NAEYC Children’s Champions
June 22, 2007
- Head Start Passes in Senate
- Early Childhood Educator Provisions in Senate Higher Education Act
HEAD START PASSES IN SENATE – NOW CONFERENCE WITH HOUSE
On June 19th, the U.S. Senate approved the Head Start for School Readiness Act (S. 556), by voice vote and without amendments. The bill:
- Terminates the use of the National Reporting System, the controversial test required of all four-year-olds enrolled in Head Start
- Increases the set aside for Early Head Start
- Creates state early learning councils for systems coordination
- Establishes state training offices
- Sets a “goal” that by September 2013, 50 percent of all center-based Head Start teachers in each state attain a bachelor’s degree
The House version of the Head Start reauthorization bill, H.R. 1429, the Improving Head Start Act of 2007, was passed on May 2nd. The House and Senate versions of the bill now go to conference in order to work out the differences between the two bills into a single version.
IMPORTANT EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR PROVISIONS INCLUDED IN SENATE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT
On June 20th, the Senate Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, marked up the reauthorization bill of the Higher Education Act (S. 1642). NAEYC developed several provisions that were included in the bill:
- Grants to states to create early childhood educator professional development and career systems that will address teacher's competencies and credentials, better compensation to attract and keep teachers, quality assurances for training and professional development, and articulation agreements so that teachers can move to the next level of degrees more easily. This provision is based on S. 1431, a bill sponsored by Senators Brown and Voinovich, both of Ohio;
- An allowable use of Title II partnership grants to improve compensation of early childhood educators who attain an Associate's or Baccalaureate degree. This provision is based on the PREP bill by Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island; and
- An expansion of higher education loan forgiveness for early childhood educators and reauthorization of the CAMPIS program. Both of these provisions are based on legislation sponsored by Senator Dodd.
The House Committee on Education & Labor has taken up separately the reconciliation provisions for student loans. The bill includes loan forgiveness for early childhood educators in child care, Head Start and other early childhood education programs. The House committee will take up the remainder of the Higher Education Act later this summer.
NAEYC: Comments on Major Legislation in 2005
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