Committee on Education and Labor : U.S. House of Representatives

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Reps. Kildee, Castle and Miller Introduce Bipartisan Head Start Reauthorization

 

Friday, March 9, 2007

 

WASHINGTON, DC -- A bipartisan group of leaders on the House Education and Labor Committee today introduced legislation to reauthorize and improve the Head Start early childhood education program. 


U.S. Reps. Dale Kildee (D-MI), Mike Castle (R-DE) and George Miller (D-CA) today introduced the Improving Head Start Act of 2007 to improve Head Start's teacher and classroom quality; boost coordination between Head Start and state and local early childhood programs; increase the program's accountability; and expand access to the program.

"I am pleased that one of my first acts as subcommittee chairman is to introduce this bill to improve the lives of young children," Congressman Kildee said. "Since 1965, Head Start has provided vital services to millions of low-income children and their families to help them succeed in school and in life. I look forward to working with Representatives Miller, Castle, McKeon and all of the members of the committee to ensure that this bill becomes law." 

"With the reauthorization of Head Start, we are faced with the opportunity to ensure that our children are beginning school with a solid foundation and the preparation needed for success in the future.  I take that responsibility very seriously and through this legislation, we strive to improve the academic quality standards and fiscal management practices by Head Start agencies all over the country.   This will all be accomplished while maintaining the already successful services that make the program so critical, such as immunizations and nutrition," Congressman Castle said.

Head Start serves nearly one million low-income children and their families.  Research shows that children who attend Head Start enter school better prepared than other low-income children who do not attend the program.  In addition, children who attend Head Start make significant gains relative to national norms in vocabulary, early writing, letter recognition and social behavior. 

Improving Head Start Act of 2007 will:

  • Improve workforce quality by increasing funding for teacher and staff salaries and professional development, encouraging full-day and full-year operations, and hiring additional qualified staff;
  • Strengthen school readiness by re-evaluating and updating current standards and assessments based on the best science, suspending and terminating the badly flawed National Reporting System, and improving professional development related to supporting children's cognitive, social and emotional development;
  • Boost coordination by improving cooperation between Head Start and state and local child care programs to increase full-day and full-year services; improving linkages with IDEA, state health, mental health, and family services; and assisting programs in aligning Head Start and state early learning standards;
  • Expand access to up to 10,000 more children;
  • Allow programs to convert portions of their grant for use for Early Head Start, which serves children under three years old; and
  • Increase accountability by devising a new system of application review that assesses program quality and leads to re-competition of low-quality centers; allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to more quickly de-fund bad programs; and improving the triennial review process.

"For four decades, Head Start has played a vital role in improving the lives of over 20 million children and their families," said Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.  "We know that Head Start works.  Studies show that children who participate in Head Start are better prepared to succeed in school than are low-income children who didn't attend Head Start. It is my hope that our committee will continue to work in a bipartisan manner to strengthen and improve the Head Start program."

"Head Start is a great program, capable of achieving even greater results," noted Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), the senior Republican on the Education and Labor Committee.  "I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in crafting the strongest possible bill to close the readiness gap between Head Start children and their more advantaged peers as they enter kindergarten."

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
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