| (a) Each applicant seeking funding through the Head Start
Educational Component Grant Program under the Texas Education Code, §29.156,
must submit an application in a format prescribed by the commissioner of education
through a request for application (RFA). Once funded, the applicant shall
comply with the provisions of the Texas Education Code, §29.156, and
the Texas Human Resources Code, Chapter 72.
(b) Eligible applicants include public, private, nonprofit,
or for-profit organizations or agencies operating a federal Head Start Program
or similar government-funded early childhood care and education programs.
Head Start Program is defined as the federal program established under the
Head Start Act (42 United States Code, §9831 et seq.) and its subsequent
amendments.
(c) An eligible applicant receiving funds under this program
must provide educational services to all children participating in the program
so that each child is prepared to enter school and is ready to learn after
completing the program. The educational services must include components designed
to enable a child to:
(1) develop phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness, including
the ability to:
(A) recognize that letters of the alphabet are a special category
of visual graphics that can be individually named;
(B) recognize a word as a unit of print;
(C) identify at least ten letters of the alphabet; and
(D) associate sounds with written words;
(2) understand and use language to communicate for
various purposes;
(3) understand and use an increasingly complex and varied
vocabulary;
(4) develop and demonstrate an appreciation of books;
and
(5) progress toward mastery of the English language,
if the child's primary language is a language other than English.
(d) Minimal levels of overall program performance, including
education performance standards, must be incorporated into the program to
ensure the school readiness of children participating in the program upon
completion of the Head Start Program and prior to entering school.
(e) Applicants will be required to assess the impact of the
services provided to children to ensure that the children participating in
the program are able to demonstrate the educational components specified in
subsection (c) of this section.
(f) Program funds must be used in accordance with the requirements
stated in the RFA. All costs under the Head Start Educational Component Grant
Program must be necessary and reasonable for carrying out the objectives of
the program and for the proper and efficient performance and administration
of the program.
(g) For audit purposes, applicants must maintain documentation
to support each of the requirements of this section.
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