II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 643 

To amend titles I and II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to strengthen connections to early childhood education programs, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2015 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend titles I and II of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act of 1965 to strengthen connections to early 

childhood education programs, 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 ‘‘Continuum of Learn5 ing Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. References. 


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Sec. 4. Findings. 

TITLE I—IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE 

DISADVANTAGED 

Sec. 101. Statement of purpose. 

Sec. 102. School improvement. 

Sec. 103. State plans. 

Sec. 104. Local educational agency plans. 

Sec. 105. Academic assessment and local educational agency and school improvement. 

Sec. 106. Qualifications for teachers and paraprofessionals. 

Sec. 107. Coordination requirements. 

Sec. 108. Prohibited use of assessments for young children. 

TITLE II—PREPARING, TRAINING, AND RECRUITING HIGHQUALITY TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS 

Sec. 201. Purpose. 

Sec. 202. State applications. 

Sec. 203. State use of funds. 

Sec. 204. Local applications and needs assessment. 

Sec. 205. Local use of funds. 

Sec. 206. Definitions. 

Sec. 207. Use of funds for eligible partnerships. 

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

6 section or other provision of the Elementary and Sec7 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 

8 SEC. 4. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds the following: 

10 (1) Research conclusively shows that children’s 

11 experiences in the early years of life influence the 

12 developing brain and have a significant and lasting 


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1 impact upon their ability to succeed in school and in 

2 life. 

3 (2) All children deserve access to high-quality 

4 early childhood education programs that support 

5 their social, emotional, and cognitive development 

6 and help prepare them to enter school ready to 

7 learn. 

8 (3) Research conclusively shows that high-qual9 ity early childhood education programs lead to an in10 crease in positive outcomes for children in multiple 

11 arenas, including— 

12 (A) improved socialization skills; 

13 (B) higher early reading and early mathe14 matics skills; 

15 (C) decreased grade retention; 

16 (D) decreased special education services or 

17 remedial education services; 

18 (E) decreased involvement with the juve19 nile justice system; 

20 (F) increased likelihood that children will 

21 graduate from high school; and 

22 (G) increased likelihood of employment, 

23 thus helping support the long-term national 

24 economic strength of the United States. 


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1 (4) High-quality early childhood education pro2 grams provide parents the means to work and be fi3 nancially responsible for their families. 

4 (5) Research conclusively shows the cost-effec5 tiveness of investments in high-quality early child6 hood education programs, with cost savings ranging 

7 from $7 to $17 for every dollar invested. 

8 (6) Aligning and connecting Federal and State 

9 early education efforts with the Elementary and Sec10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et 

11 seq.) is critical to establishing quality care and 

12 learning opportunities for children, beginning at 

13 birth and continuing through adulthood, thereby 

14 closing the achievement gap, and improving high 

15 school graduation rates and college enrollment rates. 

16 (7) Utilizing existing partnerships, as well as 

17 instituting new partnerships, between high-quality 

18 early childhood education programs, particularly in 

19 high-need communities, and elementary schools will 

20 provide opportunities for meaningful transitions for 

21 children and result in a successful elementary and 

22 secondary education experience. 

23 (8) Under section 1112(b)(1)(K) of the Ele24 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

25 U.S.C. 6312(b)(1)(K)), local educational agencies 


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1 may, but are not required to, support preschool-age 

2 and younger children through direct services or sub3 contracts with Head Start or other early childhood 

4 programs, but more effort is required to ensure that 

5 early learning programs and elementary schools are 

6 meeting the educational needs of young children. 

7 (9) There is widespread acknowledgment among 

8 experts on child education that prior to entrance in 

9 kindergarten, and in the early grades, children re10 main on a path of development that requires atten11 tion to and support for their emotional, social, and 

12 physical development and their creativity, curiosity, 

13 and tenacity. 

14 (10) Better alignment between early childhood 

15 education programs and elementary schools, and 

16 greater support for elementary school leadership in 

17 instituting more developmentally appropriate and 

18 comprehensive learning approaches for young chil19 dren, are widely acknowledged within the education 

20 community as areas ripe for improvement that would 

21 lead to better outcomes for children. 

22 (11) Through several laws enacted in the past 

23 2 decades, Congress has signified its interest in en24 suring that young children’s learning opportunities 

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1 plement guidelines and standards to support devel2 opmentally appropriate instruction across com3 prehensive domains of learning. 

4 TITLE I—IMPROVING THE ACA5 DEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE 

6 DISADVANTAGED 

7 SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

8 Section 1001 (20 U.S.C. 6301) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘and other types of’’ after 

11 ‘‘high-quality academic’’; 

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘developmentally appro13 priate’’ after ‘‘challenging’’; and 

14 (C) by inserting ‘‘and other learning’’ after 

15 ‘‘State academic’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘between stu17 dents who are children with disabilities and students 

18 without disabilities,’’ after ‘‘minority and non19 minority students,’’; 

20 (3) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘and other 

21 early learning guidelines’’ after ‘‘content standards’’; 

22 and 

23 (4) in paragraph (11), by inserting ‘‘with com24 munity-based providers of early childhood education 

25 programs,’’ after ‘‘educational services,’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. 

2 Section 1003(c) (20 U.S.C. 6303(c)) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

4 the semicolon; 

5 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

6 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(4) with respect to the elementary schools 

9 served by the local educational agencies, dem10 onstrate a commitment to long-term, high-quality, 

11 evidence-based strategies for school improvement 

12 through coordination with early childhood education 

13 programs and early childhood home visitation pro14 grams, as described in section 511 of the Social Se15 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 711).’’. 

16 SEC. 103. STATE PLANS. 

17 Section 1111 (20 U.S.C. 6311) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘and par19 ents,’’ and inserting ‘‘parents, the State Advisory 

20 Council on Early Childhood Education and Care 

21 designated or established under section 642B of the 

22 Head Start Act and preschool through grade 20 (P– 

23 20) councils, to the extent that such councils exist, 

24 and other community-based providers of early child25 hood education programs,’’; 

26 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 


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

2 ‘‘standards and challenging student academic 

3 achievement standards’’ and inserting ‘‘stand4 ards, challenging student academic achievement 

5 standards, and other learning standards (such 

6 as social, emotional, and physical development 

7 and approaches to learning for children in the 

8 early elementary grades and younger children) 

9 that are challenging and grounded in the appro10 priate developmental expectations for children 

11 and youth,’’; 

12 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 

13 and (F) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respec14 tively; and 

15 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(E) EARLY LEARNING GUIDELINES AND

18 EARLY GRADES STANDARDS.—Not later than 3 

19 years after the date of enactment of the Con20 tinuum of Learning Act of 2015, the State shall 

21 carry out the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) EARLY LEARNING GUIDELINES.— 

23 In collaboration and agreement with the 

24 State Advisory Council on Early Childhood 

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1 lished under section 642B of the Head 

2 Start Act, the State agency designated to 

3 administer State programs under the Child 

4 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

5 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and the 

6 State educational agency, complete a re7 view and create or revise, as necessary, the 

8 State’s early learning guidelines for young 

9 children in order to promote develop10 mentally appropriate, high-quality pro11 grams so that the guidelines— 

12 ‘‘(I) address infants, toddlers, 

13 and preschool age children; 

14 ‘‘(II) are developed in all do15 mains of child development and learn16 ing, as appropriate, for each age 

17 group (including language, literacy, 

18 mathematics, creative arts, science, 

19 social studies, social and emotional de20 velopment, physical development and 

21 health, and approaches to learning); 

22 ‘‘(III) reflect research and evi23 dence-based developmental and learn24 ing expectations, including the foun25 dation for and progression in how 


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1 children develop and learn the req2 uisite skills and content forward from 

3 one stage to the next, including what 

4 children should know and be able to 

5 do; 

6 ‘‘(IV) address cultural, linguistic, 

7 and ability diversity of young children; 

8 ‘‘(V) can inform teaching prac9 tices, improve professional develop10 ment, and support quality services in 

11 early childhood education programs; 

12 ‘‘(VI) are disseminated to par13 ents, educators, and other stake14 holders; and 

15 ‘‘(VII) for preschool age children, 

16 appropriately assist in the transition 

17 of such children to kindergarten. 

18 ‘‘(ii) EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS.— 

19 Review and revise, as needed, standards 

20 for kindergarten through grade 3 to ensure 

21 that such standards— 

22 ‘‘(I) are developed in all domains 

23 of child development and learning (in24 cluding language, literacy, mathe25 matics, creative arts, science, social 


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1 studies, social and emotional develop2 ment, physical development and 

3 health, and approaches to learning); 

4 ‘‘(II) reflect research and evi5 dence-based development and learning 

6 expectations for each level and ad7 dress cultural, linguistic, and ability8 level diversity; and 

9 ‘‘(III) across grade levels, reflect 

10 progression in how children develop 

11 and learn the requisite skills and con12 tent from earlier grades forward, in13 cluding preschool.’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

16 after the semicolon; 

17 (B) in paragraph (14), by striking the pe18 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(15) the State educational agency will develop 

21 a plan to encourage local educational agencies and 

22 individual elementary schools that are participating 

23 in a program assisted under this part to offer early 

24 childhood education programs from birth to the age 

25 of mandatory school entry (using funds under this 


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1 part), by disseminating information through publica2 tions, conferences, and other events, that describe 

3 how such funds may best be used to support early 

4 childhood education programs and evidence-based 

5 and promising early childhood home visitation pro6 grams, as described under section 511 of the Social 

7 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 711).’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (d)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

10 after the semicolon; 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe12 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(3) reflect the diversity of family cultures, 

15 structures, and languages.’’; 

16 (5) in subsection (h)(2)(B)(i)— 

17 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

18 after the semicolon; and 

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

20 ‘‘(III) information that shows 

21 how children younger than the man22 datory age of school entry are served 

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1 grams, including early childhood home 

2 visitation programs, as described 

3 under section 511 of the Social Secu4 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 711), including— 

5 ‘‘(aa) the number of children 

6 served, disaggregated by income, 

7 race, and disability status; 

8 ‘‘(bb) a description of the 

9 services received; and 

10 ‘‘(cc) the amount each local 

11 educational agency spent using 

12 grant funds awarded under this 

13 title on services for such children; 

14 and’’; and 

15 (6) by striking subsection (l) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(l) CONSTRUCTION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) STUDENT PROMOTION OR GRADUATION.— 

19 Nothing in this part shall be construed to prescribe 

20 the use of the academic assessments described in 

21 this part for student promotion or graduation pur22 poses. 

23 ‘‘(2) COMPULSORY EDUCATION AND SPECIAL

24 EDUCATION SERVICES.—Nothing in this title shall 

25 be construed to limit a child’s right to compulsory 


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1 education under State law, or to special education 

2 and related services under the Individuals with Dis3 abilities Education Act.’’. 

4 SEC. 104. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PLANS. 

5 Section 1112 (20 U.S.C. 6312) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

9 ‘‘and joint high-quality, evidence-based 

10 professional development between preschool 

11 through grade 3 teachers in Head Start 

12 programs and, as feasible, other commu13 nity-based early childhood education pro14 grams,’’ after ‘‘teachers and principals,’’; 

15 (ii) by striking subparagraph (K) and 

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(K) if appropriate, a description of how 

18 the local educational agency will use funds 

19 under this part to support educational and de20 velopmental opportunities for young children 

21 from birth to the age of mandatory school entry 

22 through early childhood education programs, in23 cluding providing full day and full year services, 

24 or early childhood home visitation programs, as 


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1 described in section 511 of the Social Security 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 711);’’. 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

5 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 

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

7 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

8 and’’; and 

9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(C) to constitute, or construed to con12 stitute, an evaluation required under the Indi13 viduals with Disabilities Education Act.’’; and 

14 (2) by striking paragraph (1) of subsection (d) 

15 and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) CONSULTATION.—Each local educational 

17 agency plan shall be developed in consultation 

18 with— 

19 ‘‘(A) teachers, principals, and administra20 tors (including administrators of programs de21 scribed in other parts of this title); 

22 ‘‘(B) other appropriate school personnel; 

23 ‘‘(C) parents of children in schools served 

24 under this part; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) local early childhood councils and 

2 representatives of community-based early child3 hood education programs, such as Head Start, 

4 State-funded prekindergarten programs, early 

5 intervention programs, and child care pro6 viders.’’. 

7 SEC. 105. ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT AND LOCAL EDU8 CATIONAL AGENCY AND SCHOOL IMPROVE9 MENT. 

10 Section 1116(c)(7)(A) (20 U.S.C. 6316(c)(7)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating clauses (vi), (vii), and 

13 (viii), as clauses (vii), (viii), and (ix), respectively; 

14 and 

15 (2) by inserting after clause (v) the following: 

16 ‘‘(vi) coordinate, as appropriate, serv17 ices for children before the age of manda18 tory school entry, who are enrolled in an 

19 early childhood education program.’’; 

20 SEC. 106. QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHERS AND PARA21 PROFESSIONALS. 

22 Section 1119(a)(1) (20 U.S.C. 6319(a)(1)) is amend23 ed by inserting ‘‘and to the extent feasible, starting with 

24 the 2017–2018 school year, that teachers placed in class25 rooms to teach children in the early grades of elementary 


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1 school have a specialized early childhood education teach2 ing license, credential, or endorsement’’ before the period. 

3 SEC. 107. COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS. 

4 Section 1120B (20 U.S.C. 6322) is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1120B. COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agency 

8 receiving assistance under this part shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) coordinate, as feasible, with early child10 hood education programs to carry out the activities 

11 described in subsection (b); and 

12 ‘‘(2) develop agreements with Head Start agen13 cies as specified in section 642(e)(5) of the Head 

14 Start Act to carry out the activities described in sub15 section (b). 

16 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities referred to in sub17 section (a) are activities that increase coordination be18 tween the local educational agency and a Head Start agen19 cy and, to the maximum extent practicable, other entities 

20 carrying out early childhood education programs, such as 

21 State-funded prekindergarten, and child care, serving chil22 dren who will attend the schools served by the local edu23 cational agency, including— 

24 ‘‘(1) developing and implementing with local 

25 Head Start agency staff and staff from other early 


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1 childhood education programs, a systematic and 

2 comprehensive transition procedure, which shall in3 clude procedures for receiving records regarding 

4 such children, transferred with the consent of a par5 ent or guardian; 

6 ‘‘(2) establishing channels of communication be7 tween school staff and their counterparts (including 

8 teachers, social workers, local educational agency li9 aisons designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of 

10 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), and health staff) in such 

12 Head Start agencies and other entities carrying out 

13 early childhood education programs, as appropriate, 

14 to facilitate coordination of supportive service deliv15 ery; 

16 ‘‘(3) establishing ongoing communications be17 tween the Head Start agency or other entities car18 rying out early childhood education programs and 

19 the local educational agency for developing con20 tinuity of developmentally appropriate curricular ob21 jectives and for shared expectations for children’s 

22 learning and development as the children transition 

23 to school; 

24 ‘‘(4) conducting meetings involving parents, 

25 kindergarten or elementary school teachers, and 


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1 Head Start teachers or, if appropriate, teachers 

2 from other early childhood education programs, to 

3 discuss the developmental and other needs of chil4 dren and families and the appropriate instructional 

5 and noninstructional services; 

6 ‘‘(5) organizing and participating in joint high7 quality, evidence-based professional development of 

8 school staff, Head Start program staff, and other 

9 early childhood education program staff on— 

10 ‘‘(A) developmentally appropriate curricula 

11 and teaching practices; 

12 ‘‘(B) family engagement; 

13 ‘‘(C) support for children with disabilities 

14 and dual language learners; and 

15 ‘‘(D) transitions and continuity; and 

16 ‘‘(6) linking the educational services provided 

17 by such local educational agency with the services 

18 provided by local Head Start agencies and, as fea19 sible, other entities carrying out early childhood edu20 cation programs. 

21 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec22 retary shall work with the Secretary of Health and Human 

23 Services to coordinate regulations promulgated under this 

24 part with regulations promulgated under the Head Start 

25 Act, including reasonable compliance measures.’’. 


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1 SEC. 108. PROHIBITED USE OF ASSESSMENTS FOR YOUNG 

2 CHILDREN. 

3 Part I of title I (20 U.S.C. 6571 et seq.) is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1909. PROHIBITED USE OF ASSESSMENTS FOR YOUNG 

6 CHILDREN. 

7 ‘‘Funds available under this title may not be used for 

8 child assessments for children from birth through grade 

9 2 for any of the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) Assessments that provide or lead to re11 wards or sanctions for individual children, teachers, 

12 early childhood education programs, or schools. 

13 ‘‘(2) A single assessment used as the primary 

14 or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. 

15 ‘‘(3) Evaluating such children other than for— 

16 ‘‘(A) improving instruction or classroom 

17 environment; 

18 ‘‘(B) targeting high-quality, evidence-based 

19 professional development; 

20 ‘‘(C) determining the need for health, men21 tal health, disability, or family support services; 

22 ‘‘(D) informing the quality improvement 

23 process at the State level; 

24 ‘‘(E) program evaluation for the purposes 

25 of program improvement and parent informa26 tion; or 


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1 ‘‘(F) research conducted as part of a na2 tional evaluation.’’. 

3 TITLE II—PREPARING, TRAIN4 ING, AND RECRUITING HIGH5 QUALITY TEACHERS AND 

6 PRINCIPALS 

7 SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 

8 Section 2101 (20 U.S.C. 6601) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

10 the semicolon; 

11 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para12 graph (3); and 

13 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(2) enhance the knowledge of elementary 

16 school principals and other school administrators in 

17 early childhood development and learning and to 

18 build ongoing relationships with early childhood edu19 cation programs to create a continuum of develop20 mentally appropriate and effective learning; and’’. 

21 SEC. 202. STATE APPLICATIONS. 

22 Section 2112(b) (20 U.S.C. 6612(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and positive 

24 child development and learning for children in the 


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1 early elementary grades and younger’’ after ‘‘student 

2 academic achievement’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

4 (10), (11), and (12) as paragraphs (5) through (11), 

5 (13), and (14), respectively; 

6 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(4) A description of how the State educational 

9 agency, in collaboration with other agencies that 

10 oversee early childhood development and education 

11 programs and the State Advisory Council on Early 

12 Childhood Education and Care designated or estab13 lished under section 642B of the Head Start Act, 

14 will ensure that high-quality, evidence-based profes15 sional development activities assisted under this sub16 part reflect research and best practices across all do17 mains of child development and learning.’’; and 

18 (4) by inserting after paragraph (11), as redes19 ignated by paragraph (2), the following: 

20 ‘‘(12) A description of the State’s plan for re21 forming, by not later than the end of the 2017–2018 

22 school year and consistent with section 2113(c)(1), 

23 teacher certification or licensing requirements that 

24 reflect the specialized knowledge and skills needed 

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1 mentary school and younger children, and elemen2 tary school principal certification or licensing re3 quirements to reflect knowledge of child development 

4 and learning.’’. 

5 SEC. 203. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 

6 Section 2113(c) (20 U.S.C. 6613(c)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(1) Reforming teacher and principal certifi10 cation (including recertification) or licensing require11 ments to ensure that— 

12 ‘‘(A) teachers have the necessary subject 

13 matter knowledge and teaching skills in the 

14 academic subjects that the teachers teach and 

15 the necessary specialized knowledge of child de16 velopment and learning for those teachers work17 ing with children in the early grades of elemen18 tary school and younger children, including 

19 knowledge of State early learning guidelines 

20 and State early grade standards, and under21 standing of child instructional assessment, in22 cluding observational assessment, to improve in23 struction and services for children; 

24 ‘‘(B) principals have the instructional lead25 ership skills, including collaboration with other 


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1 early childhood education providers and support 

2 services, and knowledge of child development 

3 and learning to help teachers teach and stu4 dents learn; 

5 ‘‘(C) teacher certification (including recer6 tification) or licensing requirements are aligned 

7 with challenging State academic content stand8 ards under section 1111(b)(1) and State early 

9 learning guidelines, including a separate certifi10 cation for teachers of early childhood education 

11 for the early grades of elementary school and 

12 younger children; and 

13 ‘‘(D) teachers have the subject matter 

14 knowledge and teaching skills, including tech15 nology literacy, and principals have the instruc16 tional leadership skills and knowledge of child 

17 development and learning and collaboration 

18 with early childhood education providers, nec19 essary to help— 

20 ‘‘(i) students meet challenging State 

21 student academic achievement standards, 

22 and State early learning guidelines and 

23 State early grade standards; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) promote appropriate and effec2 tive transitions from early childhood edu3 cation programs to school.’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or 

6 coaching’’ after ‘‘mentoring’’; and 

7 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

8 ‘‘and State early learning guidelines, as appro9 priate,’’ after ‘‘academic achievement stand10 ards’’; 

11 (3) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘teachers 

12 with a specialized certification or licensure in early 

13 childhood education for the early grades of elemen14 tary school,’’ after ‘‘core academic subjects,’’; 

15 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 

16 (18) as paragraphs (9) through (20), respectively; 

17 (5) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(7) Developing high-quality, evidence-based 

20 professional development opportunities— 

21 ‘‘(A) for principals, superintendents, and 

22 local educational agency staff with responsibility 

23 for curriculum, assessment, special education, 

24 and teacher professional development, to gain 

25 knowledge of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) child development and learning 

2 (including cognitive, social, emotional, and 

3 physical development and approaches to 

4 learning) of children from birth through 

5 the early grades of elementary school; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) developmentally appropriate 

7 practices to support such children’s posi8 tive development and learning; and 

9 ‘‘(B) to create collaborations with commu10 nity-based early childhood education programs 

11 for joint high-quality, evidence-based profes12 sional development and transition activities for 

13 young children and families. 

14 ‘‘(8) Providing joint high-quality, evidence15 based professional development for elementary 

16 school teachers and staff with early childhood edu17 cation program staff, for— 

18 ‘‘(A) a shared understanding and commu19 nication of continuity of expectations for stu20 dents in all domains of learning and develop21 ment (including language, literacy, mathe22 matics, creative arts, science, social studies, so23 cial and emotional development, physical devel24 opment and health, and approaches to learn25 ing); 


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1 ‘‘(B) appropriate curricula and instruc2 tional assessment practices; 

3 ‘‘(C) family engagement; and 

4 ‘‘(D) transition between community-based 

5 early childhood education programs and 

6 school.’’; 

7 (6) in paragraph (9), as redesignated by para8 graph (4), by inserting ‘‘and other’’ after ‘‘the aca9 demic’’; 

10 (7) in paragraph (12), as redesignated by para11 graph (4), by inserting ‘‘teacher mentoring or coach12 ing,’’ after ‘‘peer networks,’’; 

13 (8) in paragraph (17), as redesignated by para14 graph (4), by inserting ‘‘, including scholarships 

15 with compensation rewards linked to attaining an 

16 associate degree or a bachelor’s degree in early 

17 childhood education’’ after ‘‘2001)’’; 

18 (9) in paragraph (18), as redesignated by para19 graph (4), by striking ‘‘State academic content 

20 standards’’ and all that follows through the period 

21 and inserting ‘‘State academic content standards 

22 and student academic achievement standards under 

23 section 1111(b)(1), State early learning guidelines, 

24 and State assessments, to improve instructional 

25 practices and improve student academic achievement 


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1 and areas of development that support student cog2 nitive development in the early elementary grades 

3 and in younger children.’’; and 

4 (10) in paragraph (20), as redesignated by 

5 paragraph (4), in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

6 ‘‘preschool teachers (including in community-based 

7 programs) and’’ after ‘‘placement of’’. 

8 SEC. 204. LOCAL APPLICATIONS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT. 

9 Section 2122(b) (20 U.S.C. 6622(b)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

11 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and State 

12 assessments’’ and inserting ‘‘State early learn13 ing guidelines, and State assessments’’; and 

14 (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘age and 

15 developmentally appropriate’’ before ‘‘cur16 ricula’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, including 

18 joint high-quality, evidence-based professional devel19 opment with other early childhood education pro20 gram providers such as Head Start providers and 

21 providers receiving State prekindergarten funds’’ 

22 after ‘‘local programs’’; and 

23 (3) in paragraph (9), by striking subparagraphs 

24 (A) through (D) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) teach and address the needs of chil2 dren in the early grades of elementary school 

3 and younger children with different learning 

4 styles, particularly students who are children 

5 with disabilities, students with special learning 

6 needs (including students who are gifted and 

7 talented), and students who are limited English 

8 proficient; 

9 ‘‘(B) improve student behavior in the class10 room and identify early and appropriate inter11 ventions to help students described in subpara12 graph (A) learn; 

13 ‘‘(C) engage families in their child’s edu14 cation in a meaningful, and culturally and lin15 guistically appropriate, manner; 

16 ‘‘(D) understand and use data and assess17 ments to improve classroom practice and stu18 dent learning; and 

19 ‘‘(E) understand and implement effective, 

20 developmentally appropriate curricula, teaching, 

21 and instructional assessment practices for chil22 dren in the early grades of elementary school 

23 and younger children in all domains of learning 

24 and development (including language, literacy, 

25 mathematics, creative arts, science, social studVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Mar 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S643.IS S643

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1 ies, social and emotional development, physical 

2 development and health, and approaches to 

3 learning), and including the principles of uni4 versal design for learning.’’. 

5 SEC. 205. LOCAL USE OF FUNDS. 

6 Section 2123(a) (20 U.S.C. 6623(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

8 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘teachers with a cer9 tificate or license in early childhood education for 

10 the early grades of elementary school and younger 

11 children,’’ after ‘‘core academic subjects,’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking clauses (i) 

13 through (v) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) involve collaborative groups of 

15 teachers and administrators; 

16 ‘‘(ii) involve joint high-quality, evi17 dence-based professional development with 

18 other early childhood education programs 

19 (including Head Start programs, child care 

20 programs, and State funded prekinder21 garten programs) on developmentally ap22 propriate curricula, assessments for in23 structional improvement, and other sup24 ports of children’s development and learn25 ing and shared expectations for transitions 


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1 from preschool to kindergarten and the 

2 early elementary grades; 

3 ‘‘(iii) provide training in how to teach 

4 and address the needs of students with dif5 ferent learning styles, particularly students 

6 who are children with disabilities, students 

7 with special learning needs (including stu8 dents who are gifted and talented), and 

9 students with limited English proficiency; 

10 ‘‘(iv) provide training in child develop11 ment and learning (including cognitive, so12 cial, emotional, and physical development 

13 and approaches to learning) of children 

14 from birth through the early grades of ele15 mentary school; 

16 ‘‘(v) provide training in methods of— 

17 ‘‘(I) improving student behavior 

18 in the classroom; and 

19 ‘‘(II) identifying early and appro20 priate interventions to help students 

21 described in clause (iii) learn; 

22 ‘‘(vi) provide training to enable teach23 ers and principals to involve parents in 

24 their child’s education, especially parents 


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1 of limited English proficient children and 

2 immigrant children; 

3 ‘‘(vii) provide training on how to un4 derstand and use data and assessments to 

5 improve classroom practice and student 

6 learning; and 

7 ‘‘(viii) provide training on how to im8 plement the principles of universal design 

9 for learning.’’; 

10 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), and 

11 (10) as paragraphs (8), (9), and (10), respectively; 

12 and 

13 (4) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(7) Carrying out high-quality, evidence-based 

16 professional development for elementary school prin17 cipals and other school administrators in early child18 hood development and education, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) knowledge of child development and 

20 developmentally appropriate curricula and 

21 teaching practices; 

22 ‘‘(B) collaboration with community-based 

23 early childhood education programs, such as 

24 Head Start programs, Early Head Start pro25 grams, and child care programs; 


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1 ‘‘(C) meaningful engagement of families in 

2 children’s learning and development; and 

3 ‘‘(D) support for teachers in the early 

4 grades of elementary school to use develop5 mentally, culturally, and linguistically appro6 priate curricula and teaching practices.’’. 

7 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

8 Section 2131(1)(B) (20 U.S.C. 6631(1)(B)) is 

9 amended by inserting ‘‘an organization that represents 

10 early childhood education programs in community set11 tings,’’ after ‘‘a principal organization,’’. 

12 SEC. 207. USE OF FUNDS FOR ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS. 

13 Section 2134(a)(2) (20 U.S.C. 6634(a)(2)) is amend14 ed by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(A) ensure that the individuals— 

17 ‘‘(i) are able to use challenging State 

18 academic content standards and student 

19 academic achievement standards under sec20 tion 1111(b)(1), and State assessments, to 

21 improve instructional practices and im22 prove student academic achievement; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) who serve children in the early 

24 grades of elementary school and younger 

25 children, are able to use State early learnVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Mar 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S643.IS S643

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1 ing guidelines and the full range of do2 mains (cognitive, physical, social, emo3 tional, and approaches to learning);’’. 

4 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

5 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

6 Section 9101 (20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (17) through 

8 (43) as paragraphs (18) through (44), respectively; 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (16) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(17) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO12 GRAM.—The term ‘early childhood education pro13 gram’ has the meaning given the term in section 103 

14 of the Higher Education Act of 1965.’’; 

15 (3) in paragraph (35)(A) (as redesignated by 

16 paragraph (1))— 

17 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘the teachers 

18 teach’’ and inserting ‘‘as well as other learning 

19 standards (such as social, emotional, and phys20 ical development and approaches to learning)’’; 

21 (B) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘and other 

22 learning standards’’ after ‘‘academic content 

23 standards’’; 

24 (C) in clause (v)(II), by striking ‘‘or short 

25 term’’; and 


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1 (D) in clause (viii)(I), by striking ‘‘content 

2 standards,’’ and inserting ‘‘content standards 

3 and other learning standards (such as social, 

4 emotional, and physical development and ap5 proaches to learning), and State early learning 

6 guidelines,’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(45) UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING.— 

9 The term ‘universal design for learning’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

11 Education Act of 1965.’’. 

Æ 


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