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icy committee, governing body, and regional of-
fice of the Administration for Children and
Families of the Department of Health and
Human Services. Each self-assessment shall
identify areas of strength and weakness.
‘‘(B) IMPROVEMENT
PLAN.—The agency
shall develop an improvement plan approved by
the governing body of the agency to strengthen
any areas identified in the self-assessment as
weaknesses or in need of improvement. The agen-
cy shall report the areas to the appropriate re-
gional office of the Administration for Children
and Families.
‘‘(3) ONGOING MONITORING.—Each Head Start
agency (including each Early Head Start agency and
including any delegate agency) shall establish and
implement procedures for the ongoing monitoring of
their Head Start (including Early Head Start) pro-
grams, to ensure that the operations of the programs
work toward meeting program goals and objectives
and Head Start performance standards.
‘‘(4) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
Funds may be made available, through section
648(d), for training and technical assistance to assist
agencies in conducting self-assessments.
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‘‘(g) REDUCTION OF GRANTS AND REDISTRIBUTION OF
FUNDS IN CASES OF UNDER-ENROLLMENT.—
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
‘‘(A) ACTUAL ENROLLMENT.—The term ‘ac-
tual enrollment’ means, with respect to the pro-
gram of a Head Start agency, the actual number
of children enrolled in such program and re-
ported by the agency (as required in paragraph
(2)) in a given month.
‘‘(B) BASE GRANT.—The term ‘base grant’
means, with respect to a Head Start agency for
a fiscal year, that portion of the grant derived—
‘‘(i) from amounts reserved for use in
accordance with section 640(a)(2)(A), for a
Head Start agency administering an In-
dian Head Start program or migrant or
seasonal Head Start program;
‘‘(ii) from amounts reserved for pay-
ments under section 640(a)(2)(B); or
‘‘(iii) from amounts available under
section 640(a)(2)(D) or allotted among
States under section 640(a)(4).
‘‘(C) FUNDED
ENROLLMENT.—The term
‘funded enrollment’ means, with respect to the
program of a Head Start agency in a fiscal
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year, the number of children that the agency is
funded to serve through a grant for the program
during such fiscal year, as indicated in the grant
award.
‘‘(2) ENROLLMENT
REPORTING
REQUIREMENT
FOR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.—Each entity carrying
out a Head Start program shall report on a monthly
basis to the Secretary and the relevant Head Start
agency—
‘‘(A) the actual enrollment in such program;
and
‘‘(B) if such actual enrollment is less than
the funded enrollment, any apparent reason for
such enrollment shortfall.
‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND PLAN.—The Sec-
retary shall—
‘‘(A) on a semiannual basis, determine
which Head Start agencies are operating with
an actual enrollment that is less than the funded
enrollment based on not less than 4 consecutive
months of data;
‘‘(B) for each such Head Start agency oper-
ating a program with an actual enrollment that
is less than 95 percent of its funded enrollment,
as determined under subparagraph (A), develop,
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in collaboration with such agency, a plan and
timetable for reducing or eliminating under-en-
rollment taking into consideration—
‘‘(i) the quality and extent of the out-
reach, recruitment, and communitywide
needs assessment conducted by such agency;
‘‘(ii) changing demographics, mobility
of populations, and the identification of
new underserved low-income populations;
‘‘(iii) facilities-related issues that may
impact enrollment;
‘‘(iv) the ability to provide full-day
programs, where needed, through funds
made available under this subchapter or
through collaboration with entities carrying
out other preschool or child care programs,
or programs with other funding sources
(where available);
‘‘(v) the availability and use by fami-
lies of other preschool and child care options
(including parental care) in the community
served; and
‘‘(vi) agency management procedures
that may impact enrollment; and
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‘‘(C) provide timely and ongoing technical
assistance to each agency described in subpara-
graph (B) for the purpose of implementing the
plan described in such subparagraph.
‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION.—Upon receipt of the
technical assistance described in paragraph (3)(C), a
Head Start agency shall immediately implement the
plan described in paragraph (3)(B).
‘‘(5) SECRETARIAL
ACTION
FOR
CONTINUED
UNDER-ENROLLMENT.—If, 1 year after the date of im-
plementation of the plan described in paragraph
(3)(B), the Head Start agency continues to operate a
program at less than funded enrollment, the Secretary
shall, where determined appropriate, continue to pro-
vide technical assistance to such agency.
‘‘(6) SECRETARIAL
REVIEW
AND
ADJUSTMENT
FOR CHRONIC UNDER-ENROLLMENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, after receiving tech-
nical assistance and developing and imple-
menting a plan to the extent described in para-
graphs (3), (4), and (5) for 9 months, a Head
Start agency is still operating a program with
an actual enrollment that is less than 95 percent
of its funded enrollment, the Secretary may—
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‘‘(i) designate such agency as chron-
ically under-enrolled; and
‘‘(ii) recapture, withhold, or reduce the
base grant for the program by a percentage
equal to the percentage difference between
funded enrollment and actual enrollment for
the program for the most recent year in
which the agency is determined to be under-
enrolled under paragraph (3)(A).
‘‘(B) WAIVER
OR
LIMITATION
OF
REDUC-
TIONS.—If the Secretary, after the implementa-
tion of the plan described in paragraph (3)(B),
finds that—
‘‘(i) the causes of the enrollment short-
fall, or a portion of the shortfall, are beyond
the agency’s control (such as serving signifi-
cant numbers of children of migrant or sea-
sonal farmworkers, homeless children, chil-
dren in foster care, or other highly mobile
children);
‘‘(ii) the shortfall can reasonably be ex-
pected to be temporary; or
‘‘(iii) the number of slots allotted to the
agency is small enough that under-enroll-
ment does not constitute a significant short-
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fall, the Secretary may, as appropriate,
waive or reduce the percentage recapturing,
withholding, or reduction otherwise required
by subparagraph (A).
‘‘(C) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS; EFFEC-
TIVE DATE.—The actions taken by the Secretary
under this paragraph with respect to a Head
Start agency shall take effect 1 day after the date
on which—
‘‘(i) the time allowed for appeal under
section 646(a) expires without an appeal by
the agency; or
‘‘(ii) the action is upheld in an admin-
istrative hearing under section 646.
‘‘(7) REDISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use
amounts recovered from a Head Start agency
through recapturing, withholding, or reduction
under paragraph (6) in a fiscal year—
‘‘(i) in the case of a Head Start agency
administering an Indian Head Start pro-
gram or a migrant or seasonal Head Start
program, whose base grant is derived from
amounts specified in paragraph (1)(B)(i),
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to redirect funds to 1 or more agencies
that—
‘‘(I) 
are 
administering 
Head
Start programs serving the same spe-
cial population; and
‘‘(II) demonstrate that the agen-
cies will use such redirected funds to
increase enrollment in their Head
Start programs in such fiscal year; or
‘‘(ii) in the case of a Head Start agen-
cy in a State, whose base grant is derived
from amounts specified in clause (ii) or
(iii) of paragraph (1)(B), to redirect funds
to 1 or more agencies that—
‘‘(I) 
are 
administering 
Head
Start programs in the same State; and
‘‘(II) make the demonstration de-
scribed in clause (i)(II).
‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—If there is no agency
located in a State that meets the requirements of
subclauses (I) and (II) of subparagraph (A)(ii),
in the case of a Head Start agency described in
subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall use
amounts described in subparagraph (A) to redi-
rect funds to Head Start agencies located in
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other States that make the demonstration de-
scribed in subparagraph (A)(i)(II).
‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT
TO
FUNDED
ENROLL-
MENT.—The Secretary shall adjust as necessary
the requirements relating to funded enrollment
indicated in the grant agreement of a Head
Start agency receiving redistributed amounts
under this paragraph.
‘‘(h) CONTRACT WITH NONPROFIT INTERMEDIARY OR-
GANIZATION.—From funds reserved under clause (i) or (ii)
of section 640(a)(2)(C) or from whatever other resources the
Secretary determines appropriate, in carrying out the pro-
visions of this section, the Secretary or a Head Start agency
may contract with a nonprofit intermediary organization
that—
‘‘(1) provides evaluations and technical assist-
ance to improve overall performance management;
and
‘‘(2) has an exclusive focus of improving the per-
formance management and the use of technology in
assessing performance and meeting Head Start regu-
lations and can provide on-site, hands-on guidance
with the implementation of Head Start programs.’’.
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SEC. 9. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD.
The Head Start Act is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 641A (42 U.S.C. 9836a) the following:
‘‘SEC. 641B. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN EARLY CHILD-
HOOD.
‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘center of
excellence’ means a Center of Excellence in Early Childhood
designated under subsection (b).
‘‘(b) DESIGNATION AND BONUS GRANTS.—The Sec-
retary shall, subject to the availability of funds under this
subchapter, including under subsection (f), establish a pro-
gram under which the Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) designate not more than 200 exemplary
Head Start agencies (including Early Head Start
agencies, Indian Head Start agencies, and migrant
and seasonal Head Start agencies) as Centers of Ex-
cellence in Early Childhood; and
‘‘(2) make bonus grants to the centers of excel-
lence to carry out the activities described in sub-
section (d).
‘‘(c) APPLICATION AND DESIGNATION.—
‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—
‘‘(A) NOMINATION AND SUBMISSION.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re-
ceive a designation as a center of excellence
under subsection (b), except as provided in
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clause (ii), a Head Start agency in a State
shall be nominated by the Governor of the
State and shall submit an application to
the Secretary at such time, in such manner,
and containing such information as the
Secretary may require.
‘‘(ii) INDIAN AND MIGRANT AND SEA-
SONAL
HEAD
START
PROGRAMS.—In the
case of an Indian Head Start agency or a
migrant or seasonal Head Start agency, to
be eligible to receive a designation as a cen-
ter of excellence under subsection (b), such
an agency shall be nominated by the head
of the appropriate regional office of the De-
partment of Health and Human Services
and shall submit an application to the Sec-
retary in accordance with clause (i).
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—At a minimum, the ap-
plication shall include—
‘‘(i) evidence that the Head Start pro-
gram carried out by the agency has signifi-
cantly improved the school readiness of, and
enhanced academic outcomes for, children
who have participated in the program;
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‘‘(ii) evidence that the program meets
or exceeds performance standards described
in section 641A(a)(1), as evidenced by suc-
cessful completion of programmatic and
monitoring reviews, and has no findings of
deficiencies with respect to such standards;
‘‘(iii) evidence that the program is
making progress toward meeting the re-
quirements described in section 648A;
‘‘(iv) evidence demonstrating the exist-
ence of a collaborative partnership among
the Head Start agency, the State (or a
State agency), and other providers of early
childhood education and care in the local
community involved;
‘‘(v) a nomination letter from the Gov-
ernor, or appropriate regional office, dem-
onstrating the agency’s ability to provide
the coordination, transition, and training
services of the program to be carried out
under the bonus grant involved, including
coordination of activities with State and
local agencies that provide early childhood
education and care to children and families
in the community served by the agency;
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‘‘(vi) information demonstrating the
existence of a local council for excellence in
early childhood, which shall include rep-
resentatives of all the institutions, agencies,
and groups involved in the work of the cen-
ter for, and the local provision of services
to, eligible children and other at-risk chil-
dren, and their families; and
‘‘(vii) a description of how the Center,
in order to expand accessibility and con-
tinuity of quality early childhood education
and care, will coordinate activities assisted
under this section with—
‘‘(I) programs carried out under
the Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et
seq.);
‘‘(II) other programs carried out
under this subchapter, including the
Early Head Start programs carried
out under section 645A;
‘‘(III)(aa) Early Reading First
and Even Start programs carried out
under subparts 2 and 3 of part B of
title I of the Elementary and Sec-
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ondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6371 et seq., 6381 et seq.);
‘‘(bb) other preschool programs
carried out under title I of that Act
(20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); and
‘‘(cc) the Ready-to-Learn Tele-
vision program carried out under sub-
part 3 of part D of title II of that Act
(20 U.S.C. 6775 et seq.);
‘‘(IV) programs carried out under
section 619 and part C of the Individ-
uals with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.);
‘‘(V) State prekindergarten pro-
grams; and
‘‘(VI) other programs of early
childhood education and care.
‘‘(2) SELECTION.—In selecting agencies to des-
ignate as centers of excellence under subsection (b),
the Secretary shall designate not less than 1 from
each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, an In-
dian Head Start program, a migrant or seasonal
Head Start program, and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico.
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‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making bonus grant deter-
minations under this section, the Secretary shall give
priority to programs that, through their applications,
demonstrate that they are of exceptional quality and
would serve as exemplary models for programs in the
same geographic region. The Secretary may also con-
sider the populations served by the applicants, such
as programs that serve large proportions of families
of limited English proficient children or other under-
served populations, and may make bonus grants to
programs that do an exceptional job meeting the needs
of children in such populations.
‘‘(4) TERM OF DESIGNATION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the Secretary shall designate a Head
Start agency as a center of excellence for a 5-
year term. During the period of that designation,
subject to the availability of appropriations, the
agency shall be eligible to receive a bonus grant
under subsection (b).
‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—The Secretary may re-
voke an agency’s designation under subsection
(b) if the Secretary determines that the agency is
not demonstrating adequate performance or has
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had findings of deficiencies described in para-
graph (1)(B)(ii).
‘‘(5) AMOUNT OF BONUS GRANT.—The Secretary
shall base the amount of funding provided through a
bonus grant made under subsection (b) to a center of
excellence on the number of children eligible for Head
Start services in the community involved. The Sec-
retary shall, subject to the availability of funding,
make such a bonus grant in an amount of not less
than $200,000 per year.
‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES.—A center of excellence that re-
ceives a bonus grant under subsection (b)—
‘‘(A) shall use the funds made available
through the bonus grant to model and dissemi-
nate, to other Head Start centers in the State in-
volved, best practices for achieving early aca-
demic success, including—
‘‘(i) best practices for achieving school
readiness and developing pre-literacy and
premathematics skills for at-risk children
and achieving the acquisition of the English
language for limited English proficient chil-
dren; and
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‘‘(ii) best practices for providing seam-
less service delivery for eligible children and
their families;
‘‘(B) may use the funds made available
through the bonus grant—
‘‘(i) to provide Head Start services to
additional eligible children;
‘‘(ii) to better meet the needs of work-
ing families in the community served by the
center by serving more children in existing
Early Head Start programs (existing as of
the date the center is designated under this
section) or in full-working-day, full cal-
endar year Head Start programs;
‘‘(iii) to further coordinate early child-
hood education and care and social services
available in the community served by the
center for at-risk children (birth through
age 8), their families, and pregnant women;
‘‘(iv) to provide training and cross
training for Head Start teachers and staff,
child care providers, public and private
preschool and elementary school teachers,
and other providers of early childhood edu-
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cation and care, and training and cross
training to develop agency leaders;
‘‘(v) to provide effective transitions be-
tween Head Start programs and elementary
school, to facilitate ongoing communication
between Head Start and elementary school
teachers concerning children receiving Head
Start services, and to provide training and
technical assistance to providers who are
public elementary school teachers and other
staff of local educational agencies, child care
providers, family service providers, and
other providers of early childhood education
and care, to help the providers described in
this clause increase their ability to work
with low-income, at-risk children and their
families;
‘‘(vi) to develop or maintain partner-
ships with institutions of higher education
and 
nonprofit 
organizations, 
including
community-based organizations, that re-
cruit, train, place, and support college stu-
dents to serve as mentors and reading part-
ners to preschool children in Head Start
programs; and
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‘‘(vii) to carry out other activities de-
termined by the center to improve the over-
all quality of the Head Start program car-
ried out by the agency and the program
carried out under the bonus grant involved.
‘‘(2) INVOLVEMENT
OF
OTHER
HEAD
START
AGENCIES AND PROVIDERS.—A center that receives a
bonus grant under subsection (b), in carrying out ac-
tivities under this subsection, shall work with the cen-
ter’s delegate agencies and several additional Head
Start agencies (especially agencies that are low-per-
forming on the performance standards described in
section 641A(a)(1)), and other providers of early
childhood education and care in the community in-
volved, to encourage the agencies and providers de-
scribed in this paragraph to carry out model pro-
grams.
‘‘(e) RESEARCH AND REPORTS.—
‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Secretary shall, subject to
the availability of funds to carry out this subsection,
award a grant or contract to an independent organi-
zation to conduct research on the ability of the centers
of excellence to improve the school readiness of chil-
dren receiving Head Start services, and to positively
impact school results in the earliest grades. The orga-
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nization shall also conduct research to measure the
success of the centers of excellence at encouraging the
center’s delegate agencies, additional Head Start
agencies, and other providers of early childhood edu-
cation and care in the communities involved to meet
measurable improvement goals, particularly in the
area of school readiness.
‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 48 months after
the date of enactment of the Head Start for School
Readiness Act, the organization shall prepare and
submit to the Secretary and Congress a report con-
taining the results of the research described in para-
graph (1).
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2008
through 2012—
‘‘(1) $90,000,000 to make bonus grants to centers
of excellence under subsection (b) to carry out activi-
ties described in subsection (d);
‘‘(2) $500,000 to pay for the administrative costs
of the Secretary in carrying out this section; and
‘‘(3) $2,000,000 for research activities described
in subsection (e).’’.