House Votes to End Test Central to GOP’s Shift on Head Start Wash Post
The House dealt a blow to President Bush’s chief early-childhood initiative yesterday, voting to end the standardized testing of 4-year-olds, which was at the heart of his efforts to refocus Head Start.
Head Start may reach out to more kids Booth Newspapers
As early as today, the U.S. House is expected to approve legislation that would renew the program for another five years and require the 2,700-plus U.S. Head Start programs to open their doors to more children, extend the number of classroom hours and improve teacher quality.
Click below for a roundup of amendments by Fritz.By a vote of 365-48, the House passed HR 1429 (Kildee, Michigan), the “Improving Head Start Act of 2007”, after approving several amendments which include:
* Amendment #1 (Johnson, Texas) to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a partnership between Head Start and Historically Black Colleges and Universities;
* Amendment #6 (Kennedy, Rhode Island) which defines “inclusive classrooms” as Head Start classrooms that include both children with and without disabilities;
* Amendment #10 (Cuellar, Texas) to require States or agencies that administer Head Start programs to describe the type of assessment used to determine the rate of progress made by students with limited English proficiency; and
* Amendment #3 (Sestak, Pennsylvania) which authorizes the Secretary of Education to carry out a program to forgive student loans for Head Start and Early Start teachers who have earned a bachelor’s degree in a field related to early childhood education and who commit to teach in the program for a minimum of 3 years.
* Other changes included the elimination of the 4 year old assessment and language on faith-based institutions.
[This has only taken 4 years to complete and now the Senate!]