NAEYC Children’s Champions

November 15, 2007

HEAD START REAUTHORIZATION BILL GOES TO PRESIDENT!

Yesterday, the House and Senate by an enormous bipartisan vote passed the conference report for a final Head Start reauthorization bill.  Now it goes to the President for his signature.  The Improving Head Start For School Readiness Act of 2007 maintains Head Start’s longstanding commitment to comprehensive services and family engagement.  This is the bill that authorizes the provisions of Head Start.  The funding for Head Start is part of the Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill.

There are several new provisions to improve the quality of the program and to expand Early Head Start:

Terminates the Head Start National Reporting System

Early Head Start

• Half of all expansion funds would go to Early Head Start; and
• Head Start programs may convert slots from preschoolers to infants and toddlers, following the Early Head Start requirements

Teacher and Staff Qualifications, Professional Development, and Salaries

• Requires all teachers to have an Associates degree by 2011 and 50% of teachers nationally to have a Bachelor’s in early childhood education or a BA degree with coursework equivalent to a major in early childhood education and experience teaching preschool children by 2013; requires assistant teachers to have at least a CDA credential and be working toward completing a degree within 2 years
• Each teacher would have a professional development plan
• Reserves 40% of new Head Start dollars for quality, including salary increases
• Requires all curriculum specialists to have at least a Bachelor’s degree
• Every teacher must have at least 15 hours of training each year
• Requires infant/toddler development training for all Early Head Start teachers
• Sets standards for home visitors in Early Head Start programs
• Requires each state to have at least one full-time infant and toddler specialist
• Creates state training offices for Head Start
• Supports training for teachers who work with English language learner children

• States must establish State Advisory Councils on Early Education and Care, or may use existing similar councils, to assess and develop recommendations for coordination of programs, data collection, early learning standards, and professional development across early childhood education programs in the state; councils will have a wide range of stakeholders from government, providers of early childhood programs, and others
• Creates more ongoing communication between Head Start and school systems on children’s services, curriculum, and other educational and service supports
• Creates new Early Education and Care incentive grants to the states for state early education systems

• 35% of children served by a grantee may have family incomes between 100% and 130% of poverty if the grantee can show that children with family incomes below 100% of poverty already are fully served
• Makes homeless children a priority for enrollment
• Increases funding for Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Indian Head Start
• Part day programs may provide full day, full year services

These provisions, however, require significant new Head Start appropriations.  The President has vetoed the Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill that would have increased Head Start funding for fiscal year 2008 by $154 million.  Funding continues to flow under last year’s funding levels and Congress is working on another funding bill for fiscal year 2008.   Advocates will need to keep pressure on Congress to provide the increased resources needed to maintain the quality of programs and to meet new requirements intended to support high quality and increased access for children in Early Head Start and Head Start.

NAEYC: Comments on Major Legislation in 2005

CCDBG (Child Care & Development Block Grant)

Head Start

Higher Education