Math & Science School Readiness Act of 2007

Math & Science School Readiness Act of 2007 - Amends the Head Start Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish additional scientifically-based education performance standards to ensure that children participating in the Head Start program develop and demonstrate premathematics and prescience knowledge and skills, including number concepts and operations, geometry and spatial concepts, classification, and time and measurement concepts.

Requires each Head Start classroom in a center-based program to be assigned one teacher with the competency to impart such knowledge and skills.

[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 38 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 38

 To amend the Head Start Act to improve the math and science readiness 
                       of disadvantaged children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2007

  Mr. Ehlers introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Head Start Act to improve the math and science readiness 
                       of disadvantaged children.

    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 ``Math & Science School Readiness Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Promoting premathematics and prescience knowledge and 
        skills in young children is important for school readiness.
            (2) These competencies may be promoted through early 
        science and math experiences, including observing with senses, 
        predicting, inferring, defining and controlling variables, 
        working in teams, and communicating discoveries.
            (3) Many simple science and math experiences may be used in 
        a Head Start program to promote these competencies, including 
        planting different seeds with various types of growing medium, 
        light, and water; building towers with various block sizes; 
        employing ramps and different balls; and watching ice melt in 
        different school environments.

SEC. 3. QUALITY STANDARDS FOR MATH AND SCIENCE.

    Section 641A(a)(1)(B) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 
9836a(a)(1)(B)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (ii)--
                    (A) in subclause (I) by striking ``, print, and 
                numeracy'' and inserting ``and print'', and
                    (B) in subclause (V) by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting a semicolon, and
                    (C) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                ``; and'', and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(iii) Additional scientifically-based education 
                performance standards to ensure that the children 
                participating in the program, at a minimum, develop and 
                demonstrate premathematics and prescience knowledge and 
                skills, including number concepts such as counting and 
                seriation; number operations such as addition, 
                subtraction, and multiplication; geometry and spatial 
                concepts; classification; and time and measurement 
                concepts.''.

SEC. 4. CLASSROOM TEACHERS.

    Section 648A(a)(1)(A) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 
9843a(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``numeracy'' and inserting 
``premathematics and prescience''.
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