Head Start Improvement Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2996 To amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants to States for prekindergarten education, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 5, 2019 Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs. BLACKBURN, and Mr. CRUZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants to States for prekindergarten education, 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 ‘‘Head Start Improve- 4 ment Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS. 6 The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is 7 amended to read as follows: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2996 IS ‘‘SEC. 635. SHORT TITLE. 1 ‘‘This subchapter may be cited as the ‘Head Start 2 Act’. 3 ‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 4 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote the 5 school readiness of low-income children by enhancing their 6 cognitive, social, and emotional development in a learning 7 environment that supports children’s growth in language, 8 literacy, mathematics, science, social and emotional func- 9 tioning, creative arts, physical skills, and approaches to 10 learning. 11 ‘‘SEC. 637. DEFINITIONS. 12 ‘‘For purposes of this subchapter: 13 ‘‘(1) DELEGATE AGENCY.—The term ‘delegate 14 agency’ means a public, private nonprofit (including 15 a community-based organization, as defined in sec- 16 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), or for-profit 18 organization or agency to which an eligible entity 19 has delegated all or part of the responsibility of the 20 grantee for administering funds under this sub- 21 chapter. 22 ‘‘(2) EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT.—The 23 term ‘education savings account’ means a savings 24 account, authorized under State law, that is used by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2996 IS a parent only for the educational expenses, including 1 prekindergarten expenses, of the parent’s child. 2 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 3 tity’ means the recipient of a subgrant under section 4 639(d)(3)(A). 5 ‘‘(4) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘fi- 6 nancial assistance’ includes assistance provided by 7 grant, agreement, or contract, and payments may be 8 made in installments and in advance or by way of 9 reimbursement with necessary adjustments on ac- 10 count of overpayments or underpayments. 11 ‘‘(5) GRANT RECIPIENT.—The term ‘grant re- 12 cipient’ means the recipient of a grant under section 13 639(a). 14 ‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 15 means any tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other orga- 16 nized group or community of Indians, including any 17 Native village described in section 3(c) of the Alaska 18 Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)) 19 or established pursuant to such Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 20 et seq.), that is recognized as eligible for the special 21 programs and services provided by the United States 22 to Indians because of their status as Indians. 23 ‘‘(7) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 24 ‘local educational agency’ has the meaning given 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2996 IS such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 1 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 2 ‘‘(8) LOW-INCOME CHILD.—The term ‘low-in- 3 come child’ means a child who is 3, 4, or 5 years 4 of age and is from a family with an income below 5 100 percent of the poverty line for the most recent 6 fiscal year for which satisfactory data are available. 7 ‘‘(9) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘poverty line’ 8 means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of- 9 fice of Management and Budget)— 10 ‘‘(A) adjusted to reflect the percentage 11 change in the Consumer Price Index For All 12 Urban Consumers, issued by the Bureau of 13 Labor Statistics, occurring in the 1-year period 14 or other interval immediately preceding the date 15 such adjustment is made; and 16 ‘‘(B) adjusted for family size. 17 ‘‘(10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 18 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 19 ‘‘(11) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State, 20 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of 21 Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Is- 22 lands of the United States, and the Commonwealth 23 of the Northern Mariana Islands. The term includes 24 the Republic of Palau, except during any period for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2996 IS which a Compact of Free Association is in effect, 1 contains provisions for early childhood education or 2 development, and prohibits the assistance provided 3 under this subchapter. 4 ‘‘SEC. 638. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 5 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 6 this subchapter $10,063,095,000 for each of fiscal years 7 2020 through 2029. 8 ‘‘SEC. 639. BLOCK GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES AND IN- 9 DIAN TRIBES. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 11 vision of this subchapter, beginning on October 1 of the 12 first fiscal year following the date of enactment of the 13 Head Start Improvement Act of 2019, from the amounts 14 appropriated to carry out this subchapter under section 15 638 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to 16 eligible States and Indian tribes from allotments made 17 under subsection (b) in accordance with this section. 18 ‘‘(b) ALLOTMENTS.— 19 ‘‘(1) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall allot the 20 amount appropriated under section 638 for a fiscal 21 year among the eligible States and Indian tribes in 22 proportion to the number of children, who are 3, 4, 23 or 5 years of age, who are from families with in- 24 comes below 100 percent of the poverty line for the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2996 IS most recent fiscal year for which satisfactory data 1 are available and who are in an eligible State or In- 2 dian tribe, compared to the number of such children 3 for that fiscal year who are in all eligible States or 4 Indian tribes. 5 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION.—For purposes of counting 6 the number of children who are in an eligible State 7 under paragraph (1), the children who are counted 8 in an eligible Indian tribe in that State shall be ex- 9 cluded. 10 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 11 under this section, a State or Indian tribe shall submit 12 an application to the Secretary that includes the number 13 of low-income children in the State or Indian tribe. 14 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant recipient under 16 this section shall use 100 percent of the grant 17 funds— 18 ‘‘(A) for prekindergarten education pro- 19 grams in the State or Indian tribe involved; 20 ‘‘(B) for the administration of the pro- 21 grams described in subparagraph (A); and 22 ‘‘(C) to provide direct technical assistance, 23 oversight, monitoring, research, and training 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2996 IS with respect to the programs described in sub- 1 paragraph (A). 2 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—The Governor, or other 3 chief executive, of each grant recipient shall certify 4 that all grant funds received under this section will 5 be used to directly or indirectly provide comprehen- 6 sive education to low-income children. 7 ‘‘(3) GRANT RECIPIENT RESPONSIBILITIES.—A 8 grant recipient shall— 9 ‘‘(A) award subgrants to eligible entities 10 (as defined by the grant recipient) to enable 11 such entities to provide, directly or through a 12 delegate agency, prekindergarten education pro- 13 grams in the State or Indian tribe involved; 14 ‘‘(B) establish rules and standards for the 15 entities awarded subgrants under subparagraph 16 (A); and 17 ‘‘(C) monitor compliance by entities award- 18 ed subgrants under subparagraph (A). 19 ‘‘(4) FLEXIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any other 20 provision of Federal law (other than this section)— 21 ‘‘(A) to the extent permitted under State 22 law, a grant recipient may use the grant funds 23 to establish a portable voucher system that al- 24 lows a parent of a low-income child to use a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2996 IS portion of the grant funds, other available pub- 1 lic funds, or private funds to pay some or all of 2 the costs of attendance at a private prekinder- 3 garten education program; and 4 ‘‘(B) to the extent permitted under State 5 law, a grant recipient may use the grant funds 6 to establish an education savings account that 7 allows a parent of a low-income child to use a 8 portion of the grant funds, or other available 9 public or private funds added to the account, 10 for expenses related to prekindergarten edu- 11 cation. 12 ‘‘(5) MEMBERS OF INDIAN TRIBES.—A member 13 of an Indian tribe who is eligible to receive services 14 pursuant to a program funded under this section 15 may elect to receive such services from any eligible 16 entity for the State or Indian tribe in which the 17 member resides. 18 ‘‘(e) MATCHING FUNDS.—A grant recipient shall pro- 19 vide matching funds from non-Federal sources equal to 20 20 percent of the amount of the grant to carry out the 21 activities described in this section. 22 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No eligible entity 23 that receives a subgrant to provide a program under this 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2996 IS subchapter shall use more than 15 percent of the subgrant 1 funds for the administrative costs of the program. 2 ‘‘SEC. 640. LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE. 3 ‘‘Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to re- 4 quire a grant recipient to establish a publicly funded pro- 5 gram of early childhood education and development, or to 6 require any child to participate in such a publicly funded 7 program, including a preschool program funded by a grant 8 recipient, or to participate in any initial screening (other 9 than a health screening) before participating in a publicly 10 funded program of early childhood education and develop- 11 ment, except as provided under sections 612(a)(3) and 12 635(a)(5) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 13 Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(3), 1435(a)(5)). 14 ‘‘SEC. 641. GOALS; MONITORING. 15 ‘‘(a) SELF-ASSESSMENTS.—Not less frequently than 16 once each program year, each grant recipient shall conduct 17 a comprehensive self-assessment of the effectiveness and 18 progress of the grant recipient’s program under this sub- 19 chapter in meeting program goals established by the grant 20 recipient. The self-assessment shall include a determina- 21 tion of the number of low-income children served by the 22 program carried out by the grant recipient under this sub- 23 chapter. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2996 IS ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—The grant recipient shall develop, 1 and make available to the public, an online and searchable 2 report containing the self-assessment, and an improve- 3 ment plan to strengthen any areas identified in the self- 4 assessment as weaknesses or in need of improvement. The 5 report shall include the number of low-income children 6 served by the program carried out by the grant recipient 7 under this subchapter. 8 ‘‘(c) ONGOING MONITORING.—Each grant recipient 9 shall establish and implement procedures for the ongoing 10 monitoring of the respective programs of each recipient, 11 to ensure that the operations of the programs work toward 12 meeting the program goals. 13 ‘‘SEC. 642. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS. 14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each grant recipient shall make 15 available to the public a report published online at least 16 once in each fiscal year that discloses the following infor- 17 mation, from the most recently concluded fiscal year, ex- 18 cept that reporting such information shall not reveal per- 19 sonally identifiable information about an individual child 20 or parent: 21 ‘‘(1) The total amount of Federal, State, local, 22 and private funds received and the amount from 23 each source. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2996 IS ‘‘(2) An explanation of budgetary expenditures 1 and proposed budget for the fiscal year. 2 ‘‘(3) The total number of children served, the 3 average monthly enrollment (as a percentage of 4 funded enrollment), and the percentage of eligible 5 children served. 6 ‘‘(4) The results of the most recent self-assess- 7 ment under section 641. 8 ‘‘(5) Information about the grant recipient’s ef- 9 forts to prepare children for kindergarten. 10 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than October 1 11 following the first full fiscal year after the date of enact- 12 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 13 shall compile the information described in subsection(a), 14 from the most recently concluded fiscal year, into a report 15 and submit the report to Congress. 16 ‘‘SEC. 643. RECORDS. 17 ‘‘Each recipient of financial assistance under this 18 subchapter shall keep records, including records which 19 fully disclose the amount and disposition by such recipient 20 of the proceeds of such financial assistance, the total cost 21 of the program or activity in connection with which such 22 financial assistance is given or used, and the amount of 23 that portion of the cost of the program or activity supplied 24 by other sources. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2996.IS S2996 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2996 IS ‘‘SEC. 644. RESEARCH. 1 ‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 2 States shall conduct a study— 3 ‘‘(1) of t [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]