II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 645 

To assist States in providing voluntary high-quality universal prekindergarten 

programs and programs to support infants and toddlers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2015 

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

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

A BILL 

To assist States in providing voluntary high-quality universal 

prekindergarten programs and programs to support infants and toddlers. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prepare All Kids Act 

5 of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS. 

7 Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating part I as part J; and 

10 (2) by inserting after part H the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART I—HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDERGARTEN 

2 PROGRAMS 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1841. FINDINGS. 

4 ‘‘Congress makes the following findings: 

5 ‘‘(1) Investments in children and early child6 hood development education should be a national 

7 priority. 

8 ‘‘(2) State-funded preschool is the most rapidly 

9 expanding segment of the United States educational 

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

11 poses an enormous threat to the provision or con12 tinuation of high-quality preschool. 

13 ‘‘(3) Researchers, educators, and economists 

14 have long noted an achievement gap for low-income 

15 and minority students as compared to their more ad16 vantaged peers that is often already evident when 

17 children enter school for the first time. 

18 ‘‘(4) One study showed that before entering 

19 kindergarten, the average cognitive scores of pre20 school-age children in the highest socioeconomic 

21 group are 60-percent above the average scores of 

22 preschool-age children in the lowest socioeconomic 

23 group. 

24 ‘‘(5) For low-income preschoolers, research 

25 shows that high-quality early education and developVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Mar 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S645.IS S645

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1 ment is vital to closing the achievement gap between 

2 them and their more advantaged peers. 

3 ‘‘(6) Numerous studies have shown that high4 quality preschool programs— 

5 ‘‘(A) improve a number of specific life out6 comes for children; and 

7 ‘‘(B) are cost-effective. 

8 ‘‘(7) The provision of high-quality prekinder9 garten is a cost-effective investment for children and 

10 for the Nation. Research shows that for every $1 in11 vested in high-quality early childhood programs, tax12 payers save up to $7 in crime, welfare, remedial and 

13 special education, and other costs. 

14 ‘‘(8) High-quality early education increases aca15 demic success for schoolchildren who received that 

16 education by— 

17 ‘‘(A) improving skills in areas such as fol18 lowing directions and problem solving; 

19 ‘‘(B) improving students’ performance on 

20 standardized tests; 

21 ‘‘(C) reducing grade repetition; 

22 ‘‘(D) reducing the number of students 

23 placed in special education; and 

24 ‘‘(E) increasing secondary school gradua25 tion rates. 


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1 ‘‘(9) High-quality early education promotes re2 sponsible behavior by teens and adults who received 

3 that education by— 

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

5 unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and drug 

6 use; 

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

8 ‘‘(C) leading to greater employment and 

9 higher wages for adults; and 

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

11 ‘‘(10) High-quality prekindergarten programs 

12 prepare children to— 

13 ‘‘(A) succeed in school; 

14 ‘‘(B) achieve higher levels of education; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(C) become citizens who— 

17 ‘‘(i) earn more in adulthood; 

18 ‘‘(ii) compete in the global economy; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(iii) contribute to our national pros21 perity. 

22 ‘‘(11) The gap in developmental progress prior 

23 to preschool is significant for thousands of young 

24 children, and needs to be addressed in order to have 


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1 a strong foundation for children’s progress in pre2 school and later years. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1842. DEFINITIONS. 

4 ‘‘In this part: 

5 ‘‘(1) CHILD.—The term ‘child’ means an indi6 vidual between the ages of birth and the legal entry 

7 age for which the State provides free kindergarten. 

8 ‘‘(2) FULL-DAY.—The term ‘full-day’ means a 

9 school day that is equivalent to a full school day at 

10 the public elementary schools in the State. 

11 ‘‘(3) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘poverty line’ 

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

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

14 9902(2)) and includes any revision required by that 

15 section. 

16 ‘‘(4) PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM.—The term 

17 ‘prekindergarten program’ means a program that— 

18 ‘‘(A) serves children who have attained the 

19 State’s legal age for State-funded prekinder20 garten; 

21 ‘‘(B) addresses all domains, including chil22 dren’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical 

23 development and approaches to learning; and 

24 ‘‘(C) helps prepare such children for a suc25 cessful transition to kindergarten. 


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1 ‘‘(5) PREKINDERGARTEN TEACHER.—The term 

2 ‘prekindergarten teacher’ means an individual who 

3 teaches in a prekindergarten program and— 

4 ‘‘(A) has a baccalaureate degree with a 

5 specialization in early childhood education or 

6 early childhood development; or 

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

8 first date on which the individual is employed 

9 as a teacher in a prekindergarten program as10 sisted under this part, is working toward such 

11 degree. 

12 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED PREKINDERGARTEN PRO13 VIDER.—The term ‘qualified prekindergarten pro14 vider’ includes a provider of a prekindergarten pro15 gram, a Head Start agency, a provider of a child 

16 care program, a school, or other entity providing 

17 prekindergarten services for eligible children that— 

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

19 qualification determination; 

20 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated experience in pro21 viding early childhood education services to chil22 dren; and 

23 ‘‘(C) has met applicable requirements 

24 under State or local law that are designed to 

25 protect the health and safety of children and 


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1 that are applicable to child care providers, or 

2 similar health and safety standards for public 

3 elementary and secondary schools. 

4 ‘‘(7) STATE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON EARLY

5 CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE.—The term 

6 ‘State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu7 cation and Care’ means the State Advisory Council 

8 on Early Childhood Education and Care designated 

9 or established under section 642B of the Head Start 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 9837b) for a State. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 1843. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. 

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

13 Secretary of Education, in collaboration and consultation 

14 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall 

15 create a Prekindergarten Incentive Fund, to be adminis16 tered by the Secretary of Education. 

17 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—In administering the Fund, the Sec18 retary shall award grants to eligible States based on a for19 mula established by the Secretary in accordance with sub20 section (c), to pay for the Federal share of the cost of 

21 awarding subgrants to qualified prekindergarten providers 

22 to establish, expand, or enhance voluntary high-quality 

23 full-day prekindergarten programs. 

24 ‘‘(c) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—No State shall receive 

25 a grant allotment under subsection (b) for a fiscal year 


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1 that is less than one-half of 1 percent of the total amount 

2 made available to carry out this part for such fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1844. STATE APPLICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS. 

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

5 receive a grant under this part, a State shall designate 

6 a State agency to administer the State program of assist7 ance for prekindergarten programs funded through the 

8 grant, including receiving and administering funds and 

9 monitoring the programs. 

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

11 be eligible to receive a grant under this part, the des12 ignated State agency shall submit an application to the 

13 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

14 such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, 

15 including— 

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

17 subgrants for prekindergarten programs in amounts 

18 that are sufficient to provide a high-quality pre19 kindergarten experience; 

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

21 of the qualified prekindergarten providers receiving 

22 such subgrants will be providers of community-based 

23 programs; 

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

25 the State who are eligible for the prekindergarten 


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1 programs and the needs that will be served through 

2 the prekindergarten programs; 

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

4 that the subgrants are awarded to a wide range of 

5 types of qualified prekindergarten providers; 

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

7 agency will collaborate and coordinate activities with 

8 the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Edu9 cation and Care, State-funded providers of pre10 kindergarten programs, providers of federally funded 

11 programs such as Head Start agencies, local edu12 cational agencies, and child care providers; 

13 ‘‘(6) a description of how the State will ensure, 

14 through a monitoring process, that qualified pre15 kindergarten providers receiving the subgrants pro16 vide prekindergarten programs that meet the stand17 ards of high-quality early education, and use funds 

18 appropriately; 

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

20 the needs of the most disadvantaged students, in21 cluding families at or below 200 percent of the pov22 erty line; 

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

24 the needs of working parents; and 


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

2 in providing professional development assistance to 

3 prekindergarten teachers and teacher aides. 

4 ‘‘(c) STATE AND FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

6 the cost described in section 1843(b) shall be 50 

7 percent. 

8 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The State shall 

9 provide the non-Federal share of the cost described 

10 in section 1843(b) in cash. A State may include, as 

11 the State’s non-Federal share, State funds des12 ignated for State prekindergarten programs or to 

13 supplement Head Start programs, but may not in14 clude any funds that are attributed as matching 

15 funds, as part of a non-Federal share, or as a main16 tenance of effort requirement, for any other Federal 

17 program. 

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

19 made available under this part may be used only to supple20 ment and not supplant other Federal, State, local, or pri21 vate funds that would, in the absence of the funds made 

22 available under this part, be made available for early child23 hood programs. 

24 ‘‘(e) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State that re25 ceives a grant under this part for a fiscal year shall mainVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Mar 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S645.IS S645

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1 tain the expenditures of the State for early childhood pro2 grams at a level not less than the level of such expendi3 tures of the State for the preceding fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 1845. STATE SET ASIDES AND EXPENDITURES. 

5 ‘‘(a) INFANT AND TODDLER SET ASIDE.—Notwith6 standing section 1843, a State shall set aside not less than 

7 15 percent of the funds made available through a grant 

8 awarded under this part for the purpose of funding high9 quality early childhood development programs for children 

10 from birth through age 3. Funds made available under 

11 this subsection may also be used for professional develop12 ment for teachers and teacher aides in classrooms for chil13 dren from birth through age 3. 

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

15 ASIDE.—Notwithstanding section 1843, a State shall set 

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

17 through a grant awarded under this part for the purpose 

18 of extending the hours of early childhood development pro19 grams to create extended day and extended year pro20 grams. 

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

22 percent of the funds made available through a grant 

23 awarded under this part may be used for administrative 

24 expenses, including monitoring. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1846. LOCAL APPLICATIONS. 

2 ‘‘To be eligible to receive a subgrant under this part, 

3 a qualified prekindergarten provider shall submit an appli4 cation to the designated State agency at such time, in such 

5 manner, and containing such information as the agency 

6 may reasonably require, including— 

7 ‘‘(1) a description of how the qualified pre8 kindergarten provider will meet the diverse needs of 

9 children in the community to be served, including 

10 children with disabilities, children whose native lan11 guage is not English, children with other special 

12 needs, children in the State foster care system, and 

13 homeless children; 

14 ‘‘(2) a description of how the qualified pre15 kindergarten provider will serve eligible children who 

16 are not served through similar services or programs; 

17 ‘‘(3) a description of a plan for actively involv18 ing parents and families in the prekindergarten pro19 gram and the success of their children in the pro20 gram; 

21 ‘‘(4) a description of how children in the pre22 kindergarten program, and their parents and fami23 lies, will receive referrals to, or assistance with, ac24 cessing supportive services provided within the com25 munity; 


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1 ‘‘(5) a description of how the qualified pre2 kindergarten provider collaborates with the State 

3 Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and 

4 Care and providers of other programs serving chil5 dren and families, including Head Start agencies, 

6 providers of child care programs, and local edu7 cational agencies, to meet the needs of children, 

8 families, and working families, as appropriate; and 

9 ‘‘(6) a description of how the qualified pre10 kindergarten provider will collaborate with local edu11 cational agencies to ensure a smooth transition for 

12 participating students from the prekindergarten pro13 gram to kindergarten and early elementary edu14 cation. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 1847. LOCAL PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM RE16 QUIREMENTS. 

17 ‘‘(a) MANDATORY USES OF FUNDS.—A qualified pre18 kindergarten provider that receives a subgrant under this 

19 part shall use funds received through the grant to estab20 lish, expand, or enhance prekindergarten programs for 

21 children who are ages 3 through 5, including— 

22 ‘‘(1) providing a prekindergarten program that 

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

24 physical development and approaches to learning, 


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1 and helps prepare children for a successful transi2 tion to kindergarten; and 

3 ‘‘(2) purchasing educational equipment, includ4 ing educational materials, necessary to provide a 

5 high-quality prekindergarten program. 

6 ‘‘(b) PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—A qualified pre7 kindergarten provider that receives a subgrant under this 

8 part may use funds received through the grant to— 

9 ‘‘(1) extend part-day prekindergarten programs 

10 to full-day prekindergarten programs and year-round 

11 programs; 

12 ‘‘(2) pay for transporting students to and from 

13 a prekindergarten program; and 

14 ‘‘(3) provide professional development assist15 ance to prekindergarten teachers and teacher aides. 

16 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A qualified pre17 kindergarten provider that receives a subgrant under this 

18 part shall carry out a high-quality prekindergarten pro19 gram by— 

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

21 children, with at least 1 prekindergarten teacher per 

22 classroom; 

23 ‘‘(2) ensuring that the ratio of children to pre24 kindergarten teachers and teacher aides shall not ex25 ceed 10 to 1; 


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1 ‘‘(3) utilizing a prekindergarten curriculum that 

2 is research- and evidence-based, developmentally ap3 propriate, and designed to support children’s cog4 nitive, social, emotional, and physical development, 

5 and approaches to learning; and 

6 ‘‘(4) ensuring that prekindergarten teachers 

7 meet the requirements of this part. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1848. REPORTING. 

9 ‘‘(a) QUALIFIED PREKINDERGARTEN PROVIDER RE10 PORTS.—Each qualified prekindergarten provider that re11 ceives a subgrant from a State under this part shall sub12 mit an annual report, to the designated State agency, that 

13 reviews the effectiveness of the prekindergarten program 

14 provided. Such annual report shall include— 

15 ‘‘(1) data specifying the number and ages of en16 rolled children, and the family income, race, gender, 

17 type of disability (if applicable), and native language 

18 of such children; 

19 ‘‘(2) a description of— 

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

21 ‘‘(B) how the curriculum supports the en22 rolled children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and 

23 physical development and approaches to learn24 ing; and 


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

2 children of the culture, language, and ages of 

3 the children served; and 

4 ‘‘(3) a statement of all sources of funding re5 ceived by the program, including Federal, State, 

6 local, and private funds. 

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

8 grant under this part shall submit an annual report to 

9 the Secretary detailing the effectiveness of all prekinder10 garten programs funded under this part in the State. 

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

12 submit an annual report to Congress that describes the 

13 State programs of assistance for prekindergarten pro14 grams funded under this part. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 1849. PROHIBITED USE OF ASSESSMENTS FOR YOUNG 

16 CHILDREN. 

17 ‘‘Funds available under this part, including funds 

18 provided as the non-Federal share required under section 

19 1844(c)(2), may not be used for assessments of children 

20 in prekindergarten programs or early childhood develop21 ment programs for any of the following: 

22 ‘‘(a) Assessments that provide or lead to rewards or 

23 sanctions for individual children, teachers, programs, or 

24 schools. 


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1 ‘‘(b) A single assessment used as the primary or sole 

2 method for assessing program effectiveness. 

3 ‘‘(c) Evaluating children other than for— 

4 ‘‘(1) improving instruction or classroom envi5 ronment; 

6 ‘‘(2) targeting high-quality, evidence-based pro7 fessional development; 

8 ‘‘(3) determining the need for health, mental 

9 health, disability, or family support services; 

10 ‘‘(4) informing the quality improvement process 

11 at the State level; 

12 ‘‘(5) program evaluation for the purposes of 

13 program improvement and parent information; or 

14 ‘‘(6) research conducted as part of a national 

15 evaluation. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 1850. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

18 this part such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 

19 2016 through 2020.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

21 (a) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

22 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

23 of 1965 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking the item relating to the part 

2 heading for part I of title I and inserting the fol3 lowing: 

‘‘PART J. GENERAL PROVISIONS’’; 

4 and 

5 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec6 tion 1830 the following: 

‘‘PART I. HIGH-QUALITY PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS

‘‘Sec. 1841. Findings. 

‘‘Sec. 1842. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 1843. Program authorization. 

‘‘Sec. 1844. State applications and requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 1845. State set asides and expenditures. 

‘‘Sec. 1846. Local applications. 

‘‘Sec. 1847. Local prekindergarten program requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 1848. Reporting. 

‘‘Sec. 1849. Prohibited use of assessments for young children. 

‘‘Sec. 1850. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING PROVISIONS.—Sections 1304(c)(2) 

8 and 1415(a)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6394(c)(2), 6435(a)(2)(C)) 

10 are each amended by striking ‘‘part I’’ and inserting ‘‘part 

11 J’’. 

Æ 


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