H.R. 2411: Strong Start for America's Children Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-05-19 · Education · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-05-19 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Hanna, Richard L. [R-NY-22] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Strong Start for America's Children Act of 2015

Plain summary

Strong Start for America's Children Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to allot matching grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies, childhood education program providers, or consortia of those entities to implement high-quality prekindergarten programs for children from low-income families. Grants are allotted to states based on each state's proportion of children who are age four and who are from families with incomes at or below 200% of the poverty level. "High-quality prekindergarten programs" are those that serve children three or four years of age and meet criteria concerning: class size; learning environments; teacher qualifications, salaries, and professional development; program monitoring; and accessibility to comprehensive health and support services. Programs supported by a state must conduct criminal history background checks on employees and applicants for employment with unsupervised access to children. States may apply to use up to 15% of their grant for subgrants to high-quality early childhood education and care programs for infants and toddlers whose family income is at or below 200% of the poverty level. ED and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall develop a process to: (1) provide Head Start program services to children younger than age four in states or regions that already provide four-year-olds whose family income is at or below 200% of the poverty level with sustained access to high-quality prekindergarten programs, or (2) convert programs to serve infants and toddlers. ED shall award competitive matching grants to states to increase their capacity to offer high-quality prekindergarten programs. States must provide assurances that they will use their grant to become eligible, within three years of receiving the grant, for this Act's grants for high-quality prekindergarten programs. The bill amends the Head Start Act to direct HHS to make grants to Early Head Start agencies to partner with center-based or family child care providers, particularly those that receive support under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, to assist them in meeting program performance standards. Such partnerships may serve children through age three. The bill reauthorizes the programs providing: (1) preschool grants for special education and related services, and (2) early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. The bill expresses the sense of the House of Representatives concerning the value of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Strong Start for America's Children Act of 2015

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Hanna, Richard L. [R-NY-22] · 81 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), André Carson (D-IN), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Mark Takano (D-CA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Scott H. Peters (D-CA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), John B. Larson (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), William R. Keating (D-MA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Dina Titus (D-NV), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Doris O. Matsui (D-CA) and 21 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr2411.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr2411 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114