Sec. 121. National program standards, monitoring of child care and early learning programs
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Within 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, after consultation with other Federal agencies, and on the basis of the recommendations of the Committee established pursuant to paragraph (3), issue a common set of national program standards which shall be applicable to all prime sponsors, with respect to their child care and early learning programs providing child care and early learning services with financial assistance under this title, to be known as the Federal Standards for Child Care and Early Learning Services .
The standards shall establish a baseline threshold for knowledge, skills, and competencies for child care and early learning teachers and staff that— shall be aligned with compensation levels; shall be phased in; and shall be determined by the Secretary to be in alignment with the knowledge, skills, and competency expectations of the child care and early learning, or early childhood education, profession. As appropriate and practicable, the Secretary shall make efforts to ensure that the Federal Standards for Child Care and Early Learning Services are as comprehensive as the Head Start program performance standards in section 641A(a) of the Head Start Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9836a(a) ), and the performance standards for providers and programs issued under the military child care program.
The Secretary shall, within 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, appoint a Special Committee on Federal Standards for Child Care and Early Learning Services. The Committee shall include— parents or legal guardians of children participating in child care and early learning programs; representatives of prime sponsors carrying out child care and early learning programs; representatives of staff of child care and early learning programs, including teachers; representatives of tribes and tribal organizations carrying out child care and early learning programs on Indian land; representatives of family child care home providers, staff and employers for center-based child care and early learning programs, and family child care home providers in child care and early learning programs; and specialists covering the areas of child care and early learning quality, workforce preparation, working conditions, and wages, and early childhood development.
The Secretary shall ensure that the membership of the Committee is diverse with regard to culture, race and ethnicity, and language. Such Committee shall recommend Federal Standards for Child Care and Early Learning Services and modifications of such standards as provided in paragraph (1). The standards shall include— performance standards with respect to services required to be provided, including health, nutritional, and social services, and other services, including parental and family member involvement services and transition activities described in section 122; scientifically-based and developmentally appropriate early development and learning performance standards related to school readiness to ensure that the children participating in the child care and early learning program, at a minimum, develop and demonstrate— language knowledge and skills, including oral language and listening comprehension; literacy knowledge and skills, including phonological awareness, print awareness and skills, and alphabetic knowledge; mathematics knowledge and skills; science knowledge and skills; cognitive abilities that support academic achievement and child care and early learning; approaches to learning related to child care and early learning; social and emotional development sufficient to be a foundation for early learning, school success, and social problem-solving; creative arts expression; physical development; and in the case of dual language learner children, progress toward language knowledge and development, including progress made through the use of culturally and linguistically appropriate instructional services; administrative and financial management standards; standards relating to the condition and location of facilities (including indoor air quality assessment standards, where appropriate) for such prime sponsors, including regulations that require that the facilities used for child care and early learning programs for regularly scheduled center-based and combination program option classroom activities— shall meet or exceed State and local requirements concerning licensing for such facilities; and shall be accessible by State and local authorities for purposes of monitoring and ensuring compliance, unless State or local laws prohibit such access; standards related to the work environment, including standards for the health and safety, and well-being, of teachers and other staff in the child care and early learning programs; and such other standards as the Secretary finds to be appropriate.
In developing standards required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— consult with experts in the fields of child care and early learning, early childhood education, child health care, family services (including linguistically and culturally appropriate services to dual language learner children and their families), administration, and financial management, and with persons with experience in the operation of child care and early learning programs; take into consideration— past experience with use of the standards in effect under the Head Start Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) on the date of enactment of the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007; developments concerning research-based practices with respect to early childhood education and development, children with disabilities, homeless children, children in foster care, and family services, and best practices with respect to program administration and financial management; appropriateness of standards for prime sponsors with respect to their programs, recognizing differences in types of settings (including center-based and home-based settings), geography of the service area, and the culture, language, and age distribution of the children served; projected needs of expanding child care and early learning programs; guidelines and standards that promote child health and physical development, including participation in outdoor activity that supports children’s motor development and overall health and nutrition; changes in the characteristics of the population of children who are accessing child care and early learning programs, including country of origin, language background, and family structure of such children, and changes in the population and number of such children who are in foster care or are homeless children; mechanisms to ensure that children participating in child care and early learning programs make a successful transition to the schools that the children will be attending; the need for prime sponsors to maintain regular communications with parents and family members, including conducting periodic meetings to discuss the progress of individual children in child care and early learning programs; the unique challenges faced by individual programs, including those programs that are seasonal or short-term and those programs that serve rural populations; the degree to which standards are streamlined and minimize administrative burdens on child care and early learning program providers; the depth of demonstrated skills, experiences, and linguistic, cultural, and racial and ethnic, diversity of providers for child care and early learning programs; and the input of parents and family members; review and revise as necessary the standards in effect under this subsection; and ensure that any such revisions in the standards will not result in the elimination of or any reduction in quality, scope, or types of health, educational, nutritional, social, or other services, including parental and family member involvement services, required to be provided under such standards as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and consult with appropriate officials from Indian tribes and tribal organizations, experts in Indian or Native Hawaiian early childhood education and development, linguists, and associations related to child care and early learning programs providing services for children belonging to Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian children, on the review and promulgation of standards under paragraph
(1)(including standards for Indian or Native Hawaiian, as the case may be, language acquisition and school readiness). The Secretary shall establish an effective date for the standards that allows adequate time for prime sponsors to meet the standards after they have been issued. The Secretary shall, within 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, appoint a special committee to develop and recommend a uniform code for facilities, to be used as described in paragraph (4). The standards in the code shall deal principally with those aspects of facilities that are essential to the health, safety, and physical comfort of the children involved and the aspects of facilities that are related to the Federal Standards for Child Care and Early Learning Services under subsection (a)(1). In recommending the provisions of the code, the Secretary shall take into consideration the differences between child care centers and family child care homes. The special committee appointed under this subsection shall include parents or family members of children participating in child care and early learning programs and representatives of State and local facility licensing agencies, of public health officials, of fire prevention officials, of the construction industry and labor unions, of prime sponsors, of center-based providers and family child care home providers, and of national agencies or organizations interested in the development of children. Not less than one-half of the membership of the committee shall consist of parents or family members of children participating in child care and early learning programs conducted under this title. Within 1 year after its appointment, the special committee— shall develop standards for a proposed uniform code for facilities in which child care and early learning services are provided; and shall hold public hearings on the proposed code prior to submitting its final recommendation to the Secretary for approval. After considering the recommendations submitted by the special committee in accordance with paragraph (3), the Secretary shall promulgate standards for a uniform code described in paragraph (3)(A), which shall be applicable to all facilities receiving Federal financial assistance under this title. If the Secretary disapproves the committee’s recommendations, the Secretary shall state the reasons for the disapproval. The Secretary shall also distribute such standards and urge their adoption by States and local governments for facilities in which child care and early learning services are provided. The Secretary may from time to time modify the uniform code for facilities in accordance with procedures set forth in this subsection. The Secretary shall establish an effective date for the code that allows adequate time for prime sponsors to meet the code after it has been promulgated. Paragraphs
(1)through
(5)shall not apply in a State for which the Secretary, after consultation with the special committee referred to in paragraph (2), makes a determination that the State’s uniform code for facilities or a similar facilities code or set of standards that applies to centers and family child care homes that participate in a child care and early learning program under this title, is sufficient to meet the health, safety, and physical comfort goals of this subsection. The Secretary, in consultation with representatives of child care and early learning programs, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, parents and family members of children in such programs, and teachers and other staff in such programs, and with experts in the fields of early childhood education and development, family services, and program management, shall use the study on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children by the National Academy of Sciences, consistent with section 649(j) of the Head Start Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9844(j) ), and other relevant research to establish, inform, revise, and provide guidance to prime sponsors for utilizing, scientifically-based measures that support, as appropriate— classroom instructional practices and, for infants and toddlers, responsive caregiving practices that support early learning and development; identification of children with special needs; program evaluation; and administrative and financial management practices. The measures under this subsection shall— be developmentally, linguistically, and culturally appropriate for the population served; be reviewed periodically, based on advances in the science of early childhood development; be consistent with relevant, nationally recognized professional and technical standards related to the assessment of young children; be valid and reliable in the language in which the measures are administered; be administered by staff with appropriate training for such administration; provide for appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities and dual language learner children; be high-quality research-based measures that have been demonstrated to assist with the purposes for which the measures were devised; and be adaptable, as appropriate, for use in the self-assessment of prime sponsors, including in the evaluation of administrative and financial management practices. The measures shall be designed, as appropriate, for the purpose of— helping to develop the skills, knowledge, abilities, and development described in subsection (a)(4)(A)(ii) of children participating in child care and early learning programs, with an emphasis on measuring skills that scientifically valid research has demonstrated are related to children’s school readiness and later success in school; improving classroom practices, including reviewing children’s strengths and weaknesses and individualizing instruction to better meet the needs of the children involved and, for infants and toddlers, ensuring the opportunity for one-on-one interaction that facilitates early learning and development; identifying the special needs of children; and improving overall program performance in order to help prime sponsors identify problem areas that may require additional training and technical assistance resources. Such measures shall not be used for an assessment for children that— will be used as the sole basis for a child care and early learning provider being determined to be ineligible to participate in the program carried out under this title; will be used as the primary or sole basis for providing a reward or sanction for an individual provider; will be used as the primary or sole basis for assessing program effectiveness; or will be used to deny children eligibility to participate in the program carried out under this title. Nothing in this subchapter shall preclude a State from using a single assessment (as determined by the State) for children for— supporting learning or improving a classroom environment; targeting professional development to a provider; determining the need for health, mental health, disability, developmental delay, or family support services; obtaining information for the quality improvement process at the State level; or conducting a program evaluation for the purposes of improving the program and providing information to parents. The Secretary, through regulation, shall ensure the confidentiality of any personally identifiable data, information, and records collected or maintained under this title by the Secretary and any prime sponsors. Such regulations shall provide the policies, protections, and rights equivalent to those provided to a parent, student, and educational agency or institution, as the case may be, under section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ). Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize the development of a nationwide database of personally identifiable data, information, or records on children resulting from the use of measures under this subsection. The use of assessment items and data on any assessment authorized under this title by any agent of the Federal Government is prohibited for the purposes of— ranking, comparing, or otherwise evaluating individual children for purposes other than research, training, or technical assistance; and providing rewards or sanctions for individual children or teachers. The Secretary shall not use the results of a single such assessment as the sole method for assessing program effectiveness or making agency funding determinations at the national, regional, or local level under this title. The Secretary, in consultation with representatives of child care and early learning programs, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, parents and family members of children in such programs, teachers and other staff in such programs, and with experts in the fields of early childhood education and development, family services, and program management, shall establish and implement monitoring procedures for prime sponsors and their child care and early learning programs (which may be based on the Head Start program monitoring procedures described in section 641A(c) of the Head Start Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9836a(c) ), and the monitoring procedures being implemented for the military child care program)— to determine whether prime sponsors meet standards described in subsection (a)(1) established under this title with respect to program, administrative, financial management, and other requirements; and in order to help the prime sponsors identify areas for improvement and areas of strength as part of their ongoing self-assessment process. If the Secretary determines, on the basis of a review pursuant to subsection (d), that a prime sponsor designated pursuant to this title fails to meet the standards described in subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall— inform the prime sponsor of the deficiencies that shall be corrected and identify the assistance to be provided consistent with paragraph (3); with respect to each identified deficiency, require the prime sponsor— to correct the deficiency immediately, if the Secretary finds that the deficiency threatens the health or safety of staff or program participants or poses a threat to the integrity of Federal funds; to correct the deficiency not later than 90 days after the identification of the deficiency if the Secretary finds, in the discretion of the Secretary, that such a 90-day period is reasonable, in light of the nature and magnitude of the deficiency; or in the discretion of the Secretary (taking into consideration the seriousness of the deficiency and the time reasonably required to correct the deficiency), to comply with the requirements of paragraph
(2)concerning a quality improvement plan; and initiate proceedings to terminate the designation of the prime sponsor unless the prime sponsor corrects the deficiency. To retain a designation as a prime sponsor under this title, a prime sponsor that is the subject of a determination described in paragraph
(1)(excluding a prime sponsor required to correct a deficiency immediately or during a 90-day period under clause
(i)or
(ii)of paragraph (1)(B)) shall— develop in a timely manner, a quality improvement plan that shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary, and that shall specify— the deficiencies to be corrected; the actions to be taken to correct such deficiencies; and the timetable for accomplishment of the corrective actions specified; and correct each deficiency identified, not later than the date for correction of such deficiency specified in such plan (which shall not be later than 1 year after the date the prime sponsor that is determined to have a deficiency received notice of the determination and of the specific deficiency to be corrected). Not later than 30 days after receiving from a prime sponsor a proposed quality improvement plan pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall either approve such proposed plan or specify the reasons why the proposed plan cannot be approved. The Secretary shall provide training and technical assistance to the prime sponsor with respect to the development or implementation of such quality improvement plans to the extent the Secretary finds such provision to be feasible and appropriate given available funding and other statutory responsibilities. Not later than 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall publish a summary report on the findings of reviews conducted under subsection
(d)and on the outcomes of quality improvement plans implemented under subsection (e), during such fiscal year. Such report shall be made widely available to— parents and family members with children receiving assistance under this title— in an understandable and uniform format; and to the extent practicable, in a language that the parents and family members understand; the public through means such as— distribution through public agencies; and posting such information on the Internet; and Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Such report shall contain detailed data— on compliance with specific standards and measures; and sufficient to allow prime sponsors to use such data to improve the quality of their programs. Not less frequently than once each program year, with the consultation and participation of the Child Care and Early Learning Council and, as appropriate, other interested persons in the service area, each prime sponsor that receives financial assistance under this title shall conduct a comprehensive self-assessment of its effectiveness and progress in meeting program goals and objectives and in implementing and complying with standards described in subsection (a)(1). Each prime sponsor shall establish and implement procedures for the ongoing monitoring of its child care and early learning program, to ensure that the operations of the program work toward meeting program goals and objectives and implementing and complying with standards described in subsection (a)(1). The Secretary shall require that each child care and early learning center meet, not later than 6 years after receiving financial assistance under this title, standards of operation necessary for accreditation by an appropriate national early childhood programs accreditation body that was in existence on the date of enactment of this Act.
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Sec. 121
National program standards, monitoring of child care and early learning programs
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