‘Parent literacy’’;

19 (3) in paragraph (17), by striking ‘‘Mariana Is20 lands,’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘Mariana

21 Islands.’’; and

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

23 ‘‘(18) The term ‘deficiency’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) a systemic or substantial material fail2 ure of an agency in an area of performance that

3 the Secretary determines involves—

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

5 civil rights of children or staff;

6 ‘‘(ii) a denial to parents of the exercise

7 of their full roles and responsibilities related

8 to program operations;

9 ‘‘(iii) a failure to comply with stand10 ards related to early childhood development

11 and health services, family and community

12 partnerships, or program design and man13 agement;

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

15 subchapter;

16 ‘‘(v) loss of legal status or financial vi17 ability, loss of permits, debarment from re18 ceiving Federal grants or contracts, or the

19 improper use of Federal funds; or

20 ‘‘(vi) failure to meet any other Federal

21 or State requirement that the agency has

22 shown an unwillingness or inability to cor23 rect, after notice from the Secretary, within

24 the period specified;
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1 ‘‘(B) systemic failure of the board of direc2 tors of an agency to fully exercise its legal and

3 fiduciary responsibilities;

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

5 meet the administrative requirements of section

6 644(b);

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

8 that the agency attempted to meet the coordina9 tion and collaboration requirements with entities

10 described in section 640(a)(5)(D)(ii)(I); or

11 ‘‘(E) having an unresolved area of non12 compliance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

19 1001(a)).

20 ‘‘(21) The term ‘interrater reliability’ means the

21 extent to which 2 or more independent raters or ob22 servers consistently obtain the same result when using

23 the same assessment tool.

24 ‘‘(22) The term ‘limited English proficient’, used

25 with respect to a child, means a child—
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1 ‘‘(A) who is enrolled or preparing to enroll

2 in a Head Start program (which may include

3 an Early Head Start program), or other early

4 care and education program;

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

6 States or whose native language is a language

7 other than English;

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

9 Native, or a native resident of an outlying area

10 (as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary

11 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

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

13 ‘‘(II) who comes from an environment

14 where a language other than English has had a

15 significant impact on the child’s level of English

16 language proficiency; or

17 ‘‘(iii) who is migratory, whose native lan18 guage is a language other than English, and who

19 comes from an environment where a language

20 other than English is dominant; and

21 ‘‘(C) whose difficulties in speaking or un22 derstanding the English language may be suffi23 cient to deny such child—
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1 ‘‘(i) the ability to successfully achieve

2 in a classroom in which the language of in3 struction is English; or

4 ‘‘(ii) the opportunity to participate

5 fully in society.

6 ‘‘(23) The term ‘unresolved area of noncompli7 ance’ means failure to correct a noncompliance item

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

9 any) authorized by the Secretary, after receiving from

10 the Secretary notice of such noncompliance item, pur11 suant to section 641A(d).’’.

12 SEC. 4. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PRO13 GRAMS.

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

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

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

17 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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

19 is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘SEC. 639. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated for carrying out the provisions of this subchapter

23 $7,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $7,650,000,000 for fis24 cal year 2009, $7,995,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, and such
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1 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 and

2 2012.

3 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC PROGRAMS.—From the amount appro4 priated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make

5 available to carry out research, demonstration, and evalua6 tion activities, including longitudinal studies under section

7 649, not more than $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and

8 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2009

9 through 2012, of which not more than $7,000,000 for each

10 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 shall be available to carry

11 out impact studies under section 649(g).’’.

12 SEC. 6. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.

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

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

15 (1) in paragraph (2)—

16 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in17 serting the following:

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

19 children with disabilities, and migrant and seasonal

20 Head Start programs, except that the Secretary shall

21 reserve for each fiscal year for use by Indian Head

22 Start and migrant and seasonal Head Start pro23 grams (referred to in this paragraph as ‘covered pro24 grams’), on a nationwide basis, a sum that is the

25 total of a percentage specified by the Secretary that
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1 is not less than 4 percent of the amount appropriated

2 under section 639 for that fiscal year (for Indian

3 Head Start programs) and a percentage specified by

4 the Secretary that is not less than 5 percent of that

5 appropriated amount (for migrant and seasonal

6 Head Start programs) (referred to in this paragraph

7 as the ‘specified percentages’), except that—

8 ‘‘(i) if reserving the specified percentages

9 would reduce the number of children served by

10 Head Start programs, relative to the number of

11 children served on the date of enactment of the

12 Head Start for School Readiness Act, taking into

13 consideration an appropriate adjustment for in14 flation, the Secretary shall reserve percentages

15 that approach, as closely as practicable, the spec16 ified percentages and that do not cause such a

17 reduction; and

18 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding any other provision

19 of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall reserve

20 for each fiscal year for use by Indian Head Start

21 programs and by migrant and seasonal Head

22 Start programs, on a nationwide basis, not less

23 than the amount that was obligated for use by

24 Indian Head Start programs and by migrant
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1 and seasonal Head Start programs for the pre2 vious fiscal year;’’;

3 (B) by striking subparagraph (C) and in4 serting the following:

5 ‘‘(C) training and technical assistance activities

6 that are sufficient to meet the needs associated with

7 program expansion and to foster program and man8 agement improvement activities as described in any

9 of paragraphs (1) through (18) of section 648(d), in

10 an amount for each fiscal year that is not less than

11 2 percent of the amount appropriated under section

12 639 for such fiscal year, of which—

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

14 Head Start agencies to use directly, or by estab15 lishing local or regional agreements with com16 munity experts, institutions of higher education,

17 or private consultants, for any of the following

18 training and technical assistance activities,

19 including—

20 ‘‘(I) activities that ensure that Head

21 Start programs meet or exceed the perform22 ance standards described in section

23 641A(a)(1);

24 ‘‘(II) activities that ensure that Head

25 Start programs have adequate numbers of
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1 trained, qualified staff who have skills in

2 working with children and families, includ3 ing children who are limited English pro4 ficient and their families and children with

5 disabilities;

6 ‘‘(III) activities to pay expenses, in7 cluding direct training for expert consult8 ants working with any staff, to improve the

9 management and implementation of Head

10 Start services and systems;

11 ‘‘(IV) activities that help ensure that

12 Head Start programs have qualified staff

13 who can promote language skills and lit14 eracy growth of children and who can pro15 vide children with a variety of skills that

16 have been identified as predictive of later

17 reading achievement, school success, and the

18 skills, knowledge, abilities, development, and

19 progress described in section

20 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii);

21 ‘‘(V) activities to improve staff quali22 fications and to assist with the implementa23 tion of career development programs and to

24 encourage the staff to continually improve

25 their skills and expertise, including devel-
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1 oping partnerships with programs that re2 cruit, train, place, and support college stu3 dents in Head Start centers to deliver an

4 innovative early childhood development pro5 gram to preschool children;

6 ‘‘(VI) activities that help local pro7 grams ensure that the arrangement, condi8 tion, and implementation of the learning

9 environments in Head Start programs are

10 conducive to providing effective program

11 services to children and families;

12 ‘‘(VII) activities to provide training

13 necessary to improve the qualifications of

14 Head Start staff and to support staff train15 ing, child counseling, health services, and

16 other services necessary to address the needs

17 of children enrolled in Head Start pro18 grams, including children from families in

19 crises, children who experience chronic vio20 lence or homelessness, children who experi21 ence substance abuse in their families, and

22 children under 3 years of age, where appli23 cable;

24 ‘‘(VIII) activities to provide classes or

25 in-service-type programs to improve or en-
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1 hance parenting skills, job skills, adult and

2 family literacy, including financial lit3 eracy, or training to become a classroom

4 aide or bus driver in a Head Start pro5 gram;

6 ‘‘(IX) additional activities determined

7 appropriate for the improvement of Head

8 Start agencies’ programs, as determined in

9 the agencies’ technical assistance and train10 ing plans; or

11 ‘‘(X) any other activities regarding the

12 use of funds as determined by the Secretary;

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

14 the Secretary—

15 ‘‘(I) to provide directly training and

16 technical assistance on early childhood edu17 cation and care or to support, through

18 grants or other arrangements, a State sys19 tem of training and technical assistance

20 (which may include such a system for a

21 consortium of States within a region); and

22 ‘‘(II) to assist local programs (includ23 ing Indian Head Start programs and mi24 grant and seasonal Head Start programs)
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1 in meeting the performance standards de2 scribed in section 641A(a)(1); and

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

4 amount in clause (ii) appropriated for such fis5 cal year shall be made available to carry out ac6 tivities described in section 648(d)(4);’’;

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

8 ‘‘agencies;’’ and inserting ‘‘agencies);’’; and

9 (D) by adding at the end of the flush matter

10 at the end the following: ‘‘In no case shall the

11 Secretary use funds appropriated under this sub12 chapter to expand or create additional slots or

13 services in non-Indian and non-migrant and

14 seasonal Head Start programs until the amounts

15 based on the specified percentages for Indian

16 Head Start programs and migrant and seasonal

17 Head Start programs pursuant to subparagraph

18 (A) are reached. The Secretary shall require each

19 Head Start agency to report at the end of each

20 budget year on how funds provided to carry out

21 subparagraph (C)(i) were used.’’;

22 (2) in paragraph (3)—

23 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i)(I)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘60 percent of such ex2 cess amount for fiscal year 1999’’ and all

3 that follows through ‘‘2003;’’; and

4 (ii) by inserting the following: ‘‘30 per5 cent of such excess amount for fiscal year

6 2008, and 40 percent of such excess amount

7 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012;’’;

8 (B) in subparagraph (B)—

9 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘perform10 ance standards’’ and all that follows and

11 inserting ‘‘performance standards pursuant

12 to section 641A(a)(1).’’;

13 (ii) by striking clause (ii) and insert14 ing the following:

15 ‘‘(ii) Ensuring that such programs have ade16 quate numbers of qualified staff, and that such staff

17 is furnished adequate training, including training to

18 promote the development of language,

19 premathematics, and pre-literacy skills in young chil20 dren and in working with limited English proficient

21 children, children in foster care, children referred by

22 child welfare services, and children with disabilities,

23 when appropriate.’’;

24 (iii) by striking clause (iii) and insert25 ing the following:
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1 ‘‘(iii) Developing and financing the salary scales

2 and benefits standards under section 644(a) and sec3 tion 653, in order to ensure that salary levels and

4 benefits are adequate to attract and retain qualified

5 staff for such programs.’’;

6 (iv) by striking clause (iv) and insert7 ing the following:

8 ‘‘(iv) Using salary increases to—

9 ‘‘(I) assist with the implementation of qual10 ity programs and improve staff qualifications;

11 ‘‘(II) ensure that staff can promote the lan12 guage skills and literacy growth of children and

13 can provide children with a variety of skills that

14 have been identified, through scientifically based

15 early reading research, as predictive of later

16 reading achievement, as well as the skills, knowl17 edge, abilities, development, and progress de18 scribed in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii); and

19 ‘‘(III) encourage the staff to continually im20 prove their skills and expertise—

21 ‘‘(aa) through the implementation of

22 career development programs; and

23 ‘‘(bb) through the completion of post24 secondary coursework in early childhood

25 education.’’;
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1 (v) in clause (v)—

2 (I) by striking ‘‘community-wide’’

3 and inserting ‘‘communitywide’’; and

4 (II) by inserting ‘‘, including col5 laborations to increase program par6 ticipation by underserved populations

7 of eligible children’’ before the period;

8 and

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

10 and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(vii) Providing assistance to complete postsec12 ondary coursework, to enable Head Start teachers to

13 improve competencies and the resulting child out14 comes, including informing the teachers of the avail15 ability of Federal and State incentive and loan for16 giveness programs.

17 ‘‘(viii) Promoting the regular attendance and

18 stability of all Head Start children with particular

19 attention to highly mobile children, including chil20 dren of migrant or seasonal farmworkers (where ap21 propriate), homeless children, and children in foster

22 care.

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

24 quality of such programs as the Secretary may des25 ignate.’’;
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1 (C) in subparagraph (C)—

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

3 sentence and inserting ‘‘Salary increases, in

4 excess of cost-of-living allowances, provided

5 with such funds shall be subject to the spe6 cific standards governing salaries and sal7 ary increases established pursuant to section

8 644(a).’’;

9 (ii) in clause (ii)—

10 (I) in the matter preceding sub11 clause (I), by striking ‘‘education per12 formance’’ and all that follows through

13 ‘‘641A(a)(1)(B)’’and inserting ‘‘stand14 ards and measures described in section

15 641A’’;

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

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

18 (III) by striking subclause (II)

19 and inserting the following:

20 ‘‘(II) to help limited English proficient chil21 dren attain the knowledge, skills, abilities, and

22 development specified in section

23 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) and to promote the acquisition

24 of the English language by such children and

25 their families;’’; and
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1 (IV) by striking subclause (IV)

2 and inserting the following:

3 ‘‘(IV) to provide education and training

4 necessary to improve the qualifications of Head

5 Start staff, particularly assistance to enable

6 more instructors to be fully competent and to

7 meet the degree requirements under section

8 648A(a)(2)(A), and to support staff training,

9 child counseling, and other services necessary to

10 address the challenges of children participating

11 in Head Start programs, including children

12 from immigrant, refugee, and asylee families,

13 children from families in crisis, homeless chil14 dren, children in foster care, children referred to

15 Head Start programs by child welfare agencies,

16 and children who are exposed to chronic violence

17 or substance abuse.’’;

18 (iii) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘,

19 educational staff who have the qualifica20 tions described in section 648A(a),’’ after

21 ‘‘ratio’’;

22 (iv) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘pro23 grams, including’’ and all that follows and

24 inserting ‘‘programs.’’;
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1 (v) by redesignating clause (vi) as

2 clause (x); and

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

4 following:

5 ‘‘(vi) To conduct outreach to homeless families in

6 an effort to increase the program participation of

7 homeless children.

8 ‘‘(vii) To conduct outreach to migrant and sea9 sonal farmworker families and families with limited

10 English proficient children.

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

12 education and nonprofit organizations, including

13 community-based organizations, that recruit, train,

14 place, and support college students, to serve as men15 tors and reading partners to preschool children in

16 Head Start programs.

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

18 educational personnel to meet the professional stand19 ards described in section 648A(a)(1), including cer20 tification and licensure as bilingual education teach21 ers, as teachers of English as a second language, and

22 for other educational personnel who serve limited

23 English proficient children.’’;

24 (3) in paragraph (4), in the first sentence—
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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking

2 ‘‘1998’’ and inserting ‘‘2007’’; and

3 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in4 serting the following:

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

6 are made under subparagraph (A) for such fiscal year

7 shall be distributed as follows:

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

9 sufficient to serve the same number of children in

10 Head Start programs in each State as were

11 served on the date of enactment of the Head

12 Start for School Readiness Act, taking into con13 sideration an appropriate adjustment for infla14 tion.

15 ‘‘(ii) After ensuring that each State has re16 ceived the amount described in clause (i), the

17 Secretary shall distribute the remaining balance,

18 by—

19 ‘‘(I) distributing 65 percent of the bal20 ance among the States serving less than 60

21 percent (as determined by the Secretary) of

22 children who are 3 or 4 years of age from

23 families whose income is below the poverty

24 line, by allotting to each of those States an

25 amount that bears the same relationship to
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1 that 65 percent as the number of children

2 who are less than 5 years of age from fami3 lies whose income is below the poverty line

4 (referred to in this clause as ‘young low-in5 come children’) in that State bears to the

6 number of young low-income children in all

7 those States; and

8 ‘‘(II) distributing 35 percent of the bal9 ance among the States, by allotting to each

10 State an amount that bears the same rela11 tionship to that 35 percent as the number

12 of young low-income children in that State

13 bears to the number of young low-income

14 children in all the States.’’;

15 (4) in paragraph (5)—

16 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after

17 ‘‘paragraph (4)’’ the following: ‘‘(and amounts

18 reserved, before such allotments, for national ad19 ministrative offices)’’;

20 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (E)

21 and (F) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respec22 tively;

23 (C) by striking subparagraphs (B), (C), and

24 (D) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(B)(i) From the reserved sums, the Secretary shall

2 award a collaboration grant to each State and to each na3 tional administrative office serving Indian Head Start pro4 grams and migrant and seasonal Head Start programs to

5 facilitate collaboration between Head Start agencies and

6 entities (including the State or national administrative of7 fice) that carry out other activities designed to benefit low8 income families and children from birth to school entry. The

9 national administrative offices shall use the funds made

10 available through the grants to carry out the authorities

11 and responsibilities described in subparagraphs (B) and

12 (C).

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

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

15 with entities involved in State and local planning

16 processes to better meet the needs of low-income fami17 lies and children from birth to school entry;

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

19 activities with the State agency responsible for ad20 ministering the State program carried out under the

21 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990

22 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and entities providing re23 source and referral services in the State, to make full24 working-day and full calendar year services available

25 to children;
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1 ‘‘(III) promote alignment of Head Start services

2 with the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework and,

3 as appropriate, State early learning standards;

4 ‘‘(IV) promote better linkages between Head

5 Start agencies and other child and family agencies,

6 including agencies that provide health, mental health,

7 or family services, or other child or family supportive

8 services, such as services provided under section 619

9 or part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu10 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.); and

11 ‘‘(V) carry out the activities of the State Director

12 of Head Start Collaboration authorized in subpara13 graph (D).

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

15 of early childhood education and care to children in the

16 State, a State that receives a collaboration grant under sub17 paragraph (B) shall—

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

19 as, or carry out the responsibilities of, the State Di20 rector of Head Start Collaboration;

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

22 Start Collaboration holds a position with sufficient

23 authority and access to ensure that the collaboration

24 described in subparagraph (B) is effective and in25 volves a range of State agencies; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) involve the State Head Start Association

2 in the selection of the Director and involve the Asso3 ciation in determinations relating to the ongoing di4 rection of the collaboration office involved.

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

6 shall—

7 ‘‘(i) not later than 1 year after the State receives

8 a collaboration grant under subparagraph (B), con9 duct an assessment that—

10 ‘‘(I) addresses the needs of Head Start agen11 cies in the State with respect to collaboration, co12 ordination of services, and alignment of services

13 with the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework

14 and, as appropriate, State early learning stand15 ards;

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

17 and

18 ‘‘(III) shall be made available to the general

19 public within the State;

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

21 assessment described in clause (i) that will—

22 ‘‘(I) enhance collaboration and coordination

23 of Head Start services with other entities pro24 viding early childhood education and care (such

25 as child care or services offered by museums),
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1 health care, mental health care, welfare, child

2 protective services, education and community

3 service activities, family literacy services, read4 ing readiness programs (including such pro5 grams offered by public and school libraries),

6 services relating to children with disabilities,

7 other early childhood education and care for lim8 ited English proficient children and homeless

9 children, and services provided for children in

10 foster care and children referred to Head Start

11 programs by child welfare agencies, including

12 agencies and State officials responsible for such

13 services;

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

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

16 calendar year services for children enrolled in

17 Head Start programs who need such care;

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

19 services with the Head Start Child Outcomes

20 Framework and, as appropriate, State early

21 learning standards; and

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

23 State to better access professional development

24 opportunities for Head Start staff, such as by—
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1 ‘‘(aa) working with local Head Start

2 agencies to meet the degree requirements de3 scribed in section 648A(a)(2)(A), including

4 providing distance learning opportunities

5 for Head Start staff, where needed to make

6 higher education more accessible to Head

7 Start staff; and

8 ‘‘(bb) enabling the State Head Start

9 agencies to better conduct outreach to eligi10 ble families;

11 ‘‘(iii) promote partnerships between Head Start

12 agencies, State and local governments, and the pri13 vate sector to help ensure that children from low-in14 come families, who are in Head Start programs or

15 are preschool age, are receiving comprehensive services

16 to prepare the children to enter school ready to learn;

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

18 local educational agencies, and providers of early

19 childhood education and care, regarding early child20 hood education and care at both the State and local

21 levels;

22 ‘‘(v) promote partnerships (such as the partner23 ships involved with the Free to Grow initiative) be24 tween Head Start agencies, schools, law enforcement,

25 relevant community-based organizations, and sub-
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1 stance abuse and mental health treatment agencies to

2 strengthen family and community environments and

3 to reduce the impact on child development of sub4 stance abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, and other

5 high risk behaviors that compromise healthy develop6 ment;

7 ‘‘(vi) promote partnerships between Head Start

8 agencies and other organizations in order to enhance

9 the Head Start curriculum, including partnerships to

10 promote inclusion of more books in Head Start class11 rooms and partnerships to promote coordination of

12 activities with the Ready-to-Learn Television pro13 gram carried out under subpart 3 of part D of title

14 II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

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

16 ‘‘(vii) identify other resources and organizations

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

18 services to Head Start agencies in the State.

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

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

21 the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu22 cation and Care, for children from birth to school

23 entry (in this subchapter referred to as the ‘State Ad24 visory Council’); and
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1 ‘‘(II) designate an individual to coordinate ac2 tivities of the State Advisory Council, as described in

3 clause (iv)(I).

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

5 to serve as the State Advisory Council, if the entity includes

6 representatives consistent with clause (iii).

7 ‘‘(iii) Members of the State Advisory Council shall in8 clude, to the maximum extent possible—

9 ‘‘(I) the State Director of Head Start Collabora10 tion;

11 ‘‘(II) a representative of the State educational

12 agency and local educational agencies;

13 ‘‘(III) a representative of institutions of higher

14 education;

15 ‘‘(IV) a representative (or representatives) of the

16 State agency (or agencies) responsible for health or

17 mental health care;

18 ‘‘(V) a representative of the State agency respon19 sible for professional standards, certification, and li20 censing for early childhood educators;

21 ‘‘(VI) a representative of the State agency re22 sponsible for child care;

23 ‘‘(VII) early childhood educators, including pro24 fessionals with expertise in second language acquisi-
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1 tion and instructional strategies in teaching limited

2 English proficient children;

3 ‘‘(VIII) kindergarten teachers and teachers in

4 grades 1 through 3;

5 ‘‘(IX) health care professionals;

6 ‘‘(X) child development specialists, including spe7 cialists in prenatal, infant, and toddler development;

8 ‘‘(XI) a representative of the State agency re9 sponsible for assisting children with developmental

10 disabilities;

11 ‘‘(XII) a representative of the State agency re12 sponsible for programs under section 619 or part C

13 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

14 (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);

15 ‘‘(XIII) a representative of the State interagency

16 coordinating councils established under section 641 of

17 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20

18 U.S.C. 1441);

19 ‘‘(XIV) a representative of the State Head Start

20 Association (where appropriate), and other represent21 atives of Head Start programs in the State;

22 ‘‘(XV) a representative of the State network of

23 child care resource and referral agencies;

24 ‘‘(XVI) a representative of community-based or25 ganizations;
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1 ‘‘(XVII) a representative of State and local pro2 viders of early childhood education and care;

3 ‘‘(XVIII) a representative of Indian Head Start

4 programs (where appropriate) and a representative of

5 migrant and seasonal Head Start programs (where

6 appropriate);

7 ‘‘(XIX) parents;

8 ‘‘(XX) religious and business leaders;

9 ‘‘(XXI) the head of the State library administra10 tive agency;

11 ‘‘(XXII) representatives of State and local orga12 nizations and other entities providing professional de13 velopment to early childhood educators and child care

14 providers;

15 ‘‘(XXIII) a representative from the Office of Co16 ordinator for Education of Homeless Children and

17 Youths in the State;

18 ‘‘(XXIV) a State legislator; and

19 ‘‘(XXV) a representative of other entities deter20 mined to be relevant by the Governor of the State.

21 ‘‘(iv)(I) The State Advisory Council shall be respon22 sible for, in addition to responsibilities assigned to the

23 council by the Governor of the State—

24 ‘‘(aa) conducting a periodic statewide needs as25 sessment concerning early childhood education and
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1 care for children from birth to school entry and as2 sessing the availability of high quality prekinder3 garten services for low-income children in the State;

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

5 for, collaboration and coordination among entities

6 carrying out federally-funded and State-funded child

7 development, child care, and early childhood edu8 cation programs;

9 ‘‘(cc) developing recommendations regarding

10 means of establishing a unified data collection system

11 for early childhood education and care throughout the

12 State;

13 ‘‘(dd) developing a statewide professional devel14 opment and career ladder plan for early childhood

15 education and care in the State;

16 ‘‘(ee) assisting 2-year and 4-year public and pri17 vate institutions of higher education, which may in18 clude assisting the institutions with development of

19 articulation agreements or model programs of early

20 childhood education and care, including practica or

21 internships for students to spend time in a Head

22 Start or prekindergarten program; and

23 ‘‘(ff) undertaking collaborative efforts to develop,

24 and make recommendations for improvements in,

25 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 Advi4 sory Council shall submit a statewide strategic report ad5 dressing the activities described in subclause (I) to the State

6 Director of Head Start Collaboration and the Governor of

7 the State.

8 ‘‘(III) After submission of a statewide strategic report

9 under subclause (II), the State Advisory Council shall meet

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

12 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 por16 tion from the amount (if any) by which the funds appro17 priated under section 639(a) for the fiscal year exceed the

18 adjusted prior year appropriation (as defined in paragraph

19 (3)(A)(ii)), without reducing the share available for quality

20 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 available

24 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 childhood education and care de11 signed to improve school preparedness;

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

13 and new delivery systems and funds for early child14 hood education and care; and

15 ‘‘(III) enhance existing early childhood education

16 and care (in existence on the date on which the grant

17 involved is awarded).

18 ‘‘(iii) To be eligible to receive a grant under this sub19 paragraph, a State shall prepare and submit to the Sec20 retary an application, for a 3-year period, at such time,

21 in such manner, and containing such information as the

22 Secretary shall require, including—

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

24 Council’s responsibilities under subparagraph

25 (E)(iv)(I);
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1 ‘‘(II) a description, for each fiscal year, of how

2 the State will make effective use of funds available

3 under this subparagraph, with funds described in

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

5 and care system, by developing or enhancing pro6 grams and activities described in subparagraph

7 (E)(iv)(I);

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

9 standards and the State’s goals for increasing the

10 number of children entering kindergarten ready to

11 learn;

12 ‘‘(IV) information identifying the agency or joint

13 interagency office and individual designated to carry

14 out the activities under this subparagraph, which

15 may be the individual designated under subpara16 graph (E)(i)(II); and

17 ‘‘(V) a description of how the State plans to sus18 tain activities under this subparagraph beyond the

19 grant period.

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

21 (ii) shall be 30 percent, and the State shall provide the non22 Federal share.

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

24 shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Fed-
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1 eral, State, and local funds expended to carry out activities

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

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

4 receives a grant under this subparagraph, the State shall

5 submit an interim report to the Secretary. A State that re6 ceives a grant under this subparagraph shall submit a final

7 report to the Secretary at the end of the grant period.’’;

8 and

9 (D) in subparagraph (G), as redesignated

10 by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph—

11 (i) in clause (i)(I), by striking ‘‘child

12 care and early childhood education pro13 grams and resources’’ and inserting ‘‘early

14 childhood education and care programs and

15 resources’’; and

16 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘Federal

17 child care or early childhood education’’

18 and inserting ‘‘Federal early childhood edu19 cation or child care’’; and

20 (5) in paragraph (6)—

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

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

23 less than 12 percent for fiscal year 2008, not less

24 than 14 percent for fiscal year 2009, not less

25 than 16 percent for fiscal year 2010, not less
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1 than 18 percent for fiscal year 2011, and not less

2 than 20 percent for fiscal year 2012, of the

3 amount appropriated pursuant to section

4 639(a).’’;

5 (B) by striking subparagraph (B);

6 (C) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ‘‘re7 quired to be’’ each place it appears; and

8 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as

9 subparagraph (B).

10 (b) MINIMUM ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENT FOR CHIL11 DREN WITH DISABILITIES.—The first sentence of section

12 640(d) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(d)) is amend13 ed to read as follows: ‘‘The Secretary shall establish policies

14 and procedures to assure that, for fiscal year 2008 and

15 thereafter, not less than 10 percent of the total number of

16 children actually enrolled by each Head Start agency and

17 each delegate agency will be children with disabilities who

18 are eligible for special education or early intervention serv19 ices, as appropriate, as determined under the Individuals

20 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.),

21 and that the Head Start agency or delegate agency involved

22 will collaborate with the State or local agency providing

23 services under section 619 or part C of the Individuals with

24 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.)
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1 to ensure the provision of services to meet the special needs

2 of such children.’’.

3 (c) SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS.—Section 640(f) of

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

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

6 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of

7 the Head Start for School Readiness Act, the’’;

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

9 including models that leverage the capacity and capa10 bilities of the delivery system of early childhood edu11 cation and care.’’; and

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

13 ‘‘(2) In establishing the procedures the Secretary shall

14 establish procedures to provide for—

15 ‘‘(A) the conversion of part-day programs to full16 day programs or part-day slots to full-day slots; and

17 ‘‘(B) serving additional infants and toddlers

18 pursuant to section 645(a)(5).’’.

19 (d) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—Section 640(g)(2) of the

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

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

22 the following:

23 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the applicant has un24 dertaken communitywide strategic planning and

25 needs assessments involving other community organi-
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1 zations and Federal, State, and local public agencies

2 serving children and families (including organiza3 tions and agencies providing family support services

4 and protective services to children and families and

5 organizations serving families in whose homes

6 English is not the language customarily spoken), and

7 individuals, organizations, and public entities serving

8 children with disabilities, children in foster care, and

9 homeless children including the local educational

10 agency liaison designated under section

11 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As12 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii));’’;

13 (2) in subparagraph (D)—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘community’’ the first place

15 it appears and inserting ‘‘communitywide’’; and

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

17 ‘‘the State and local’’;

18 (3) in subparagraph (E)—

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘would like to participate

20 but’’ after ‘‘community who’’; and

21 (B) by striking ‘‘early childhood program’’

22 and inserting ‘‘early childhood education and

23 care program’’;

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

25 the existing delivery systems of such services (existing
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1 as of the date of the allocation decision) and’’ after

2 ‘‘manner that will’’; and

3 (5) in subparagraph (H), by inserting ‘‘, includ4 ing the local educational agency liaison designated

5 under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento

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

7 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)),’’ after ‘‘community involved’’.

8 (e) VEHICLE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 640(i)

9 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(i)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘(i)(1)’’;

11 (2) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by add12 ing at the end the following: ‘‘The regulations shall

13 also establish requirements to ensure the appropriate

14 supervision of, and appropriate background checks

15 for, individuals with whom the agencies contract to

16 transport those children.’’; and

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

18 ‘‘(2)(A) Section 1310.12(a) of title 45, Code of Federal

19 Regulations, shall take effect 30 days after the date of enact20 ment of this Act.

21 ‘‘(B)(i) Not later than 60 days after the National

22 Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the Department

23 of Transportation submits its study on occupant protection

24 on Head Start transit vehicles (related to Government Ac25 countability Office report GAO–06–767R), the Secretary of
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1 Health and Human Services shall review and shall revise

2 as necessary the allowable alternate vehicle standards de3 scribed in part 1310 of that title (or any corresponding

4 similar regulation or ruling) relating to allowable alternate

5 vehicles used to transport children for a Head Start pro6 gram. In making any such revision, the Secretary shall re7 vise the standards to be consistent with the findings con8 tained in such study, including making a determination

9 on the exemption of such a vehicle from Federal seat spacing

10 requirements, and Federal supporting seating requirements

11 related to compartmentalization, if such vehicle meets all

12 other applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards, in13 cluding standards for seating systems, occupant crash pro14 tection, seat belt assemblies, and child restraint anchorage

15 systems consistent with that part 1310 (or any cor16 responding similar regulation or ruling).

17 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), until such

18 date as the Secretary of Health and Human Services com19 pletes the review and any necessary revision specified in

20 clause (i), the provisions of section 1310.12(a) of that title

21 relating to Federal seat spacing requirements, and Federal

22 supporting seating requirements related to

23 compartmentalization, for allowable alternate vehicles used

24 to transport children for a Head Start program, shall not

25 apply to such a vehicle if such vehicle meets all other appli-
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1 cable Federal motor vehicle safety standards, as described

2 in clause (i).’’.

3 (f) 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

15 ensure—

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

25 ensure the protection of the confidentiality of any person-
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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 (g) 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 pri19 ority 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 de23 scribed in section 641A(a)(1) and shall establish

24 results-based school readiness goals that are

25 aligned with the Head Start Child Outcomes

26 Framework, State early learning standards (as
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1 appropriate), and requirements and expectations

2 for local public schools; and

3 ‘‘(B) have a governing body—

4 ‘‘(i) with legal and fiscal responsibility

5 for administering and overseeing programs

6 under this subchapter;

7 ‘‘(ii) that fully participates in the de8 velopment, planning, and evaluation of the

9 programs to ensure the operation of pro10 grams of high quality;

11 ‘‘(iii) that is responsible for ensuring

12 compliance with Federal laws and regula13 tions, including the performance standards

14 described in section 641A(a)(1), as well as

15 applicable State, tribal, and local laws and

16 regulations, including laws defining the na17 ture and operations of the governing body;

18 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 Direc-
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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 chil-
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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

25 (including any delegate agency) that is high per-
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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, including proce-
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1 dures to identify such children, procedures for referral

2 of such children for evaluation to State and local

3 agencies providing services under section 619 or part

4 C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

5 (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq), and plans for collabo6 ration with those State and local agencies;

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

8 assist younger siblings of children who will partici9 pate in the Head Start program, to obtain health

10 services from other sources;

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

12 with other entities providing early childhood edu13 cation and care in the community;

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

15 needs of homeless children and children in foster care,

16 including the transportation needs of such children;

17 and

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

19 retain qualified staff.

20 ‘‘(f) INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS AND AREA RESI21 DENTS.—The Secretary shall continue the practice of in22 volving parents and area residents who are affected by pro23 grams under this subchapter in the selection of qualified

24 applicants for designation as Head Start agencies.
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1 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY.—In selecting from among qualified

2 applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the Sec3 retary shall give priority to applicants that have dem4 onstrated capacity in providing effective, comprehensive,

5 and well-coordinated early childhood education and care to

6 children and their families.

7 ‘‘(h) INTERIM BASIS.—If there is not a qualified ap8 plicant in a community for designation as a Head Start

9 agency, the Secretary shall designate a qualified agency to

10 carry out the Head Start program in the community on

11 an interim basis until a qualified applicant from the com12 munity is so designated.

13 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION AGAINST NON-INDIAN HEAD START

14 AGENCY RECEIVING A GRANT FOR AN INDIAN HEAD START

15 PROGRAM.—

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

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

18 under no condition may a non-Indian Head Start

19 agency receive a grant to carry out an Indian Head

20 Start program.

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

22 there is no Indian Head Start agency available for

23 designation to carry out an Indian Head Start pro24 gram, a non-Indian Head Start agency may receive

25 a grant to carry out an Indian Head Start program
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1 but only until such time as an Indian Head Start

2 agency in such community becomes available and is

3 designated pursuant to this section.’’.

4 SEC. 8. QUALITY STANDARDS; MONITORING OF HEAD

5 START AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS.

6 Section 641A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a)

7 is amended—

8 (1) in subsection (a)—

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

10 ‘‘642(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘642(c)’’;

11 (B) in paragraph (1)(B)—

12 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘education

13 performance standards’’ and inserting ‘‘edu14 cational performance standards’’; and

15 (ii) by striking clause (ii) and insert16 ing the following:

17 ‘‘(ii) additional educational standards

18 based on the recommendations of the National

19 Academy of Sciences panel described in section

20 649(h) and other experts in the field, to ensure

21 that the curriculum involved addresses, and that

22 the children participating in the program show

23 appropriate progress toward developing and ap24 plying, the recommended educational outcomes,
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1 after the panel considers the appropriateness of

2 additional educational standards relating to—

3 ‘‘(I) language skills related to listening,

4 understanding, speaking, and commu5 nicating;

6 ‘‘(II) pre-literacy knowledge and skills;

7 ‘‘(III) premathematics knowledge and

8 skills;

9 ‘‘(IV) scientific abilities;

10 ‘‘(V) general cognitive abilities related

11 to academic achievement and child develop12 ment;

13 ‘‘(VI) social and emotional develop14 ment related to early learning and school

15 success;

16 ‘‘(VII) physical development; and

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

18 proficient children, progress toward acquisi19 tion of the English language (which may

20 include progress made with linguistically

21 appropriate instructional services) while

22 making meaningful progress in attaining

23 the knowledge, skills, abilities, and develop24 ment described in subclauses (I) through

25 (VII);’’;
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1 (C) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking

2 ‘‘projects; and’’ and inserting ‘‘projects, includ3 ing regulations that require that the facilities

4 used by Head Start agencies (including Early

5 Head Start agencies and including any delegate

6 agencies) for regularly scheduled center-based

7 and combination program option classroom

8 activities—

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

10 and local requirements concerning licensing

11 for such facilities; and

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

13 local authorities for purposes of monitoring

14 and ensuring compliance; and’’;

15 (D) in paragraph (2)—

16 (i) in subparagraph (B)—

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

18 date of enactment of this section’’ and

19 inserting ‘‘the date of enactment of the

20 Head Start for School Readiness Act’’;

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

22 ‘‘the date of enactment of this Act’’ and

23 inserting ‘‘the date of enactment of the

24 Head Start for School Readiness Act’’;

25 (III) in clause (iii)—
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1 (aa) by striking ‘‘early child2 hood education and development’’

3 and inserting ‘‘early childhood

4 education and care’’; and

5 (bb) by inserting ‘‘homeless

6 children, children in foster care,’’

7 after ‘‘children with disabilities,’’;

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

9 ‘‘including the language’’ and all that

10 follows and inserting ‘‘and the lan11 guage background and family structure

12 of such children, and changes in the

13 population and number of such chil14 dren who are in foster care or are

15 homeless children’’;

16 (V) by striking clause (vii) and

17 inserting the following:

18 ‘‘(vii) the need for Head Start agencies

19 to maintain close and frequent communica20 tions with parents, including conducting

21 periodic meetings to discuss the progress of

22 individual children in Head Start pro23 grams; and

24 ‘‘(viii) the unique challenges faced by

25 individual programs, including those pro-
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1 grams that are seasonal or short term and

2 those programs that serve rural popu3 lations;’’;

4 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik5 ing ‘‘the date of enactment of the Coats

6 Human Services Reauthorization Act of

7 1998.’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of enactment

8 of the Head Start for School Readiness Act;

9 and’’; and

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing:

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

13 Indian and Alaska Native experts in early child14 hood education and care, linguists, and the Na15 tional Indian Head Start Directors Association

16 on the review and promulgation of standards

17 under this subchapter (including standards for

18 language acquisition and school readiness).’’;

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

20 ‘‘(4) EVALUATIONS AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

21 FOR DELEGATE AGENCIES.—

22 ‘‘(A) PROCEDURES.—

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

24 (ii), the Head Start agency shall establish
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1 procedures relating to its delegate agencies,

2 including—

3 ‘‘(I) procedures for evaluating del4 egate agencies;

5 ‘‘(II) procedures for defunding

6 delegate agencies; and

7 ‘‘(III) procedures for appealing a

8 defunding decision relating to a dele9 gate agency.

10 ‘‘(ii) TERMINATION.—The Head Start

11 agency may not terminate a delegate agen12 cy’s contract or reduce a delegate agency’s

13 service area without showing cause or dem14 onstrating the cost-effectiveness of such a de15 cision.

16 ‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS.—Each Head Start

17 agency—

18 ‘‘(i) shall evaluate its delegate agencies

19 using the procedures established pursuant to

20 this section, including subparagraph (A);

21 and

22 ‘‘(ii) shall inform the delegate agencies

23 of the deficiencies identified through the

24 evaluation that shall be corrected.
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1 ‘‘(C) REMEDIES TO ENSURE CORRECTIVE

2 ACTIONS.—In the event that the Head Start

3 agency identifies a deficiency for a delegate

4 agency through the evaluation, the Head Start

5 agency shall take action, which may include—

6 ‘‘(i) initiating procedures to terminate

7 the designation of the agency unless the

8 agency corrects the deficiency;

9 ‘‘(ii) conducting monthly monitoring

10 visits to such delegate agency until all defi11 ciencies are corrected or the Head Start

12 agency decides to defund such delegate agen13 cy; and

14 ‘‘(iii) releasing funds to such delegate

15 agency—

16 ‘‘(I) only as reimbursements, until

17 all deficiencies are corrected or the

18 Head Start agency decides to defund

19 such delegate agency; and

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

21 services for children and families.

22 ‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

23 this paragraph shall be construed to impact or

24 obviate the responsibilities of the Secretary with

25 respect to Head Start agencies (including any
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1 delegate agencies) receiving funding under this

2 subchapter.’’;

3 (2) in subsection (b)—

4 (A) in paragraph (2)—

5 (i) by striking the paragraph heading

6 and inserting the following:

7 ‘‘(2) CHARACTERISTICS AND USE OF MEAS8 URES.—’’;

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

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

11 inserting a semicolon;

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

13 the period and inserting a semicolon;

14 (iv) by striking the flush matter fol15 lowing subparagraph (C); and

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

17 ‘‘(D) measure characteristics that are

18 strongly predictive (as determined on a scientific

19 basis) of a child’s school readiness and later per20 formance in school;

21 ‘‘(E) be appropriate for the population

22 served; and

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

24 years, based on advances in the science of early

25 childhood development.
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1 The performance measures shall be issued by regula2 tion and shall include the performance standards and

3 additional educational standards described in sub4 paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1).’’;

5 (B) in paragraph (3)—

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

7 and’’ and inserting a semicolon;

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

9 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(C) to enable Head Start agencies to indi13 vidualize programs of instruction to better meet

14 the needs of the child involved.’’;

15 (C) by striking paragraph (4);

16 (D) by redesignating paragraph (5) as

17 paragraph (4); and

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

19 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

20 subchapter shall be construed to authorize or permit

21 the Secretary or any employee or contractor of the

22 Department of Health and Human Services to man23 date, direct, control, or suggest the selection of a cur24 riculum, a program of instruction, or instructional

25 materials, for a Head Start program.’’;
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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 for

6 health and safety reasons, as appropriate.’’;

7 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (D)

8 as subparagraph (E); and

9 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph

10 (C) the following:

11 ‘‘(D) Followup reviews, including—

12 ‘‘(i) prompt return visits as necessary

13 for failure to meet 1 or more of the perform14 ance measures developed by the Secretary

15 under subsection (b);

16 ‘‘(ii) a review of agencies and pro17 grams with citations that include findings

18 of deficiencies not later than 6 months after

19 the date of such citation; and

20 ‘‘(iii) followup reviews that incorporate

21 a monitoring visit without prior notice of

22 the visit to the agency or program involved

23 or with such limited prior notice as is nec24 essary to ensure the participation of parents

25 and key staff members.’’; and
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1 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF REVIEWS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en5 sure that reviews described in paragraph (1)—

6 ‘‘(i) are performed, to the maximum

7 extent practicable, by employees of the De8 partment of Health and Human Services

9 who are knowledgeable about Head Start

10 programs;

11 ‘‘(ii) are conducted by review teams

12 that shall include individuals who are

13 knowledgeable about Head Start programs

14 and other early childhood education and

15 care and, to the maximum extent prac16 ticable, the diverse (including linguistic and

17 cultural) needs of eligible children (includ18 ing children with disabilities, homeless chil19 dren, and children in foster care) and lim20 ited English proficient children and their

21 families, and personnel management, finan22 cial accountability, and systems develop23 ment and monitoring;

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

25 the programs, a review and assessment of
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1 program effectiveness, including strengths

2 and weaknesses, as measured in accordance

3 with the results-based performance measures

4 developed by the Secretary pursuant to sub5 section (b) and with the performance stand6 ards established pursuant to subsection

7 (a)(1);

8 ‘‘(iv) seek information from the com9 munities and States where Head Start pro10 grams exist about innovative or effective col11 laborative efforts, barriers to collaboration,

12 and the efforts of the Head Start agencies to

13 collaborate with the entities providing early

14 childhood education and care in the commu15 nity;

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

17 the programs, a review and assessment of

18 whether the programs are in conformity

19 with the income eligibility requirements

20 under section 645 and regulations promul21 gated under such section;

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

23 the programs, a review and assessment of

24 whether programs have adequately ad25 dressed population and community needs
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1 (including needs of populations of limited

2 English proficient children and children of

3 migrant or seasonal farmworkers);

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

5 the programs, a review and assessment of

6 whether programs have adequately ad7 dressed the needs of children with disabil8 ities, including whether the agencies in9 volved have met the 10 percent minimum

10 enrollment requirement specified in section

11 640(d) and whether the agencies have made

12 sufficient efforts to collaborate with State

13 and local agencies providing services under

14 section 619 or part C of the Individuals

15 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.

16 1419, 1431 et seq.);

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 re-
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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 performance standards described

21 in subsection (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, pol-
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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

24 agency is small enough that under-enroll25 ment does not constitute a significant short-
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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 performance standards described

3 in section 641A(a)(1), as evidenced by suc4 cessful completion of programmatic and

5 monitoring reviews, and has no findings of

6 deficiencies with respect to such standards;

7 ‘‘(iii) evidence that the program is

8 making progress toward meeting the re9 quirements described in section 648A;

10 ‘‘(iv) evidence demonstrating the exist11 ence of a collaborative partnership among

12 the Head Start agency, the State (or a

13 State agency), and other providers of early

14 childhood education and care in the local

15 community involved;

16 ‘‘(v) a nomination letter from the Gov17 ernor, or appropriate regional office, dem18 onstrating the agency’s ability to provide

19 the coordination, transition, and training

20 services of the program to be carried out

21 under the bonus grant involved, including

22 coordination of activities with State and

23 local agencies that provide early childhood

24 education and care to children and families

25 in the community served by the agency;
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1 ‘‘(vi) information demonstrating the

2 existence of a local council for excellence in

3 early childhood, which shall include rep4 resentatives of all the institutions, agencies,

5 and groups involved in the work of the cen6 ter for, and the local provision of services

7 to, eligible children and other at-risk chil8 dren, and their families; and

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

10 in order to expand accessibility and con11 tinuity of quality early childhood education

12 and care, will coordinate activities assisted

13 under this section with—

14 ‘‘(I) programs carried out under

15 the Child Care and Development Block

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

17 seq.);

18 ‘‘(II) other programs carried out

19 under this subchapter, including the

20 Early Head Start programs carried

21 out under section 645A;

22 ‘‘(III)(aa) Early Reading First

23 and Even Start programs carried out

24 under subparts 2 and 3 of part B of

25 title I of the Elementary and Sec-
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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 under

11 section 619 and part C of the Individ12 uals with Disabilities Education Act

13 (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);

14 ‘‘(V) State prekindergarten pro15 grams; and

16 ‘‘(VI) other programs of early

17 childhood education and care.

18 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—In selecting agencies to des19 ignate as centers of excellence under subsection (b),

20 the Secretary shall designate not less than 1 from

21 each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, an In22 dian Head Start program, a migrant or seasonal

23 Head Start program, and the Commonwealth of

24 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 the

6 same geographic region. The Secretary may also con7 sider the populations served by the applicants, such

8 as programs that serve large proportions of families

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

11 programs that do an exceptional job meeting the needs

12 of children in such populations.

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 designation,

18 subject to the availability of appropriations, the

19 agency shall be eligible to receive a bonus grant

20 under subsection (b).

21 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—The Secretary may re22 voke an agency’s designation under subsection

23 (b) if the Secretary determines that the agency is

24 not demonstrating adequate performance or has
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1 had findings of deficiencies described in para2 graph (1)(B)(ii).

3 ‘‘(5) AMOUNT OF BONUS GRANT.—The Secretary

4 shall base the amount of funding provided through a

5 bonus grant made under subsection (b) to a center of

6 excellence on the number of children eligible for Head

7 Start services in the community involved. The Sec8 retary shall, subject to the availability of funding,

9 make such a bonus grant in an amount of not less

10 than $200,000 per year.

11 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—

12 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES.—A center of excellence that re13 ceives 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 in17 volved, best practices for achieving early aca18 demic success, including—

19 ‘‘(i) best practices for achieving school

20 readiness and developing pre-literacy and

21 premathematics skills for at-risk children

22 and achieving the acquisition of the English

23 language for limited English proficient chil24 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,

24 and other providers of early childhood edu-
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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 performance standards described in

13 section 641A(a)(1)), and other providers of early

14 childhood education and care in the community in15 volved, to encourage the agencies and providers de16 scribed in this paragraph to carry out model pro17 grams.

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 orga-
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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, includ-
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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) establish effective procedures for timely re9 ferral of children with disabilities to State and local

10 agencies providing services under section 619 and

11 part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education

12 Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.), and collaboration

13 with those agencies;

14 ‘‘(6) establish effective procedures for providing

15 necessary services to children with disabilities prior

16 to an eligibility determination by the State or local

17 agency responsible for providing services under sec18 tion 619 or part C of such Act;

19 ‘‘(7) require each delegate agency to create a pol20 icy committee, which shall—

21 ‘‘(A) be comprised of members of the com22 munity to be served, including parents of chil23 dren who are currently enrolled in the Head

24 Start programs of the Head Start agency; and
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1 ‘‘(B) serve in an advisory capacity to the

2 delegate agency, to make decisions and rec3 ommendations regarding program planning and

4 operation and parental involvement.

5 ‘‘(8) seek the involvement of parents, area resi6 dents, and local business in the design and implemen7 tation of the program;

8 ‘‘(9) provide for the regular participation of par9 ents and area residents in the implementation of the

10 program;

11 ‘‘(10) provide technical and other support needed

12 to enable such parents and area residents to secure,

13 on their own behalf, available assistance from public

14 and private sources;

15 ‘‘(11) establish effective procedures to carry out

16 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 641(f)(8);

17 ‘‘(12) conduct outreach to schools in which Head

18 Start children will enroll, local educational agencies,

19 the local business community, community-based orga20 nizations, faith-based organizations, museums, and li21 braries to generate support and leverage the resources

22 of the entire local community in order to improve

23 school readiness;

24 ‘‘(13) establish effective procedures to carry out

25 section 641(f)(8)(C);
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1 ‘‘(14) establish effective procedures to carry out

2 section 641(f)(8)(D);

3 ‘‘(15) establish effective procedures to carry out

4 section 641(f)(8)(E);

5 ‘‘(16) establish effective procedures to carry out

6 section 641(f)(8)(F);

7 ‘‘(17) consider providing services to assist young8 er siblings of children participating in its Head Start

9 program, to obtain health services from other sources;

10 ‘‘(18) perform community outreach to encourage

11 individuals previously unaffiliated with Head Start

12 programs to participate in its Head Start program

13 as volunteers;

14 ‘‘(19)(A) inform custodial parents in single-par15 ent families that participate in programs, activities,

16 or services carried out or provided under this sub17 chapter about the availability of child support serv18 ices for purposes of establishing paternity and acquir19 ing child support; and

20 ‘‘(B) refer eligible parents to the child support

21 offices of State and local governments;

22 ‘‘(20) provide parents of limited English pro23 ficient children outreach and information in an un24 derstandable and uniform format and, to the extent
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1 practicable, in a language that the parents can un2 derstand; and

3 ‘‘(21) at the option of such agency, partner with

4 an institution of higher education and a nonprofit or5 ganization to provide college students with the oppor6 tunity to serve as mentors or reading partners to

7 Head Start participants.

8 ‘‘(c) TRANSITION ACTIVITIES TO FACILITATE CONTIN9 UED PROGRESS.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Head Start agency

11 shall collaborate with the entities listed in this sub12 section, to the maximum extent possible, to ensure the

13 successful transition of Head Start children to school,

14 so that such children are able to build upon the devel15 opmental and educational gains achieved in Head

16 Start programs in further schooling.

17 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—

18 ‘‘(A) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—In

19 communities where both public prekindergarten

20 programs and Head Start programs operate, a

21 Head Start agency shall collaborate and coordi22 nate activities with the local educational agency

23 or other public agency responsible for the oper24 ation of the prekindergarten program and pro-
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1 viders of prekindergarten, including outreach ac2 tivities to identify eligible children.

3 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.—Head Start

4 staff shall, with the permission of the parents of

5 children enrolled in Head Start programs, regu6 larly communicate with the elementary schools

7 such children will be attending to—

8 ‘‘(i) share information about such chil9 dren;

10 ‘‘(ii) collaborate with the teachers in

11 such elementary schools regarding teaching

12 strategies and options; and

13 ‘‘(iii) ensure a smooth transition to el14 ementary school for such children.

15 ‘‘(C) OTHER PROGRAMS.—The head of each

16 Head Start agency shall coordinate activities

17 and collaborate with the State agency responsible

18 for administering the State program carried out

19 under the Child Care and Development Block

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

21 entities providing early childhood education and

22 care, and the agencies responsible for admin23 istering section 106 of the Child Abuse Preven24 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a),

25 parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security
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1 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.), pro2 grams under subtitle B of title VII of the McKin3 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

4 11431 et seq.), Even Start programs under sub5 part 3 of part B of title I of the Elementary and

6 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

7 6381 et seq.), and programs under section 619

8 and part C of the Individuals with Disabilities

9 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.),

10 serving the children and families served by the

11 Head Start agency.

12 ‘‘(3) COLLABORATION.—A Head Start agency

13 shall take steps to coordinate activities with the local

14 educational agency serving the community involved

15 and with schools in which children participating in

16 a Head Start program operated by such agency will

17 enroll following such program, including—

18 ‘‘(A) collaborating on the shared use of

19 transportation and facilities, in appropriate

20 cases;

21 ‘‘(B) collaborating to reduce the duplication

22 of services while increasing the program partici23 pation of underserved populations of eligible

24 children; and
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1 ‘‘(C) exchanging information on the provi2 sion of noneducational services to such children.

3 ‘‘(4) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.—In order to pro4 mote the continued involvement of the parents of chil5 dren that participate in Head Start programs in the

6 education of their children, the Head Start agency

7 shall—

8 ‘‘(A) provide training to the parents—

9 ‘‘(i) to inform the parents about their

10 rights and responsibilities concerning the

11 education of their children; and

12 ‘‘(ii) to enable the parents, upon the

13 transition of their children to school—

14 ‘‘(I) to understand and work with

15 schools in order to communicate with

16 teachers and other school personnel;

17 ‘‘(II) to support the schoolwork of

18 their children; and

19 ‘‘(III) to participate as appro20 priate in decisions relating to the edu21 cation of their children; and

22 ‘‘(B) take other actions, as appropriate and

23 feasible, to support the active involvement of the

24 parents with schools, school personnel, and

25 school-related organizations.
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1 ‘‘(d) ASSESSMENT OR EVALUATION.—Each Head

2 Start agency shall adopt, in consultation with experts in

3 child development and with classroom teachers, an assess4 ment or evaluation to measure whether classroom teachers

5 have mastered the functions described in section 648A(a)(1)

6 and have attained a level of literacy appropriate to imple7 ment Head Start curricula.

8 ‘‘(e) FUNDED ENROLLMENT; WAITING LIST.—Each

9 Head Start agency shall enroll 100 percent of its funded

10 enrollment and maintain an active waiting list at all times

11 with ongoing outreach to the community and activities to

12 identify underserved populations.

13 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING PLAN.—

14 In order to receive funds under this subchapter, a Head

15 Start agency shall develop an annual technical assistance

16 and training plan. Such plan shall be based on the agency’s

17 self-assessment, the communitywide needs assessment, and

18 the needs of parents to be served by such agency.’’.

19 SEC. 11. HEAD START TRANSITION.

20 Section 642A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837a)

21 is amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘SEC. 642A. HEAD START TRANSITION AND ALIGNMENT

23 WITH K–12 EDUCATION.

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each Head Start agency shall

25 take steps to coordinate activities with the local educational
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1 agency serving the community involved and with schools

2 in which children participating in a Head Start program

3 operated by such agency will enroll following such program,

4 which may include—

5 ‘‘(1) developing and implementing a systematic

6 procedure for transferring, with parental consent,

7 Head Start program records for each participating

8 child to the school in which such child will enroll;

9 ‘‘(2) establishing ongoing channels of commu10 nication between Head Start staff and their counter11 parts in the schools (including, as appropriate, teach12 ers, social workers, health staff, and local educational

13 agency liaisons designated under section

14 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As15 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii))) to—

16 ‘‘(A) facilitate coordination of programs;

17 ‘‘(B) develop continuity of developmentally

18 appropriate curricular objectives and practices,

19 in order to ensure an effective transition to

20 school and appropriate shared expectations for

21 the learning and development of children as they

22 make the transition to school; and

23 ‘‘(C) provide appropriate linkages between

24 the Head Start program and educational serv25 ices, including services related to language, lit-
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1 eracy, and numeracy, provided by such local

2 educational agency;

3 ‘‘(3) establishing comprehensive transition poli4 cies and procedures that support children

5 transitioning to school, including by engaging the

6 local education agency in the establishment of such

7 policies;

8 ‘‘(4) conducting outreach to parents, elementary

9 school (such as kindergarten) teachers, and Head

10 Start teachers to discuss the educational, develop11 mental, and other needs of individual children;

12 ‘‘(5) organizing and participating in joint train13 ing, including transition-related training of school

14 staff and Head Start staff;

15 ‘‘(6) developing and implementing a family out16 reach and support program, in cooperation with enti17 ties carrying out parental involvement efforts under

18 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education

19 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), and family out20 reach and support efforts under subtitle B of title VII

21 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42

22 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.), taking into consideration the

23 language needs of parents of limited English pro24 ficient children;
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1 ‘‘(7) assisting families, administrators, and

2 teachers in enhancing educational and developmental

3 continuity and continuity of parental involvement in

4 activities between Head Start services and elementary

5 school classes;

6 ‘‘(8) helping parents understand the importance

7 of parental involvement in a child’s academic success

8 while teaching the parents strategies for maintaining

9 parental involvement as their child moves from the

10 Head Start program to elementary school;

11 ‘‘(9) helping parents understand the instruc12 tional and other services provided by the school in

13 which their child will enroll after participation in the

14 Head Start program; and

15 ‘‘(10) coordinating activities and collaborating

16 to ensure that curricula used in the Head Start pro17 gram are aligned with the Head Start Child Out18 comes Framework and, as appropriate, State early

19 learning standards, with regard to cognitive develop20 ment (including language, pre-literacy, and

21 premathematics competencies), and social, emotional,

22 and physical competencies that children entering kin23 dergarten are expected to demonstrate.

24 ‘‘(b) CONSTRUCTION.—In this section, a reference to

25 a Head Start agency, or its program, services, facility, or
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1 personnel, shall not be construed to be a reference to an

2 Early Head Start agency, or its program, services, facility,

3 or personnel.’’.

4 SEC. 12. SUBMISSION OF PLANS TO GOVERNORS.

5 Section 643 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9838)

6 is amended—

7 (1) in the first sentence—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘chief executive officer’’ and

9 inserting ‘‘Governor’’; and

10 (B) by striking ‘‘45’’ and inserting ‘‘30’’;

11 (2) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘, however,’’;

12 and

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘This sec14 tion shall not apply to contracts, agreements, grants,

15 loans, or other assistance for Indian Head Start pro16 grams and migrant and seasonal Head Start pro17 grams.’’.

18 SEC. 13. COSTS OF DEVELOPING AND ADMINISTERING A

19 PROGRAM.

20 Section 644(b) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.

21 9839(b)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) Ex23 cept’’; and

24 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(2)(A) The limitation prescribed by paragraph (1)

2 shall not prohibit a Head Start agency from expending an

3 amount in excess of allowable direct costs associated with

4 developing and administering a program assisted under

5 this subchapter, if—

6 ‘‘(i) the agency submits an application for a

7 grant year containing an assurance that—

8 ‘‘(I) the agency will serve a greater percent9 age of children in the community involved than

10 were served in the preceding grant year; and

11 ‘‘(II) the agency will not diminish services

12 provided to currently enrolled children (as of the

13 date of the application), including the number of

14 hours and days such services are provided;

15 ‘‘(ii) any such excess amount does not exceed 5

16 percent of the total costs, including the required non17 Federal contributions to such costs, of such program;

18 and

19 ‘‘(iii) in the event that the applicant applies to

20 expend any such excess amount in a subsequent grant

21 year, the applicant continues to serve the same num22 ber of children as proposed in the initial application

23 submitted under this paragraph and accomplishes,

24 relative to the prior Head Start agency, at least 3 of

25 the 5 improved outcomes.
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1 ‘‘(B) In subparagraph (A), the term ‘improved out2 come’ means—

3 ‘‘(i) an increase in average teacher salary;

4 ‘‘(ii) an increase in the number of qualified

5 teachers;

6 ‘‘(iii) a significant increase in the number of

7 children who receive full-day Head Start services;

8 ‘‘(iv) a decrease in the caseload for family work9 ers; or

10 ‘‘(v) an increase in transportation options for

11 families.

12 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall approve not more than 10

13 applications described in subparagraph (A) for a fiscal

14 year, and to the extent practicable shall ensure participa15 tion under this paragraph of a diverse group of Head Start

16 agencies, including public, private nonprofit, and for-profit

17 agencies operating Head Start programs.’’.

18 SEC. 14. PARTICIPATION IN HEAD START PROGRAMS.

19 Section 645 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840)

20 is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a)—

22 (A) in paragraph (1)—

23 (i) in subparagraph (A)—

24 (I) by inserting ‘‘130 percent of’’

25 after ‘‘below’’; and
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1 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

2 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (B)

3 as subparagraph (C);

4 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph

5 (A) the following:

6 ‘‘(B) that the Head Start agencies involved make

7 efforts to ensure that the programs serve children from

8 families with incomes below the poverty line prior to

9 serving other income-eligible children; and’’; and

10 (iv) in the flush matter at the end, by

11 adding at the end the following: ‘‘A home12 less child shall be deemed eligible for Head

13 Start services.’’; and

14 (B) by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(3)(A) In this paragraph:

16 ‘‘(i) The term ‘dependent’ has the meaning given

17 the term in paragraphs (2)(A) and (4)(A)(i) of sec18 tion 401(a) of title 37, United States Code.

19 ‘‘(ii) The terms ‘member’ and ‘uniformed serv20 ices’ have the meanings given the terms in para21 graphs (23) and (3), respectively, of section 101 of

22 title 37, United States Code.

23 ‘‘(B) The following amounts of pay and allowance of

24 a member of the uniformed services shall not be considered

25 to be income for purposes of determining the eligibility of
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1 a dependent of such member for programs funded under this

2 subchapter:

3 ‘‘(i) The amount of any special pay payable

4 under section 310 of title 37, United States Code, re5 lating to duty subject to hostile fire or imminent dan6 ger.

7 ‘‘(ii) The amount of basic allowance payable

8 under section 403 of such title, including any such

9 amount that is provided on behalf of the member for

10 housing that is acquired or constructed under the al11 ternative authority for the acquisition and improve12 ment of military housing under subchapter IV of

13 chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code, or any

14 other related provision of law.

15 ‘‘(4) After demonstrating a need through a com16 munitywide needs assessment, a Head Start agency may

17 apply to the Secretary to convert part-day sessions, particu18 larly consecutive part-day sessions, into full-day sessions.

19 ‘‘(5)(A) Consistent with a communitywide needs as20 sessment, a Head Start agency may apply to the Secretary

21 to serve additional infants and toddlers if the agency sub22 mits an application to the Secretary containing—

23 ‘‘(i) a description of how the needs of pregnant

24 women, infants, and toddlers will be addressed in ac25 cordance with section 645A(b), and with regulations
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1 prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to section 641A

2 in areas including the agency’s approach to child de3 velopment and provision of health services, approach

4 to family and community partnerships, and approach

5 to program design and management;

6 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the needs of eligible

7 Head Start children are being and will be served;

8 ‘‘(iii) assurances that the agency will participate

9 in technical assistance activities (including a plan10 ning period, start-up site visits, and national train11 ing activities) in the same manner as recipients of

12 grants under section 645A; and

13 ‘‘(iv) evidence that the agency meets the same eli14 gibility criteria as recipients of grants under section

15 645A.

16 ‘‘(B) In approving such applications, the Secretary

17 shall take into account the costs of serving persons under

18 section 645A.

19 ‘‘(C) Any Head Start agency designated under this

20 section and permitted to use grant funds under subpara21 graph (A) to serve additional infants and toddlers shall be

22 considered to be an Early Head Start agency and shall be

23 subject to the same rules, regulations, and conditions as

24 apply to recipients of grants under section 645A for those

25 grant funds.’’; and
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1 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (c), by

2 striking ‘‘(age 3 to compulsory school attendance)’’

3 and inserting ‘‘(other than children eligible for an

4 Early Head Start program)’’; and

5 (3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,

8 an Indian tribe that operates both an Early Head Start

9 program under section 645A and a Head Start program

10 may, at its discretion, at any time during the grant period

11 involved, reallocate funds between the Early Head Start

12 program and the Head Start program in order to address

13 fluctuations in client population, including pregnant

14 women and children birth to compulsory school age. The

15 reallocation of such funds between programs by an Indian

16 tribe shall not serve as the basis for the Secretary to reduce

17 a base grant (as defined in section 641A(g)(1)) for either

18 program in succeeding years.’’.

19 SEC. 15. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS.

20 Section 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a)

21 is amended—

22 (1) by striking the section heading and inserting

23 the following:

24 ‘‘SEC. 645A. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS.’’;

25 (2) in subsection (b)—
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1 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘provide

2 services to parents to support their role as par3 ents’’ and inserting ‘‘provide additional services

4 and research-based activities to parents to sup5 port their role as parents (including parenting

6 skills training and training in basic child devel7 opment)’’;

8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6),

9 (7), (8), and (9) as paragraphs (6), (8), (11),

10 (12), and (13), respectively;

11 (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol12 lowing:

13 ‘‘(5) where appropriate and in conjunction with

14 services provided under this section to the children’s

15 immediate families (or as approved by the Secretary),

16 provide home-based services to family child care

17 homes, and kin caregivers, caring for infants and tod18 dlers who also participate in Early Head Start pro19 grams, to provide continuity in supporting the chil20 dren’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical devel21 opment;’’;

22 (D) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by

23 subparagraph (B)—

24 (i) by inserting ‘‘(including home25 based services)’’ after ‘‘with services’’;
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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and homeless infants

2 and toddlers’’ after ‘‘disabilities’’; and

3 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, and family sup4 port services’’ after ‘‘health services’’;

5 (E) by inserting after paragraph (6), as re6 designated by subparagraph (B), the following:

7 ‘‘(7) ensure that children with documented be8 havioral problems, including problems involving be9 havior related to prior or existing trauma, receive ap10 propriate screening and referral;’’;

11 (F) by inserting after paragraph (8), as re12 designated by subparagraph (B), the following:

13 ‘‘(9) develop and implement a systematic proce14 dure for transitioning children and parents from an

15 Early Head Start program to a Head Start program

16 or another local program of early childhood education

17 and care;

18 ‘‘(10) establish channels of communication be19 tween staff of Early Head Start programs and staff

20 of Head Start programs or other local providers of

21 early childhood education and care, to facilitate the

22 coordination of programs;’’; and

23 (G) in paragraph (12), as redesignated by

24 subparagraph (B)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘and providers’’ and in2 serting ‘‘, providers’’; and

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and the agencies re4 sponsible for administering section 106 of

5 the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a) and parts B and E

7 of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

8 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.)’’ after

9 ‘‘(20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.)’’;

10 (3) in subsection (d)—

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, in12 cluding tribal governments and entities oper13 ating migrant and seasonal Head Start pro14 grams’’ after ‘‘subchapter’’; and

15 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, in16 cluding community-based organizations’’ after

17 ‘‘private entities’’;

18 (4) in subsection (g)(2)—

19 (A) in subparagraph (A), by adding at the

20 end the following: ‘‘In determining the amount

21 so reserved, the Secretary shall consider the num22 ber of Early Head Start programs newly funded

23 for that fiscal year.’’; and

24 (B) in subparagraph (B)—
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1 (i) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘, in2 cluding supporting infant and toddler spe3 cialists to assist such staff and improve the

4 programs carried out under this section’’

5 after ‘‘section’’; and

6 (ii) by striking clause (iv) and insert7 ing the following:

8 ‘‘(iv) providing professional develop9 ment and personnel enhancement activities,

10 including the provision of funds to recipi11 ents of grants under subsection (a), relating

12 to—

13 ‘‘(I) effective methods of con14 ducting parent education, home vis15 iting, and promoting quality early

16 childhood development;

17 ‘‘(II) recruiting and retaining

18 qualified staff; and

19 ‘‘(III) increasing program par20 ticipation for underserved populations

21 of eligible children.’’; and

22 (5) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(h) STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT.—

24 ‘‘(1) CENTER-BASED STAFF.—The Secretary

25 shall establish staff qualification goals to ensure that,
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1 not later than September 30, 2012, all teachers pro2 viding direct services to Early Head Start children

3 and families in Early Head Start centers have a

4 minimum of a child development associate credential

5 or an associate degree, and have been trained (or have

6 equivalent course work) in early childhood develop7 ment with a focus on infant and toddler development.

8 ‘‘(2) HOME VISITOR STAFF.—

9 ‘‘(A) STANDARDS.—In order to further en10 hance the quality of home visiting services pro11 vided to families of children participating in

12 home-based, center-based, or combination pro13 gram options under this subchapter, the Sec14 retary shall establish standards for training,

15 qualifications, and the conduct of home visits for

16 home visitor staff in Early Head Start pro17 grams.

18 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The standards for train19 ing, qualifications, and the conduct of home vis20 its shall include content related to—

21 ‘‘(i) structured child-focused home vis22 iting that promotes parents’ ability to sup23 port the child’s cognitive, social, emotional,

24 and physical development;
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1 ‘‘(ii) effective strengths-based parent

2 education, including methods to encourage

3 parents as their child’s first teachers;

4 ‘‘(iii) early childhood development with

5 respect to children from birth through age 3;

6 ‘‘(iv) methods to help parents promote

7 emergent literacy in their children from

8 birth through age 3, including use of re9 search-based strategies to support the devel10 opment of literacy and language skills for

11 children who are limited English proficient;

12 ‘‘(v) health, vision, hearing, and devel13 opmental screenings;

14 ‘‘(vi) strategies for helping families

15 coping with crisis; and

16 ‘‘(vii) the relationship of health and

17 well-being of pregnant women to prenatal

18 and early child development.’’.

19 SEC. 16. APPEALS, NOTICE, AND HEARING AND RECORDS

20 AND FINANCIAL AUDITS.

21 (a) APPEALS, NOTICE, AND HEARING.—Section 646(a)

22 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9841(a)) is amended by

23 striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and inserting the following:

24 ‘‘(3) financial assistance under this subchapter

25 may be terminated or reduced, and an application for
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1 refunding may be denied, after the recipient has been

2 afforded reasonable notice and opportunity for a full

3 and fair hearing, including—

4 ‘‘(A) a right to file a notice of appeal of a

5 decision not later than 30 days after notice of

6 the decision from the Secretary; and

7 ‘‘(B) access to a full and fair hearing of the

8 appeal, not later than 120 days after receipt by

9 the Secretary of the notice of appeal;

10 ‘‘(4) the Secretary shall develop and publish pro11 cedures (including mediation procedures) to be used

12 in order to—

13 ‘‘(A) resolve in a timely manner conflicts

14 potentially leading to an adverse action

15 between—

16 ‘‘(i) recipients of financial assistance

17 under this subchapter; and

18 ‘‘(ii) delegate agencies, or policy coun19 cils of Head Start agencies;

20 ‘‘(B) avoid the need for an administrative

21 hearing on an adverse action; and

22 ‘‘(C) prohibit a Head Start agency from ex23 pending financial assistance awarded under this

24 subchapter for the purpose of paying legal fees

25 pursuant to an appeal under paragraph (3), ex-
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1 cept that such fees shall be reimbursed by the

2 Secretary if the agency prevails in such decision;

3 and

4 ‘‘(5) the Secretary may suspend funds to a

5 grantee under this subchapter—

6 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph

7 (B), for not more than 30 days; or

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grantee under this sub9 chapter that has multiple and recurring defi10 ciencies for 180 days or more and has not made

11 substantial and significant progress toward

12 meeting the goals of the grantee’s quality im13 provement plan or eliminating all deficiencies

14 identified by the Secretary, during the hearing of

15 an appeal described in paragraph (3), for any

16 amount of time, including permanently.’’.

17 (b) RECORDS AND FINANCIAL AUDITS.—

18 (1) HEADING.—Section 647 of the Head Start

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) is amended by striking the sec20 tion heading and inserting the following: ‘‘RECORDS

21 AND FINANCIAL AUDITS’’.

22 (2) RECIPIENTS.—Section 647(a) of the Head

23 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842(a)) is amended by striking

24 ‘‘Each recipient of’’ and inserting ‘‘Each Head Start
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1 center, including each Early Head Start center, re2 ceiving’’.

3 (3) FINANCIAL AUDITS.—Subsections (a) and (b)

4 of section 647 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842)

5 are amended by striking ‘‘audit’’ and inserting ‘‘fi6 nancial audit’’.

7 (4) ACCOUNTING.—Section 647 of the Head

8 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) is amended by adding at

9 the end the following:

10 ‘‘(c) Each Head Start center, including each Early

11 Head Start center, receiving financial assistance under this

12 subchapter shall maintain, and annually submit to the Sec13 retary, a complete accounting of its administrative ex14 penses, including expenses for salaries and compensation

15 funded under this subchapter and provide such additional

16 documentation as the Secretary may require.’’.

17 SEC. 17. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.

18 Section 648 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843)

19 is amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘(b) and

21 (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘(b), (c), and (d)’’;

22 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e)

23 as subsections (c) through (f), respectively;

24 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol25 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall make available funds set aside

2 in section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) to support a State system of

3 training and technical assistance (which may include such

4 a system for a consortium of States within a region) that

5 improves the capacity of Head Start programs to deliver

6 services in accordance with the standards described in sec7 tion 641A(a)(1), with particular attention to the standards

8 described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such section. The

9 Secretary shall—

10 ‘‘(1) ensure that agencies with demonstrated ex11 pertise in providing high-quality training and tech12 nical assistance to improve the delivery of Head Start

13 services, including the State Head Start Associations,

14 State agencies, Indian Head Start agencies, migrant

15 and seasonal Head Start agencies, and other entities

16 providing training and technical assistance in early

17 childhood education and care, for the State (including

18 such a consortium of States within a region), are in19 cluded in the planning and coordination of the sys20 tem; and

21 ‘‘(2) encourage States (including such consortia)

22 to supplement the funds authorized in section

23 640(a)(2)(C)(ii) with Federal, State, or local funds

24 other than funds made available under this sub25 chapter, to expand training and technical assistance
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1 activities beyond Head Start agencies to include other

2 providers of other early childhood education and care

3 within a State (including such a consortium).’’;

4 (4) in paragraph (3) of subsection (c), as redes5 ignated by paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘child care and

6 early childhood programs’’ and inserting ‘‘early child7 hood education and care programs’’;

8 (5) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para9 graph (2)—

10 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking

11 ‘‘educational performance measures’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘measures’’;

13 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and for

14 activities described in section 1222(d) of the Ele15 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

16 (20 U.S.C. 6372(d))’’ after ‘‘children with dis17 abilities’’;

18 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘early

19 childhood professional development systems’’ and

20 inserting ‘‘professional development systems re21 garding early childhood education and care’’;

22 (D) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, in23 cluding assessing the needs of homeless children

24 and their families’’ after ‘‘needs assessment’’;
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1 (E) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(7) assist Head Start agencies in better serving

4 the needs of families with very young children, in5 cluding providing support and program planning

6 and implementation assistance for Head Start agen7 cies that apply to serve or are serving additional in8 fants and toddlers with funds previously used for 3-

9 and 4-year-olds in accordance with section

10 645(a)(5);’’;

11 (F) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘; and’’

12 and inserting a semicolon;

13 (G) in paragraph (11), by striking the pe14 riod and inserting a semicolon; and

15 (H) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(12) assist Head Start agencies in increasing

17 the program participation of homeless children;

18 ‘‘(13) provide training and technical assistance

19 to members of governing bodies, policy councils, and,

20 as appropriate, policy committees, to ensure that the

21 members can fulfill their functions;

22 ‘‘(14) provide training and technical assistance

23 to Head Start agencies to assist such agencies in con24 ducting self-assessments;
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1 ‘‘(15) assist Head Start agencies in improving

2 outreach to, and the quality of services available to,

3 families of limited English proficient children, in4 cluding such services to help such families learn

5 English, particularly in communities that have expe6 rienced a large percentage increase in the population

7 of such families;

8 ‘‘(16) assist Head Start agencies and improve

9 programs to increase the capacity of classroom staff

10 to meet the needs of children with disabilities in Head

11 Start classrooms;

12 ‘‘(17) provide activities that help ensure that

13 Head Start programs have qualified staff who can

14 promote prevention of childhood obesity by inte15 grating into the programs developmentally appro16 priate research-based initiatives that stress the impor17 tance of physical activity and nutrition choices made

18 by children and family, through daily classroom and

19 family routines; and

20 ‘‘(18) assist Indian Head Start agencies to pro21 vide on-site and off-site training to staff, using ap22 proaches that identify and enhance the positive re23 sources and strengths of Indian children and families,

24 to improve parent and family engagement and staff
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1 development, particularly with regard to child and

2 family development.’’;

3 (6) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para4 graph (2), by inserting ‘‘including community-based

5 organizations,’’ after ‘‘nonprofit entities,’’;

6 (7) in subsection (f), as redesignated by para7 graph (2)—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘early childhood develop9 ment and child care programs’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘early childhood education and care programs’’;

11 and

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘or providing services to

13 children determined to be abused or neglected,

14 training for personnel providing services to chil15 dren referred by entities providing child welfare

16 services or receiving child welfare services,’’ after

17 ‘‘English language)’’; and

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

19 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or

20 through grants or other arrangements, funds for training

21 of Head Start personnel in addressing the unique needs of

22 children with disabilities and their families, migrant and

23 seasonal farmworker families, families of children with lim24 ited 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 and

3 technical assistance in order to have a positive and lasting

4 impact on classroom instruction. Funds shall be used to

5 carry out activities related to 1 or more of the following:

6 ‘‘(1) Education and early childhood development.

7 ‘‘(2) Child health, nutrition, and safety.

8 ‘‘(3) Family and community partnerships.

9 ‘‘(4) Other areas that impact the quality or over10 all effectiveness of Head Start programs.

11 ‘‘(i) Funds used under this section for training shall

12 be used for needs identified annually by a grant applicant

13 (including any delegate agency) in its program improve14 ment plan, except that funds shall not be used for long-dis15 tance travel expenses for training activities—

16 ‘‘(1) available locally or regionally; or

17 ‘‘(2) substantially similar to locally or regionally

18 available training activities.

19 ‘‘(j)(1) To support local efforts to enhance early lan20 guage and preliteracy development of children in Head

21 Start programs, and to provide the children with high-qual22 ity oral language skills, and environments that are rich in

23 literature, in which to acquire language and preliteracy

24 skills, each Head Start agency, in coordination with the

25 appropriate State office and the relevant State Head Start
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1 collaboration office, shall ensure that all of the agency’s

2 Head Start teachers receive ongoing training in language

3 and emergent literacy (referred to in this subsection as ‘lit4 eracy training’), including appropriate curricula and as5 sessments to improve instruction and learning. Such train6 ing shall include training in methods to promote phono7 logical awareness (including phonemic awareness) and vo8 cabulary development in an age-appropriate and culturally

9 and linguistically appropriate manner.

10 ‘‘(2) The literacy training shall be provided at the local

11 level in order—

12 ‘‘(A) to be provided, to the extent feasible, in the

13 context of the Head Start programs of the State in14 volved and the children the program involved serves;

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) to be tailored to the early childhood literacy

17 background and experience of the teachers involved.

18 ‘‘(3) The literacy training shall be culturally and lin19 guistically appropriate and support children’s development

20 in their home language.

21 ‘‘(4) The literacy training shall include training in

22 how to work with parents to enhance positive language and

23 early literacy development at home.
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1 ‘‘(5) The literacy training shall include specific meth2 ods to best address the needs of children who are limited

3 English proficient.

4 ‘‘(6) The literacy training shall include training on

5 how to best address the language and literacy needs of chil6 dren with disabilities, including training on how to work

7 with specialists in language development.’’.

8 SEC. 18. STAFF QUALIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT.

9 Section 648A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a)

10 is amended—

11 (1) in subsection (a)—

12 (A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting

13 the following:

14 ‘‘(2) DEGREE REQUIREMENTS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es16 tablish staff qualification goals to ensure that—

17 ‘‘(i) not later than September 30, 2012,

18 all Head Start teachers nationwide in cen19 ter-based programs have at least—

20 ‘‘(I)(aa) an associate degree (or

21 equivalent coursework) relating to

22 early childhood; or

23 ‘‘(bb) an associate degree in a re24 lated educational area and, to the ex-
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1 tent practicable, coursework relating to

2 early childhood; and

3 ‘‘(II) demonstrated teaching com4 petencies, as determined by the pro5 gram director involved (including, at a

6 minimum, an appropriate level of lit7 eracy, a demonstrated capacity to be

8 highly engaged with children, and a

9 demonstrated ability to effectively im10 plement an early childhood cur11 riculum);

12 ‘‘(ii) not later than September 30,

13 2010, all Head Start curriculum specialists

14 and education coordinators nationwide in

15 center-based programs have—

16 ‘‘(I) the capacity to offer assist17 ance to other teachers in the implemen18 tation and adaptation of curricula to

19 the group and individual needs of a

20 class; and

21 ‘‘(II)(aa) a baccalaureate or ad22 vanced degree relating to early child23 hood; or
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1 ‘‘(bb) a baccalaureate or advanced

2 degree and coursework equivalent to a

3 major relating to early childhood;

4 ‘‘(iii) not later than September 30,

5 2010, all Head Start teaching assistants

6 nationwide in center-based programs

7 have—

8 ‘‘(I) at least a child development

9 associate credential;

10 ‘‘(II) enrolled in a program lead11 ing to an associate or baccalaureate de12 gree; or

13 ‘‘(III) enrolled in a child develop14 ment associate credential program to

15 be completed within 2 years; and

16 ‘‘(iv) not later than September 30,

17 2013, 50 percent of all Head Start teachers

18 in center-based programs in each State

19 (and geographic region for Indian Head

20 Start programs and for migrant and sea21 sonal Head Start programs) have a bacca22 laureate degree relating to early childhood

23 (or a related educational area), and dem24 onstrated teaching competencies, as deter25 mined by the program director involved (in-
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1 cluding, at a minimum, an appropriate

2 level of literacy, a demonstrated capacity to

3 be highly engaged with children, and a

4 demonstrated ability to effectively imple5 ment an early childhood curriculum).

6 ‘‘(B) TEACHER IN-SERVICE REQUIRE7 MENT.—Each Head Start teacher shall attend

8 not less than 15 clock hours of professional devel9 opment per year. Such professional development

10 shall be high quality, sustained, intensive, and

11 classroom-focused in order to have a positive and

12 lasting impact on classroom instruction and the

13 teacher’s performance in the classroom, and reg14 ularly evaluated for effectiveness.

15 ‘‘(C) PROGRESS.—

16 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—The Secretary shall—

17 ‘‘(I) require Head Start agencies

18 to—

19 ‘‘(aa) describe continuing

20 progress each year toward achiev21 ing the goals described in sub22 paragraph (A);

23 ‘‘(bb) submit to the Secretary

24 a report indicating the number

25 and percentage of classroom in-
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1 structors in center-based programs

2 with child development associate

3 credentials or associate, bacca4 laureate, or advanced degrees; and

5 ‘‘(II) compile and submit a sum6 mary of all program reports described

7 in subclause (I)(bb) to the Committee

8 on Education and Labor of the House

9 of Representatives and the Committee

10 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen11 sions of the Senate.

12 ‘‘(ii) DEMONSTRATE PROGRESS.—A

13 Head Start agency may demonstrate that

14 progress by partnering with institutions of

15 higher education or other programs that re16 cruit, train, place, and support college stu17 dents to deliver an innovative program of

18 early childhood education and care to pre19 school children.

20 ‘‘(D) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec21 retary shall establish requirements to ensure

22 that, in order to enable Head Start agencies to

23 comply with the requirements of subparagraph

24 (A), individuals who receive financial assistance
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1 under this subchapter to pursue a degree or cre2 dential described in subparagraph (A) shall—

3 ‘‘(i) teach or work in a Head Start

4 program for a minimum of 3 years after re5 ceiving 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.’’; and

10 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘(i) or

11 (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘(i) or (iv)’’;

12 (2) in subsection (c)—

13 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

14 the end;

15 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period

16 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

17 (C) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(4) promote the use of appropriate strategies to

19 meet the needs of special populations (including pop20 ulations of limited English proficient children).’’;

21 (3) in subsection (d)(3)(C) by inserting ‘‘, in22 cluding a center,’’ after ‘‘any agency’’; and

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

24 ‘‘(f) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS.—Every

25 Head Start agency and center shall create, in consultation
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1 with employees of the agency or center (including family

2 service workers), a professional development plan for em3 ployees who provide direct services to children, including

4 a plan for classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, and

5 education coordinators, and teaching assistants to meet the

6 requirements set forth in subsection (a).

7 ‘‘(g) CONSTRUCTION.—In this section, a reference to

8 a Head Start agency, or its program, services, facility or

9 personnel, shall not be considered to be a reference to an

10 Early Head Start agency, or its program, services, facility

11 or personnel. For purposes of this section, a teacher who

12 is providing services, in a migrant or seasonal Head Start

13 program, in a classroom for children under age 3, shall be

14 considered to be a teacher in an Early Head Start program,

15 as described in section 645A.’’.

16 SEC. 19. TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HEAD

17 START PARTNERSHIP.

18 The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is amend19 ed by inserting after section 648A the following:

20 ‘‘SEC. 648B. TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY HEAD START

21 PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

22 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro23 mote social competencies and school readiness in Indian

24 children.
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1 ‘‘(b) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY HEAD START

2 PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.—

3 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—The Secretary is authorized to

4 award grants, for periods of not less than 5 years, to

5 Tribal Colleges and Universities to—

6 ‘‘(A) implement education programs that

7 include education concerning tribal culture and

8 language and increase the number of associate,

9 baccalaureate, and advanced degrees in early

10 childhood education and related fields that are

11 earned by Indian Head Start agency staff mem12 bers, parents of children served by such an agen13 cy, and members of the tribal community in14 volved;

15 ‘‘(B) develop and implement the programs

16 under subparagraph (A) in technology-mediated

17 formats, including providing the programs

18 through such means as distance learning and use

19 of advanced technology, as appropriate; and

20 ‘‘(C) provide technology literacy programs

21 for Indian Head Start agency staff members and

22 children and families of children served by such

23 an agency.

24 ‘‘(2) STAFFING.—The Secretary shall ensure that

25 the American Indian Programs Branch of the Head
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1 Start Bureau of the Department of Health and

2 Human Services shall have staffing sufficient to ad3 minister the programs under this section and to pro4 vide appropriate technical assistance to Tribal Col5 leges and Universities receiving grants under this sec6 tion.

7 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each Tribal College or University

8 desiring a grant under this section shall submit an applica9 tion to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and

10 containing such information as the Secretary may require,

11 including a certification that the Tribal College or Univer12 sity has established a partnership with 1 or more Indian

13 Head Start agencies for the purpose of conducting the ac14 tivities described in subsection (b).

15 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

16 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,

17 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be

18 necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012.

19 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

20 ‘‘(1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

21 term ‘institution of higher education’ has the meaning

22 given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).

24 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The

25 term ‘Tribal College or University’—
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1 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term in

2 section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965

3 (20 U.S.C. 1059c); and

4 ‘‘(B) means an institution determined to be

5 accredited or a candidate for accreditation by a

6 nationally recognized accrediting agency or asso7 ciation.’’.

8 SEC. 20. RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EVALUATION.

9 Section 649 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9844)

10 is amended—

11 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘, chil12 dren determined to be abused or neglected, homeless

13 children, and children in foster care’’ after ‘‘children

14 with disabilities’’;

15 (2) in subsection (d)—

16 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6),

17 (7), (8), (9), and (10), as paragraphs (6), (8),

18 (9), (10), (11), and (12);

19 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol20 lowing:

21 ‘‘(5)(A) identify successful strategies that pro22 mote good oral health and provide effective linkages to

23 quality dental services through pediatric dental refer24 ral networks, for infants and toddlers participating
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1 in Early Head Start programs and children partici2 pating in other Head Start programs; and

3 ‘‘(B) identify successful strategies that promote

4 good vision health through vision screenings for such

5 infants, toddlers, and children, and referrals for ap6 propriate followup care for those identified as having

7 a vision problem;’’;

8 (C) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by

9 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘child care, early

10 childhood education, or child development serv11 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘early childhood education

12 and care services’’;

13 (D) by inserting after that paragraph (6)

14 the following:

15 ‘‘(7)(A) contribute to understanding the impact

16 of services related to children with disabilities, deliv17 ered in Head Start classrooms, on both children with

18 disabilities and typically-developing children; and

19 ‘‘(B) disseminate promising practices for in20 creasing the availability and quality of such serv21 ices;’’;

22 (E) in paragraph (10), as redesignated by

23 subparagraph (A), by adding ‘‘and’’ after the

24 semicolon;
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1 (F) by striking paragraph (11), as redesig2 nated by subparagraph (A);

3 (G) by redesignating paragraph (12), as re4 designated by subparagraph (A), as paragraph

5 (11); and

6 (H) by striking the last sentence;

7 (3) in subsection (e)(3), by striking ‘‘child care,

8 early childhood education, or child development serv9 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘early childhood education and

10 care services’’;

11 (4) in subsection (g)—

12 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)—

13 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i),

14 by striking ‘‘education, and early childhood

15 programs’’ and inserting ‘‘and early child16 hood education and care programs’’;

17 (ii) by striking clause (i); and

18 (iii) by redesignating clauses (ii) and

19 (iii) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, and re21 search, education, and early childhood pro22 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘and research, and early

23 childhood education and care programs’’;

24 (C) in paragraph (5)(D)—
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1 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘early

2 childhood programs’’ and inserting ‘‘early

3 childhood education and care programs’’;

4 and

5 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘early

6 childhood program’’ and inserting ‘‘early

7 childhood education and care program’’;

8 and

9 (D) in paragraph (7)(C)—

10 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘2003’’

11 and inserting ‘‘2008’’; and

12 (ii) in clause (ii)—

13 (I) by striking ‘‘Education and

14 the Workforce’’ and inserting ‘‘Edu15 cation and Labor’’; and

16 (II) by striking ‘‘Labor and

17 Human Resources’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘Health, Education, Labor, and Pen19 sions’’; and

20 (5) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(h) REVIEW OF ASSESSMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION OF STUDY.—When the study

24 on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for

25 Young Children by the National Academy of Sciences
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1 is made available to the Secretary, the Secretary

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(A) incorporate the results of the study, as

4 appropriate and in accordance with paragraphs

5 (2) and (3), into each assessment used in the

6 Head Start programs; and

7 ‘‘(B) use the results of the study to develop,

8 inform, and revise the standards and measures

9 described in section 641A.

10 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT AND REFINEMENT.—In de11 veloping and refining any assessment used in the

12 Head Start programs, the Secretary shall—

13 ‘‘(A) receive recommendations from the

14 Panel on Developmental Outcomes and Assess15 ments for Young Children of the National Acad16 emy of Sciences; and

17 ‘‘(B) with respect to the development or re18 finement of such assessment, ensure—

19 ‘‘(i) consistency with relevant, nation20 ally recognized professional and technical

21 standards;

22 ‘‘(ii) validity and reliability for all

23 purposes for which assessments under this

24 subchapter are designed and used;
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1 ‘‘(iii) developmental and linguistic ap2 propriateness of such assessments for chil3 dren assessed, including children who are

4 limited English proficient; and

5 ‘‘(iv) that the results can be used to

6 improve the quality of, accountability of,

7 and training and technical assistance in,

8 Head Start programs.

9 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec10 retary, in carrying out the process described under

11 paragraph (2), shall ensure that—

12 ‘‘(A) staff administering any assessments

13 under this subchapter have received appropriate

14 training to administer such assessments;

15 ‘‘(B) appropriate accommodations for chil16 dren with disabilities and children who are lim17 ited English proficient are made;

18 ‘‘(C) the English and Spanish (and any

19 other language, as appropriate) forms of such as20 sessments are valid and reliable; and

21 ‘‘(D) such assessments are not used to ex22 clude children from Head Start programs.

23 ‘‘(4) SUSPENDED IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL

24 REPORTING SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) suspend implementation and termi2 nate further development and use of the National

3 Reporting System; and

4 ‘‘(B) incorporate, as appropriate, rec5 ommendations under paragraph (2)(A) into any

6 assessment used in the Head Start programs.

7 ‘‘(i) SPECIAL RULE.—The use of assessment items and

8 data on any assessment authorized under this subchapter

9 by any agent of the Federal Government to rank or compare

10 individual children or teachers, or to provide rewards or

11 sanctions for individual children or teachers is prohibited.

12 The Secretary shall not use the results of a single assessment

13 as the sole method for assessing program effectiveness or

14 making grantee funding determinations at the national, re15 gional, or local level under this subchapter.

16 ‘‘(j) SERVICES TO LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT

17 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.—

18 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a

19 study on the status of limited English proficient chil20 dren and their families in Head Start (including

21 Early Head Start) programs.

22 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare and

23 submit to Congress, not later than September 2011, a

24 report containing the results of the study, including

25 information on—
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1 ‘‘(A) the demographics of limited English

2 proficient children from birth through age 5, in3 cluding the number of such children receiving

4 Head Start (including Early Head Start) serv5 ices and the geographic distribution of children

6 described in this subparagraph;

7 ‘‘(B) the nature of Head Start (including

8 Early Head Start) services provided to limited

9 English proficient children and their families,

10 including the types, content, duration, intensity,

11 and costs of family services, language assistance,

12 and educational services;

13 ‘‘(C) procedures in Head Start programs

14 for the assessment of language needs and the

15 transition of limited English proficient children

16 to kindergarten, including the extent to which

17 Head Start programs meet the requirements of

18 section 642A for limited English proficient chil19 dren;

20 ‘‘(D) the qualifications of and training pro21 vided to Head Start (including Early Head

22 Start) teachers serving limited English proficient

23 children and their families;

24 ‘‘(E) the rate of progress made by limited

25 English proficient children and their families in
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1 Head Start (including Early Head Start) pro2 grams, including—

3 ‘‘(i) the rate of progress of the limited

4 English proficient children toward meeting

5 the additional educational standards de6 scribed in section 641A(a)(1)(B)(ii) while

7 enrolled in Head Start programs, measured

8 between 1990 and 2006;

9 ‘‘(ii) the correlation between the

10 progress described in this subparagraph and

11 the type of instruction and educational pro12 gram provided to the limited English pro13 ficient children; and

14 ‘‘(iii) the correlation between the

15 progress described in this subparagraph and

16 the health and family services provided by

17 Head Start programs to limited English

18 proficient children and their families; and

19 ‘‘(F) the extent to which Head Start pro20 grams make use of funds under section 640(a)(3)

21 to improve the quality of Head Start services

22 provided to limited English proficient children

23 and their families.

24 ‘‘(k) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES REL25 EVANT TO DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.—For purposes of con-
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1 ducting the study in described in subsection (j), activities

2 described in section 640(l)(5)(A), and other research and

3 evaluation activities relevant to limited English proficient

4 children and their families, migrant and seasonal farm5 worker families, and other families from diverse popu6 lations served by Head Start programs, the Secretary shall

7 award, on a competitive basis, funds from amounts made

8 available under section 639(b) to 1 or more organizations

9 with a demonstrated capacity for serving and studying the

10 populations involved.’’.

11 SEC. 21. REPORTS.

12 Section 650 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9846)

13 is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a)—

15 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph

16 (1)—

17 (i) by striking ‘‘Education and the

18 Workforce’’ and inserting ‘‘Education and

19 Labor’’;

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘Labor and Human

21 Resources’’ and inserting ‘‘Health, Edu22 cation, Labor, and Pensions’’; and

23 (iii) by striking ‘‘(including disabled

24 and non-English language background chil25 dren)’’ and inserting ‘‘(including children
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1 with disabilities, limited English proficient

2 children, and children participating in In3 dian Head Start programs and migrant

4 and seasonal Head Start programs)’’;

5 (B) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘home6 lessness, children in foster care,’’ after ‘‘ethnic

7 background,’’;

8 (C) in paragraph (12), by inserting ‘‘vision

9 care,’’ after ‘‘dental care,’’;

10 (D) in paragraph (14)—

11 (i) by striking ‘‘Alaskan Natives’’ and

12 inserting ‘‘Alaska Natives’’; and

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘migrant and’’ and in14 serting ‘‘migrant or’’; and

15 (E) in the flush matter at the end—

16 (i) by striking ‘‘Education and the

17 Workforce’’ and inserting ‘‘Education and

18 Labor’’; and

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘Labor and Human

20 Resources’’ and inserting ‘‘Health, Edu21 cation, Labor, and Pensions’’; and

22 (2) in subsection (b)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘Education and the Work24 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 involved or the health or

18 safety of 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 any

23 nonemergency intrusive physical examination of a child in

24 connection with participation in a program under this sub25 chapter.
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1 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall be construed to prohibit agencies from using es3 tablished methods, for handling cases of suspected or known

4 child abuse and neglect, that are in compliance with appli5 cable Federal, State, or tribal law.’’.

6 SEC. 26. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

7 Section 2501(c)(1)(C) of the Children’s Health Act of

8 2000 (42 U.S.C. 247b–1 note) is amended by striking

9 ‘‘9840a(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘9840a’’.

10 SEC. 27. COMPLIANCE WITH THE IMPROPER PAYMENTS IN11 FORMATION ACT OF 2002.

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term—

13 (1) ‘‘appropriate committees’’ means—

14 (A) the Committee on Health, Education,

15 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and

16 (B) the Committee on Education and Labor

17 of the House of Representatives; and

18 (2) ‘‘improper payment’’ has the meaning given

19 that term under section 2(d)(2) of the Improper Pay20 ments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note).

21 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATION

22 AND REPORT.—The Secretary of Health and Human Serv23 ices shall submit a report to the appropriate committees

24 that—
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1 (1) contains a certification that the Department

2 of Health and Human Services has, for each program

3 and activity of the Administration for Children and

4 Families, performed and completed a risk assessment

5 to determine programs and activities that are at sig6 nificant risk of making improper payments; and

7 (2) describes the actions to be taken to reduce

8 improper payments for the programs and activities

9 determined to be at significant risk of making im10 proper payments.

Attest:

Secretary.
110TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1429

AMENDMENT