Rubén Hinojosa: “this week we will consider legislation that is of critical importance to our Nation's future, the reauthorization of…”

“this week we will consider legislation that is of critical importance to our Nation's future, the reauthorization of Head Start. This legislation is a top priority for me and for all of my colleagues in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus. Today, Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States. However, the Hispanic community has the lowest level of educational attainment of any community in the Nation. This educational attainment, this attainment gap, starts from early childhood where Hispanics are less likely to participate in preschool programs, opening an achievement gap even before the first day of kindergarten begins. The gap expands through elementary school, where Hispanic students are more likely to be held back; increases in high school where they are more likely to drop out; and continues to widen in college where they are less likely to attend a 4-year college and less likely to obtain a college degree. The upcoming reauthorization of the premier early childhood education program, Head Start, presents us with an opportunity to close that gap for Hispanic and low-income children. This should be a time of hope and optimism for our community. Sadly, it is just the opposite. The majority's plans for the Head Start program are a great source of anxiety for the Hispanic community.”