Universal Full-Day Kindergarten Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1971 To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to make grants to eligible entities to carry out full-day kindergarten pro- grams, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 28, 2019 Mr. GALLEGO (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. O’HALLERAN, and Mr. STANTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to make grants to eligible entities to carry out full-day kindergarten programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Universal Full-Day 4 Kindergarten Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 7 grant program to make grants on a competitive basis to 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1971.IH H1971 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1971 IH eligible entities to carry out full-day kindergarten pro- 1 grams. 2 (b) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec- 3 tion, an eligible entity shall submit an application at such 4 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 5 the Secretary may require. 6 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 7 a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 8 establish or maintain a full-day kindergarten program— 9 (1) that permits children ages 4 through 6, in- 10 clusive, to be enrolled in such program; 11 (2) that does not require payment for participa- 12 tion in such program; 13 (3) that is offered for the full school year; 14 (4) that is taught by teachers who meet the 15 professional qualifications, including licensure and 16 certification requirements, for kindergarten teachers 17 in the State or Tribal organization in which the eli- 18 gible entity is located; 19 (5) that includes academic standards that pre- 20 pare students to meet grade-level benchmarks; 21 (6) that may include standards related to cog- 22 nitive development, socio-emotional learning, phys- 23 ical and behavioral skills development, and rec- 24 reational activity; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1971.IH H1971 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1971 IH (7) that, if supported by paraprofessionals, is 1 supported by paraprofessionals who meet the quali- 2 fications outlined in the Elementary and Secondary 3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 4 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re- 6 ceives a grant under this section shall provide, from 7 non-Federal sources, an amount equal to not less 8 than 20 percent of the amount of the grant, which 9 may be provided in cash or in-kind, to carry out the 10 activities supported by the grant. 11 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive all or 12 part of the requirement under paragraph (1) for any 13 fiscal year for an eligible entity if the Secretary de- 14 termines that applying the requirement would result 15 in serious hardship or an inability to carry out the 16 activities described in subsection (c). 17 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 18 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 19 Secretary shall conduct a study and submit a report to 20 Congress that— 21 (1) specifies the number of State educational 22 agencies, local educational agencies, and Tribal orga- 23 nizations that offer full-day kindergarten programs; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1971.IH H1971 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1971 IH (2) assesses the availability of such programs 1 with respect to each State. 2 (f) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—For each fiscal year, 3 the Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent of the 4 funds made available to carry out this section— 5 (1) to provide technical assistance to potential 6 applicants and to grantees; and 7 (2) to carry out the requirements of subsection 8 (e). 9 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 10 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 11 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2020 12 through 2025. 13 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) BUREAU-FUNDED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘Bu- 15 reau-funded school’’ has the meaning given that 16 term in section 1141 of the Education Amendments 17 of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021). 18 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 19 ty’’ means— 20 (A) a State educational agency; 21 (B) a local educational agency; 22 (C) a Tribal government; or 23 (D) a Bureau-funded school. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1971.IH H1971 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1971 IH (3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu- 1 cational agency’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State educational 2 agency’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec- 3 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 5 (4) FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM.—The 6 term ‘‘full-day kindergarten program’’ means a kin- 7 dergarten program with a continuous duration of 8 not less than 5 hours per day. 9 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of Education. 11 (6) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Tribal 12 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 13 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 14 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1971.IH H1971 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS