Hinojosa votes for the Improving Head Start Act of 2007

Washington, DC (May 2, 2007) – Today, Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, applauded efforts by Democrats to close the access gap to Head Start for limited English proficient youth and children of migrant farm workers. After stalemate for the previous two Congresses, the House passed a bipartisan bill that authorizes $450 million in new funding for Head Start in FY 2008, which would provide up to 10,000 more children access to this program.   

“This legislation is a long overdue step toward making sure that all our nation’s children get a head start in life and have access to a quality preschool education,” said Hinojosa. “I am particularly pleased that the bill expands and strengthens the educational opportunities available to our underserved minority families, especially our nation’s Hispanic youth.”
 
Nationwide, the federal Head Start program serves the education and development needs of over 900,000 preschool children and their low-income families, including over 67,000 children in Texas. However, at present, Head Start only serves 60 percent of the eligible population. Roughly 600,000 eligible Hispanic children are currently not served by Head Start.

To combat these statistics, the Improving Head Start Act increases the base funding for the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program to a minimum of 5 percent of the overall Head Start funding, which will result in more farm worker children in preschool instead of in the fields. Hinojosa also offered an amendment that will address the shortage of qualified teachers with expertise in serving limited English proficient children by establishing a teacher career ladder demonstration program at Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Tribally-Controlled Colleges and Universities. More generally, it raises the qualifications of teachers and boosts funding for their salaries.

“Hispanic children represent the fastest growing school-age population in the nation. Unfortunately, they are the least likely to participate in preschool, opening an achievement gap before the first day of school begins,” noted Hinojosa. “If our country is to remain competitive, we must expand the services provided to our most vulnerable children—and we must reach them from an early age on.”