Head Start Improvement Act of 2019
Latest action · Dec 5, 2019 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedDec 5, 2019
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Head Start Improvement Act of 2019
This bill replaces the existing Head Start program with block grants to states and Indian tribes for prekindergarten (pre-K) education.
Instead of providing direct financial assistance to Head Start agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall allot block grant funds for pre-K education among eligible states and tribes in accordance with their relative proportions of children, age three, four, or five, from low-income households. Grant recipients shall use the grant funds to (1) award subgrants to eligible entities that provide pre-K education programs; (2) administer such programs; and (3) provide technical assistance, oversight, monitoring, research, and training.
Under current law, HHS is authorized to designate, monitor, and establish standards for Head Start agencies. The bill instead shifts pre-K program oversight and control to states and tribes, which shall have full flexibility to use grant funds to finance the pre-K programs of their choice.
In addition, to the extent permitted under state law, grant recipients may use grant funds to establish (1) portable voucher systems that allow costs to be paid for attendance at private pre-K education programs; and (2) an education savings account that allows a parent of a low-income child to use a portion of the grant funds, or other available public or private funds added to the account, for expenses related to prekindergarten education.
Under current law, federal financial assistance for a Head Start program is generally limited to 80% of total program costs. The bill maintains this limitation by requiring grant recipients to provide matching funds equal to 20% of the grant amount.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Dec 5, 2019.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-TN | Marsha Blackburn | Original | Dec 5, 2019 |
| R-FL | Rick Scott | Original | Dec 5, 2019 |
| R-TX | Ted Cruz | Original | Dec 5, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 5, 2019Introduced in Senate
- Dec 5, 2019Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 62 | Head Start Improvement Act of 2019 | Related bill | Jan 3, 2019 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 5, 2019Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.