Thursday, August 16, 2007
Head Start Reauthorization Moving?
The Head Start program has not been reauthorized since 1998, but earlier this spring and summer reauthorization legislation began to move. On May 2, 2007, the House approved H.R. 1429, “Improving Head Start Act of 2007.” On June 19, 2007, the Senate approved its version of Head Start reauthorization, “The Head Start for School Readiness Act.”
In the past the Bush administration proposed to transfer control of the program from local grantees to the state – in effect block granting the program. That proposal is no longer considered a viable option. In the most recent House debate an amendment was narrowly defeated that would have allowed Head Start providers affiliated with religious groups to hire employees based on religious preferences. Both the House and Senate versions authorize increases in spending, increase program eligibility to 130 percent of the federal poverty level, increase the set aside for Early Head Start, terminate the national reporting system (testing), and emphasize increasing staff qualifications and salaries.
According to the Federal Funds Information for States the funding levels authorized in the both the House and Senate bills are about $14 million higher for Ohio in federal fiscal year 2008 than what is currently contained in the pending appropriation bills and almost $20 million higher than what the President proposed in his 2008 budget.
The Senate appointed members of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee as Senate conferees, but the House has yet to appoint their conferees. Ohio U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is a member of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee and as such will have a voice in the conference process. There is no scheduled date for beginning the conference committee, and the prospects for successfully moving the legislation are unclear as the 2008 elections move ever closer. The Bush administration opposes several provisions in the legislation, particularly the proposal to terminate the national reporting system.
In the past the Bush administration proposed to transfer control of the program from local grantees to the state – in effect block granting the program. That proposal is no longer considered a viable option. In the most recent House debate an amendment was narrowly defeated that would have allowed Head Start providers affiliated with religious groups to hire employees based on religious preferences. Both the House and Senate versions authorize increases in spending, increase program eligibility to 130 percent of the federal poverty level, increase the set aside for Early Head Start, terminate the national reporting system (testing), and emphasize increasing staff qualifications and salaries.
According to the Federal Funds Information for States the funding levels authorized in the both the House and Senate bills are about $14 million higher for Ohio in federal fiscal year 2008 than what is currently contained in the pending appropriation bills and almost $20 million higher than what the President proposed in his 2008 budget.
The Senate appointed members of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee as Senate conferees, but the House has yet to appoint their conferees. Ohio U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is a member of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee and as such will have a voice in the conference process. There is no scheduled date for beginning the conference committee, and the prospects for successfully moving the legislation are unclear as the 2008 elections move ever closer. The Bush administration opposes several provisions in the legislation, particularly the proposal to terminate the national reporting system.
