within the State that are designed to enable child 
care providers to promote the social, emotional, 
physical, and cognitive development of children and 
that are applicable to child care providers that pro-
vide services for which assistance is made available 
under this subchapter in the State.’’. 
SEC. 132. STRENGTHENING THE QUALITY OF CHILD CARE. 
Section 658G of the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 658G. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF 
CHILD CARE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) RESERVATION.—Each State that receives 
funds appropriated under section 639(a) for a fiscal 
year shall reserve and use not less than 6 percent 
of the funds for activities provided directly, or 
through grants or contracts with resource and refer-
ral organizations or other appropriate entities, that 
are designed to improve the quality of child care 
services. 
‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—The funds reserved under 
paragraph (1) may only be used to— 
‘‘(A) develop and implement voluntary 
guidelines on pre-reading and language skills
and activities, for child care programs in the 
State, that are aligned with State standards for 
kindergarten through grade 12 or the State’s 
general goals for school preparedness; 
‘‘(B) support activities and provide tech-
nical assistance in child care settings to en-
hance early learning for young children, to pro-
mote literacy, and to foster school prepared-
ness; 
‘‘(C) offer training, professional develop-
ment, and educational opportunities for child 
care providers that relate to the use of develop-
mentally appropriate and age-appropriate cur-
ricula, and early childhood teaching strategies, 
that are scientifically based and aligned with 
the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive de-
velopment of children, including— 
‘‘(i) developing and operating distance 
learning child care training infrastructures; 
‘‘(ii) developing model technology- 
based training courses; 
‘‘(iii) offering training for caregivers 
in informal child care settings; and
‘‘(iv) offering training for child care 
providers who care for infants and toddlers 
and children with special needs; 
‘‘(D) engage in programs designed to in-
crease the retention and improve the com-
petencies of child care providers, including wage 
incentive programs and initiatives that establish 
tiered payment rates for providers that meet or 
exceed child care services guidelines, as defined 
by the State; 
‘‘(E) evaluate and assess the quality and 
effectiveness of child care programs and serv-
ices offered in the State to young children on 
improving overall school preparedness; and 
‘‘(F) carry out other activities determined 
by the State to improve the quality of child care 
services provided in the State and for which 
measurement of outcomes relating to improved 
child safety, child well-being, or school pre-
paredness is possible. 
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—For each fiscal year begin-
ning after September 30, 2005, the State shall annually 
submit to the Secretary a certification in which the State 
certifies and demonstrates that the State was in compli-
ance with subsection (a) during the preceding fiscal year
and describes how the State used funds made available 
to carry out this subchapter to comply with subsection (a) 
during that preceding fiscal year.’’. 
TITLE II—PROVIDING SAFE, RE-
LIABLE 
TRANSPORTATION 
FOR RURAL SCHOOL CHIL-
DREN 
SEC. 201. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) school transportation issues have concerned 
parents, local educational agencies, lawmakers, the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 
the National Transportation Safety Board, and the 
Environmental Protection Agency for years; 
(2) millions of children face potential future 
health problems because of exposure to noxious 
fumes emitted from older school buses; 
(3) the Environmental Protection Agency estab-
lished the Clean School Bus USA program to re-
place 129,000 of the oldest diesel buses that cannot 
be retrofitted in an effort to help children and the 
environment by improving air quality; 
(4) unfortunately, many rural local educational 
agencies are unable to participate in that program
because of the specialized fuels needed to sustain a 
clean bus fleet; 
(5) many rural local educational agencies are 
operating outdated, unsafe school buses that are 
failing inspections because of automotive flaws, re-
sulting in the depletion of the school bus fleets of 
the local educational agencies; and 
(6) many rural local educational agencies are 
unable to afford to buy newer, safer buses. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to estab-
lish within the Department of Education a Federal cost- 
sharing program to assist rural local educational agencies 
with older, unsafe school bus fleets in purchasing newer, 
safer school buses. 
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) RURAL
LOCAL
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY.— 
The term ‘‘rural local educational agency’’ means a 
local educational agency, as defined in section 9101 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801), with respect to which— 
(A) each county in which a school served 
by the local educational agency is located has a 
total population density of fewer than 10 per-
sons per square mile;
(B) all schools served by the local edu-
cational agency are designated with a school lo-
cale code of 7 or 8, as determined by the Sec-
retary; or 
(C) all schools served by the local edu-
cational agency have been designated, by official 
action taken by the legislature of the State in 
which the local educational agency is located, as 
rural schools for purposes relating to the provi-
sion of educational services to students in the 
State. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
(3) SCHOOL
BUS.—The term ‘‘school bus’’ 
means a vehicle the primary purpose of which is to 
transport students to and from school or school ac-
tivities. 
SEC. 203. GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN
GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 
under subsection (e) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
provide grants, on a competitive basis, to rural local edu-
cational agencies to pay the Federal share of the cost of 
purchasing new school buses. 
(b) APPLICATION.—