Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., today praised President Bush for signing a Head Start reauthorization bill that greatly improves the program for Latino children. Latino children represent nearly one-third of all children in Head Start, the nation’s premier early childhood program.

“Head Start ensures that all children are prepared for the first day of school and the reauthorization shows that members of both parties understand how critical this is for the future of America’s children, including millions of Latino kids,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.

Specifically, the legislation includes recommendations from NCLR and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) such as:

• Improving the quality of instruction for English language learners (ELLs)
  • Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive study to examine services provided to limited English proficient (LEP) children.
  • Improves education performance standards to ensure that services provided are culturally and linguistically appropriate.
• Improving teachers’ skills in working with ELLs
  • Ensures that Head Start teachers and staff receive training focused on providing high-quality services to ELLs, particularly in communities that have experienced rapid growth in the LEP population.
• Expanding access
  • Prioritizes expanded funding for Early Head Start and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start.
• Increasing parent and community participation
  • Improves communications to LEP children to ensure they fully benefit from Head Start family services, and that LEP children make a smooth transition from Head Start to kindergarten.

“We are especially appreciative of the work of the CHC, particularly Hispanic Members of the Education and Labor Committee and Congressmen Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) who worked with leaders on both sides of the aisle to make Hispanic children a priority in this bill,” added Murguía. “It is our hope that Congress and the Administration build on the momentum that the CHC helped to create on this issue, and pass other priorities that will make a critical difference in the lives of Hispanic children, such as the ‘DREAM Act,’ ‘ICHIA,’ and adequate funding for the Even Start Family Literacy Program,” concluded Murguía.

###