US Congress House Bill 4120 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: Introduced on November 19 2015 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2016-03-23 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
Pending: House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Head Start Improvement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Head Start Act to replace 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 Education (ED) shall allot block grant funds for pre-K education among eligible states and Indian tribes in accordance with their relative proportions of children, age five and younger, 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, ED 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 Indian tribes, which shall have full flexibility to use grant funds to finance the pre-K programs of their choice. In addition, grant recipients may use grant funds to establish portable voucher systems that allow costs to be paid for attendance at private pre-K education programs. 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.

Head Start Improvement Act of 2015

Rep. Matt Salmon [R-AZ]

Rep. Glenn Grothman [R-WI]

Rep. Paul Gosar [R-AZ]

Date	Chamber	Action
2016-03-23	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
2015-11-19	House	Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
2015-11-19	House	Introduced in House

SB2290 (Related) 2015-11-17 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4120/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr4120/BILLS-114hr4120ih.pdf