I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1755 
To award grants to States to establish, enhance, or expand high-quality 
preschool programs for children ages 3 through 5 in rural areas. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2009 
Mr. HARE (for himself, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. LOEBSACK, and Ms. HIRONO) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor 
A BILL 
To award grants to States to establish, enhance, or expand 
high-quality preschool programs for children ages 3 
through 5 in rural areas. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FACTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Rural Early Education Access Act’’. 
(b) FACTS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Investing in early childhood programs can 
yield positive gains for children and rural commu-
nities, such as— 
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(A) academic achievement and progression; 
(B) decreased cost to local governments for 
expensive social services, such as special edu-
cation; 
(C) a skilled and productive workforce; and 
(D) economic development. 
(2) The 2007 National Center for Education 
Statistics report ‘‘Status of Education in Rural 
America’’ found that rural areas maintain the lowest 
level of enrollment in preschool programs when com-
pared with urban and suburban school districts. 
(3) In 2006, an estimated 2.69 million children 
between the ages of three and five were living in 
rural areas, and only half had access to ‘‘center- 
based preschool’’. 
(4) Students in rural districts have been found 
to be fifteen percent less likely to begin kindergarten 
with key early literacy skills and fifty percent less 
likely to possess beginning sounds recognition than 
urban and suburban children. 
(5) Rural children are sixty percent more likely 
to require special education placement than children 
from non-rural areas. 
(6) Rural communities face significant obstacles 
in providing access to high quality preschool pro-
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grams needed to mitigate these problems, such as 
limited financial resources, scarcity of qualified 
teachers, deficient training and professional develop-
ment opportunities, inadequate facilities, and lack of 
transportation options. 
(7) In spite of increasing State investments, ac-
cess to high-quality preschool programs varies widely 
among urban, suburban, and rural areas within a 
State due to the lack of capacity in rural commu-
nities. 
(8) Head Start offers the only option for high 
quality early education in rural communities, how-
ever, many low-income children living in rural set-
tings do not qualify, and many who do qualify are 
not being served. 
(9) Given rural challenges and limited access to 
preschool programs in rural communities, Federal 
investments are necessary in order for children in 
rural areas to benefit from the research-proven gains 
offered by high-quality early learning programs. 
(10) On March 10, 2009, President Obama 
called on Congress to enact the Early Learning 
Challenge Grant to help States raise the quality of 
early learning programs. 
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(11) Federal funding for preschool programs 
that require States to compete for funds and then 
allows them to create a formula to provide grants to 
rural providers will increase the availability of high 
quality early childhood education opportunities. 
SEC. 2. RURAL EARLY EDUCATION GRANTS. 
(a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—From the amounts 
made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall 
make grants to States to establish, enhance, or expand 
high-quality preschool programs provided by rural pre-
school providers. 
(b) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 
(1) INITIAL GRANTS.—An initial grant under 
this Act shall be for a period of 5 years. 
(2) ADDITIONAL
GRANTS.—An initial grant 
under this Act may be renewed under section 11. 
SEC. 3. STATE ACTIVITIES. 
(a) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—Except as provided 
in subsection (b), a State shall use funds received under 
this Act to carry out a program to award subgrants to 
rural preschool providers in accordance with the applica-
tion requirements under section 4 and the formula re-
quirements under section 5. 
(b) ALLOWABLE USE OF FUNDS.—A State that re-
ceives a grant under this Act may use up to 5 percent 
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of the grant to perform one or more of the following State 
activities: 
(1) Providing consultation to administrators of 
rural preschool providers on strategies to combine 
services with local Head Start agencies to expand 
enrollment or to provide additional services to chil-
dren enrolled in programs provided by the rural pre-
school providers. 
(2) Creating partnerships between rural pre-
school providers and institutions of higher education 
in order to enable participating teachers and para-
professionals to obtain a bachelor’s degree as non-
traditional students by expanding a State-funded 
professional development program (or other existing 
program) to include a program for preschool teach-
ers who are employed in rural areas. 
(3) Providing relief for student loans and other 
incentives for preschool teachers who are employed 
by rural preschool providers after receiving a bach-
elor’s degree in early childhood education. 
(4) Establishing a monitoring system to ensure 
that all rural preschool providers awarded a grant 
under this Act demonstrate progress toward imple-
menting high-quality preschool programs. 
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(5) Developing and implementing statewide pro-
cedures to promote coordination between rural pre-
school providers and local educational agencies. 
(6) Disseminating information about the finan-
cial management of rural preschool providers, in-
cluding financial management strategies that com-
bine Federal, State, local, and private funds. 
SEC. 4. STATE APPLICATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring to receive a grant 
under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 
reasonably require. 
(b) REQUIRED CONTENTS.—The application referred 
to in subsection (a) shall include— 
(1) a description of how the funding formula in 
section 5 will ensure that funds are received only by 
eligible rural preschool providers in such State; 
(2) a plan for measuring the progress dem-
onstrated by rural preschool providers in such State 
toward implementing high-quality preschool pro-
grams; 
(3) an assurance that the State, at a minimum, 
will ensure that the total expenditure by the State 
and its political subdivisions to support such pro-
grams for the fiscal year for which the grant is 
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made is equal to, or greater than, such expenditure 
for the preceding fiscal year; 
(4) how the State will— 
(A) promote coordination between rural 
preschool providers and the local educational 
agencies in such State; 
(B) ensure that institutions of higher edu-
cation in such State will receive funds for ac-
tivities pursuant to section 3(b)(2), if applica-
ble; 
(C) ensure that partnerships between rural 
preschool providers and Head Start programs 
under section 7(b) in such State will enhance 
the quality or the availability of resources pro-
vided to children served by the Head Start 
agency; and 
(D) determine that rural preschool pro-
viders in such State fulfill the minimum eligi-
bility requirements of section 6; and 
(5) a description of the lead agency in such 
State, designated by the Governor of such State, to 
administer and to supervise the implementation of 
programs authorized under this Act. 
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SEC. 5. ALLOTMENT TO RURAL PRESCHOOL PROVIDERS. 
Each State shall create a formula to award subgrants 
to rural preschool providers that considers— 
(1) factors that impede the implementation of a 
high-quality preschool program, including geo-
graphical barriers, local poverty rates, and scarcity 
of professional development opportunities for teach-
ers; 
(2) the educational needs of children enrolled in 
the rural preschool program provided by a rural pre-
school provider, including children with learning dis-
abilities and limited English proficiency; and 
(3) the current availability of rural preschool 
program opportunities. 
SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL PRESCHOOL PROVIDERS. 
(a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—In order to re-
ceive a subgrant under this Act, a rural preschool provider 
must demonstrate that it— 
(1) maintains a maximum classroom size of 20 
children per classroom; 
(2) maintains a teacher-to-student ratio of 10 
to 1 or lower; 
(3) implements a program that adheres to com-
prehensive early learning standards; 
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(4) provides at least one highly nutritious meal 
for each child for every 3 hours of program partici-
pation per day; and 
(5) provides at least one highly nutritious snack 
for each child participating in the program for up to 
3 hours per day. 
(b) WAIVER.—A rural preschool provider that ex-
ceeds the classroom size and ratio requirements in para-
graphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) due to smaller enroll-
ments or geographic barriers may apply to have such re-
quirements waived in order to receive a subgrant under 
this Act. The State shall designate an appropriate agency 
with expertise in early childhood education to review and 
to approve such applications. 
SEC. 7. LOCAL USE OF FUNDS. 
(a) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—A rural preschool 
provider that receives a subgrant under this Act shall use 
funds to meet one or more of the following program re-
quirements: 
(1) Providing one highly competent assistant 
teacher per classroom of more than 10 children. 
(2) Providing not less than 15 hours of partici-
pation in a high-quality professional development 
program for each teacher per school year. 
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(3) Providing health screening and referral 
services for children enrolled in the preschool pro-
gram, including regular dental and vision screenings. 
(4) Providing resources and qualified staff nec-
essary to serve children with disabilities. 
(5) Providing resources and qualified staff nec-
essary to serve children of limited English pro-
ficiency. 
(6) Coordinating with local educational agen-
cies. 
(b) HEAD START-PRESCHOOL PARTNERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to fulfill the re-
quirements of subsection (a), a rural preschool pro-
vider may use grant funds to form a partnership 
with a local Head Start agency. Such partnerships 
shall pay for the services needed to serve preschool 
students not eligible for a Head Start program, 
which may include services, such as— 
(A) facilities, including classroom space; 
(B) health screening and referral services; 
(C) materials and supplies used in a pre-
school or Head Start program; and 
(D) highly competent teachers and assist-
ant teachers. 
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