(2) LIMITATION.—The provision of services 
through a partnership with a local Head Start agen-
cy shall not reduce the quality or availability of re-
sources provided to eligible children served by the 
Head Start agency. 
(c) ALLOWABLE USE OF FUNDS.—Rural preschool 
providers that have satisfied any one requirement in sub-
section (a) may use the remaining funds to— 
(1) establish partnerships with local community 
colleges and institutions of higher education to en-
able teachers and staff to participate as nontradi-
tional students in degree programs that award a 
bachelor’s degree, or higher credential, in early 
childhood education; 
(2) recruit more highly competent preschool 
teachers and provide incentives to retain such teach-
ers, including salary enhancements and enhanced 
employee benefits packages; 
(3) provide resources necessary to enroll more 
children and offer the full range of services provided 
by the rural preschool provider to newly enrolled 
children; 
(4) provide safe and efficient transportation to 
and from the program provided by the rural pre-
school provider; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(5) extend part-day programs to full-day pro-
grams and part-week programs to full-week pro-
grams; 
(6) implement programs to encourage parents 
to support their children’s early education, such as 
after school reading programs and regular home vis-
its by preschool teachers with students and their 
families; and 
(7) promote coordination with local educational 
agencies. 
SEC. 8. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS. 
The Secretary shall not make a grant to a State 
under this Act unless the State agrees to the following: 
(1) In the case of a State that provides funding 
to rural preschool providers to carry out a program 
that, in addition to the requirements under sections 
6 and 7, meets the following requirements, the non- 
Federal share of the cost of the activities under this 
Act will be 40 percent: 
(A) Provide an assistant teacher with an 
associate’s degree in early childhood education 
or a child development associate’s credential in 
every classroom of more than 10 children; and 
(B) Adopt a plan for requiring that, within 
5 years after the State first receives a grant 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
under this Act, all lead teachers employed by a 
rural preschool provider hold a bachelor’s de-
gree in early childhood education or in a related 
field with specialized training in early childhood 
education. 
(2) In the case of a State that provides funding 
to rural kindergarten providers to carry out a pro-
gram that meets the requirements under sections 6 
and 7, the non-Federal share of the cost of the ac-
tivities under this Act will be 50 percent. 
(3) In the case of a State that does not provide 
any funding for rural preschool providers, the non- 
Federal share of the cost of the activities under this 
Act will be 60 percent. 
SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
Each State that receives a grant under this Act shall 
report the following to the Secretary annually: 
(1) The progress of each local preschool pro-
vider in implementing high-quality preschool pro-
grams. 
(2) The number of rural preschool providers re-
ceiving funding. 
(3) Such information as the Secretary may rea-
sonably require regarding State and local partner-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
ships with higher education institutions that are 
supported with funds awarded under this Act. 
(4) The number of rural preschool programs 
that have extended from part-day to full-day and 
part-week to full-week. 
(5) The number of rural preschool programs 
that have formed partnerships with local Head Start 
providers pursuant to section 7(b). 
(6) The number of students in average daily at-
tendance at programs provided by rural preschool 
providers, and the net increase or decrease of such 
attendance per year. 
(7) State activities to disseminate information 
and to provide consultation about program financing 
among administrators of rural preschool programs, 
pursuant to section 3(b). 
(8) Progress in promoting coordination between 
rural preschool providers and local educational agen-
cies. 
SEC. 10. SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT. 
Funds made available under this Act may be used 
only to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, 
State, local, or private funds that would, in the absence 
of the funds made available under this Act, be made avail-
able for early childhood programs. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
SEC. 11. RENEWAL PROCEDURE. 
Five years after receiving an initial grant under this 
Act, a State may apply to renew the grant for an addi-
tional 5-year period, by providing to the Secretary— 
(1) the information reported under section 9; 
(2) a demonstration that the State and local 
share of per-child expenditures on rural preschool 
providers receiving funds under this Act has in-
creased at a rate equal or greater to the rate of in-
flation over the 5-year period of the previous grant 
award; 
(3) a demonstration that State investments in 
other forms of early childhood education and care 
have not decreased as a consequence of increased in-
vestments in rural preschool programs; 
(4) information sufficient to determine such 
State’s eligibility for matching funds under section 
8; and 
(5) any additional information that the Sec-
retary may reasonably require. 
SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) COMPREHENSIVE EARLY LEARNING STAND-
ARDS.—The term ‘‘comprehensive early learning 
standards’’ means standards that offer guidance to 
rural preschool providers and ensure that they cover 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
the full range of areas essential to children’s learn-
ing and development, which standards shall include 
the following early learning domains: 
(A) Social-emotional development. 
(B) Approaches to learning. 
(C) Language development. 
(D) Cognition and general knowledge. 
(2) FULL-DAY.—The term ‘‘full-day’’, when 
used in reference to a rural preschool provider, 
means a provider with a minimum of a 6-hour 
schedule per day. 
(3) FULL-WEEK.—The term ‘‘full-week’’, when 
used in reference to a rural preschool provider, 
means a provider with a minimum of a 5-day sched-
ule per week. 
(4) HEAD START AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Head 
Start agency’’ means any local public or private non-
profit agency or for-profit agency that is designated 
as a Head Start agency under section 641 of the 
Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836). 
(5) HEAD START PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Head 
Start program’’ means a program provided by a 
Head Start agency. 
(6) HIGHLY
NUTRITIOUS
MEAL.—The term 
‘‘highly nutritious meal’’ means a meal that meets 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
the component requirements prescribed by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture for the National School Lunch 
Program, pursuant to section 9(a) of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1758(a)). 
(7) HIGHLY
NUTRITIOUS
SNACK.—The term 
‘‘highly nutritious snack’’ means a snack that con-
sists of the component requirements prescribed by 
the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to section 17 
of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(a)). 
(8) HIGH-QUALITY
PRESCHOOL
PROGRAM.— 
The term ‘‘high-quality preschool program’’, when 
used in this Act, refers to an educational program 
serving children ages 3 through 5 that— 
(A) adheres to comprehensive early learn-
ing standards that address all areas of early 
childhood development; 
(B) provides at least one highly nutritious 
meal for each child for every 3 hours of pro-
gram participation per day and one highly nu-
tritious snack for each child participating in 
less than 3 hours per day; 
(C) provides in every classroom, a lead 
teacher with a bachelor’s degree in early child-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
hood education, or in a related field with spe-
cialized training in early childhood education; 
(D) provides an assistant teacher with an 
associate’s degree in early childhood education 
or a child development associate’s credential in 
every classroom of more than 10 children; 
(E) provides opportunities for teachers to 
participate in at least 15 hours of high-quality 
professional development per year; and 
(F) provides vision, hearing, and health 
screening and referral services to enrolled chil-
dren. 
(9) HIGH-QUALITY
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOP-
MENT
PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘high-quality profes-
sional development program’’, used in reference to 
professional development programs that serve pre-
school teachers, means a program that prepares 
teachers to— 
(A) teach with a high level of oral, written, 
and technological communication skills; 
(B) understand research and data relevant 
to early childhood education and to use develop-
mentally appropriate instructional techniques, 
including techniques that are based on an un-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
derstanding of comprehensive early learning 
standards; and 
(C) identify children with developmental 
disabilities and provide appropriate referral 
services for such children. 
(10) HIGHLY COMPETENT.—The term ‘‘highly 
competent’’— 
(A) when used in reference to a lead teach-
er in a preschool classroom, means a teacher 
with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood edu-
cation who has demonstrated a high level of 
knowledge and use of developmentally appro-
priate research-based curricula for early child-
hood education; and 
(B) when used in reference to an assistant 
teacher in a preschool classroom, means an as-
sistant teacher with specialized education and 
training in development and education of young 
children from birth until entry into kinder-
garten, with— 
(i) an associate’s degree in early child-
hood education; or 
(ii) a child development associate’s 
credential recognized by a Head Start 
agency. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(11) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 
The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 102 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
(12) NONTRADITIONAL
STUDENT.—The term 
‘‘nontraditional student’’ has the meaning given in 
section 861(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161q(b)(3)). 
(13) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(14) RURAL
AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ 
means a geographic area served by a rural local edu-
cational agency. 
(15) RURAL LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 
The term ‘‘rural local educational agency’’ means a 
local educational agency having administrative con-
trol or direction of schools which meet a metro-cen-
tric locale code of 41, 42, or 43 as determined by 
the National Center for Education Statistics, in con-
junction with the Bureau of the Census, using the 
system of the National Center for Education Statis-
tics for classifying local educational agencies. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(16) RURAL PRESCHOOL PROVIDER.—The term 
‘‘rural preschool provider’’ means a provider of a 
preschool program, a Head Start agency, a local 
educational agency that provides preschool services, 
or a provider of a child care program, a nonprofit 
or for-profit agency, that— 
(A) has met applicable State requirements 
governing the entities that receive State funds 
in order to carry out a preschool program; and 
(B) serves children who reside within a 
rural area. 
(17) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of Education. 
(18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 9101 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801). 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
07:25 Mar 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1755.IH
H1755
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS