June 2007
Too Important to be Lost in
the Shuffle
Dear Friend,
The House of Representatives passed two
pieces of legislation recently, and little was written
or spoken about either bill. But they are both very
important and are worthy of support as they move through
the process.
H.R. 1429 is the "Improving Head Start
Act of 2007," and H.R. 1592 is the "Local Law
Enforcement and Hate Crimes Prevention Act." I proudly
joined my colleagues in passing both.
Head
Start
The Head Start legislation renewed the
acclaimed pre-school program, which provides early
childhood education for more than 3,000 low-income
students in Hawaii. Created in 1965, Head Start is the
longest-running program for stopping the cycle of
poverty in the United States. It provides comprehensive
education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement
services to low-income children and their families. And
it works. Research over the years has consistently shown
that kids who have the benefit of Head Start pre-school
do better all the way through high school.
As we reauthorized Head Start, we took
the opportunity to make several significant
improvements, like eliminating the rigid testing system
required by the Bush Administration, which completely
ignores solid research on the way young children
learn.
Fundamentally, a better Head Start
program requires more and better educated Head Start
teachers. Few careers in our society offer so little in
pay and benefits for a job with such high expectations
and responsibilities. In Hawaii, first year Head Start
teachers make as little as $27,000 a year. We literally
put our future in their hands and then don't pay them a
professional salary. That has to change. Our bill
requires that at least 60% of the annual increases in
appropriations be used for quality improvement, such as
increasing teacher salaries, a real career ladder and
professional development opportunities.
With a more professional salary
structure, we'll require that 50% of all Head Start
teachers in the country have at least a bachelor's
degree in Early Childhood Development by 2013.
Currently, only about 37% of Head Start teachers have
such degrees. We also require that classroom observation
and evaluation be included in the review of Head Start
grantees every three years.
Head Start is a lot more than a day
care program. These teachers that we pay so little must
be educated in early language and literacy, early
mathematics, cognitive skills, approaches to learning,
creative arts, science, physical health and development,
and social and emotional development.
Fortunately, the House rejected a move
to allow faith-based Head Start providers to limit
hiring to employees of particular faiths or
denominations. Not only would this violate our
fundamental religious freedom and sense of fairness, but
it would fly in the face of the idea of trying to hire
the very best people.
Hate Crime
The "Local Law Enforcement and Hate
Crimes Prevention Act," extends federal hate crimes law
to include crimes that target a person because of their
actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender,
sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The
bill also provides grants to state and local law
enforcement agencies to investigate these crimes.
Some people have been afraid that this
law would muzzle their pastors or other religious
leaders who feel that homosexuality is a sin. They have
nothing to worry about. The bill explicitly states that
it does not prohibit expressive conduct covered by the
First Amendment. Additionally, the law establishes
strict evidentiary rules that only allow such "evidence
of expression or associations" to be used in court when
it is directly linked to the crime at hand.
Basically, this bill protects all of us
by protecting the diversity and tolerance that defines
the American story and certainly our culture in Hawaii.
And it helps us defend our communities from the violence
that hate breeds.
Aloha,
Neil Abercrombie
Member of Congress
