Senators JACKSON and GERRARD, with thanks to, Senator EVERHARDT, former Senator GARNDER, and others, offers:

A BILL

To assist institutions of higher learning around the country develop programs to enhance job-training, to increase enrollment, and to offer greater assistance to high-need populations and areas.

BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Section I. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the "American Education Reform and Graduation Promotion Act."

Section II. REVENUE-NEUTRALITY

Patients on Medicare and Medicaid shall be prescribed generic-brand medications for treatments. Exceptions shall be made where no suitably comparable generic exists for a name-brand medication (Estimated savings: $8-10 billion a year for cholesterol medications alone; estimated at least $20 billion overall).

TITLE I. AMERICAN GRADUATION INITIATIVE

Section 101. DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this Act-

(A.)"community college" shall be defined as any institution of higher education, public or private, at which the highest degree most predominantly award to students is an associate's degree.

(B.)"eligible entity" shall be defined as-

(1.) a community college, community college system, or a career and technical school that has a partnership and credit-recognition and transfer agreement with a four-year institution.

(2.) any public four-year institution of higher education that offers a two-year degree or that will use funding in this act to establish or further activities at the professional certificate or associate's degree levels.

(3.) a Tribal College or University.

(4.) a state or region that has established and implemented a comprehensive cooperation agreement between or among public institutions of higher education in the state or region that includes outlining the acceptability of community college courses in transfer for credit at public four-year institutions in the state or region.

(5.) at the discretion of the Department of Education, a private, not-for-profit, two-year institution of higher education in Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands or American Samoa.

(C.) other terms used in this act, unless otherwise defined, refer to the definitions used in the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Section 102. GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE REFORM

(A.) The Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Labor, shall award grants to eligible entities to establish and support programs that are innovative, that have demonstrable effectiveness based on evaluations of similar programs, and that lead to the completion a post-secondary degree, certificate, or industry-recognized credential leading to a skilled occupation in any industry.

(B.) The Department of Education shall not award a grant to an eligible entity to support the same programs or activities that are being supported through other Federal grant programs.

(C.) Grants given under the provisions of this Section shall be awarded over a four-year period, unless the Department of Education determines that grant recipients have not made demonstrable progress towards the benchmarks outlined in Section IV of this Act at the end of the third year. No further funds shall be made available to such entity for a period of three years following the determination.

(D.) Grants awarded shall be valued at no less than $750,000, and priority shall be given to institutions that form partnerships with other public or private institutions, including philanthropic or research institutions with experience in meeting the benchmarks, with business or industrial organizations (including private firms), and labor organizations. Priority shall also be given to institutions that serve low-income students, veterans without a bachelor's degree, dislocated workers, or high-unemployment areas. There shall be no more than $2,000,000,000 per fiscal year appropriated for the provisions of this act.

(E.) Any eligible entity receiving funds from this grant program shall use the funds for at least two of the following general programs, including-

(1.)expanding students' opportunities to earn bachelor's degrees by facilitating the transfer of credits between various institutions of higher learning through consortium programs.

(2.) partnering with employers to create or enhance academic or training programs for skilled occupations in high-demand industries.

(3.) expanding education in technology-related fields including the use of basic software and increasing general technological literacy.

(4.) providing support services to students, including career and academic counseling; labor market information and job-search services; transitional job support; library services and other information literacy activities so designed as to help increase certificate, degree, or credential completion rates; creating workforce programs such as cooperatives which allow for education as well as occupational training; as well as building linkages with local high-schools to establish a dual-enrollment program.

Section 103. BENCHMARKS

Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall develop quantifiable benchmarks on the following indicators (where applicable to the institution's use of funds provided under this section), to be approved by the Secretary:

(A.) Closing gaps in enrollment and completion rates for groups underrepresented in higher education and groups of students enrolled at the eligible entity who have the lowest enrollment and completion rates.

(B.) Addressing local, regional, and national workforce needs.

(C.) Improving comprehensive employment and educational outcomes for postsecondary education and training programs, including-

(1.) student persistence from one academic year to the next,

(2.) the number of credits students earn toward a certificate or an associate's degree,

(3.) the number of students in developmental education courses who subsequently enroll in credit bearing coursework,

(4.) transfer of general education credits, including education credits earned while serving in the Armed Forces, between institutions of higher education, as applicable,

(5.) completion of industry-recognized credentials or associate's degrees to work in skilled occupations in high-demand industries, and

(6.) job placement related to skills training or associate's degree completion

(D.) The eligible entity receiving such a grant shall annually measure and report to the Secretary the progress of the entity in achieving these benchmarks.

Section 104. PLAIN ENGLISH SUMMARY

This titleawards competitive matching four-year grants to eligible entities to carry out innovative programs, or programs of demonstrated effectiveness, that lead to the completion of a postsecondary degree, certificate, or industry-recognized credential leading to a skilled occupation in a high-demand industry.

TITLE II. EARLY EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY

SECTION 201. EARLY EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAMS

(A.)An early education program shall be created by the U.S. Department of Education, in concert with education professionals of the Department's choosing, and offered to the regions in an effort to provide an ample education for children preparing to enter primary school.

(B.) The program shall be adopted by the Department of Education and shall be provided for in grants made available to state education agencies.

(C.) Said grants will be used to create an early education program which allows regional education agencies to include one year of early education preceding the year a student enters kindergarten.

(D.) The grants shall be made available to no less than 10 regional agencies with a maximum of one grant per region.

(E.) The Secretary of the Department of Education shall be charged with creating the standards and qualifications necessary to be made eligible for the early education program.

(F.) There is to be authorized to be appropriated to carry out Section 201(A) no less than $2,000,000,000 for each fiscal year beginning with the fiscal year immediately following the passage of this act.

SECTION 202. ACCOUNTABILITY

(A.) No regional education agency may be afforded a grant by the Department of Education which fails to apply and meet all qualifications and standards necessary.

(B.) No regional education agency may apply for funding through this grant program without first obtaining full funding for its current educational programs.

SECTION 203. PLAIN ENGLISH SUMMARY

This title tasks the Department of Education with the creation of pre-primary programs with the aid of education professionals to help children develope early skills. The title also provides grant funding to states and regions to implement these programs.

Section 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN

(A)School districts shall may provide kindergarten programs for all children who have attained the age of five prior to the first day of September of the school year in which the pupil enters the kindergarten program. The programs for children who shall may have attained the age of five shall be full-day everyday programs as based off the schools academic calendar.

B)For a school district to receive funding for full day kindergarten programs, the following requirements must be met:[list]A) Maintain a maximum class size of 15 children;
1) Maintain a ratio of not more than 10 children for each member of the teaching staff ;
2) Have at least 1080 hours of instructional time each school year;
3) Ensure that all prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers meet regional requirements for teachers under applicable regional law; and
4) Meet all health and safety standards required for prekindergarten programs.


C) No later than 1 year after enactment of the law, the U.S. Department of Education should develop and implement kindergarten standards across five domains: physical and motor development, social and emotional development, approaches toward learning, cognitive development, and language and literacy. No later than 2 years after those standards have been accepted by the Department of Education, districts must may implement a curriculum that is aligned to those standards in order to receive funding.

D) All kindergarten children shall may be assessed periodically with age-appropriate, varied assessment that give children opportunities to demonstrate their skills in different ways and allow for variability in learning pace and for different cultural backgrounds. The standards of this assessment shall be determined by the Department of Education.

E) Districts shall may offer high-quality, on-going professional development to teachers, support professionals and administrators of full-day kindergarten programs in order to receive full funding from the Department of Education.

F) Districts shall may make training available to help parents and guardians take an active role in the education of their kindergarten children no later than 5 years after the enactment of this bill. All training plans must be approved by the Department of Education in order for the district to continue to receive funding.

G) There is hereby appropriated to the Department of Education for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year after the sum of $3,200,000,000 to carry out the program outlines in this section.

H) No district shall be denied funding from the Department of Education for failing to provide full-day kindergarten as proscribed in this legislation.

I) All funds unspent by this program shall be returned to the treasury.

TITLE III. ESTABLISHMENT OF A PUBLIC SERVICE ACADEMY

SECTION 301. FINDINGS

(A.) The September 11th Terrorist Attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and other disasters of the last 15 years have demonstrated the important role that public service fufills for our nation, as well as the need for America to improve its ability to handle future catostrophic events.

(B.) Many young Americans have the desire to serve their nation. According to recent studies, more than 2/3 of freshman at US Colleges and Universities are interested in Public Service. Applications to public service organizations have increased dramatically since 2001. However, due to the high cost of attending college, many college students are fiscally incapable of serving for extended periods of time.

(C.) The Retirement of the Baby Boomers will create dramatic shortfalls in public service capacity, as evidenced by the following:

(1.) In a recent study, the Congressional Budget Office noted 'The graying of the Federal Work Force'. 44 Percent of all federal workers will reach retirement eligibility in the next five years.

(2.) According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 2 million teachers will be needed in the next decade. This need will be greatest in high-need rural and inner city educational agencies.

(3.) Of the 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the United states, 80 percent report that they cannot fill required positions due to inufficiant qualified candidates.

(4.) After Hurricane Katrina, shortages of personnel were one of the greatest challenges for FEMA, according to a Congressional Report

(5.) The Border Patrol has had trouble recruiting and holding onto qualified, competent, Spanish-Speaking agents.

(D.) Our nation has barely begun to tap the potential of young women who want to serve. Women are clear majorities of college students and service organization workers, but only make up 15% of the students at our military service academies.

(E.) The vast majority of American college students are not prepared in fields critical to public service, such as civic and international education, as demonstrated by:[indent[(1.) Over the last 30 years, the percentage of undergraduate students in America studying a foreign language had dropped from 16 percent to 8.7 percent. Only about one percent of undergraduate students study abroad.

(2.) Young adults of the United States scored next to last in a recent National Geographic/Roper survey of geographic knowledge.

(3.) A survey conducted by the University of Connecticut showed a pervasive lack of civic literacy among American undergraduate students. Seniors and Freshmen scored nearly the same on a test about the history, foreign policy, government, and economics of America

(4.) According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 25 percent of US High School seniors have an 'adequate' knowledge of civics, and 35 percent had no knowledge of civics at all.

(F.) America lacks a national undergraduate institution to promote public service and develop well-trained, highly qualified civilian leaders.

SECTION 302. DEFINITIONS

(A.) PUBLIC SERVICE- The term "public service" means employment with, or work for, a public institution that is funded primarily by the Federal Government or by a State or local government.

(B.) STATE- The term "State" means each of the several States of the United States and the District of Columbia.

SECTION 303. ESTABLISHMENT

(A.) The United States Public Service Academy, herein known as "The Academy", shall be established under the Departments of Homeland Security and Education. The Academy shall open up campuses in each of the four supraregions, at the discretion of the Superintendent with the consent of the Board of Visitors.

(1.) The goal of the Academy shall be to prepare individuals for public service, herein known as "Academy Students"
(2.) The President of the United States shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Superintendent of the Academy, who shall serve for a 4-year term.
(3.) The Superintendent shall be responsible for maintaining the smooth daily operation of the acadamy, as well as the general wellfare of its students and facilty. In addition, the superintendent shall have the power to create positions under him and staff those positions, in order to fufill their duties. The Superintendent shall have the authority to hire and retain as many professors, lecturers, and instructors at the Academy as is necessary to achieve the goals of the Academy. The Superintendent shall also have the authority to set the compensation of said professors, lecturers and instructors.
(4.) Teachers shall provide leadership for the academic and extracurricular activities of students, shall actively participate in the development of the students, and meet other regulations set forth by the superintendent in order to achieve the goals of the academy.

(B.) Candidates for the US Service Academies will be selected by members of Congress and the Executive branch in the same way candidates for the US Naval academy are selected, save that there shall be at least three times the number of student slots available for selection.

(C.) To qualify for the academy, a student must fulfill each of the following requirements; such requirements may be waived for a limited number of candidates at the discretion of the Superintendent so long as public, written rationale is made for such waivers:

(1.) have 17 years of age or more;
(2.) be unmarried;
(3.) have no dependents, as defined in section 152(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(4.) earn a secondary school diploma;
(5.) pass the SAT or ACT or an equivalent college-level aptitude test; and
(6.) sit for a personal interview with a representative of the Academy.

(1.) The purposes of the leadership development system are to motivate Academy students to seek leadership responsibilities upon graduation and enable Academy students to think clearly, decide wisely, and act decisively under pressure and in a variety of leadership situations. Direct support to leadership development shall be provided by concurrent and relevant coursework to create an interplay between learning the science of leadership in the classroom, while learning the art of leadership outside the classroom.

(2.) The requirements to obtain Bachelors of Science and Bachelors of Arts degrees shall be set by the Superintendent in line with the goal of the US Service Academy.

(E.) Students will graduate from the academy after completing the course of instruction determined by the superintendent. After graduation, students will be assigned a public service assignment. They will serve in the public service assignment for no less than 5 years starting the first day of the asignment.

(1.) The Superintendent shall establish an Academy Placement Office, which shall give graduate students public service assigments, consisting of civil service employment at the Federal, State, or local level.

(2.) Academy Students who fail to graduate within 5 years; or graduate and decline to (or do not complete) their public service assignments shall be dishonorably discharged and[indent](a.) obligated to repay the Academy for 100% of the cost of the student's education and ordered by the court to perform up to 250 hours of community service within five years of the date; or

(b.) obligated to repay the Academy for 25% of the cost of the student's education and ordered by the court to perform up to 850 hours of community service within five years of the date.

(F.) There shall be established a Board of Visitors for the Academy. The Board shall be made up of 15 members, one of which is the secretary of homeland security and one of wich is the Secretary of Education. The remaining members are to be appointed by the President and subject to Senate approval. The Board of visitors shall visit the US Service Acadamy once anually, and no later than sixty days after their visit they will prepare a report on the operations of the academy for Congress and the President.

SECTION 304. FUNDING FOR THE ACADEMY

(A.) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Title $1,000,000,000 $100,000,000 each year for each the next five fiscal years following the enrollment of this Act, with any unused funds being returned to the Treasury.

(B.) The Academy will fully subsidize each student's tuition.

(B.) Congress shall fund 80 40% of the Academy's budget, with the appropriations set forth in Subsection (A.); the Academy shall raise 20 60% of the Academy's budget from tuition and private sources

SECTION 305. PLAIN ENGLISH SUMMARY

This Title establishes a "Public Sector Academy" in the model of military service academies across the United States in order to better train public servants in a variety of positions on the federal, local and state levels.

TITLE IV. REGIONAL AND LOCAL EDUCATION FUNDING GRANTS

SECTION 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF BLOCK GRANTS FOR REGIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

(A.) The Secretary of Education shall establish a block grant program for local, state, and regional governments to offer educational programs outside "core cirricula." Such educational programs shall include (but not be limited to) the expansion of physical education, music and arts programs, libraries, and science classes at the primary educational level.

(B.) The above grants shall be awarded on a basis as determined by the Secretary to governments that seek to protect the funding of current programs or to expand or create new programs in primary and secondary schools. Such grants should be rewarded with some respect to educational performance rates.

(C.) To qualify for grants, the governmental unit in question must provide justification for the program to be funded through a grant as well as evidence as to how such program meets accepted standards on improving educational performance. Such requirement shall be waived if-

(1.) the Secretary of Education or a designee feels, in consultation with educational experts, that the programs are innovative in such a way that no standards have yet been drafted, and

(2.) the grant program stipulates a study on performance over the life of the program.

SECTION 402. FUNDING

(A.) Individual grants as awarded by the Secretary of Education shall be valued at no more than $10,000,000. There shall be no limit on the number of grants awarded to a particular governmental unit under this Title, nor shall there be a time limit on the grants awarded.

(B.)There shall be appropriated to the Department of Education the sum of $10,000,000,000 per fiscal year following the passage of this Act for the purposes of carrying out this title.

SECTION 403. INCENTIVES FOR TEACHERS IN LOW INCOME AND RURAL AREAS

(A.) In general- In the case of an eligible teacher who performs services in a public kindergarten or a public elementary or secondary school described in paragraph (B.) during an eligible academic year, there shall be a refundable tax credit in the amount of $1,000.

(B.) A school is described in paragraph (a) if--

(1) at least 75 percent of the students enrolled in said Kindergarten or school are enrolled in a state, regional, or national free or reduced lunch program; or

(2) said Kindergarten or school has a school locale code of 7 or 8, as determined by the Secretary of Education.

(C.) In the case of a teacher who is described in paragraph (A.) and who has been certified by National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the applicable amount shall be $2,000.

(D.) Definition- the term 'eligible teacher' shall refer to any individual who is a kindergarten through grade 12 classroom teacher or instructor in a public kindergarten or a public elementary or secondary school on a full-time basis for such eligible academic year.

(e) Effective Date- The provisions of this Section shall be in effect for the period beginning August 1, 2024 and ending August 1, 2034.

SECTION 404. GRANTS TARGETING SCHOOLS HAVING THE HIGHEST NEED FOR HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS

(A.) In general- The Secretary shall make competitive grants available to selected local agencies to recruit, support, and retain highly qualified and effective teachers through participation in the Targeted High Need Initiative program of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

(B.) Priorities- In making said grants, the Secretary shall grant priority to agencies in School Districts where public Kindergarens, elementary, and secondary schools are found to have--

(1.) 50 percent or more of the student population enrolled in a state, regional, or national free or reduced lunch program;

(2.) a location within a traditionally low income or disadvantaged area;

(3.) students with limited English proficiency; and

(4.) 50% or less of the teachers employeed by the district are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards;

(C.) Use of Funds- Programs awarded funds under the program referred to in paragraph (a) shall be required to use said funds as follows--

(1.) To form partnerships with local schools to better recruit, support, and retain high qualified and effective teachers through participation in the Targeted High Need Initiative program of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards;

(2) Provide schools referred to in paragraph (B.) with the monetary awards for each teacher certified under the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards as a result of the partnership referred to under subparagraph (1.); or

(3.) Provide classroom supplies, training, Professional development, mentoring, technological support, and technological services to teachers in order to assist with developing a high quality education for students.

(D.) The Secretaries of Education for each Megaregion shall compile a report detailing the specific locations which are showing a lack of educational success in students, the effect that highly qualified and effective teachers would have on students in the given location, and the discernable impact that any of the aforementioned monies has had on the students in the specified locations.

(E.) Appropriation- The sum of $25,000,000.00 is appropriated for the fulfillment of the provisions of this act for the period beginning Fiscal year 2024 and ending fiscal year 2029.

(F.) Definition- The term 'the Secretary' shall refer to the Secretary of Education.

(G.) Definition- The term 'highly qualified and effective teacher' shall refer to any individual who is a kindergarten through grade 12 classroom teacher or instructor in a public kindergarten or a public elementary or secondary school on a full-time basis who has been certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

(H.) Definition- The term 'local agencies' shall refer to any organization or entity which specializes in the recruitment, support, or retention of teachers and educational services, specifically those certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

SECTION 405. PLAIN ENGLISH SUMMARY

This title establishes a grant program to provide money to regional, state, and local governments for ensuring that school programs can be better funded. It also provides incentives and programs designed to recruit and retain teachers in low-income and high-need areas.

Section III. ENACTMENT

This bill shall be enacted upon its Constitutional passage.

Title II.
Section 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN

(A)School districts shall provide kindergarten programs for all children who have attained the age of five prior to the first day of September of the school year in which the pupil enters the kindergarten program. The programs for children who shall have attained the age of five shall be full-day everyday programs as based off the schools academic calendar.

B)For a school district to receive funding for full day kindergarten programs, the following requirements must be met:
A) Maintain a maximum class size of 15 children;
1) Maintain a ratio of not more than 10 children for each member of the teaching staff ;
2) Have at least 1080 hours of instructional time each school year;
3) Ensure that all prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers meet regional requirements for teachers under applicable regional law; and
4) Meet all health and safety standards required for prekindergarten programs.

C) No later than 1 year after enactment of the law, the U.S. Department of Education should develop and implement kindergarten standards across five domains: physical and motor development, social and emotional development, approaches toward learning, cognitive development, and language and literacy. No later than 2 years after those standards have been accepted by the Department of Education, districts must implement a curriculum that is aligned to those standards in order to receive funding.

D) All kindergarten children shall be assessed periodically with age-appropriate, varied assessment that give children opportunities to demonstrate their skills in different ways and allow for variability in learning pace and for different cultural backgrounds. The standards of this assessment shall be determined by the Department of Education.

E) Districts shall offer high-quality, on-going professional development to teachers, support professionals and administrators of full-day kindergarten programs in order to receive full funding from the Department of Education.

F) Districts shall make training available to help parents and guardians take an active role in the education of their kindergarten children no later than 5 years after the enactment of this bill. All training plans must be approved by the Department of Education in order for the district to continue to receive funding.

G) There is hereby appropriated to the Department of Education for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year after the sum of $3,200,000,000 to carry out the program outlines in this section.

Title II.

Section 205. Establishment of Universal Prekindergarten.

(a) Program Establishment- The Secretary shall award grants to qualified megaregions to create a universal prekindergarten program, expand access to, enhance, and improve existing megaregionally-funded prekindergarten services.

(b) The federal funds referred to in paragraph (a) shall be matched by the designated megaregional government by not less than 20 percent.

© Megaregional Requirements--

(1) Application- To be eligible to receive funds under this Section, a Megaregional government shall submit an application at such time and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

(2) The megaregion must provide funding to a preschool program that requires, at a minimum, the use of research-based curricula which are aligned with megaregional early education standards that are developmentally appropriate;

(3) Megaregional Plan- The megaregion shall make available to the Secretary a plan including the following--

(i) A description of the universal pre-kindergarten program that will be established and how it will support children’s mental, physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development;

(ii) A statement of goals for the universal prekindergarten program and how program outcomes will be measured;

(iii) A description of how funding will be distributed to eligible pre kindergarten programs throughout such megaregion;

(iv) A description of megaregional plans to coordinate state, regional, and federal prekindergarten programs and to make funding provided under this Section to existing prekindergarten programs; and

(v) A plan outlining the creation of a megaregional agency to oversea and carryout the program referred to in subparagraph (3)(i).

(4) The megaregion must submit details outlining a viable transportation program for children to and from such prekindergarten program.

(d) Definition- The term ‘qualified megaregions’ shall refer to the government of any megaregion who meets the requirements set forth in paragraph ©.

(e) Definition- The term ‘universal prekindergarten program’ shall refer to a program serving children 3, 4, and 5 years old that supports children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development and helps prepare those children for the transition to kindergarten which is made available to all citizens of a megaregion.

(f) Appropriation- The following sums of money are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this Section--

(1) $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;

(2) $20,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;

(3) $30,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;

(4) $40,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and

(5) $50,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.

(g) Any of the funds referred to in paragraph (f) which are not used in their given fiscal year shall carry over to the next fiscal year, until fiscal year 2029 at which time all funds shall be returned to the General Fund.

Title II.

Section 205. Establishment of Universal Prekindergarten.

(a) Program Establishment- The Secretary shall award grants to qualified megaregions to create a universal prekindergarten program, expand access to, enhance, and improve existing megaregionally-funded prekindergarten services.

(b) The federal funds referred to in paragraph (a) shall be matched by the designated megaregional government by not less than 20 percent.

© Megaregional Requirements--

(1) Application- To be eligible to receive funds under this Section, a Megaregional government shall submit an application at such time and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

(2) The megaregion must provide funding to a preschool program that requires, at a minimum, the use of research-based curricula which are aligned with megaregional early education standards that are developmentally appropriate;

(3) Megaregional Plan- The megaregion shall make available to the Secretary a plan including the following--

(i) A description of the universal pre-kindergarten program that will be established and how it will support children’s mental, physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development;

(ii) A statement of goals for the universal prekindergarten program and how program outcomes will be measured;

(iii) A description of how funding will be distributed to eligible pre kindergarten programs throughout such megaregion;

(iv) A description of megaregional plans to coordinate state, regional, and federal prekindergarten programs and to make funding provided under this Section to existing prekindergarten programs; and

(v) A plan outlining the creation of a megaregional agency to oversea and carryout the program referred to in subparagraph (3)(i).

(4) The megaregion must submit details outlining a viable transportation program for children to and from such prekindergarten program.

(d) Definition- The term ‘qualified megaregions’ shall refer to the government of any megaregion who meets the requirements set forth in paragraph ©.

(e) Definition- The term ‘universal prekindergarten program’ shall refer to a program serving children 3, 4, and 5 years old that supports children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development and helps prepare those children for the transition to kindergarten which is made available to all citizens of a megaregion.

(f) Appropriation- The following sums of money are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this Section--

(1) $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;

(2) $20,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;

(3) $30,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;

(4) $40,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and

(5) $50,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.

(g) Any of the funds referred to in paragraph (f) which are not used in their given fiscal year shall carry over to the next fiscal year, until fiscal year 2029 at which time all funds shall be returned to the General Fund.

Title II.
Section 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN

(A)School districts shall provide kindergarten programs for all children who have attained the age of five prior to the first day of September of the school year in which the pupil enters the kindergarten program. The programs for children who shall have attained the age of five shall be full-day everyday programs as based off the schools academic calendar.

B)For a school district to receive funding for full day kindergarten programs, the following requirements must be met:
A) Maintain a maximum class size of 15 children;
1) Maintain a ratio of not more than 10 children for each member of the teaching staff ;
2) Have at least 1080 hours of instructional time each school year;
3) Ensure that all prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers meet regional requirements for teachers under applicable regional law; and
4) Meet all health and safety standards required for prekindergarten programs.

C) No later than 1 year after enactment of the law, the U.S. Department of Education should develop and implement kindergarten standards across five domains: physical and motor development, social and emotional development, approaches toward learning, cognitive development, and language and literacy. No later than 2 years after those standards have been accepted by the Department of Education, districts must implement a curriculum that is aligned to those standards in order to receive funding.

D) All kindergarten children shall be assessed periodically with age-appropriate, varied assessment that give children opportunities to demonstrate their skills in different ways and allow for variability in learning pace and for different cultural backgrounds. The standards of this assessment shall be determined by the Department of Education.

E) Districts shall offer high-quality, on-going professional development to teachers, support professionals and administrators of full-day kindergarten programs in order to receive full funding from the Department of Education.

F) Districts shall make training available to help parents and guardians take an active role in the education of their kindergarten children no later than 5 years after the enactment of this bill. All training plans must be approved by the Department of Education in order for the district to continue to receive funding.

G) There is hereby appropriated to the Department of Education for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year after the sum of $3,200,000,000 to carry out the program outlines in this section.

Actually, I accept as friendly the Everhardt amendment. Should friendly adoption be objected to, I second it. I yield.

Title II.

Section 205. Establishment of Universal Prekindergarten.

(a) Program Establishment- The Secretary shall award grants to qualified megaregions to create a universal prekindergarten program, expand access to, enhance, and improve existing megaregionally-funded prekindergarten services.

(b) The federal funds referred to in paragraph (a) shall be matched by the designated megaregional government by not less than 20 percent.

© Megaregional Requirements--

(1) Application- To be eligible to receive funds under this Section, a Megaregional government shall submit an application at such time and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

(2) The megaregion must provide funding to a preschool program that requires, at a minimum, the use of research-based curricula which are aligned with megaregional early education standards that are developmentally appropriate;

(3) Megaregional Plan- The megaregion shall make available to the Secretary a plan including the following--

(i) A description of the universal pre-kindergarten program that will be established and how it will support children’s mental, physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development;

(ii) A statement of goals for the universal prekindergarten program and how program outcomes will be measured;

(iii) A description of how funding will be distributed to eligible pre kindergarten programs throughout such megaregion;

(iv) A description of megaregional plans to coordinate state, regional, and federal prekindergarten programs and to make funding provided under this Section to existing prekindergarten programs; and

(v) A plan outlining the creation of a megaregional agency to oversea and carryout the program referred to in subparagraph (3)(i).

(4) The megaregion must submit details outlining a viable transportation program for children to and from such prekindergarten program.

(d) Definition- The term ‘qualified megaregions’ shall refer to the government of any megaregion who meets the requirements set forth in paragraph ©.

(e) Definition- The term ‘universal prekindergarten program’ shall refer to a program serving children 3, 4, and 5 years old that supports children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development and helps prepare those children for the transition to kindergarten which is made available to all citizens of a megaregion.

(f) Appropriation- The following sums of money are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this Section--

(1) $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;

(2) $20,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;

(3) $30,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;

(4) $40,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and

(5) $50,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.

(g) Any of the funds referred to in paragraph (f) which are not used in their given fiscal year shall carry over to the next fiscal year, until fiscal year 2029 at which time all funds shall be returned to the General Fund.

I. Funding in this act shall only be provided to help schools which teach abstinence only sex education as the only form of sex education.

I. Funding in this act shall not only be provided to help schools which teach abstinence only sex education as the only form of sex education.