House Republicans Offer Plan to Strengthen Head Start

5/22/2003

From: Parker Hamilton or David Schnittger of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, 202-225-4527

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- Responding to President Bush's call for action to improve early childhood education, Republican members of the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce today unveiled legislation that would strengthen the academic components of the federal Head Start program for disadvantaged children and encourage states to maintain or increase funding for early childhood education. The bill -- the School Readiness Act of 2003, authored by Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) -- focuses on reducing the "readiness gap" that exists between Head Start graduates and their more affluent peers when they reach kindergarten.

The School Readiness Act would allow states to receive the ability to coordinate Head Start programs with their own early education initiatives in exchange for an agreement not to reduce funding for early childhood education. The bill also includes new provisions to improve Head Start teacher quality, and would keep the program at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). It would reauthorize the Head Start program through Fiscal Year 2008.

"The simple truth is that children in Head Start are learning, but they aren't learning as much as they deserve to be learning," said Castle, chairman of the Education Reform Subcommittee. "Head Start children deserve the chance to enter kindergarten at the same level as other children their age do, but that isn't happening. The current system is giving these children a head start, but it isn't giving them the best start possible."

Studies show that while children in Head Start show improvement, they still leave the program with skills and knowledge levels far below national averages for U.S. children. As a result of this "readiness gap," Head Start children are not being adequately prepared for school in key areas of cognitive development that have been shown to be critical for later school success.

"Head Start is a great program that is capable of achieving even greater results," said Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-Ohio), an original cosponsor of the bill. "We should not be content with giving these children anything less than the best this nation can offer. If we simply settle for the status quo in Head Start, we'll be leaving the job unfinished for hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged children."

"If states are willing to make a commitment to funding early childhood education and maintaining high standards, then the federal government should be willing to give them the ability to coordinate Head Start with their own early childhood education programs," said Boehner.

To close the readiness gap and strengthen Head Start, the School Readiness Act would:

-- Emphasize "what works" in preparing disadvantaged children for school. The proposal would strengthen Head Start's academic standards by emphasizing cognitive development and the results of scientifically-based research in topics critical to children's school readiness (including language, pre-reading, pre-mathematics, and English language acquisition). The changes would be similar to those adopted with strong bipartisan support for President Bush's Reading First and Early Reading First initiatives, established in the No Child Left Behind Act for K-12 education.

-- Require no new testing. The proposal would maintain current law with respect to regular local assessments of the academic progress being made by children enrolled in Head Start. No new testing would be mandated under the bill. Local Head Start grantees would be subject to the same three-year review ("triennial review") process as they are under current law, but would be evaluated based on criteria that are more straightforward and reflective of the progress being made in preparing children for school.

-- Ensure that local Head Start centers are fairly evaluated on their performance. The bill would eliminate "performance measures" in current law that are arbitrary and do not adequately gauge children's progress. These flawed measures would be replaced by a more straightforward system that takes into account a child's progress in key areas relating to school readiness, better enabling parents and teachers to know how each child is progressing.

-- Continue to provide extra help for Head Start centers identified as underachieving. Under the bill (as under current law), Head Start centers identified as underachieving would qualify for additional assistance. Chronic underachievers that continue to underachieve even after receiving additional assistance would be subject to review, as under current law.

-- Improve teacher quality in Head Start. The bill would ensure that a greater number of Head Start teachers are adequately trained and educated in early childhood development, particularly in teaching the fundamental skills of language, pre-reading, and pre-mathematics. It would require all new Head Start teachers to have at least an associates degree in early childhood education or a related field within three years, and 50 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide to have at least a bachelors degree by 2008. These provisions will help to meet a goal set recently by the National Head Start Association, which called for 75 percent of all Head Start teachers to have at least an associates degree by 2005, and for all Head Start teachers to have at least an associates degree by 2008.

-- Serve more children by reducing HHS expenses. The bill would place a 2 percent cap on U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) spending for Head Start expenses, allowing as many as 10,000 more disadvantaged children to be served by Head Start. The legislation specifies that at least 50 percent of such funds would have to be used at the local level, rather than by federal or state officials.

-- Preserve all current health and nutrition services for Head Start children. While the academic components of Head Start would be strengthened, all existing health and nutrition-related components of Head Start would be preserved and extended.

-- Keep Head Start at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). HHS would continue to administer the Head Start program under the bill.

-- Provide incentives for states to maintain or expand funding for early childhood education. As many states confront budget difficulties, some are reducing (or considering reducing) their spending on early childhood education programs. To provide an incentive for states to continue investing in early childhood education, the School Readiness Act would create a limited demonstration project by which a limited number of states could voluntarily apply for and receive the option of coordinating Head Start programs with their own early childhood education programs, in exchange for an agreement to maintain or expand funding for early childhood education. The "state demo" would be limited to states with a demonstrated investment in early childhood education and an established, pre-existing preschool system. Participating states would be barred from making funding cuts to early childhood education programs as a condition of their participation. In addition, a "hold harmless" provision is included guaranteeing funding for Head Start centers in participating states during the first year of implementation of the demonstration project.

-- Shield Head Start and other early childhood education programs against state budget cuts. The bill would effectively "wall off" early childhood education funding in states that choose to participate in the state demonstration program. Under the bill, a state participating in the demonstration project would be required to maintain or expand its financial commitment to early childhood education to qualify for participation. Participating states would not be permitted to use early childhood funds for anything other than Head Start and early childhood education.

-- Increase Head Start funding. The bill would authorize a $203 million increase in funding for Head Start - to $6.87 billion, meaning Head Start funding will have nearly doubled in the past seven years. Funding for Head Start in FY 1996, the first fiscal year under a Republican-led House, was approximately $3.8 billion. The bill would also authorize a separate $5 million to provide additional administrative support to states who are selected to participate in the state demonstration program. This money would be a one-time allotment to help such states coordinate Head Start with their state initiatives.

The state demonstration project in the School Readiness Act reflects the Head Start principles adopted recently by the bipartisan National Governors Association (NGA).

"Governors believe there is an increased need for greater collaboration among all programs that provide services to children, including Head Start, in an effort to improve child well-being and help to move more individuals and families toward self-sufficiency," declared the nation's governors policy statement adopted at the NGA's 2002 Annual Meeting. "Governors applaud the President for offering a proposal to improve and build upon the success of Head Start through an increased emphasis on early learning and a greater role for Governors in the oversight of the program."