I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3365
To provide grants to local educational agencies to establish or expand pre-
kindergarten programs for children who are not yet enrolled in kinder-
garten.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 15, 1999
Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To provide grants to local educational agencies to establish
or expand prekindergarten programs for children who
are not yet enrolled in kindergarten.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM.
Title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘PART L—PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS
‘‘SEC. 10995A. FINDINGS.
‘‘Congress finds the following:
‘‘(1) Countless studies have shown what every
parent already knows: High-quality preschool edu-
cation programs work. They prepare children to
learn when they go to school, and the programs in-
crease the success of students throughout their lives.
‘‘(2) Children who get a high-quality prekinder-
garten education are more likely to increase their
overall IQ, improve their results on achievement
tests, and increase their chances of graduating from
high school and pursuing some form of higher edu-
cation. These same children are less likely to repeat
a grade level and have less need for special edu-
cation instruction than those with no preschool back-
ground, thus saving local educational agencies funds
that might otherwise be necessary to provide special
education instruction.
‘‘(3) Prekindergarten education makes an enor-
mous difference in the lives of children from lower-
income families. The following specific results were
found for children eligible for Head Start services or
child care assistance, children who belong to a single
parent, 2-child families earning less than $22,000
per year, or families of 4 earning less than $31,000
per year—
‘‘(A) 29 percent of the children who at-
tended prekindergarten program were employed
in jobs paying over $2,000 by age 27, as op-
posed to 7 percent of those from the same in-
come group who did not receive prekindergarten
education.
‘‘(B) Only 57 percent of the children who
attended a prekindergarten program grew up to
become single mothers, as opposed to 83 per-
cent of the same income group who did not at-
tend a prekindergarten program.
‘‘(C) 36 percent of the children who at-
tended a prekindergarten program grew up to
own their own homes, as opposed to only 13
percent of the same income group who did not
attend such a program.
‘‘(D) Less than 13 percent of the boys in
the group who attended a prekindergarten pro-
gram grew up to be arrested 5 or more times,
as opposed to 49 percent of the boys from the
same income group who did not attend a pre-
kindergarten program.
‘‘SEC. 10995B. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to
provide grants to local educational agencies with an ap-
proved application under section 10995C to allow such
agencies to establish or expand prekindergarten early
learning programs to be operated by the local education
agency.
‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority for
grants under this part to local educational agencies with
the highest population of children, ages 3 to 5, not en-
rolled in a prekindergarten or kindergarten program.
‘‘SEC. 10995C. APPLICATIONS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency that
desires to receive a grant under this part shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner,
and containing such information as the Secretary may rea-
sonably require.
‘‘(b) CONTENT.—An application referred to in sub-
section (a), at a minimum, shall—
‘‘(1) demonstrate a need for the establishment
or expansion of a prekindergarten program;
‘‘(2) provide an assurance that each individual
hired to work with children in the prekindergarten
program is a teacher or child development specialist
certified by the State;
‘‘(3) provide an assurance that the ratio of
teacher or child development specialist to children
shall not exceed 10–1;
‘‘(8) describe how the agency will coordinate
with and expand, but not duplicate or supplant,
early childhood programs that exist in the commu-
nity;
‘‘(9) review scientifically based research on
early childhood education services that focus on lan-
guage, literacy, and reading development;
‘‘(10) describe how the program will meet the
diverse needs of children, ages 3 through 5, in the
community who are not enrolled in kindergarten, in-
cluding children who have special needs;
‘‘(11) describe how to employ methods that en-
sure a smooth transition for participating students
from early childhood education to kindergarten and
early elementary education;
‘‘(12) describe the results the programs are in-
tended to achieve, and what tools to use to measure
the progress in attaining those results;
‘‘(13) describe a plan to operate the program
without using funds made available under this part;
and
‘‘(14) provide an assurance that none of the
funds received under this part may be used for the
construction or renovation of existing or new facili-
ties (except for minor remodeling needed to accom-
plish the purposes of this part);
‘‘SEC. 10995D. USES OF FUNDS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency that
receives a grant award under this part may use funds re-
ceived to establish or expand prekindergarten programs
for children, ages 3 through 5, who are not enrolled in
kindergarten.
‘‘(b) PREKINDERGARTEN
PROGRAMS.—Each pre-
kindergarten program that is established pursuant to this
part shall—
‘‘(1) focus on the developmental needs of par-
ticipating children, including their social, cognitive,
and language-development needs, and use research-
based approaches that build on competencies that
lead to school success, particularly in language and
literacy development and in reading; and
‘‘(2) ensure that participating children, at a
minimum—
‘‘(A) understand and use language to com-
municate for various purposes;
‘‘(B) understand and use increasingly com-
plex and varied vocabulary;
‘‘(C) develop and demonstrate an apprecia-
tion of books;
‘‘(D) 
develop 
phonemic, 
print, 
and
numeracy awareness; and
‘‘(E) in the case of children with limited
English proficiency, progress toward acquisition
of the English language.
‘‘SEC. 10995E. REPORTING.
‘‘(a) LOCAL REPORTS.—Each local educational agen-
cy that receives a grant award under this part shall submit
to the Secretary annually a report that reviews the effec-
tiveness of the prekindergarten program established with
funds provided under this part.
‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall
submit to Congress annually a report that evaluates the
prekindergarten programs established under this part.
‘‘SEC. 10995F. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this part $210,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $210,000,000
for fiscal year 2002, $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2003,
$1,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and $2,100,000,000
for fiscal year 2005.’’.
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