FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2007
Contact:
Jennifer Kohl
202.225.4289 or 202.225.4025
Trudy Perkins
410.685.9199 or 202.225.4641
Cummings Joins Colleagues in Expanding Head Start
Washington, DC—Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) joined a majority of his colleagues, in a vote of 381-36, to approve final passage of H.R. 1429, the Improving Head Start Act of 2007, authorizing nearly $23 billion to improve the Head Start program and expand access to tens of thousands of children.
“The Head Start program is critical in closing the achievement gap by providing early education to underserved children and ensuring that these children arrive at Kindergarten ready to succeed,” Congressman Cummings said. “The Head Start re-authorization makes fundamental improvements to this already successful program to further guarantee that all Americans have the opportunity to thrive.”
Head Start has been the premiere early childhood education program in the U.S. for more than 40 years and has served more than 20 million children and families. The re-authorization improves classroom quality, strengthens Head Start’s focus on school readiness, expands access to more children, and improves comprehensive services that help children by helping their families.
Highlights of the bill include:
- Targeting new funding toward improving teacher salaries and supporting professional development.
- Increasing funding to help more programs operate full day and year-round.
- Ensuring increased participation of homeless children and enhancing opportunities for children with disabilities.
- Providing greater flexibility to serve children whose family income is just above the federal poverty line.
“Head Start is a cornerstone of our communities, providing comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent-involvement services to low-income children and families who may otherwise not have it,” Congressman Cummings said. “Today is a great victory for our children.”
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