I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1201
To amend the Head Start Act to ensure that every child who is eligible
to participate in a program under such Act has the tools to learn to read.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 22, 2001
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. DOOLEY of California, Mr. MORAN
of Virginia, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. ETHERIDGE,
Mr. LANTOS, Mr. FROST, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. SANCHEZ, and Mr.
MALONEY of Connecticut) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Head Start Act to ensure that every child
who is eligible to participate in a program under such
Act has the tools to learn to read.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reading Readiness Act
of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. READING READINESS REPORT AND EVALUATION OF
CURRENT BEST READING READINESS PRAC-
TICES.
Section 649(d) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9844(d)) is amended—
(1) in subsection (d)—
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(2)
through (9) as paragraphs (3) through (10), re-
spectively, and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the
following:
‘‘(2) determine whether every Head Start pro-
gram is providing to children who participate in such
program the tools necessary to succeed in school, in-
cluding reading readiness, and to review current best
practices of Head Start programs with respect to
reading readiness;’’, and
(2) in the matter following paragraph (10), as
so redesignated, by striking ‘‘paragraph (9)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘paragraph (10)’’.
SEC. 3. REQUIRING READING READINESS IN ALL HEAD
START PROGRAMS.
The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C 9831 et seq.) is
amended—
(1) in section 636 by inserting ‘‘(including a
strong focus on reading readiness)’’ after ‘‘other
services’’, and
(2) in section 638 by inserting ‘‘(including a
strong focus on reading readiness)’’ after ‘‘other
services’’.
SEC. 4. INCENTIVE FOR HEAD START PROGRAMS TO ADOPT
CURRENT 
BEST 
PRACTICES 
IN 
READING
READINESS ACTIVITIES.
(a) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 638 of the
Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9833) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ after ‘‘SEC.’’, and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) From the portion specified in section 639(b)(4),
the Secretary shall award grants under this subsection on
a competitive basis to applicants selected by the Secretary
to carry out current best practices in reading readiness
activities.’’.
(b) PRIORITY USE OF ALLOTTED FUNDS.—Section
640(a)(2)(C) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9835(a)(2)(C)) is amended in the matter preceding clause
(i) by inserting ‘‘reading readiness and’’ after ‘‘carry out’’.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS ON MAKING HEAD START
SEAMLESS.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) Recent early brain research has yielded evi-
dence of the need to help children in the earliest
years of life in order to ensure their success in
school and in life.
(2) The Early Head Start pilot program begun
in 1994 has proven the value of intervention with
younger children and their families.
(3) Head Start programs have shown an in-
creasing interest to expand the scope of their pre-
school programs to include infants, toddlers, and
their families, and there is nothing in the Head
Start Act that precludes the Secretary of Health and
Human Services from approving the use of preschool
Head Start funds to enroll children less than 3 years
of age.
(b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of
the Congress that the Secretary of Health and Human
Services should immediately take such steps as may be
necessary to allow Head Start grantees that find evidence
of community need, to modify the use of their current
grants so as to enroll infants and toddlers in Head Start
programs without obtaining a separate Early Head Start
grant.
SEC. 6. NATIONAL HEAD START ENROLLMENT CAMPAIGN.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
implement an outreach campaign to promote enrollment
in Head Start programs and Early Head Start programs
and shall include in such campaign—
(1) forceful messages that convey the fact that
participating in such programs increases the ability
of children to learn to read, and
(2) outreach activities in hospitals, clinics, Fed-
eral food assistance programs, child care referral
agencies, and other programs that serve the health
needs of children and pregnant women.
SEC. 7. INCREASED ELIGIBILITY THRESHOLD.
Section 645(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9840(a)(1)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(i) programs demonstrating by commu-
nity assessment that all reasonable attempt has
been made to enroll children whose families’ in-
comes are below the poverty line may make eli-
gible for participation in the program children
whose families’ incomes are no greater than
150 percent of the poverty line; and’’.
SEC. 8. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING FULL FUND-
ING OF THE HEAD START ACT.
It is the sense of the Congress that the Congress
should appropriate sufficient funds to carry out the Head
Start Act so that all children who are eligible to partici-
pate in programs under such Act (including children who
are on waiting lists to participate in such programs) may
participate in such programs.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 639 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9834)
is amended—
(1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘such sums’’
and all that follows through ‘‘2003’’, and inserting
‘‘$9,200,000,000 
for 
fiscal 
year 
2002, 
and
$11,200,000,000 for fiscal year 2003’’, and
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at
the end,
(B) in paragraph (3) by striking the period
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) not more than $1,000,000,000 for each of
the fiscal years 2002 and 2003 to provide additional
funds for expansion of existing Head Start programs
or for new grantees who are using current best prac-
tices in reading readiness activities identified under
section 649(d)(2).’’.
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