I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2794 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 5, 2011 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. JONES, Mr. POLIS, and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce 

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 2011’’. 

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 or reme17 dial education services, or both; 

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 America’s long-term na24 tional economic strength. 


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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 and 

6 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 under section 511 of the Social 

15 Security 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 2011, 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, shall complete a 

7 review and create or revise, as necessary, 

8 the State’s early learning guidelines for 

9 young children in order to promote devel10 opmentally 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; and 

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 as fol6 lows: 

7 (1) GENERAL PLAN PROVISIONS.—Subsection 

8 (b)(1) is amended as follows: 

9 (A) JOINT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP10 MENT.—In subparagraph (D), by inserting 

11 ‘‘and joint high-quality, evidence-based profes12 sional development between preschool through 

13 grade 3 teachers in Head Start programs and, 

14 as feasible, other community-based early child15 hood education programs,’’ after ‘‘teachers and 

16 principals,’’. 

17 (B) READY SCHOOL NEEDS REVIEW.—By 

18 amending subparagraph (E) to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(E) a description of how the local edu20 cational agency will assist each elementary 

21 school that is served by the local educational 

22 agency and that receives assistance under this 

23 part, in conducting, not less often than once 

24 every 3 years (depending on the needs of the 

25 school), a ready school needs review that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) will be used by the school in de2 veloping and implementing policies and 

3 procedures that create a school environ4 ment and classroom practices that— 

5 ‘‘(I) support each child in meet6 ing State and grade level expectations 

7 and challenges, including the aca8 demic content standards and academic 

9 achievement standards under section 

10 1111(b); and 

11 ‘‘(II) support successful transi12 tions for children; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) includes, at a minimum, the 

14 needs of the school regarding— 

15 ‘‘(I) the use of developmentally 

16 appropriate (including culturally and 

17 linguistically appropriate) curricula, 

18 classroom materials, teaching prac19 tices, instructional assessments, and 

20 accommodations; 

21 ‘‘(II) appropriate services and 

22 supports for children with disabilities 

23 and children who are limited English 

24 proficient; 


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1 ‘‘(III) family and community en2 gagement policies and practices; 

3 ‘‘(IV) building and maintaining a 

4 school climate that supports positive 

5 development and learning; 

6 ‘‘(V) leadership and support for 

7 school staff, including— 

8 ‘‘(aa) professional develop9 ment for elementary school prin10 cipals, other school leaders, 

11 teachers, and specialized instruc12 tional support personnel in the 

13 development and learning of 

14 young children and develop15 mentally appropriate practice; 

16 ‘‘(bb) the assignment of 

17 teachers based on degrees and 

18 certification or licensure for 

19 teaching children in prekinder20 garten through grade 3 and ap21 propriate student-to-teacher ra22 tios for such children; and 

23 ‘‘(cc) teacher and student 

24 interactions in the classroom that 


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1 improve instruction and learning; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(VI) outreach and collaboration 

4 with— 

5 ‘‘(aa) early childhood care 

6 and education providers in the 

7 school attendance area, including 

8 ongoing channels of communica9 tion on— 

10 ‘‘(AA) issues relating to 

11 continuity of high-quality, 

12 developmentally appropriate, 

13 and well-aligned standards, 

14 curricula, classroom prac15 tices, and instructional as16 sessment and supports; 

17 ‘‘(BB) transitions be18 tween program settings; and 

19 ‘‘(CC) other services to 

20 support learning and devel21 opment; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) other providers of 

23 services that support learning 

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1 tion, health, and mental health 

2 services;’’. 

3 (C) ALLOWABLE USE.—By striking sub4 paragraph (K) and inserting the following: 

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

6 the local educational agency will use funds 

7 under this part to support educational and de8 velopmental opportunities for young children 

9 from birth to the age of mandatory school entry 

10 through early childhood education programs, in11 cluding providing full-day and full-year services, 

12 or early childhood home visitation programs, as 

13 described under section 511 of the Social Secu14 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 711);’’. 

15 (2) NOT AN EVALUATION UNDER IDEA.—Sub16 section (b)(2) is amended— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

18 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(C) to constitute, or construed to con21 stitute, an evaluation required under the Indi22 viduals with Disabilities Education Act.’’. 

23 (3) CONSULTATION.—By striking paragraph 

24 (1) of subsection (d) and inserting the following: 


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

2 agency plan shall be developed in consultation 

3 with— 

4 ‘‘(A) teachers, principals, and administra5 tors (including administrators of programs de6 scribed in other parts of this title); 

7 ‘‘(B) other appropriate school personnel; 

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

9 under this part; and 

10 ‘‘(D) local early childhood councils and 

11 representatives of community-based early child12 hood education programs, such as Head Start, 

13 State-funded prekindergarten programs, early 

14 intervention programs, and child care pro15 viders.’’. 

16 SEC. 105. ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT AND LOCAL EDU17 CATIONAL AGENCY AND SCHOOL IMPROVE18 MENT. 

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

20 amended— 

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

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

23 and 

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


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1 ‘‘(vi) coordinate, as appropriate, serv2 ices for children before the age of manda3 tory school entry, who are enrolled in an 

4 early childhood education program.’’. 

5 SEC. 106. QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHERS AND PARA6 PROFESSIONALS. 

7 Section 1119(a)(1) (20 U.S.C. 6319(a)(1)) is amend8 ed by inserting ‘‘and to the extent feasible, starting with 

9 the 2015–2016 school year, that teachers placed in class10 rooms to teach children in the early grades of elementary 

11 school have a specialized early childhood education teach12 ing license, credential, or endorsement’’ before the period. 

13 SEC. 107. COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS. 

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

15 as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 1120B. COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS. 

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

18 receiving assistance under this part shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) coordinate, as feasible, with early child20 hood education programs to carry out the activities 

21 described in subsection (b); and 

22 ‘‘(2) develop agreements with Head Start agen23 cies as specified in section 642A of the Head Start 

24 Act to carry out the activities described in sub25 section (b). 


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1 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities referred to in sub2 section (a) are activities that increase coordination be3 tween the local educational agency and a Head Start agen4 cy and, to the maximum extent practicable, other entities 

5 carrying out early childhood education programs, such as 

6 State-funded prekindergarten, and child care, serving chil7 dren who will attend the schools served by the local edu8 cational agency, including— 

9 ‘‘(1) developing and implementing with local 

10 Head Start agency staff and staff from other early 

11 childhood education programs, a systematic and 

12 comprehensive transition procedure, which shall in13 clude procedures for receiving records regarding 

14 such children, transferred with the consent of a par15 ent or guardian; 

16 ‘‘(2) establishing channels of communication be17 tween school staff and their counterparts (including 

18 teachers, social workers, local educational agency li19 aisons designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of 

20 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

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

22 Head Start agencies and other entities carrying out 

23 early childhood education programs, as appropriate, 

24 to facilitate coordination of supportive service deliv25 ery; 


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1 ‘‘(3) establishing ongoing communications be2 tween the Head Start agency or other entities car3 rying out early childhood education programs and 

4 the local educational agency for developing con5 tinuity of developmentally appropriate curricular ob6 jectives and for shared expectations for children’s 

7 learning and development as the children transition 

8 to school; 

9 ‘‘(4) conducting meetings involving parents, 

10 kindergarten or elementary school teachers, and 

11 Head Start teachers or, if appropriate, teachers 

12 from other early childhood education programs to 

13 discuss the developmental and other needs of chil14 dren and families, and to the appropriate instruc15 tional and noninstructional services; 

16 ‘‘(5) organizing and participating in joint high17 quality, evidence-based professional development of 

18 school staff, Head Start program staff, and other 

19 early childhood education program staff on— 

20 ‘‘(A) developmentally appropriate curricula 

21 and teaching practices; 

22 ‘‘(B) family engagement; 

23 ‘‘(C) support for children with disabilities 

24 and dual language learners; and 

25 ‘‘(D) transitions and continuity; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) linking the educational services provided 

2 by such local educational agency with the services 

3 provided by local Head Start agencies and, as fea4 sible, other entities carrying out early childhood edu5 cation programs. 

6 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec7 retary shall work with the Secretary of Health and Human 

8 Services to coordinate regulations promulgated under this 

9 part with regulations promulgated under the Head Start 

10 Act, including reasonable compliance measures.’’. 

11 SEC. 108. PROHIBITED USE OF ASSESSMENTS FOR YOUNG 

12 CHILDREN. 

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

14 by adding at the end the following: 

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

16 CHILDREN. 

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

18 child assessments for children from birth through grade 

19 2 for any of the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) Assessments that provide or lead to re21 wards or sanctions for individual children, teachers, 

22 early childhood education programs, or schools. 

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

24 or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. 

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


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1 ‘‘(A) improving instruction or classroom 

2 environment; 

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

4 professional development; 

5 ‘‘(C) determining the need for health, men6 tal health, disability, or family support services; 

7 ‘‘(D) informing the quality improvement 

8 process at the State level; 

9 ‘‘(E) program evaluation for the purposes 

10 of program improvement and parent informa11 tion; or 

12 ‘‘(F) research conducted as part of a na13 tional evaluation.’’. 

14 TITLE II—PREPARING, TRAIN15 ING, AND RECRUITING HIGH16 QUALITY TEACHERS AND 

17 PRINCIPALS 

18 SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 

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

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

21 the semicolon; 

22 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para23 graph (3); and 

24 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(2) enhance the knowledge of elementary 

2 school principals and other school administrators in 

3 early childhood development and learning and to 

4 build ongoing relationships with early childhood edu5 cation programs to create a continuum of develop6 mentally appropriate and effective learning; and’’. 

7 SEC. 202. STATE APPLICATIONS. 

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

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

10 child development and learning for children in the 

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

12 academic achievement’’; 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

14 (10) and (11) and (12) as paragraphs (5) through 

15 (11) and (13) and (14), respectively; 

16 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol17 lowing: 

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

19 agency, in collaboration with other agencies that 

20 oversee early childhood development and education 

21 programs and the State Advisory Council on Early 

22 Childhood Education and Care designated or estab23 lished under section 642B of the Head Start Act, 

24 will ensure that high-quality, evidence-based profes25 sional development activities assisted under this subVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:01 Aug 06, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2794.IH H2794

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1 part reflect research and best practices across all do2 mains of child development and learning.’’; and 

3 (4) by inserting after paragraph (11), as redes4 ignated by paragraph (2), the following: 

5 ‘‘(12) A description of the State’s plan for re6 forming, by not later than the end of the 2015–2016 

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

8 teacher certification or licensing requirements that 

9 reflect the specialized knowledge and skills needed 

10 for teachers of children in the early grades of ele11 mentary school and younger children, and elemen12 tary school principal certification or licensing re13 quirements to reflect knowledge of child development 

14 and learning.’’. 

15 SEC. 203. STATE USE OF FUNDS. 

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

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

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(1) Reforming teacher and principal certifi20 cation (including recertification) or licensing require21 ments to ensure that— 

22 ‘‘(A) teachers have the necessary subject 

23 matter knowledge and teaching skills in the 

24 academic subjects that the teachers teach and 

25 the necessary specialized knowledge of child deVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:01 Aug 06, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2794.IH H2794

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1 velopment and learning for those teachers work2 ing with children in the early grades of elemen3 tary school and younger children, including 

4 knowledge of State early learning guidelines 

5 and State early grade standards, and under6 standing of child instructional assessment, in7 cluding observational assessment, to improve in8 struction and services for children; 

9 ‘‘(B) principals have the instructional lead10 ership skills, including collaboration with other 

11 early childhood education providers and support 

12 services, and knowledge of child development 

13 and learning to help teachers teach and stu14 dents learn; 

15 ‘‘(C) teacher certification (including recer16 tification) or licensing requirements are aligned 

17 with challenging State academic content stand18 ards and State early learning guidelines, includ19 ing a separate certification for teachers of early 

20 childhood education for the early grades of ele21 mentary school and younger children; and 

22 ‘‘(D) teachers have the subject matter 

23 knowledge and teaching skills, including tech24 nology literacy, and principals have the instruc25 tional leadership skills and knowledge of child 


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1 development and learning and collaboration 

2 with early childhood education providers, nec3 essary to help— 

4 ‘‘(i) students meet challenging State 

5 student academic achievement standards, 

6 and State early learning guidelines and 

7 State early grade standards; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) promote appropriate and effec9 tive transitions from early childhood edu10 cation programs to school.’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

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

13 coaching’’ after ‘‘mentoring’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘and State early learning guidelines, as appro16 priate’’ after ‘‘academic achievement stand17 ards’’; 

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

19 with a specialized certification or licensure in early 

20 childhood education for the early grades of elemen21 tary school,’’ after ‘‘core academic subjects,’’; 

22 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 

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

24 (5) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol25 lowing: 


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

2 professional development opportunities— 

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

4 local educational agency staff with responsibility 

5 for curriculum, assessment, special education, 

6 and teacher professional development, to gain 

7 knowledge of— 

8 ‘‘(i) child development and learning 

9 (including cognitive, social, emotional, and 

10 physical development and approaches to 

11 learning) of children from birth through 

12 the early grades of elementary school; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) developmentally appropriate 

14 practices to support children’s positive de15 velopment and learning; and 

16 ‘‘(B) to create collaborations with commu17 nity-based early childhood education programs 

18 for joint high-quality, evidence-based profes19 sional development and transition activities for 

20 young children and families. 

21 ‘‘(8) Providing joint high-quality, evidence22 based professional development for elementary 

23 school teachers and staff with early childhood edu24 cation program staff, for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a shared understanding and commu2 nication of continuity of expectations for stu3 dents in all domains of learning and develop4 ment (including language, literacy, mathe5 matics, creative arts, science, social studies, so6 cial and emotional development, physical devel7 opment and health, and approaches to learn8 ing); 

9 ‘‘(B) appropriate curricula and instruc10 tional assessment practices; 

11 ‘‘(C) family engagement; and 

12 ‘‘(D) transition between community-based 

13 early childhood education programs and 

14 school.’’; 

15 (6) in paragraph (9), as redesignated by para16 graph (4), by inserting ‘‘and other’’ after ‘‘the aca17 demic’’; 

18 (7) in paragraph (12), as redesignated by para19 graph (4), by inserting ‘‘teacher mentoring or coach20 ing,’’ after ‘‘peer networks,’’; 

21 (8) in paragraph (17), as redesignated by para22 graph (4), by inserting ‘‘, including scholarships 

23 with compensation rewards linked to attaining an 

24 associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree in early 

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


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1 (9) in paragraph (18), as redesignated by para2 graph (4), by striking ‘‘State academic content 

3 standards’’ and all that follows through the period 

4 and inserting ‘‘State academic content standards, 

5 student academic achievement standards, State early 

6 learning guidelines, and State assessments, to im7 prove instructional practices and improve student 

8 academic achievement and areas of development that 

9 support student cognitive development in the early 

10 elementary grades and in younger children.’’; and 

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

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

13 ‘‘preschool teachers (including in community-based 

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

15 SEC. 204. LOCAL APPLICATIONS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT. 

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

17 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

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

19 assessments’’ and inserting ‘‘State early learn20 ing guidelines, and State assessments’’; and 

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

22 developmentally appropriate’’ before ‘‘cur23 ricula’’; 

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

25 joint high-quality, evidence-based professional develVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:01 Aug 06, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2794.IH H2794

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1 opment with other early childhood education pro2 gram providers such as Head Start providers and 

3 providers receiving State prekindergarten funds’’ 

4 after ‘‘local programs’’; and 

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

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

7 ‘‘(A) teach and address the needs of chil8 dren in the early grades of elementary school 

9 and younger children with different learning 

10 styles, particularly students with disabilities, 

11 students with special learning needs (including 

12 students who are gifted and talented), students 

13 with limited English proficiency; 

14 ‘‘(B) improve student behavior in the class15 room and identify early and appropriate inter16 ventions to help students described in subpara17 graph (A) learn; 

18 ‘‘(C) engage families in their child’s edu19 cation in a meaningful, and culturally and lin20 guistically appropriate, manner; 

21 ‘‘(D) understand and use data and assess22 ments to improve classroom practice and stu23 dent learning; and 

24 ‘‘(E) understand and implement effective, 

25 developmentally appropriate curricula, teaching, 


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1 and instructional assessment practices for chil2 dren in the early grades of elementary school 

3 and younger children in all domains of learning 

4 and development (including language, literacy, 

5 mathematics, creative arts, science, social stud6 ies, social and emotional development, physical 

7 development and health, and approaches to 

8 learning), and including the principles of uni9 versal design for learning.’’. 

10 SEC. 205. LOCAL USE OF FUNDS. 

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

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

13 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘teachers with a cer14 tificate or license in early childhood education for 

15 the early grades of elementary school and younger 

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

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

18 through (v) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(i) involve collaborative groups of 

20 teachers and administrators; 

21 ‘‘(ii) involve joint high-quality, evi22 dence-based professional development with 

23 other early childhood education programs 

24 (including Head Start programs, child care 

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1 garten programs) on developmentally ap2 propriate curricula, assessments for in3 structional improvement, and other sup4 ports of children’s development and learn5 ing and shared expectations for transitions 

6 from preschool to kindergarten and the 

7 early elementary grades; 

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

9 and address the needs of students with dif10 ferent learning styles, particularly students 

11 with disabilities, students with special 

12 learning needs (including students who are 

13 gifted and talented), and students with 

14 limited English proficiency; 

15 ‘‘(iv) provide training in child develop16 ment and learning (including cognitive, so17 cial, emotional, and physical development 

18 and approaches to learning) of children 

19 from birth through the early grades of ele20 mentary school; 

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

22 ‘‘(I) improving student behavior 

23 in the classroom; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) identifying early and appro2 priate interventions to help students 

3 described in clause (iii) learn; 

4 ‘‘(vi) provide training to enable teach5 ers and principals to involve parents in 

6 their child’s education, especially parents 

7 of limited English proficient children and 

8 immigrant children; 

9 ‘‘(vii) provide training on how to un10 derstand and use data and assessments to 

11 improve classroom practice and student 

12 learning; and 

13 ‘‘(viii) provide training on how to im14 plement the principles of universal design 

15 for learning.’’; 

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

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

18 and 

19 (4) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol20 lowing: 

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

22 professional development for elementary school prin23 cipals and other school administrators in early child24 hood development and education, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) knowledge of child development and 

2 developmentally appropriate curricula and 

3 teaching practices; 

4 ‘‘(B) collaboration with community-based 

5 early childhood education programs, such as 

6 Head Start programs, Early Head Start pro7 grams, and child care programs; 

8 ‘‘(C) meaningful engagement of families in 

9 children’s learning and development; and 

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

11 grades of elementary school to use develop12 mentally, culturally, and linguistically appro13 priate curricula and teaching practices.’’. 

14 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

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

16 amended by inserting ‘‘an organization that represents 

17 early childhood education programs in community set18 tings,’’ after ‘‘a principal organization,’’. 

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

20 Section 2134(a)(2) (20 U.S.C. 6634(a)(2)) is amend21 ed by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(A) ensure that the individuals— 

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

25 academic content standards and student 


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1 academic achievement standards, and 

2 State assessments, to improve instructional 

3 practices and improve student academic 

4 achievement; and 

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

6 grades of elementary school and younger 

7 children, are able to use State early learn8 ing guidelines and the full range of do9 mains (cognitive, physical, social, emo10 tional, and approaches to learning);’’. 

11 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

12 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

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

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (17) through 

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

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (16) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(17) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO19 GRAM.—The term ‘early childhood education pro20 gram’ has the meaning given the term in section 103 

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

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

23 paragraph (1))— 

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

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


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1 standards (such as social, emotional, and phys2 ical development and approaches to learning)’’; 

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

4 learning’’ after ‘‘academic content’’; 

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

6 term’’; and 

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

8 standards,’’ and inserting ‘‘content and other 

9 learning standards (such as social, emotional, 

10 and physical development and approaches to 

11 learning), and State early learning guidelines,’’; 

12 and 

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

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

15 The term ‘universal design for learning’ has the 

16 meaning given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

17 Education Act of 1965.’’. 

Æ 


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