[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1469 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1469
To amend the Head Start Act to provide grants to Tribal Colleges and
Universities to increase the number of postsecondary degrees in early
childhood education and related fields earned by Indian Head Start
agency staff members, parents of children served by such an agency, and
members of the community involved.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 28 (legislative day, July 21), 2003
Mr. Bingaman (for himself, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Johnson, and Mr.
Inouye) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Head Start Act to provide grants to Tribal Colleges and
Universities to increase the number of postsecondary degrees in early
childhood education and related fields earned by Indian Head Start
agency staff members, parents of children served by such an agency, and
members of the community involved.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Tribal Colleges and Universities
Head Start Partnership Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Head Start Act requires that 50 percent or more of
teachers nationwide in center-based Head Start programs must
have at least an associate degree in early childhood education,
or a field related to early childhood education, by 2003.
(2) A goal of the Head Start Act is to ensure that all Head
Start programs nationwide will provide accredited continuing
education for Head Start staff that provides college or
university credit for such staff. However, Indian Head Start
programs are generally located in areas isolated from
mainstream colleges or universities where such credit can be
earned.
(3) The vast majority of the Nation's 34 Tribal Colleges
and Universities have early childhood education programs and,
of these, 32 are accredited, or designated candidates for
accreditation, by national accrediting associations.
(4) Tribal Colleges and Universities were created by
Indians for Indians primarily on rural and remote Indian
reservations, which were virtually excluded from the Nation's
system of higher education.
(5) Tribal Colleges and Universities are engaged community
institutions, offering higher education and continuing
education opportunities to individuals who otherwise might find
attaining such education impossible due to family
responsibilities, and financial and geographic barriers.
(6) Tribal Colleges and Universities have been more
successful than any other institutions of higher education in
educating Indians and helping to retain Indians in high-need
fields such as nursing and teaching. According to a 2000
survey, over 80 percent of Tribal College and University
graduates go on to further higher education or become employed
in the local community.
(7) Through partnerships developed between Tribal Colleges
and Universities and Head Start programs nationwide--
(A) Indian Head Start agency personnel can gain
greater access to accredited college and university
programs in their career field;
(B) the knowledge, skills, and aptitude of those
working at Indian Head Start agencies will be
increased, thus enabling them to provide high quality
and comprehensive services to Indian children and their
families; and
(C) the health, early childhood development, and
school readiness of Indian children will be improved as
a result of increased staff knowledge, skills, and
aptitude.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) promote social competencies and school readiness in
Indian children; and
(2) provide high quality, accredited educational
opportunities to Indian Head Start agency staff so that they
can better deliver services that enhance the social and
cognitive development of low-income children through the
provision of health, educational, nutritional, social, and
other services to low-income children and their families.
SEC. 3. TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY-HEAD START PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.
The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is amended by inserting
after section 648A the following:
``SEC. 648B. TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY-HEAD START PARTNERSHIP
PROGRAM.
``(a) Tribal College or University-Head Start Partnership
Program.--
``(1) Grants.--The Secretary is authorized to award grants,
of not less than 5 years duration, to Tribal Colleges and
Universities to--
``(A) implement education programs that include
tribal culture and language and increase the number of
associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degrees in early
childhood education and related fields that are earned
by Indian Head Start agency staff members, parents of
children served by such an agency, and members of the
tribal community involved;
``(B) develop and implement the programs under
subparagraph (A) in technology-mediated formats; and
``(C) provide technology literacy programs for
Indian Head Start agency staff members and children and
families of children served by such an agency.
``(2) Staffing.--The Secretary shall ensure that the
American Indian Programs Branch of the Head Start Bureau of the
Department of Health and Human Services shall have staffing
sufficient to administer the programs under this section and to
provide appropriate technical assistance to Tribal Colleges and
Universities receiving grants under this section.
``(b) Application.--Each Tribal College or University desiring a
grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary,
at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require, including a certification that the Tribal
College or University has established a partnership with 1 or more
Indian Head Start agencies for the purpose of conducting the activities
described in subsection (a).
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Institution of higher education.--The term
`institution of higher education' has the meaning given such
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a)).
``(2) Tribal college or university.--The term `Tribal
College or University' means an institution--
``(A) defined by such term in section 316(b) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)); and
``(B) determined to be accredited or a candidate
for accreditation by a nationally recognized
accrediting agency or association.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for fiscal year
2004 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2005
through 2008.''.
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