Date: 2003-07-15
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I wish to express my outrage and my disgust at the Majority partys effort to destroy the Head Start Program. The Republicans plan is a sword through the heart of this effective educational program and an insult to Americas children. The Majority partys plan shreds the Head Start Program. The Republicans plan to establish a block grant that will amount to the demise of head start. Specifically. Title II of this bill will end Head Start as we know It. The block grant provisions in the Republican bill are a risky experiment that turns a successful program over to states with unproven expertise and without the federal program quality standard requirements and oversight that are demonstrated to increase school readiness. This bill Is a classic "bait and switch." The GOP claims credit for improving the academic content of Head Start in Title I of the bill but excludes all but one of those Improvements to be implemented by block grant states in Title I1. The Republicans demolition of Head Start is deplorable because the Head Start program works. Children in the Head Start program arrive at school more prepared and perform better academically than lowincome children who are not enrolled in the Head Start program. In addition. although experts say that to expect Head Start to eliminate that gap is "totally unrealistic." the Head Start program narrows significantly the readiness gap between children in Head Start and their more affluent peers. Head Start helps children arrive at school more ready to learn. However. to expect Head Start to be a cure for the devastating impact of poverty is unrealistic. The idea that the block grant is the solution to closing the school readiness gap it flawed and illogical. State preschool programs are untested and unproven. Not only is there no research showIng that state preschool programs produce better results than Head Start. there is no research demonstrating the effectiveness of state preschool programs at all. The "No Child Left Behind" program was developed because the solution to the achievement gap in students between kindergarten and the 12th grade was the establishment ol stronger standards and more federal oversight. Why. then. is the Republicans solution to the same achievement gap in young children to eliminate standards and oversight in Head Start? The Block Grant Program in the Republican proposal is also damaging to the Head Start Program because it slashes quality comprehensive services. The block grant requires states to provide an array of services but doesnt require the same nature. extent or quality of those services. Under the block grant program. none of the thirteen areas of Head Start performance standards (e.g.. "education and early child development." "health and safety") that lay out the comprehensive services and high level of quality that have made Head Start successful are required. In fact. the block grant emphasizes comprehensive services being met through referral of families to outside services for assistance. essentially encouraging states to provide a lower level of services. The Republicans Head Start bill Is also damaging to our children because It weakens educational performance standards. The block grant specifies no minimum threshold on school readiness standards. childstaff ratios or curriculum content. It calls on each state to derive their own school readiness standards and their own ways of measuring progress against those standards. But those standards are undefined In the block grant and vary greatly among the states. Head Start education standards are thorough and strongly based on education performance research. Having States develop their own performance standards with no direction and no requirements will weaken educational standards overall. Block grants diminish educational oversight and evaluation. States meeting the eligibility criteria for participation In the Block Grant program have their applications approved by the Secretary by default. This means there Is no oversight or evaluation of the quality or appropriateness of the state plan. Additionally. there Is no minimum threshold requirement of States Internal evaluations of their programs. Meaning a school may define their own success regardless of their actual performance. Under the Head Start program. on the other hand. schools must report annually on their progress. and each school is subjected to a thorough onsite evaluation every three years under the direction of the Department of Health and Human Services. This is meaningful evaluation that provides a better education for our children. Perhaps the most tragic impact of the Republicans Head Start proposal is that it reduces the role of parents in their childrens academic success. Parent are childrens most important teachers. Studies have shown that teaching parenting strategies and involving parents in their childrens education is strongly related to childrens achievement In school. Thats why a cornerstone of the Head Start program has been the involvement of parents in their childs development and education. health. nutrition. mental health. community advocacy. and transition activities from preschool to kindergarten. Family partnership agreements have been critical in getting families to recognize what it takes to promote their childs positive development and early education. But the block grant proposal developed by the Republicans requires minimal parental involvement. No reference is made whatsoever to parent policy councils. or similar provisions. which makes Head Start a local program addressing local needs. Parents have been. In essence. eliminated from the bill. Finally. the Republicans Head Start proposals allow decreases in Early Education Services across the State. The block grant supplantation restrictions permit a decrease In the total expenditures In the State on early education. The block grant bars States from supplanting "nonFederal funds that would otherwise be used." a restriction the Government Accounting Office concluded is almost Impossible to enforce because of the difficulty in proving what would have otherwise been used. The block grant also permits supplanting federal funds (for example ESEA Title I preschool funds or surplus TANF funds). So nothing bars States from diverting ESEA or TANF funds to other purposes and using the block grant funds to fill In the holes. This would allow an overall decrease In eariy education sperdihg within the State. Mr. Speaker. our Head Start program Is under attack. and therefore Americas children are under attack. The Republicans Head Start bill Is the equivalent of taking an axe to valuable and effective education programs. I implore all Americans and all members of the House of Representatives to speak out against this attack on our children. We must protect our children and we must save the Head Start program.