(b) BENCHMARKS.—Each State receiving a grant 
under this Act shall— 
(1) develop quantifiable benchmarks for the 
State and the activities supported under the grant 
based on the indicators described in subsection (a) 
that are applicable to the State; 
(2) submit the benchmarks for approval to the 
Secretary; and 
(3) report to the Secretary on progress in meet-
ing such benchmarks as required by the Secretary. 
(c) DISAGGREGATION.—The indicators and bench-
marks described in this section shall be disaggregated. 
SEC. 8. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 
The 
Secretary 
shall 
reserve 
not 
more 
than 
$5,000,000 from amounts appropriated under this Act to 
directly, or through grant or contract, provide technical 
assistance to eligible entities to prepare the entities to 
qualify, apply for, and maintain grants under section 4 
or 5. 
SEC. 9. FINANCIAL HARDSHIP WAIVER. 
The Secretary may waive or reduce a requirement 
under this Act regarding the non-Federal share of a State 
or maintenance of effort of a State if the State dem-
onstrates a need for such waiver or reduction due to finan-
cial hardship. 
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SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ refers to an in-
dividual from birth through the day the individual 
enters kindergarten. 
(2) DISADVANTAGED.—The term ‘‘disadvan-
taged’’, when used with respect to a child, means— 
(A) a child from a low-income family; 
(B) a homeless child; 
(C) a child in the custody of a child wel-
fare agency; 
(D) a child with a developmental delay or 
disability; or 
(E) a child who is limited English pro-
ficient. 
(3) EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS.—The term 
‘‘early learning standards’’ means a set of expecta-
tions for the learning and development of children 
from birth through entry into kindergarten that— 
(A) emphasize significant developmentally 
appropriate content and outcomes that describe 
what children should know and be able to do 
across all domains, including language, literacy, 
mathematics, science, social development, emo-
tional development, health and physical well- 
being, and approaches to learning; 
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(B) are based on research about the proc-
esses, sequences, and long-term influence of 
early learning and development; 
(C) identify approaches to learning that 
are developmentally appropriate (including cul-
turally and linguistically appropriate) and sup-
portive of positive outcomes for all children; 
(D) are aligned with the appropriate State 
academic content standards for kindergarten 
through grade 3; 
(E) inform providers, programs, teachers, 
schools, parents, and the community on what 
young children are expected to learn; and 
(F) guide providers, programs, teachers, 
and schools in supporting children to help chil-
dren meet high expectations. 
(4) HOMELESS CHILDREN.—The term ‘‘home-
less children’’ has the meaning given the term 
‘‘homeless children and youths’’ in section 725(2) of 
the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11434a(2)). 
(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
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(6) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT.—The term 
‘‘limited English proficient’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 
U.S.C. 9832). 
(7) LOW-INCOME.—The term ‘‘low-income’’, 
when used with respect to a child, means a child 
whose family income is described in section 
658P(4)(B) of the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n(4)(B)). 
(8) PROGRAM QUALITY STANDARDS.—The term 
‘‘program quality standards’’ means the characteris-
tics of State early learning programs, across a range 
of settings, that have an impact on children’s devel-
opment and learning. Such characteristics include— 
(A) the ratio of early learning providers to 
children; 
(B) staff qualifications; 
(C) the quality and effectiveness of inter-
actions between early learning providers and 
children and the children’s families in the pro-
gram; 
(D) the program philosophy and cur-
riculum; 
(E) the quality and quantity of equipment 
and materials; 
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(F) the quality of the physical environ-
ment; and 
(G) safety and health provisions and other 
applicable Federal or State requirements with 
respect to State early learning programs. 
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
(10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 9101 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801). 
(11) STATE EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘‘State early learning program’’ has the mean-
ing given the term ‘‘early childhood education pro-
gram’’ in section 103 of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 
SEC. 11. RESEARCH AND EVALUATION; BENCHMARKS AND 
CONSULTATION. 
(a) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall transfer 
amounts reserved for research and evaluation under 
section 3(c)(1)(B) to the Institute of Education 
Sciences, to be used— 
(A) for the evaluation of grants or other 
assistance funded under such section; 
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