‘‘(3) 
SECRETARIAL
REVIEW.—Each 
memo-
randum of understanding entered into under para-
graph (1) shall be submitted to the Secretary not 
later than 30 days after entering into such memo-
randum. 
‘‘(A) If a Head Start agency is unable to 
comply with the requirement in (1) the Head 
Start agency shall notify the Secretary and the 
chief executive officer of the State not later 
than 30 days after determining that they are 
unable to enter into such memorandum. The 
Secretary, in cooperation with the State Early 
Learning Council and the State Director of 
Head Start Collaboration, shall evaluate the 
causes of failure to enter into a memorandum 
of understanding under paragraph (1). With 
the assistance of the State Early Learning 
Council and the State Director of Head Start 
Collaboration, all parties shall again attempt to 
enter into a memorandum of understanding 
under paragraph (1). Then if no such memo-
randum of understanding is entered into within 
30 days, the Secretary shall make 1 of the fol-
lowing determinations:
‘‘(i) The local educational agency, 
local council, or other appropriate entity is 
unable or unwilling to enter into such a 
memorandum despite reasonable efforts on 
the part of the Head Start agency. 
‘‘(ii) The Head Start agency has not 
engaged in reasonable efforts to success-
fully negotiate and enter into a memo-
randum of understanding pursuant to 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(iii) There is an absence of publicly 
funded prekindergarten in the service area 
of the Head Start agency. 
‘‘(B) If the Secretary determines the Head 
Start agency is not making reasonable efforts 
to enter into a memorandum of understanding 
pursuant to paragraph (1), the Head Start 
agency shall be found to have a deficiency and 
shall be considered by the Secretary in the 
same manner as other deficiency findings. 
‘‘(C) If the Secretary concludes that the 
local educational agency, local council, or other 
appropriate entity is not making reasonable ef-
forts to reach such a memorandum of under-
standing, the Head Start agency shall not be 
found out of compliance with paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) REVISION OF MEMORANDA.—Each memo-
randum of understanding shall be revised and re-
newed annually by the parties to such memorandum, 
in alignment with the beginning of the school year. 
‘‘(5) ABSENCE OF PREKINDERGARTEN.—In the 
absence of publicly funded prekindergarten in the 
service area of a Head Start agency, the Head Start 
agency shall submit notice to the Secretary and the 
chief executive officer of the State, and shall work 
with the State Early Learning Council and the State 
Director of Head Start Collaboration to improve co-
ordination in their service area. 
‘‘(b) STATEWIDE INTEGRATION.—From the amounts 
reserved under section 640(a)(2)(C)(ii), the Secretary 
shall award an early learning collaboration grant to each 
State for the purposes of supporting a State Early Learn-
ing Council responsible for advancing the development of 
a coordinated early childhood services delivery system in 
the State. A State that receives a grant under this sub-
paragraph shall—
‘‘(1) establish a State Early Learning Council, 
which shall include the State Director of Head Start 
Collaboration, representatives from the State pre-
school programs, representatives of local educational 
agencies, the State official who oversees child care 
programs, the State official who oversees section 619 
and part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu-
cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.), the State 
official who oversees the State educational agency, 
and representatives from Head Start agencies lo-
cated in the State, including migrant and seasonal 
Head Start programs and Indian Head Start pro-
grams. The chief executive officer of the State may 
designate an existing entity to serve as the Early 
Learning Council if such entity includes representa-
tives described in this paragraph; 
‘‘(2) ensure that allotted funds distributed to a 
State for a fiscal year to carry out this subsection 
may be used by the State to pay not more than 30 
percent of the cost of carrying out this subsection; 
‘‘(3) direct the Early Learning Council—
‘‘(A) to increase coordination and collabo-
ration among State preschool, Head Start pro-
grams, child care programs, early childhood 
special education, and other early childhood 
programs, including in the areas of outcomes 
and standards, technical assistance, coordina-
tion of services, cross-sector professional devel-
100
opment and training, community outreach, com-
munication, and better serving the needs of 
working families through provision of full-day 
and full-year early education services; 
‘‘(B) to work with State agencies respon-
sible for education, child care, and early inter-
vention to provide leadership and assistance to 
local Head Start programs, school districts, and 
State and locally funded preschool and child 
care programs to increase integration among 
early childhood programs through adoption of 
local memoranda of understanding described in 
subparagraph (A) and other means; 
‘‘(C) to work with State agencies respon-
sible for education, child care, and early inter-
vention to provide leadership and assistance to 
develop a coherent sequence of standards for 
children age 3 through the early elementary 
grades to effect a smooth transition to and suc-
cess in the early elementary grades; 
‘‘(D) to conduct periodic statewide needs 
assessments concerning early care and edu-
cation programs for children from birth to 
school entry;
101
‘‘(E) to work to identify and address bar-
riers to and opportunities for integration be-
tween entities carrying out Federal and State 
child development, child care, and early child-
hood education programs; 
‘‘(F) to develop recommendations regard-
ing means of establishing a unified data collec-
tion system for early care and education pro-
grams operating throughout the State; 
‘‘(G) to address coordination of early 
learning programs with health care (including 
mental and behavioral health care), welfare, 
family literacy and services for homeless chil-
dren; 
‘‘(H) to support a State system of early 
childhood education, and training and technical 
assistance that improves the quality of early 
learning programs and the capacity of such pro-
grams to deliver services pursuant to section 
648(b); and 
‘‘(I) to develop a plan for increasing the 
participation of children underrepresented in 
State early childhood education and child care 
programs, including Head Start, State pre-
school programs, and programs carried out
102
under the Child Care and Development Block 
Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.). 
‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be con-
strued to provide the Early Learning Council with 
authority to alter the provisions of this Act. 
‘‘(5) Funds made available under this section 
shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other 
Federal, State, and local funds that would otherwise 
be expended to carry out the purposes of this sec-
tion.’’. 
SEC. 12. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND STAND-
ARDS. 
Section 644 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 
9839(f)(2)) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1) STANDARDS.—’’ 
after ‘‘(a)’’; and 
(B) by inserting after the 3d sentence the 
following: 
‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each Head Start agency 
shall make available to the public a report published at 
least once in each fiscal year that discloses the following 
information from the then most recently concluded fiscal 
year, except that reporting such information shall not re-
103
veal personally identifiable information about an indi-
vidual child: 
‘‘(A) The total amount of public and private 
funds received and the amount from each source. 
‘‘(B) An explanation of budgetary expenditures 
and proposed budget for the following fiscal year. 
‘‘(C) The total number of children and families 
served and percent of average monthly enrollment, 
including the percent of eligible children served. 
‘‘(D) The results of the most recent review by 
the Secretary and the financial audit. 
‘‘(E) The percentage of enrolled children that 
received medical and dental exams. 
‘‘(F) Information about parent involvement ac-
tivities. 
‘‘(G) The agency’s efforts to prepare children 
for kindergarten. 
‘‘(H) Any other information that describes the 
activities of the agency. 
‘‘(3) PROCEDURAL CONDUCT.—’’; and 
(2) in subsection (f)(2) 
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 
through (E) as subparagraphs (B) through (F), 
respectively; and
104
(B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), 
as so redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(A) a description of the consultation conducted 
by the Head Start agency with the providers in the 
community demonstrating capacity and capability to 
provide services under this subchapter, and of the 
potential for collaboration with such providers and 
the cost effectiveness of such collaboration as op-
posed to the cost effectiveness of the purchase of a 
facility;’’. 
SEC. 13. ELIGIBILITY. 
Section 645(a) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 
9840) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) in subparagraph (B)(i)—
(i) by striking ‘‘to a reasonable ex-
tent’’ and inserting ‘‘not to exceed 10 per-
cent of the total enrollment’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘benefit from such 
programs’’ and inserting ‘‘benefit from 
such programs, including children referred 
by child welfare services,’’; and 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘(a homeless child 
shall be deemed to meet the low-income 
criteria)’’ before the semicolon; and
105
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) The amount of a basic allowance provided under 
section 403 of title 37, United States Code, on behalf of 
an individual who is a member of the uniformed services 
for housing that is acquired or constructed under the au-
thority of subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United 
States Code, or any other related provision of law, shall 
not be considered to be income for purposes of deter-
mining the eligibility of a child of the individual for pro-
grams assisted under this subchapter.’’. 
SEC. 14. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 645A(b) of the Head 
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a(b)) is amended—
(1) by amending paragraphs (4) and (5) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(4) provide services to parents to support their 
role as parents (including parenting skills training 
and training in basic child development) and to help 
the families move toward self-sufficiency (including 
educational and employment services as appro-
priate); 
‘‘(5) coordinate services with services (including 
home-based services) provided by programs in the 
State and programs in the community (including 
programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities
106
and programs for homeless infants and toddlers) to 
ensure a comprehensive array of services (such as 
health and mental health services, and family sup-
port services);’’; 
(2) by amending paragraph (8) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(8) ensure formal linkages with the agencies 
and entities described in section 644(b) of the Indi-
viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
1444(b)) and providers of early intervention services 
for infants and toddlers with disabilities under the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) and the agency responsible for 
administering section 106 of the Child Abuse Pre-
vention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a);’’; 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para-
graph (11); and 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(9) develop and implement a systematic proce-
dure for transitioning children and parents from an 
Early Head Start program into a Head Start pro-
gram or another local early childhood education pro-
gram;
107
‘‘(10) establish channels of communication be-
tween staff of Early Head Start programs and staff 
of Head Start programs or other local early child-
hood education programs, to facilitate the coordina-
tion of programs; and’’. 
(b) 
MIGRANT
AND
SEASONAL
PROGRAMS; 
COMMUNITY- AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.—Sec-
tion 645A(d) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a(d)) 
is amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1) entities operating Head Start programs 
under this subpart, including migrant and seasonal 
Head Start programs; and’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘, including 
community- and faith-based organizations’’ after 
‘‘entities’’ the 2d place it appears. 
(c) TRAINING
AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AC-
COUNT.—Section 645A(g)(2)(B) of the Head Start Act 
(42 U.S.C. 9640a(g)(2)(B)) is amended—
(1) in clause (iii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(2) in clause (iv) by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following:
108
‘‘(v) providing professional develop-
ment designed to increase program partici-
pation for underserved populations of eligi-
ble children.’’. 
(d) CENTER-BASED STAFF.—Section 645A of the 
Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) CENTER-BASED STAFF.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that, not later than September 30, 2008, all teach-
ers providing direct services to children and families par-
ticipating in Early Head Start programs located in Early 
Head Start centers have a minimum of a child develop-
ment associate credential or an associate degree, and have 
been trained (or have equivalent course work) in early 
childhood development.’’. 
SEC. 15. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR NON-
EMERGENCY INTRUSIVE PHYSICAL EXAMINA-
TIONS. 
The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 645A the following: 
‘‘SEC. 645B. PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIREMENT FOR 
HEALTH CARE SERVICES, INCLUDING NON-
EMERGENCY INTRUSIVE PHYSICAL EXAMINA-
TIONS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
109
‘‘(1) The term ‘health care service’ includes—
‘‘(A) any nonemergency intrusive physical 
examination; and 
‘‘(B) any screening, included but not lim-
ited to, a medical, dental, developmental, men-
tal health, social, or behavioral screening. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘nonemergency intrusive physical 
examination’ means, with respect to a child, a phys-
ical examination that—
‘‘(A) is not immediately necessary to pro-
tect the health or safety of such child, or the 
health or safety of another individual; and 
‘‘(B) includes incision or is otherwise 
invasive, or includes exposure of private body 
parts. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—Before administering any 
health care service to a child (or referring a child to obtain 
such service) in connection with participation in a program 
under this subchapter, a Head Start agency or an entity 
that receives assistance under section 645A shall obtain 
the informed written consent of a parent of such child in-
dicating consent for each specific health care service to 
be performed. 
‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—
110
‘‘(1) Nothing in this section shall be construed 
to prohibit a Head Start agency or an entity that re-
ceives assistance under section 645A from using es-
tablished methods for handling cases of suspected or 
known child abuse or neglect that are in compliance 
with applicable Federal, State, or tribal law. 
‘‘(2) Nothing in this subchapter shall be con-
strued to permit a Head Start agency, an entity that 
receives assistance under section 645A, or the per-
sonnel of such agency or entity to administer any 
health care service to a child (or to refer a child to 
obtain such service) without the informed written 
consent of a parent of such child indicating consent 
for each specific health care service to be performed. 
‘‘(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed 
to require a Head Start agency or an entity that re-
ceives assistance under section 645A to provide sep-
arate consent forms for each specific health care 
service.’’. 
SEC. 16. RIGHT TO APPEAL. 
Section 646(a)(3) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 
9841(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) if financial assistance under this sub-
chapter is terminated or reduced, an application for 
a noncompeting continuation award is denied based
111
on a previous failure to comply with terms applicable 
to financial assistance previously provided this sub-
chapter, or suspension of financial assistance is con-
tinued for more than 30 days, the recipient with re-
spect to whom such action is taken shall have the 
opportunity to appeal such action in accordance with 
such procedures, except that no funds made avail-
able under this subchapter may be used to reimburse 
any such recipient for legal fees and other costs in-
curred in pursuing such an appeal;’’. 
SEC. 17. AUDITS. 
Section 647 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9842) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c)(1) Not later than 270 days after the end of each 
fiscal year, each Head Start agency and each entity that 
receives assistance under section 645A shall, with finan-
cial assistance provided by this subchapter—
‘‘(A) undergo a single audit under the require-
ments of the Single Audit Act and submit its finan-
cial statement audit and compliance audit of Federal 
assistance to the Secretary and to the Federal Audit 
Clearinghouse an independent financial audit of the 
Head Start program if subject to the Single Audit 
Act Amendments of 1996; or
112
‘‘(B) undergo a financial statement audit in ac-
cordance with the generally accepted government au-
diting standards issued by the American Institute of 
Certified Public Accountants and Government Audit-
ing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of 
the United States, if not subject to the Single Audit 
Act. 
‘‘(2) Audits described in subparagraph (A) and (B) 
shall be carried out by an auditor selected through a com-
petitive process by the board described in section 
642(b)(4) except when conducted by the State auditor as 
required by State law. 
‘‘(3) No audit partner shall perform audits of such 
agency for a period exceeding 5 consecutive fiscal years 
except when such agency notifies the Secretary that rota-
tion is not possible because an alternate audit partner is 
not available or would present a significant challenge to 
the agency. 
‘‘(4) Not later than 60 days after receiving such 
audit, the Secretary shall provide to such agency or such 
entity, and to the chief executive officer of the State in 
which such program is operated, a notice identifying the 
actions such agency or such entity is required to take to 
correct all deficiencies identified in such audit.
113
‘‘(d) Each recipient of financial assistance under this 
subchapter shall—
‘‘(1) maintain, and annually submit to the Sec-
retary, a complete accounting of its administrative 
expenses (including a detailed statement identifying 
the amount of financial assistance provided under 
this subchapter used to pay expenses for salaries 
and compensation and the amount (if any) of other 
funds used to pay such expenses); and 
‘‘(2) provide such additional documentation as 
the Secretary may require.’’. 
SEC. 18. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. 
(a) ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES.—Section 648(c) of 
the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843(c)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘and for ac-
tivities described in section 1221(b)(3) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965’’ 
after ‘‘disabilities’’ ; and 
(2) in paragraph (5) by inserting ‘‘, including 
the needs of homeless children and their families’’ 
after ‘‘assessment’’; 
(3) in paragraph (10) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(4) in paragraph (11) by striking the period at 
the end and inserting a semicolon; and
114
(5) by adding the following at the end: 
‘‘(12) assist Head Start agencies and programs 
in increasing program participation of homeless chil-
dren; and 
‘‘(13) assist Head Start agencies and Head 
Start programs in improving outreach to, and the 
quality of services available to, limited English pro-
ficient children and their families, particularly in 
communities that have experienced a large percent-
age increase in the population of limited English 
proficient individuals, as measured by the Bureau of 
the Census.’’. 
(b) TRAINING IN USE OF MEDIA.—Section 648(d) of 
the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843(d)) is amended by 
inserting ‘‘, including community- and faith-based organi-
zations’’ after ‘‘entities’’ the first place such term appears. 
(c) CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND NATIONAL ASSESS-
MENT PROGRAM.—Section 648(e) of the Head Start Act 
(42 U.S.C. 9843(e)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(e) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 
through grants or other arrangements, funds from pro-
grams authorized under this subchapter to support an or-
ganization to administer a centralized child development 
and national assessment program leading to recognized 
credentials for personnel working in early childhood devel-
115
opment and child care programs, training for personnel 
providing services to limited English proficient children 
(including services to promote the acquisition of the 
English language), training for personnel providing serv-
ices to children determined to be abused or neglected, 
training for personnel providing services to children re-
ferred by or receiving child welfare services, training for 
personnel in helping children cope with community vio-
lence, and resource access projects for personnel working 
with disabled children.’’. 
(d) ADDRESSING UNIQUE NEEDS.—Section 648 of 
the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) The Secretary shall provide, either directly or 
through grants, or other arrangements, funds for training 
of Head Start personnel in addressing the unique needs 
of migrant and seasonal working families, families with 
one or more children with disabilities, families with a lim-
ited English proficiency, and homeless families. 
‘‘(g) More than 50 percent of funds expended under 
this section shall be used to provide high quality, sus-
tained, intensive, and classroom-focused training and tech-
nical assistance in order to have a positive and lasting im-
pact on classroom instruction. Funds shall be used to 
carry out activities related to any or all of the following:
116
‘‘(1) Education and early childhood develop-
ment. 
‘‘(2) Child health, nutrition, and safety. 
‘‘(3) Family and community partnerships. 
‘‘(4) Other areas that impact the quality or 
overall effectiveness of Head Start programs. 
‘‘(h) The Secretary shall develop and implement an 
outreach program to train and recruit African-American 
and Latino-American men to become Head Start teachers 
in order to increase the provision of quality services and 
instruction to children with diverse backgrounds. 
‘‘(i) Funds under this subchapter used for training 
shall be used for needs identified annually by a grant ap-
plicant or delegate agency in their program improvement 
plan, except that funds shall not be used for long-distance 
travel expenses for training activities available locally or 
regionally or for training activities substantially similar to 
locally or regionally available training activities. 
‘‘(j)(1) The Secretary shall work in collaboration with 
the Head Start agencies that carry out migrant and sea-
sonal Head Start programs and Indian Head Start pro-
grams, State Directors of Head Start Collaboration, the 
Indian Head Start Collaboration Director, the migrant 
and seasonal Head Start collatoration director, and other 
appropriate entities, including tribal governments—
117
‘‘(A) to accurately determine the number of 
children nationwide who are eligible to participate in 
migrant and seasonal Head Start programs and in 
Indian Head Start programs each year; 
‘‘(B) to document how many of these children 
are receiving Head Start services each year; and 
‘‘(C) to the extent practicable, to ensure that 
access to migrant and seasonal Head Start pro-
grams and in Indian Head Start programs for eligi-
ble children is comparable to access to other Head 
Start programs for other eligible children; 
‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary 
shall consult with the Secretary of Education about the 
Department of Education’s systems for collecting and re-
porting data about, and maintaining records on, students 
from migrant and seasonal farmworker families and 
American Indian and Alaska Native students. 
‘‘(3) Not later than 9 months after the effective date 
of this subsection, the Secretary shall publish in the Fed-
eral Register a notice of how the Secretary plans to carry 
out paragraph (1) and shall provide a period for public 
comment. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall 
consider comments received before submitting a report to 
the Congress.
118
‘‘(4) Not later than 1 year after the effective date 
of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit a report to 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, detailing 
how the Department of Health and Human Services plans 
to carry out paragraph (1). 
‘‘(5) The Secretary shall submit annually a report to 
the Congress detailing the number of children of migrant 
and seasonal farmworkers, American Indian and Alaska 
Native children who are eligible to participate in Head 
Start programs and the number of such children who are 
enrolled in Head Start programs. 
‘‘(6) The Secretary shall take appropriate action, con-
sistent with section 444 of the General Education Provi-
sions Act, to ensure the protection of the confidentiality 
of any personally identifiable data, information, and 
records collected or maintained by the Secretary, by Head 
Start agencies that carry out migrant and seasonal Head 
Start programs and in Indian Head Start programs, by 
State Directors of Head Start Collaboration, by the Mi-
grant and Seasonal Farmworker Collaboration Project Di-
rector, by the Indian Head Start Collaboration Project Di-
rector, and by other appropriate entities pursuant to this 
subsection.
119
‘‘(7) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
authorize the development of a nationwide database of 
personally identifiable information on individuals involved 
in studies or other collections of data under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(k) For purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible 
entities’ means an institution of higher education or other 
entity with expertise in delivering training in early child-
hood development, family support, and other assistance 
designed to improve the delivery of Head Start services.’’. 
SEC. 19. STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT. 
(a) CLASSROOM TEACHERS.—Section 648A(a)(2) of 
the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a(a)(2)) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) DEGREE REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that not later than September 30, 2011, 
at least 50 percent of all Head Start teachers 
nationwide in center-based programs have—
‘‘(i) a baccalaureate or advanced de-
gree in early childhood education; or 
‘‘(ii) a baccalaureate or advanced de-
gree in a field related to early childhood 
education, with experience in teaching pre-
school children.