I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5084

To authorize the Secretary of Education to make formula grants to States 

to ensure that families have access to high-quality, voluntary preschool 

education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2004

Ms. SOLIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Education to make formula 

grants to States to ensure that families have access 

to high-quality, voluntary preschool education, and for 

other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smart from the Start 

5 Preschool Education for America Act of 2004’’. 
2

•HR 5084 IH 

1 SEC. 2. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES FOR PRESCHOOL 

2 EDUCATION. 

3 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to help 

4 America’s families obtain high-quality, voluntary preschool 

5 education, thereby providing to each child the best possible 

6 start in life and an equal opportunity to succeed. 

7 (b) GRANTS.—For the activities described in sub8 section (c), the Secretary of Education, in consultation 

9 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall 

10 make a grant each fiscal year to each State that submits 

11 an application in accordance with subsection (e). 

12 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—A funding agreement 

13 for a grant under this Act is that the State involved will 

14 expend the grant only for providing families in the State 

15 with access to high-quality, voluntary preschool education. 

16 (d) PROGRAM QUALITY STANDARDS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—A funding agreement for a 

18 grant under this Act is that the State involved will 

19 meet or exceed the requirements of each of the pro20 gram quality standards described in paragraph (2). 

21 (2) STANDARDS.—For purposes of this Act, the 

22 Secretary shall develop program quality standards 

23 based on the recommendations of an independent 

24 panel of experts convened by the National Academy 

25 of Sciences. 
3

•HR 5084 IH 

1 (e) APPLICATION.—A grant application is in accord2 ance with this Act if the application—

3 (1) includes each funding agreement described 

4 in this Act; 

5 (2) with respect to such agreements, provides 

6 assurances of compliance satisfactory to the Sec7 retary; and 

8 (3) is in such form, is made in such manner, 

9 and contains such agreements, assurances, and in10 formation as the Secretary determines to be nec11 essary to carry out this Act. 

12 (f) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—

13 (1) AMOUNTS RESERVED.—

14 (A) TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS.—The 

15 Secretary shall reserve not to exceed one half of 

16 1 percent of the amount appropriated to carry 

17 out this Act in each fiscal year for payments to 

18 the outlying areas to be allotted in accordance 

19 with their respective needs. 

20 (B) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall 

21 reserve not less than 1 percent, and not more 

22 than 2 percent, of the amount appropriated to 

23 carry out this Act in each fiscal year for pay24 ments to Indian tribes and tribal organizations 

25 with applications approved under this section. 
4

•HR 5084 IH 

1 (2) STATE ALLOTMENT.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts ap3 propriated to carry out this Act for each fiscal 

4 year remaining after reservations under para5 graph (1), the Secretary shall allot to each 

6 State (except those described in paragraph (1)) 

7 an amount equal to the sum of—

8 (i) an amount that bears the same 

9 ratio to 50 percent of such remainder as 

10 the product of the young child factor of the 

11 State and the allotment percentage of the 

12 State bears to the sum of the cor13 responding products for all States; and 

14 (ii) an amount that bears the same 

15 ratio to 50 percent of such remainder as 

16 the product of the school lunch factor of 

17 the State and the allotment percentage of 

18 the State bears to the sum of the cor19 responding products for all States. 

20 (B) YOUNG CHILD FACTOR.—The term 

21 ‘‘young child factor’’ means the ratio of the 

22 number of children in the State under 5 years 

23 of age to the number of such children in all 

24 States as provided by the most recent annual 

25 estimates of population in the States by the 
5

•HR 5084 IH 

1 Census Bureau of the Department of Com2 merce. 

3 (C) SCHOOL LUNCH FACTOR.—The term 

4 ‘‘school lunch factor’’ means the ratio of the 

5 number of children in the State who are receiv6 ing free or reduced price lunches under the 

7 school lunch program established under the 

8 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) to the number of such 

10 children in all the States as determined annu11 ally by the Department of Agriculture. 

12 (D) ALLOTMENT PERCENTAGE.—

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The allotment per14 centage for a State is determined by divid15 ing the per capita income of all individuals 

16 in the United States, by the per capita in17 come of all individuals in the State. 

18 (ii) LIMITATION.—If an allotment per19 centage determined under clause (i)—

20 (I) exceeds 1.2 percent, then the 

21 allotment percentage of that State 

22 shall be considered to be 1.2 percent; 

23 and 
6

•HR 5084 IH 

1 (II) is less than 0.8 percent, then 

2 the allotment percentage of the State 

3 shall be considered to be 0.8 percent. 

4 (iii) PER CAPITA INCOME.—For pur5 poses of clause (i), per capita income shall 

6 be—

7 (I) determined at 2-year inter8 vals; 

9 (II) applied for the 2-year period 

10 beginning on October 1 of the first 

11 fiscal year beginning on the date such 

12 determination is made; and 

13 (III) equal to the average of the 

14 annual per capita incomes for the 

15 most recent period of 3 consecutive 

16 years for which satisfactory data are 

17 available from the Department of 

18 Commerce at the time such deter19 mination is made. 

20 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

21 (1) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning 

22 given to such term in section 4 of the Indian Self23 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

24 U.S.C. 450b). 

25 (2) The term ‘‘outlying area’’ includes—
7

•HR 5084 IH 

1 (A) American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

2 of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and 

3 the United States Virgin Islands; and 

4 (B) the freely associated states of the Re5 public of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 

6 States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau 

7 until an agreement for the extension of United 

8 States education assistance under the Compact 

9 of Free Association for each of the freely asso10 ciated states becomes effective after the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act. 

12 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

13 of Education. 

14 (4) Subject to subsection (f)(2)(A), the term 

15 ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50 States, the District of 

16 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, each 

17 of the outlying areas, and any Indian tribe or tribal 

18 organization. 

19 (5) The term ‘‘tribal organization’’—

20 (A) has the meaning given to such term in 

21 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

22 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b); 

23 and 

24 (B) includes a Native Hawaiian Organiza25 tion, as defined in section 7207 of the Elemen-
8

•HR 5084 IH 

1 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 7517), and a private nonprofit organiza3 tion established for the purpose of serving 

4 youth who are Indians or Native Hawaiians. 

5 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

7 $5,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2005 

8 through 2009.

Æ