Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 112 Part 4.djvu/990

 112 STAT. 2722 PUBLIC LAW 105-285—OCT. 27, 1998 "(A) assisting Head Start agencies providing family literacy services, in order to improve the quality of such family literacy services; and "(B) enabling those Head Start agencies that demonstrate effective provision of family literacy services, based on improved outcomes for children and their parents, to provide technical assistsmce and training to other Head Start agencies and to service providers that work in collaboration with such agencies to provide family literacy services;"; and (H) by adding at the end the following: "(11) provide support for Head Start agencies (including policy councils and policy committees, as defined in regulation) that meet the standards described in section 641A(a) but that have, as documented by the Secretary through reviews conducted pursuant to section 641A(c), significant programmatic, quality, and fiscal issues to address.". (b) SERVICES. —Section 648(e) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843(e)) is amended by inserting "(including services to promote the acquisition of the English language)" after "non-English language background children'. SEC. 115. PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS. Section 648A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a) is amended— (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows: " (a) CLASSROOM TEACHERS. — "(1) PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure that each Head Start classroom in a center-based program is assigned one teacher who has demonstrated competency to perform functions that include— "(A) planning and implementing learning experiences that advance the intellectual and physical development of children, including improving the readiness of children for school by developing their literacy and phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness, their understanding and use of language, their understanding and use of increasingly complex and varied vocabulary, their appreciation of books, and their problem solving abilities; "(B) establishing and maintaining a safe, healthy learning environment; "(C) supporting the social and emotional development of children; and "(D) encouraging the involvement of the families of the children in a Head Start program and supporting the development of relationships between children and their families. "(2) DEGREE REQUIREMENTS.— Deadline. "(A) IN GENERAL. —The Secretary shall ensure that not later than September 30, 2003, at least 50 percent of all Head Start teachers nationwide in center-based programs have— "(i) an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced degree in early childhood education; or "(ii) an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced degree in a field related to early childhood education, with experience in teaching preschool children.

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