Head Start Improvement Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 62 To amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants to States for prekindergarten education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. BANKS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 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 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 62 IH ‘‘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) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 23 tity’ means the recipient of a subgrant under section 24 639(d)(3)(A). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 62 IH ‘‘(3) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘fi- 1 nancial assistance’ includes assistance provided by 2 grant, agreement, or contract, and payments may be 3 made in installments and in advance or by way of 4 reimbursement with necessary adjustments on ac- 5 count of overpayments or underpayments. 6 ‘‘(4) GRANT RECIPIENT.—The term ‘grant re- 7 cipient’ means the recipient of a grant under section 8 639(a). 9 ‘‘(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 10 means any tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other orga- 11 nized group or community of Indians, including any 12 Native village described in section 3(c) of the Alaska 13 Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)) 14 or established pursuant to such Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 15 et seq.), that is recognized as eligible for the special 16 programs and services provided by the United States 17 to Indians because of their status as Indians. 18 ‘‘(6) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 19 ‘local educational agency’ has the meaning given 20 such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 21 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 22 ‘‘(7) LOW-INCOME CHILD.—The term ‘low-in- 23 come child’ means a child who is age 5 or younger, 24 and is from a family with an income below 100 per- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 62 IH cent of the poverty line for the most recent fiscal 1 year for which satisfactory data are available. 2 ‘‘(8) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘poverty line’ 3 means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of- 4 fice of Management and Budget)— 5 ‘‘(A) adjusted to reflect the percentage 6 change in the Consumer Price Index For All 7 Urban Consumers, issued by the Bureau of 8 Labor Statistics, occurring in the 1-year period 9 or other interval immediately preceding the date 10 such adjustment is made; and 11 ‘‘(B) adjusted for family size. 12 ‘‘(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 13 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 14 ‘‘(10) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State, 15 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of 16 Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Is- 17 lands of the United States, and the Commonwealth 18 of the Northern Mariana Islands. The term includes 19 the Republic of Palau, except during any period for 20 which a Compact of Free Association is in effect, 21 contains provisions for early childhood education or 22 development, and prohibits the assistance provided 23 under this subchapter. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 62 IH ‘‘SEC. 638. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 1 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 2 this subchapter $8,598,000,000 for each of fiscal years 3 2019 through 2023. 4 ‘‘SEC. 639. BLOCK GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES AND IN- 5 DIAN TRIBES. 6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 7 vision of this subchapter, beginning on October 1 of the 8 first fiscal year following the date of enactment of the 9 Head Start Improvement Act of 2019, from the amounts 10 appropriated to carry out this subchapter under section 11 638 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to 12 eligible States and Indian tribes from allotments made 13 under subsection (b) in accordance with this section. 14 ‘‘(b) ALLOTMENTS.— 15 ‘‘(1) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall allot the 16 amount appropriated under section 638 for a fiscal 17 year among the eligible States and Indian tribes in 18 proportion to the number of children, age 5 and 19 younger, who are from families with incomes below 20 100 percent of the poverty line for the most recent 21 fiscal year for which satisfactory data are available 22 and who are in an eligible State or Indian tribe, 23 compared to the number of such children for that 24 fiscal year who are in all eligible States or Indian 25 tribes. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 62 IH ‘‘(2) CALCULATION.—For purposes of counting 1 the number of children who are in an eligible State 2 under paragraph (1), the children who are counted 3 in an eligible Indian tribe in that State shall be ex- 4 cluded. 5 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 6 under this section, a State or Indian tribe shall submit 7 an application to the Secretary that includes the number 8 of low-income children in the State or Indian tribe. 9 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant recipient under 11 this section shall use 100 percent of the grant 12 funds— 13 ‘‘(A) for prekindergarten education pro- 14 grams in the State or Indian tribe involved; 15 ‘‘(B) for the administration of the pro- 16 grams described in subparagraph (A); and 17 ‘‘(C) to provide direct technical assistance, 18 oversight, monitoring, research, and training 19 with respect to the programs described in sub- 20 paragraph (A). 21 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—The Governor, or other 22 chief executive, of each grant recipient shall certify 23 that all grant funds received under this section will 24 be used to directly or indirectly provide comprehen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 62 IH sive education and related services to low-income 1 children and their families. 2 ‘‘(3) GRANT RECIPIENT RESPONSIBILITIES.—A 3 grant recipient shall— 4 ‘‘(A) award subgrants to eligible entities 5 (as defined by the grant recipient) to enable 6 such entities to provide, directly or through a 7 delegate agency, prekindergarten education pro- 8 grams in the State or Indian tribe involved; 9 ‘‘(B) establish rules and standards for the 10 entities awarded subgrants under subparagraph 11 (A); and 12 ‘‘(C) monitor compliance by entities award- 13 ed subgrants under subparagraph (A). 14 ‘‘(4) FLEXIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any other 15 provision of Federal law (other than this section)— 16 ‘‘(A) a grant recipient shall have full flexi- 17 bility to use grant funds to finance a prekinder- 18 garten education provider, service, or program; 19 and 20 ‘‘(B) in particular, to the extent permitted 21 under State law, may use the grant funds to es- 22 tablish a portable voucher system that allows a 23 parent of a low-income child to use a portion of 24 the grant funds, other available public funds, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 62 IH private funds to pay some or all of the costs of 1 attendance at a private prekindergarten edu- 2 cation program. 3 ‘‘(5) MEMBERS OF INDIAN TRIBES.—A member 4 of an Indian tribe who is eligible to receive services 5 pursuant to a program funded under this section 6 may elect to receive such services from any eligible 7 entity for the State or Indian tribe in which the 8 member resides. 9 ‘‘(e) MATCHING FUNDS.—A grant recipient shall pro- 10 vide matching funds from non-Federal sources equal to 11 20 percent of the amount of the grant to carry out the 12 activities described in this section. 13 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No eligible entity 14 that receives a subgrant to provide a program under this 15 subchapter shall use more than 15 percent of the subgrant 16 funds for the administrative costs of the program. 17 ‘‘SEC. 640. LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE. 18 ‘‘Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to re- 19 quire a grant recipient to establish a publicly funded pro- 20 gram of early childhood education and development, or to 21 require any child to participate in such a publicly funded 22 program, including a preschool program funded by a grant 23 recipient, or to participate in any initial screening (other 24 than a health screening) before participating in a publicly 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 62 IH funded program of early childhood education and develop- 1 ment, except as provided under sections 612(a)(3) and 2 635(a)(5) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 3 Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(3), 1435(a)(5)). 4 ‘‘SEC. 641. GOALS; MONITORING. 5 ‘‘(a) SELF-ASSESSMENTS.—Not less frequently than 6 once each program year, each grant recipient shall conduct 7 a comprehensive self-assessment of the effectiveness and 8 progress of the grant recipient’s program under this sub- 9 chapter in meeting program goals established by the grant 10 recipient. The self-assessment shall include a determina- 11 tion of the number of low-income children served by the 12 program carried out by the grant recipient under this sub- 13 chapter. 14 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—The grant recipient shall develop, 15 and make available to the public, an online and searchable 16 report containing the self-assessment, and an improve- 17 ment plan to strengthen any areas identified in the self- 18 assessment as weaknesses or in need of improvement. The 19 report shall include the number of low-income children 20 served by the program carried out by the grant recipient 21 under this subchapter. 22 ‘‘(c) ONGOING MONITORING.—Each grant recipient 23 shall establish and implement procedures for the ongoing 24 monitoring of their respective programs, to ensure that the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 62 IH operations of the programs work toward meeting the pro- 1 gram goals. 2 ‘‘SEC. 642. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS. 3 ‘‘Each grant recipient shall make available to the 4 public a report published online at least once in each fiscal 5 year that discloses the following information, from the 6 most recently concluded fiscal year, except that reporting 7 such information shall not reveal personally identifiable in- 8 formation about an individual child or parent: 9 ‘‘(1) The total amount of public and private 10 funds received and the amount from each source. 11 ‘‘(2) An explanation of budgetary expenditures 12 and proposed budget for the fiscal year. 13 ‘‘(3) The total number of children and families 14 served, the average monthly enrollment (as a per- 15 centage of funded enrollment), and the percentage of 16 eligible children served. 17 ‘‘(4) The results of the most recent self-assess- 18 ment under section 641. 19 ‘‘(5) Information about parent involvement ac- 20 tivities. 21 ‘‘(6) Information about the grant recipient’s ef- 22 forts to prepare children for kindergarten. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 62 IH ‘‘SEC. 643. RECORDS. 1 ‘‘Each recipient of financial assistance under this 2 subchapter shall keep records, including records which 3 fully disclose the amount and disposition by such recipient 4 of the proceeds of such financial assistance, the total cost 5 of the program or activity in connection with which such 6 financial assistance is given or used, and the amount of 7 that portion of the cost of the program or activity supplied 8 by other sources. 9 ‘‘SEC. 644. RESEARCH. 10 ‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 11 States shall conduct a study— 12 ‘‘(1) of the different approaches and best prac- 13 tices used by States and Indian tribes in carrying 14 out the program under this subchapter; and 15 ‘‘(2) that is limited to the information provided 16 in the online reports made available by grant recipi- 17 ents under sections 641 and 642. 18 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of the 19 fourth fiscal year after the date of enactment referred to 20 in section 639(a), the Comptroller General shall submit 21 a report containing the results of the study to the appro- 22 priate committees of Congress. 23 ‘‘SEC. 645. NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS. 24 ‘‘No grant recipient shall provide financial assistance 25 for any program or activity under this subchapter unless 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H62.IH H62 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 62 IH the grant or contract relating to the financial assistance 1 specifically provides that no person with responsibilities in 2 the operation of the program or activity will discriminate 3 with respect to any such progr [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]