SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED TO THE RULES COMMITTEE ON 
H.R. 2123 – SCHOOL READINESS ACT OF 2005

(in alphabetical order)

SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS

(summaries derived from information provided by sponsors)

Mica #20
Directs the Secretary of HHS to undergo a management reform initiative. Requires HHS to utilize an outside management consulting firm to recommend and support the implementation of internal reforms to improve the Head Start Bureau’s operational effectiveness.

Boustany #18
Provides hiring protections for faith-based Head Start providers. This language is the same as the language from H.R. 2210 as passed by the House in the 108th Congress.

Cardin #9
Exempts Master Teachers from paying federal taxes on 25% of their gross annual income if they agree to teach in an under-performing school or Head Start program for a four-year period. Defines under-performing schools as schools that fail to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as defined by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Defines Master Teacher as someone who has at least five years of teaching experience in a Head Start Program or a public elementary or secondary school, holds a master’s degree, meets the definition of Highly Qualified as defined by the NCLB, and has obtained certification in their state licensing program.

Castle #17
Manager’s Amendment. Revises the financial audit language in Section 17 to ensure that financial audit requirements for Head Start programs are consistent with those required under the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1986. Specifically extends to 270 days the time frame for completing program audits; clarifies that, upon the availability of resources, audit partners (not auditors) must be rotated every 5 years; and waives the board selection of a certified public accountant when public auditors are assigned by State law. In addition the amendment builds on parental consent requirements included in H.R. 2123 as reported, to further clarify that any health service available to children in Head Start may not be performed without the prior written consent of the parent. Health services include but are not limited to any medical, dental, developmental, mental health, social, or behavioral screening. Parents must consent to each individual health service before a health service is administered by a Head Start or Early Head Start program. Technical, Clarifying, and Conforming Amendments includes a number of technical and conforming amendments, including language to: make consistent language for special populations (migrant and seasonal Head Start and Indian Head Start programs); correct the order of Sections 10 and 11 (Sections 642A and 642B of the Act) in the reported bill; require Head Start applicants as part of their plan for local collaboration, to describe plans to work with private entities and charter schools offering pre-kindergarten; and require either the chair of the parent policy council or a designee as approved by the council, to sit on the agency’s Head Start governing board.

Davis (IL) #4
Directs the Secretary to implement an outreach program to train and recruit African-American and Latino-American men to become Head Start teachers in order to increase the provision of quality services and instructions to children with diverse backgrounds.

Davis (IL) #5
Provides stipends for each teachers with Associates’ or Bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education, increasing their salaries based upon their level of educational attainment, and scholarships for teachers working to earn their post-secondary degree in early childhood education.

DeLuaro #6
Allows Head Start centers to develop or maintain partnerships with institutions of higher education and non-profit organizations to support college students that serve as mentors and reading coaches to preschool children. (PLACEHOLDER)

Filner #3
Initiates a study to assess the impact of new Head Start teacher qualification and development regulations upon teacher retention.

Inslee #23
Creates a program to provide loan forgiveness through the Department of Education to Head Start teachers who pursue a B.A. or A.A pursuant to goals set forth in H.R. 2123 in the field of early education. LATE

Jone (OH) #25
Authorizes $250 million specifically for teacher education, training and salaries. LATE

Kind #10
Suspends further implementation of the National Reporting System while the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) conducts a review and provides guidance on appropriate child outcomes and assessments for young children, as authorized in H.R. 2123.

Kucinich #1
Requires the poverty line used in determining eligibility for Head Start to be adjusted by the change in the Employment Cost Index, rather then the Consumer Price Index.

McCollum #15
Authorizes the appropriation of $10 million for competitive grants to Head Start grantees that need assistance in complying with Congressional transportation mandates specific to Head Start and for assistance with the rising cost of gasoline prices.

McCollum #16
Requires Head Start grantees that are primarily religious entities to have a separate and distinct financial accounting system from their religious revenue and expenditures for the administration of federal Head Start grants.

Mica #13
Establishes 5 demonstration Charter Head Start Projects operated by accredited post-secondary institutions which allows the flexibility to formulate programs with innovative, administrative and educational initiatives. The 5 demonstration Charter Head Start Projects will have agreements that provide flexible and innovative rules and administrative requirements as determined by both parties. WITHDRAWN

Millender-McDonald #2
Encourages Head Start grantees to reduce barriers by directing them to increase their outreach to homeless and foster children. Encourages coordination between Head Start grantees and community service providers and homeless and foster children. Increases coordination for these populations as they transition out of Head Start to elementary school and increase reporting requirements. Allows homeless children and foster children to be automatically eligible for Head Start.

Musgrave #19
Allows for profit providers of Head Start services to take profit from 15% administrative account.

Souder #14
Restores the current joint governance structure of the Head Start program by allowing the policy councils (which are composed of 51 percent current Head Start parents and 49 percent community representatives) to approve or disapprove most program planning and operation activities along with the board of directors. In the event of an impasse, the board and policy council would enter into a mediation process with a third party – as under current regulations. Gives the board the discretionary authority to act unilaterally without policy council approval in all cases involving serious fiscal management, fraud or criminal activity. REVISED

Stearns #7
Provides the ability of faith based organizations to “opt-out” of teaching lessons from state and local curricula standards which are contrary to their beliefs. (PLACEHOLDER)

Stearns #8
In section 18, includes “Children with Disabilities,” in the list of areas for training to be provided by the Secretary of Education.

Thompson (MS) #24
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to assist Head Start programs in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Requires the Secretary to provide additional technical assistance, guidance, and resources to Head Start agencies in affected areas, waives documentation requirements for six months, and provides the Secretary with waiver authority to exempt programs from providing their local match. LATE.

Waters #21
Authorizes $5 million for each of the five fiscal years after enactment to establish a Parent Service Awards. Authorizes the award of a $1000 voucher, to up to 5,000 individuals, to be used for the costs of any education or job training program approved by any State or the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Eligible recipients of the award are parents who volunteer in the classroom at least 5 hours a week for the entire Head Start school year, and who meet any other criteria set by the Secretary of HHS. LATE

Waters #22
Allows parents to count the hours they volunteer in a Head Start classroom against welfare work requirements. LATE

Woolsey #11
Authorizes supplemental funding (such sums as are necessary from FY05 and FY06) for Head Start and Early Head Start grantees in areas directly affected by Hurricane Katrina and in areas receiving children and families as a result of Hurricane Katrina to ensure that eligible children and families in such areas receive Head Start and Early Head Start services.

Woolsey/ Van Hollen #12
Authorizes full funding for Head Start by fiscal year 2011 and increases the annual set-aside for Early Head Start to 20 percent by fiscal year 2010.

 
* Summaries derived from information submitted by the amendment sponsors.