Norman Mineta: “I rise today in support of the conference report on S. 2000, the Head Start Act amendments. Specifically, I would like…”

“I rise today in support of the conference report on S. 2000, the Head Start Act amendments. Specifically, I would like to comment on the necessity of mandatory funding for Head Start and the inclusion of multilingual programs reflective of the needs of a Head Start community. If our Nation is to provide for our future leadership in the global market, we must invest in the education of our children. Head Start puts our words into action by providing services for children most at-risk and in need, at a time in their lives that is crucial to their progress in developing to their full potential. Providing for the education of non-English-speaking children, and ensuring services for their parents, plays an important role in the mission of Head Start to prepare all participating children for the challenges of school. There are some people who would have us believe that this bill requires that Head Start applicants teach children in a language other than English. Let me be clear when I say that non-English instruction is not required in this act. However, with one-fourth of Head Start participants having a non-English background, a background where children live in homes where English is not the language used for the majority of conversation, it is important for Head Start applicants to develop a plan to meet the needs of these eligible participants. To do otherwise would be to base Head Start educational programming on exclusion, rather than inclusion.”