§ 9832. Definitions
For purposes of this subchapter:
(2)
The term “deficiency” means—
(A)
a systemic or substantial material failure of an agency in an area of performance that the Secretary determines involves—
(ii)
a denial to parents of the exercise of their full roles and responsibilities related to program operations;
(iii)
a failure to comply with standards related to early childhood development and health services, family and community partnerships, or program design and management;
(3)
The term “delegate agency” means a public, private nonprofit (including a community-based organization, as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), or for-profit organization or agency to which a grantee has delegated all or part of the responsibility of the grantee for operating a Head Start program.
(4)
The term “family literacy services” means services that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family, and that integrate all of the following activities:
(5)
The term “financial assistance” includes assistance provided by grant, agreement, or contract, and payments may be made in installments and in advance or by way of reimbursement with necessary adjustments on account of overpayments or underpayments.
(6)
The term “full calendar year” means all days of the year other than Saturday, Sunday, and a legal public holiday.
(7)
The term “full-working-day” means not less than 10 hours per day. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require an agency to provide services to a child who has not reached the age of compulsory school attendance for more than the number of hours per day permitted by State law (including regulation) for the provision of services to such a child.
(8)
The term “Head Start classroom” means a group of children supervised and taught by two paid staff members (a teacher and a teacher’s aide or two teachers) and, where possible, a volunteer.
(9)
The term “Head Start family day care” means Head Start services provided in a private residence other than the residence of the child receiving such services.
(10)
The term “home-based Head Start program” means a Head Start program that provides Head Start services in the private residence of the child receiving such services.
(11)
The term “homeless children” has the meaning given the term “homeless children and youths” in section
11434a
(2) of this title.
(12)
The term “Indian tribe” means any tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group or community of Indians, including any Native village described in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602
(c)) or established pursuant to such Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.
(13)
The term “institution of higher education” has the meaning given the term in section
1001
(a) of title
20.
(14)
The term “interrater reliability” means the extent to which 2 or more independent raters or observers consistently obtain the same result when using the same assessment tool.
(15)
The term “limited English proficient”, used with respect to a child, means a child—
(A)
(i)
who was not born in the United States or whose native language is a language other than English;
(16)
The term “local educational agency” has the meaning given such term in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.].
(17)
The term “migrant or seasonal Head Start program” means—
(18)
The term “mobile Head Start program” means the provision of Head Start services utilizing transportable equipment set up in various community-based locations on a routine, weekly schedule, operating in conjunction with home-based Head Start programs, or as a Head Start classroom.
(19)
The term “poverty line” means the official poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget)—
(A)
adjusted to reflect the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index For [2] All Urban Consumers, issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, occurring in the 1-year period or other interval immediately preceding the date such adjustment is made; and
(20)
The term “principles of scientific research” means principles of research that—
(A)
applies rigorous, systematic, and objective methodology to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs;
(B)
presents findings and makes claims that are appropriate to and supported by methods that have been employed; and
(C)
includes, as appropriate to the research being conducted—
(iii)
reliance on measurements or observational methods that provide reliable and generalizable findings;
(iv)
strong claims of causal relationships, only with research designs that eliminate plausible competing explanations for observed results, such as, but not limited to, random assignment experiments;
(v)
presentation of studies and methods in sufficient detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, to offer the opportunity to build systematically on the findings of the research;
(21)
The term “professional development” means high-quality activities that will improve the knowledge and skills of Head Start teachers and staff, as relevant to their roles and functions, in program administration and the provision of services and instruction, as appropriate, in a manner that improves service delivery to enrolled children and their families, including activities that—
(A)
are part of a sustained effort to improve overall program quality and outcomes for enrolled children and their families;
(B)
are developed or selected with extensive participation of administrators and teachers from Head Start programs;
(D)
include instruction in ways that Head Start teachers and staff may work more effectively with parents, as appropriate;
(E)
are designed to give Head Start teachers and staff the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate support services to children of diverse backgrounds, as appropriate;
(F)
may include a 1-day or short-term workshop or conference, if the workshop or conference is consistent with the goals in the professional development plan described in section
9843a
(f) of this title and will be delivered by an institution of higher education or other entity, with expertise in delivering training in early childhood development, training in family support, and other assistance designed to improve the delivery of Head Start services; and
(G)
in the case of teachers, assist teachers with—
(i)
the acquisition of the content knowledge and teaching strategies needed to provide effective instruction and other school readiness services regarding early language and literacy, early mathematics, early science, cognitive skills, approaches to learning, creative arts, physical health and development, and social and emotional development linked to school readiness;
(ii)
meeting the requirements in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section
9843a
(a) of this title, as appropriate;
(iv)
advancing their understanding of effective instructional strategies that are—
(22)
The term “scientifically based reading research”—
(A)
means the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties; and
(B)
shall include research that—
(ii)
involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
(23)
The term “scientifically valid research” includes applied research, basic research, and field-initiated research in which the rationale, design, and interpretation are soundly developed in accordance with principles of scientific research.
(25)
The term “State” means a State, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The term includes the Republic of Palau for fiscal years 2008 and 2009, and (if the legislation described in section
9835
(a)(2)(B)(v) of this title has not been enacted by September 30, 2009) for fiscal years 2010 through 2012.
(26)
The term “unresolved area of noncompliance” means failure to correct a noncompliance item within 120 days, or within such additional time (if any) as is authorized by the Secretary, after receiving from the Secretary notice of such noncompliance item, pursuant to section
9836a
(c) of this title.
[1] So in original.
[2] So in original. Probably should not be capitalized.