Title: Pre-K for USA Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Pre-K for USA Act
This bill requires the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education to jointly award high-quality prekindergarten (pre-K) program development grants on a competitive basis to local educational agencies.
Grants are nonrenewable and must be awarded for a period of no more than three years.
Unless granted a financial hardship waiver, a grant recipient must contribute matching funds equal to at least 20% of the grant amount.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2003 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2003

  To amend the Every Student Succeeds Act to provide grants for high-
    quality, local prekindergarten programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2017

 Mr. Castro of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
            to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Every Student Succeeds Act to provide grants for high-
    quality, local prekindergarten programs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pre-K for USA Act''.

SEC. 2. LOCAL PREKINDERGARTEN DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.

    Title IX of the Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95; 129 
Stat. 2124) is amended--
            (1) in section 9212, in the section heading by striking 
        ``preschool'' and inserting ``state preschool''; and
            (2) by inserting after section 9212 the following:

``SEC. 9212A. LOCAL PREKINDERGARTEN DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.

    ``(a) Prekindergarten Development Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, jointly with the Secretary of Education (referred to 
        in this section jointly as the `Secretaries'), shall award 
        competitive grants to eligible local entities to assist such 
        entities in establishing high-quality prekindergarten programs.
            ``(2) Grant duration.--The Secretaries shall award grants 
        under this section for a period of not more than 3 years. Such 
        grants shall not be renewed.
            ``(3) Application.--To be considered for a grant under this 
        section, an eligible local entity shall submit an application 
        to the Secretaries at such time, in such manner, and 
        accompanied by such information as the Secretaries may 
        reasonably require.
            ``(4) Matching requirement.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a 
                grant under this section an eligible local entity shall 
                contribute, for the activities for which the grant was 
                awarded, non-Federal matching funds in an amount equal 
                to not less than 20 percent of the amount of the grant.
                    ``(B) Non-federal funds.--To satisfy the 
                requirement of subparagraph (A) an eligible local 
                entity may use--
                            ``(i) non-Federal resources in the form of 
                        State funding, local funding, or contributions 
                        from philanthropy or other private sources, or 
                        a combination of such resources; or
                            ``(ii) in-kind contributions.
                    ``(C) Financial hardship waiver.--The Secretaries 
                may waive the requirement of subparagraph (A) or reduce 
                the amount of matching funds required under such 
                subparagraph for an eligible local entity that has 
                submitted an application for a grant under this section 
                if the entity demonstrates, in the application, a need 
                for such a waiver or reduction due to extreme financial 
                hardship, as determined by the Secretaries.
            ``(5) Double-dipping prevention.--The Secretaries may not 
        award a grant under this section to an eligible local entity 
        for a fiscal year if the State in which the entity is located 
        has applied for, or has been awarded, a grant under section 
        9212 for such fiscal year.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Early childhood education program.--The term `early 
        childhood education program' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1003).
            ``(2) Eligible local entity.--The term `eligible local 
        entity' means--
                    ``(A) a local educational agency, including a 
                charter school or a charter management organization 
                that acts as a local educational agency, or an 
                educational service agency in partnership with a local 
                educational agency;
                    ``(B) an entity (including a Head Start program or 
                licensed child care setting) that carries out, 
                administers, or supports an early childhood education 
                program; or
                    ``(C) a consortium of entities described in 
                subparagraph (A) or (B).
            ``(3) Full-day.--The term `full-day' means a day that is--
                    ``(A) equivalent to a full school day at the public 
                elementary schools in the State; and
                    ``(B) not less than 5 hours.
            ``(4) High-quality prekindergarten program.--The term 
        `high-quality prekindergarten program' means a prekindergarten 
        program supported by an eligible local entity that includes, at 
        a minimum, the following elements based on nationally 
        recognized standards:
                    ``(A) Serves children who--
                            ``(i) are age 4 or children who are age 3 
                        or 4, by the eligibility determination date 
                        (including children who turn age 5 while 
                        attending the program); or
                            ``(ii) have attained the legal age for 
                        State-funded prekindergarten.
                    ``(B) Requires high staff qualifications, including 
                that teachers meet the requirements of one of the 
                following clauses:
                            ``(i) The teacher has a bachelor's degree 
                        in early childhood education or a related field 
                        with coursework that demonstrates competence in 
                        early childhood education.
                            ``(ii) The teacher--
                                    ``(I) has a bachelor's degree in 
                                any field;
                                    ``(II) has demonstrated knowledge 
                                of early childhood education through 
                                passage of a State-approved assessment 
                                in early childhood education;
                                    ``(III) engages in ongoing 
                                professional development in early 
                                childhood education for not less than 2 
                                years; and
                                    ``(IV) is enrolled in a State-
                                approved educator preparation program 
                                in which the teacher receives ongoing 
                                training and support in early childhood 
                                education and is making progress toward 
                                the completion of the program in not 
                                more than 3 years.
                            ``(iii) The teacher has a bachelor's degree 
                        in any field with a credential, license, or 
                        endorsement that demonstrates competence in 
                        early childhood education.
                    ``(C) Maintains a maximum class size of 20 
                children.
                    ``(D) Maintains a child to instructional staff 
                ratio that does not exceed 10 to 1.
                    ``(E) Offers a full-day program.
                    ``(F) Provides developmentally appropriate learning 
                environments and evidence-based curricula that are 
                aligned with the State's early learning and development 
                standards.
                    ``(G) Offers instructional staff salaries 
                comparable to kindergarten through grade 12 teaching 
                staff.
                    ``(H) Provides for ongoing monitoring and program 
                evaluation to ensure continuous improvement.
                    ``(I) Offers accessible comprehensive services for 
                children that--
                            ``(i) include, at a minimum--
                                    ``(I) screenings for vision, 
                                dental, health (including mental 
                                health), and development and referrals, 
                                and assistance obtaining services, when 
                                appropriate;
                                    ``(II) family engagement 
                                opportunities (taking into account home 
                                language), such as parent conferences 
                                (including parent input about their 
                                child's development) and support 
                                services, such as parent education and 
                                family literacy services;
                                    ``(III) nutrition services, 
                                including nutritious meals and snack 
                                options aligned with requirements set 
                                by the most recent Child and Adult Care 
                                Food Program guidelines promulgated by 
                                the Department of Agriculture as well 
                                as regular, age-appropriate, nutrition 
                                education for children and their 
                                families;
                                    ``(IV) programs coordinated with 
                                local educational agencies and entities 
                                providing programs authorized under 
                                section 619 and part C of the 
                                Individuals with Disabilities Education 
                                Act (20 U.S.C. 1419 and 1431 et seq.);
                                    ``(V) physical activity programs 
                                aligned with evidence-based guidelines, 
                                such as those recommended by the 
                                Institute of Medicine, and that take 
                                into account and accommodate children 
                                with disabilities; and
                                    ``(VI) additional support services, 
                                as appropriate, based on the findings 
                                of a needs analysis; and
                            ``(ii) are provided on-site, to the maximum 
                        extent feasible.
                    ``(J) Provides high-quality professional 
                development for staff, including regular in-class 
                observation for teachers and teacher assistants by 
                individuals trained in observation and which may 
                include evidence-based coaching.
                    ``(K) Meets the education performance standards in 
                effect under section 641A(a)(1)(B) of the Head Start 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(a)(1)(B)).
                    ``(L) Maintains evidence-based health and safety 
                standards.
            ``(5) ESEA terms.--The terms `local educational agency' and 
        `State' have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of 
        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section--
            ``(1) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; and
            ``(2) such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 
        years 2019 through 2027.''.

SEC. 3. CLERICAL AMENDMENT.

    The table of contents in section 2 of the Every Student Succeeds 
Act (Public Law 114-95; 129 Stat. 1802) is amended by striking the item 
relating to section 9212 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 9212. State preschool development grants.
``Sec. 9212A. Local prekindergarten development grants.''.
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