Like all states, Pennsylvania administers federal funds for a range of programs meeting children's educational, health, and social needs. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, but Congress considers budget levels and program parameters year-round. Program reauthorizations are particularly critical times, when the state spending mandates are imposed or lifted, and the extent of federal dollars' impact on child well-being is decided.
Head Start reauthorization: The leading Head Start reauthorization proposal considered during the 108th Congress was Representative Mike Castle's School Readiness Act of 2003 (HR2210), which would keep Head Start in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and heighten teacher education levels. However, other provisions could diminish the drive to improve quality.
The bill, passed by the House on July 24, 2003, did not include President Bush's proposal to move Head Start into the Department of Education - a plan widely criticized for its potential to de-emphasize Head Start's vitally important health and family supports.
HR 2210 would require that half of all Head Start teachers have bachelor's degrees with specialized training in early education by 2008. However, the bill would not link salary scales directly to teachers' formal education levels.
For the first time, the bill would open the door to state participation, through a pilot test extending block grant funding to eight states. However, according to the Trust for Early Education, state entry criteria includes requiring only an existing prekindergarten program, standards aligned with K-12 education, and the existence of - but no levels for - standards.
Both the House and the Senate will have to start over on a Head Start reauthorization bill when they return as the 109th Congress in 2005.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
On November 19, 2004, Congress passed H.R. 1350 which reauthorizes the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Some of the provisions included in the bill are:
- States will be able to determine how teachers demonstrate subject matter competency for those teachers that teach multiple subjects.
- Authorizes a paperwork reduction pilot in 15 states.
- Establishes a funding path to reach “full funding” by 2011. This bill sets budget authority but not appropriations. (“Full funding” would be established when the federal government provides for 40% of the average per-pupil expenditure in public elementary and secondary schools in the United States.)
- States can spend up to 15 percent of IDEA funds on educational programs other than special education.
- Requires states to include students with disabilities who take alternative tests towards their NCLB accountability system.
TANF reauthorization: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families has been extended for an eighth time. The latest, six-month extension passed by both the U.S. House and Senate on September 30 will temporarily extend TANF through March 31, 2005. This extension, like the previous seven since the originally scheduled TANF expiration on September 30, 2002, is a clean extension, meaning there are no policy changes or alterations to the funding.
Questions of funding for child care -- an essential support for families seeking self-sufficiency -- remain unanswered until TANF is settled. In March 2004, the Senate passed an amendment to increase child care funding by an additional $6 billion over five years, for a total increase of $7 billion, but the House would increase child care funding by only $1 billion over five years. Reauthorization could also increase the level of funding devoted to the quality of child care, and Congress could also give states more leeway in determining income eligibility, now set at a floor of 85 percent of the state median income.
