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Early Childhood Education

Strengthening Head Start by Stopping Financial Abuses and Closing the School Readiness Gap

H.R. 2123, the School Readiness Act of 2005 (click HERE for a bill summary)

 

A copy of the School Readiness Act, as approved on May 18 by the Education & the Workforce Committee, is available by clicking HERE

 

Since 1965, Head Start has provided comprehensive early childhood services to low-income preschool children and their families.  These services are intended to prepare children to enter kindergarten and to improve the conditions necessary for their success in school and life.  Head Start today provides these services to nearly one million children across the United States.

 

In his 2002 State of the Union Address, just weeks after signing the No Child Left Behind Act into law to improve results in K-12 education, President Bush urged Congress to take the next step in education reform – helping to prepare children to read and succeed in school – by improving Head Start and early childhood development programs.  The Head Start program is scheduled for reauthorization in the 109th Congress, and congressional Republicans want to use the opportunity to strengthen accountability to stop the increasing number of individual financial abuses that damage the program as a whole, and close the school readiness gap that has persisted between Head Start students and their peers.

 

Issue Brief: Strengthening Head Start by Stopping Financial Abuses and Closing the School Readiness Gap

Press Statements:

• House Panel Examines In-Home Parent Education and Family Support Programs - September 27, 2006

• House Approves Castle Bill to Improve Head Start Early Childhood Program - September 22, 2005

• Committee Approves Bill to Reform and Reauthorize Head Start Program - May 18, 2005

• Boehner Announces Vote on Head Start Reform Bill as Another Independent Report Confirms Need for Tighter Oversight to Protect Children & Taxpayers - May 16, 2005

• Education Subcommittee Approves Castle Bill to Reform and Reauthorize Head Start Program - May 11, 2005

• House Republicans Introduce Bill to Reform and Reauthorize Head Start Program - May 5, 2005

• Improved Coordination with State Programs Would Strengthen Head Start, Witnesses Tell Congress; Suggestions Offered on Ways to Improve Integration - April 21, 2005

• Successful Head Start Programs Highlight Possibilities for Early Childhood Education Reform - April 14, 2005

• Federal Government Should Allow More Competition for Head Start Grants, Witnesses Tell House Education Committee - April 5, 2005

• Education Committee Unveils Head Start Reform Website; Committee Seeking Public Input on Quality Head Start Programs & Strategies for Success - March 30, 2005

• House Education Committee to Hold Hearing April 5^th on Financial Management Weaknesses in the Head Start Program - March 24, 2005

• Independent GAO Report Criticizes Financial Controls in Head Start Program; Says Reforms are Needed to Prevent Financial Abuses that Cheat Children, Taxpayers, and Honest Grantees - March 18, 2005

Bill Summary:

• H.R. 2123, the School Readiness Act of 2005 - September 22, 2005

Fact Sheets:

• Protecting Employment Rights for Faith-Based Service Providers in the Head Start Program - September 22, 2005

• Republicans Support Parental Involvement in the Head Start Early Childhood Program - September 22, 2005

• Head Start Reform Bill Empowers Parents and Local Communities, Rejects Increased Federal Role in Early Childhood Education - September 22, 2005

Dear Colleague Letters:

• Don’t Roll Back Head Start Accountability - September 22, 2005

• The Boustany Amendment: Head Start Students are Poised to Benefit Most - September 22, 2005

• Create Incentives for Quality and Efficiency in Head Start - September 22, 2005

• Bush Administration Backs Boustany Amendment, Calls on Congress to Protect the Rights of Faith-Based Institutions - September 22, 2005

• Give Parents a More Effective Role in Head Start - September 22, 2005

• Administration Agrees: The School Readiness Act will Create a Stronger Head Start Program, Help Ensure Children's Success - September 22, 2005

• Protect Parental Involvement in Head Start - September 22, 2005

• Protect the Right for Willing Providers to Serve Our Nation's Head Start Students - September 22, 2005

• Protect the Rights of Faith-Based Service Providers - September 22, 2005

• Support for Boustany Amendment Expands as Vote on School Readiness Act Draws Closer - September 22, 2005

• Faith-Based Institutions: Assisting their Neighbors during Katrina - and Beyond - September 21, 2005

• Boustany Amendment to the School Readiness Act is Offered in the Spirit of the 1964 Civil Rights Act - September 21, 2005

• Give Children the Head Start They Deserve; Vote YES on the School Readiness Act (H.R. 2123) - September 21, 2005

• Latino Coalition for Faith & Community Initiatives Strongly Supports Boustany Amendment to School Readiness Act (H.R. 2123) - September 20, 2005

• Strengthen the Head Start Early Childhood Program by Closing the School Readiness Gap - September 20, 2005

• Coalition to Preserve Religious Freedom Backs Boustany Amendment to School Readiness Act (H.R. 2123) - September 20, 2005

• School Readiness Act Increases Competition & Oversight in the Head Start Early Childhood Program - September 20, 2005

• Broad Coalition Backs the Boustany Faith-Based Amendment to the School Readiness Act (H.R. 2123) - September 19, 2005

• Help Head Start Parents Fight Financial Mismanagement & Abuse; Support H.R. 2123, the School Readiness Act - September 19, 2005

• Faith-Based Organizations Should Be Allowed to Serve Our Nation’s Head Start Participants without Forfeiting their Civil Rights - September 19, 2005

• Allow Faith-Based Organizations to Do Even More; Restore the Constitutionally-Protected Hiring Rights of Faith-Based Head Start Providers - September 19, 2005

• Strengthen the Head Start Early Childhood Program; Vote YES on the School Readiness Act (HR 2123) - September 16, 2005

• Assistance for Children & Families Impacted by Hurricane Katrina: the Head Start Program - September 13, 2005

• Help Head Start Parents Fight Financial Corruption and Mismanagement; Co-Sponsor H.R. 2123, the School Readiness Act of 2005 - May 27, 2005

• Restore the Constitutionally-Protected Hiring Rights of Faith-Based Head Start Providers - May 25, 2005

• Get More Without Spending More: Increase Competition in the Head Start Early Childhood Program - May 16, 2005

• Increase Competition & Oversight in the Head Start Early Childhood Program - May 16, 2005

Committee Report:

 

Taking Money from Children: Financial Abuse & Mismanagement in the Head Start Early Childhood Program Click here to read the new report

 

Committee Hearings and Markups:

• On May 18, 2005, the Full Committee held a markup of H.R. 2123, "School Readiness Act of 2005" and approved the bill by a vote of 48-0  - Opening Statements and Related Documents

• On May 11, 2005, the Subcommittee on Education Reform held a markup of H.R. 2123, "School Readiness Act of 2005" and approved the bill by voice vote - Opening Statements and Related Documents

• On April 21, 2005, the Subcommittee on Education Reform held a hearing on "Early Childhood Education: Improvement through Integration" - Opening Statements and Witness Testimony

• On April 14, 2005, the Subcommittee on Education Reform held a hearing on "The Best of Head Start: Learning from Model Programs" - Opening Statements and Witness Testimony

• On April 5, 2005, the Full Committee held a hearing on "Financial Accountability in the Head Start Early Childhood Program" - Opening Statements and Witness Testimony

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Click HERE for information on this issue in the 108th Congress (2003-2004)