HOUSE HEAD START REAUTHORIZATION VOTE LAUDED BY NATIONAL HEAD START ASSOCIATION
WASHINGTON, D.C.//May 3, 2007///The National Head Start Association, the national voice of Head Start grantees, today applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for its bipartisan approval yesterday of H.R. 1429, The Improving Head Start Act of 2007, by an overwhelming vote of 365 to 48.
The U.S. House of Representatives soundly defeated an amendment that would block grant Head Start programs in eight states and permit faith-based Head Start programs to discriminate in their hiring practices. NHSA indicated that it was pleased to see that the House-passed bill terminates the further development and use of the National Reporting System — the flawed assessment tool mandated by the Bush administration.
NHSA President and CEO Sarah Greene declared: “This legislation is a major improvement over previous bills, and we are glad that H.R. 1429 moves Head Start in the right direction by increasing authorized funding levels. We still need to make sure that there is adequate money to pay teachers a fair wage and that voter registration efforts for Head Start parents are not curbed, but these are the kind of details that we can continue to work on as the legislative process moves forward. It is our hope that several of the key provisions of the House reauthorization bill be looked at closely by the Senate as it considers its version of the Head Start reauthorization bill (S. 556).”
Specifically, NHSA applauded the following aspects of the H.R. 1429:
Increasing the income eligibility guidelines to 130 percent of the poverty level with some restrictions;
Maintaining the current shared governance structure between the board of directors and the parent policy council, except for the hiring and firing of the Head Start director;
Increasing the number of Seasonal/Migrant and American Indian/Alaskan Native families served by Head Start;
Allowing programs the flexibility to serve more infants and toddlers while also increasing the Early Head Start set-aside;
Requiring that 50 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide have a baccalaureate degree without sanctioning or penalizing individual programs that have trouble meeting the new benchmarks;
Establishing clear guidance on how training and technical assistance funds will be spent;
Requiring that at least 50 percent of training funds be sent directly to local programs;
Making it easier to enroll homeless and foster children in Head Start;
Emphasizing that faith-based and community organizations can continue their long tradition of operating Head Start programs.;
Creating a process in which Head Start grantees may negotiate with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reduce funded a grantee’s enrollment level without a reduction in the grant amount if the grantee can demonstrate that such reduction is necessary to maintain the quality of its services. This process would occur in the event that the amount appropriated to carry out the program does not exceed the funds appropriated for the prior year.
Greene said that the next step in the process is for the full U.S. Senate to take up S.556 as early as sometime later this month. NHSA will be working with lawmakers and their staff to further improve that bill before that action takes place.
NHSA made clear that it will oppose any version of a reauthorization bill that includes either block granting of Head Start or religious discrimination in Head Start hiring.
ABOUT NHSA
The National Head Start Association (http://www.nhsa.org) is a private not-for-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to meeting the needs of Head Start children and their families. It represents more than 1 million children, 200,000 staff and 2,600 Head Start programs in the United States. The Association provides support for the entire Head Start community by advocating for policies that strengthen services to Head Start children and their families; by providing extensive training and professional development to Head Start staff; and by developing and disseminating research, information, and resources that enrich Head Start program delivery.
CONTACT: Ailis Aaron Wolf, (703) 276-3265 or aaaron@hastingsgroup.com.
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