Creating Early Childhood Leaders Act

Bill: 116-s-2719
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2019-10-28
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments

Child care and development

Elementary and secondary education

Employment and training programs

Higher education

Preschool education

School administration

Teaching, teachers, curricula
Latest action: action_date: 2019-10-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-10-28
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Creating Early Childhood Leaders Act</strong></p> <p>This bill revises requirements for effective school leadership programs that are funded by Teacher Quality Partnership Grants. Specifically, the bill requires the leadership programs to train early education leaders on&nbsp;skills concerning early childhood development and instruction of&nbsp;children from birth through age eight.</p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2719 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES October 28, 2019 Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Romney , and Mr. Jones ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the knowledge and skills of principals and school leaders regarding early childhood education.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Creating Early Childhood Leaders Act . 2. Findings and purpose (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Since principals and school leaders have the second largest in-school impact on student achievement (after teachers), a principal or school leader's knowledge has a substantial impact on the teachers and students under the principal or school leader's supervision. (2) Principals and school leaders are increasingly being asked to supervise teachers and children in pre-kindergarten programs, yet school leaders often do not have training in early childhood education. (3) Given the critical development that occurs in a child’s early life and the impacts of this developmental period on later life outcomes, understanding the standards of early childhood education is particularly important. (b) Purpose The purpose of this Act is to ensure that principals and school leaders are able to effectively support teachers in providing pre-kindergarten students with developmentally appropriate instruction. 3. School leader training regarding early childhood education Section 202(f)(1)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1022a(f)(1)(B) ) is amended— (1) by striking clause (v) and inserting the following: (v) engage and involve parents, community members, the local educational agency, businesses, providers of early childhood education programs, and other community leaders, to leverage additional resources to improve student academic achievement; ; (2) in clause (vi), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (vii) understand child development, social and emotional development, and effective instructional leadership skills for children from birth through age 8, in order to effectively manage and support developmentally appropriate early childhood education programs. .