II 
Calendar No. 258 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2123 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 
Received 
OCTOBER 25, 2005 
Read twice and placed on the calendar 
AN ACT 
To reauthorize the Head Start Act to improve the school 
readiness of disadvantaged children, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Readiness Act 
of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
Section 636 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831) 
is amended to read as follows:
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‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 
‘‘It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote 
school readiness by enhancing the development of low-in-
come children, including development of cognitive abilities, 
through educational instruction in prereading skills, 
premathematics skills, language, and social and emotional 
development linked to school readiness and through the 
provision to low-income children and their families of 
health, educational, nutritional, social and other services 
that are determined, based on family needs assessments, 
to be necessary.’’. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (17) by striking ‘‘, but for fis-
cal years’’ and all that follows down to the period; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (16) and (17) 
as paragraphs (23) and (24), respectively; 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (15) as para-
graph (21); 
(4) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through 
(14) as paragraphs (16) through (19), respectively; 
(5) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para-
graph (14); 
(6) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 
(9) as paragraphs (6) through (12), respectively;
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(7) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (4); 
(8) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) The term ‘challenging State developed aca-
demic content standards’ has the meaning given 
such term in paragraphs (1) and (5) of section 
1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘deficiency’ means— 
‘‘(A) systemic or significant failure of a 
Head Start agency in an area of performance 
that the Secretary determines involves— 
‘‘(i) a threat to the health, safety, or 
civil rights of children or staff; 
‘‘(ii) a denial to parents of the exer-
cise of their full roles and responsibilities 
related to program governance; 
‘‘(iii) a failure to perform the require-
ments of section 641A(a), as determined 
by the Secretary; 
‘‘(iv) the misuse of funds received 
under this subchapter; 
‘‘(v) loss of legal status (as deter-
mined by the Secretary) or financial viabil-
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ity, loss of permits, debarment from receiv-
ing Federal grants or contracts, or the im-
proper use of Federal funds; or 
‘‘(vi) failure to meet any other Fed-
eral or State requirement; 
‘‘(B) failure of the board of directors of a 
Head Start agency to fully exercise its legal and 
fiduciary responsibilities; 
‘‘(C) failure of a Head Start agency to 
meet the administrative requirements of section 
644(b); or 
‘‘(D) failure of a Head Start agency to 
meet the integration requirements of section 
642B(a).’’; 
(9) by inserting after paragraph (4), as so re-
designated, the following: 
‘‘(5) The term ‘eligible entities’ means an insti-
tution of higher education or other agency with ex-
pertise in delivering training in early childhood de-
velopment, family support, and other assistance de-
signed to improve the quality of early childhood edu-
cation programs.’’; 
(10) by inserting after paragraph (12), as so 
redesignated, the following:
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‘‘(13) The term ‘homeless children’ has the 
meaning given such term in subtitle B of title VII 
of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11431–11435).’’; 
(11) by inserting after paragraph (14), as so 
redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(15) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT; LIMITED 
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.—The terms ‘limited English 
proficient’ and ‘limited English proficiency’ mean 
with respect to an individual, that such individual— 
‘‘(A)(i) was not born in the United States 
or has a native language that is not English; 
‘‘(ii)(I) is a Native American, an Alaska 
Native, or a native resident of a territory or 
possession of the United States; and 
‘‘(II) comes from an environment in which 
a language that is not English has had a sig-
nificant impact on such individual’s level of 
English language proficiency; or 
‘‘(iii) is migratory, has a native language 
that is not English, and comes from an environ-
ment in which a language that is not English 
is dominant; and
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‘‘(B) has difficultly in speaking or under-
standing the English language to an extent that 
may be sufficient to deny such individual— 
‘‘(i) the ability to successfully achieve 
in classrooms in which the language of in-
struction is English; or 
‘‘(ii) the opportunity to fully partici-
pate in society.’’; 
(12) by inserting after paragraph (19), as so 
redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(20) 
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.—The 
term ‘professional development’ means high quality 
activities that will enhance the school readiness of el-
igible children and prevent such children from en-
countering difficulties once they enter school by im-
proving the knowledge and skills of Head Start 
teachers and staff, as relevant to their roles and 
functions, including activities that— 
‘‘(A) provide teachers with the content 
knowledge and teaching strategies needed to 
provide effective instruction and other school 
readiness services in early language and lit-
eracy, early mathematics, cognitive skills, ap-
proaches to learning, creative arts, science, 
physical health and development, and social and
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emotional development linked to school readi-
ness; 
‘‘(B) assist teachers in meeting the re-
quirements in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 
648A(a), as appropriate; 
‘‘(C) improve teachers’ classroom manage-
ment skills, as appropriate; 
‘‘(D) for teachers, are sustained, intensive, 
and classroom-focused in order to have a posi-
tive and lasting impact on classroom instruction 
and teachers’ performance in the classroom; 
‘‘(E) are not primarily 1-day or short-term 
workshops or conferences, and attendance at 
activities that are 1-day or short-term work-
shops or conferences must be as part of the 
professional development plan defined in section 
648A(f); 
‘‘(F) assist teachers and staff in increasing 
their knowledge and skills in program adminis-
tration, program quality, and the provision of 
services and instruction, as appropriate, in a 
manner that improves service delivery to eligible 
children and families;
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‘‘(G) are part of a sustained effort to im-
prove overall program quality and outcomes for 
eligible children and families; 
‘‘(H) advance teacher understanding of ef-
fective instructional strategies that are— 
‘‘(i) based on scientifically based re-
search; and 
‘‘(ii) strategies for improving school 
readiness or substantially increasing the 
knowledge and teaching skills of teachers; 
‘‘(I) are, where applicable, aligned with 
and directly related to— 
‘‘(i) challenging State academic con-
tent standards, student academic achieve-
ment standards, assessments, and the 
Head Start Child Outcomes Framework 
developed by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(ii) the curricula, ongoing assess-
ments, and other instruction and services 
designed to help meet the standards de-
scribed in section 641A(a)(1); 
‘‘(J) are developed or selected with exten-
sive participation of administrators and teach-
ers from Head Start programs;
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‘‘(K) are developmentally appropriate for 
the children being served; 
‘‘(L) are designed to give teachers of lim-
ited English proficient children, and other 
teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge 
and skills to provide instruction and appro-
priate language and support services to increase 
the English language skills of such children, as 
appropriate; 
‘‘(M) as a whole, are regularly evaluated 
for their impact on increased teacher and staff 
effectiveness and improved ability of teachers to 
support learning and increase participating chil-
dren’s school readiness, with the findings of the 
evaluations used to improve the quality of pro-
fessional development; 
‘‘(N) provide instruction in methods of 
teaching children with special needs, as appro-
priate; 
‘‘(O) include instruction in ways that Head 
Start personnel may work more effectively with 
parents, as appropriate; and 
‘‘(P) are designed to give teachers and 
staff the knowledge and skills to provide in-
struction and appropriate support services to
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children of diverse backgrounds, as appro-
priate.’’; 
(13) by inserting after paragraph (21), as so 
redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(22) The term ‘scientifically based research’— 
‘‘(A) means research that involves the ap-
plication of rigorous, systematic and objective 
procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowl-
edge relevant to education activities and pro-
grams; and 
‘‘(B) includes research that— 
‘‘(i) employs systematic, empirical 
methods that draw on observation or ex-
periment; 
‘‘(ii) involves rigorous data analyses 
that are adequate to test the stated 
hypotheses and justify the general conclu-
sions drawn; 
‘‘(iii) relies on measurements or obser-
vational methods that provide reliable and 
valid data across evaluators and observers, 
across multiple measurements and observa-
tions, and across studies by the same or 
different investigators;
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‘‘(iv) is evaluated using experimental 
or quasi-experimental designs in which in-
dividuals, entities, programs or activities 
are assigned to different conditions and 
with appropriate controls to evaluate the 
effects of the condition of interest, with a 
preference for random assignment experi-
ments, or other designs to the extent that 
those designs contain within-condition or 
across-condition controls; 
‘‘(v) ensures that experimental studies 
are presented in sufficient detail and clar-
ity to allow for replication or, at a min-
imum, offer the opportunity to build sys-
tematically on their findings; and 
‘‘(vi) has been accepted by a peer-re-
viewed journal or approved by a panel of 
independent experts through a comparably 
rigorous, objective, and scientific review.’’; 
and 
(14) by inserting after paragraph (24), as so 
redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(25) The term ‘State educational agency’ has 
the meaning given such term in the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965.
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‘‘(26) The term ‘unresolved area of noncompli-
ance’ means a failure to correct a noncompliance 
item within 90 days, or within such additional time 
(if any) authorized by the Secretary, after receiving 
from the Secretary notice of such noncompliance 
item. 
‘‘(27) The term ‘auditor’ means a certified pub-
lic accountant or a Federal, State, or local govern-
ment audit organization, which meets the general 
standards specified in generally accepted government 
auditing standards.’’. 
SEC. 4. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PRO-
GRAMS. 
Section 638 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9833) 
is amended by inserting ‘‘for a period of 5 years’’ after 
‘‘provide financial assistance to such agency’’. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION. 
Section 639 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9834) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 639. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated for carrying out the provisions of this sub-
chapter $6,899,000,000 for the fiscal year 2006 and such 
sums as may be necessary for the fiscal years 2007 
through 2011.
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‘‘(b) SPECIFIC PROGRAMS.—From the amount ap-
propriated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 
available not more than $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, 
and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2007 
through 2011 to carry out such other research, dem-
onstration, and evaluation activities, including longitu-
dinal studies, under section 649, of which not more than 
$7,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2011 
to carry out impact studies under section 649(g).’’. 
SEC. 6. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS; LIMITATIONS ON ASSIST-
ANCE. 
(a) ALLOTMENTS.—Section 640(a) of the Head Start 
Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(A) Indian Head Start programs, services 
for children with disabilities, and migrant and 
seasonal Head Start programs, except that— 
‘‘(i) there shall be made available for 
each fiscal year for use by Indian Head 
Start programs and by migrant and sea-
sonal Head Start programs, on a nation-
wide basis, not less than the amount that 
was obligated for use by Indian Head
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Start programs and by migrant and sea-
sonal Head Start programs for fiscal year 
2005 (including under any decision made 
by the Secretary under clause (ii) or (iv)); 
‘‘(ii) migrant and seasonal Head Start 
programs shall receive at least 5 percent of 
the amount appropriated for such fiscal 
year until such time as the Secretary can 
make funding decisions to ensure access to 
funding for eligible children of migrant and 
seasonal farmworkers is comparable to ac-
cess to funding for other eligible children 
based on the data collected and reported 
pursuant to section 648(i), except that no 
future reduction in funding shall result in 
the termination of Head Start services pro-
vided to any eligible child 3 years of age or 
older who is participating in any such pro-
gram on the date a reduction in funding 
occurs, and shall, to the extent possible, 
continue participation for children less 
than 3 years of age receiving services prior 
to such reduction in funding; and 
‘‘(iii) Indian Head Start programs 
shall receive at least 3.5 percent of the
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amount appropriated for such fiscal year 
until such time as the Secretary can make 
funding decisions to ensure access to fund-
ing for eligible Indian children is com-
parable to access to funding for other eligi-
ble children based on the data collected, 
and in accordance with the requirements 
of, section 648(i), except that no future re-
duction in funding shall result in the ter-
mination of Head Start services provided 
to any eligible child 3 years of age or older 
who is participating in any such program 
on the date a reduction in funding occurs, 
and shall, to the extent possible, continue 
participation for children less than 3 years 
of age receiving services prior to such re-
duction in funding;’’; and 
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(B) payments, subject to paragraph (7) to 
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of 
the United States, and subject to the requirements 
of section 105(f)(1)(B)(ix) of Public Law 108–188 
to Palau;’’;
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(C) by amending (C) to read as follows: 
‘‘(C) training and technical assistance activities 
to foster program quality and management improve-
ment as described in section 648, in an amount for 
each fiscal year which is equal to 2 percent of the 
amount appropriated for such fiscal year, of which— 
‘‘(i) not less than 50 percent shall be made 
available to local Head Start agencies to make 
program improvements identified by such agen-
cies and comply with the standards described in 
section 641A(a)(1), of which not less than 50 
percent shall be used to comply with the stand-
ards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B) and for 
the uses described in clauses (iii), (iv), and (vii) 
of subsection (a)(3)(B); 
‘‘(ii) not less than 20 percent shall be 
made available to support a State system of 
early childhood education training and technical 
assistance, including the State Early Learning 
Council described in section 642B(b); 
‘‘(iii) not less than 30 percent shall be 
made available to the Secretary to assist local 
programs in meeting the standards described in 
section 641A(a)(1) and shall be allocated to ad-
dress program weaknesses identified by moni-
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toring activities conducted by the Secretary 
under section 641A(c); and 
‘‘(iv) not less than $3,000,000 of the 
amount in clause (iii) appropriated for such fis-
cal year shall be made available to carry out ac-
tivities described in section 648(d)(4);’’; and 
(D) by striking the last sentence. 
(2) in paragraph (3)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) in clause (i)(I) by striking ‘‘year 
1999’’ and all that follows down to the 
semicolon and inserting ‘‘years 2006 
through 2011’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(iii) After the reservation of amounts under para-
graph (2) and the 60 percent amount referred to in sub-
paragraph (A) of this paragraph, a portion of the remain-
ing funds shall be made available— 
‘‘(I) to expand services to underserved popu-
lations, such as children receiving services under 
Early Head Start programs and under migrant and 
seasonal Head Start programs; and 
‘‘(II) to increase funding to grantees with full 
enrollment and whose aggregate amount of financial
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assistance provides funding per child that is below 
the national average.’’; 
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(B) Funds reserved under this paragraph (in this 
paragraph referred to as ‘quality improvement funds’) 
shall be used to accomplish the following goals: 
‘‘(i) Ensuring that Head Start programs meet 
or exceed standards pursuant to section 641A(a)(1). 
‘‘(ii) Ensuring that such programs have ade-
quate numbers of qualified staff, and that such staff 
is furnished adequate training, including developing 
skills to promote the development of language skills, 
premathematic skills, and prereading in young chil-
dren and in working with children with limited 
English proficiency, children referred by child wel-
fare services, and children with disabilities, when ap-
propriate. 
‘‘(iii) Developing and financing the salary scales 
described under section 644(a)(3) and section 653, 
in order to ensure that salary levels and benefits are 
adequate to attract and retain qualified staff for 
such programs. 
‘‘(iv) Using salary increases—
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‘‘(I) to assist with the implementation of 
quality programs and improve staff qualifica-
tions; 
‘‘(II) to ensure that staff can promote the 
language skills and literacy growth of children 
and can provide children with a variety of skills 
that have been identified, through scientifically 
based early reading research, as predictive of 
later reading achievement; and 
‘‘(III) to encourage the staff to continually 
improve their skills and expertise by informing 
the staff of the availability of Federal and State 
incentive and loan forgiveness programs for 
professional development. 
‘‘(v) Improving community-wide strategic plan-
ning and needs assessments for such programs and 
collaboration efforts for such programs, including 
collaborations to increase program participation by 
underserved populations of eligible children. 
‘‘(vi) Ensuring that the physical environments 
of Head Start programs are conducive to providing 
effective program services to children and families, 
and are accessible to children with disabilities and 
their parents.