Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 7, 2011
Foundations for Success Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to states to establish and support Early Care and Education Systems providing children, from the age of six weeks until they reach kindergarten, with universal access to high quality early care and education programs.
Allows early care and education programs that demonstrate sustainability and continuity and have been operating for at least five years to participate in their state's Early Care and Education System.
Requires states to establish: (1) state child care licensing standards, which shall also apply to nonparticipating programs; (2) statewide Quality Rating and Improvement Systems that assign a rating to each early care and education program, even nonparticipating programs; and (3) statewide early learning standards for children from the age of six weeks until they reach kindergarten.
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Requires states to place an emphasis on using grant funds to help participating programs increase their ratings under the statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System.
Requires participating programs to: (1) be aligned with statewide early learning standards; (2) incorporate evidence-based teaching and learning practices; (3) provide required services for disabled children; (4) provide English language instruction for English language learners; and (5) provide, or partner with community-based organizations for the provision of, child health and family support services.
Prohibits grant funds from supplanting federal, state, and local funds otherwise available to support early learning programs and services.
Requires each state to design and implement a method for evaluating their Early Care and Education System.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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