Official Summaries

Expanding Head Start Eligibility Act of 2025

This bill expands eligibility for Head Start programs to include the children of families eligible for specified public assistance programs. 

Specifically, the bill expands Head Start eligibility to include the children of families that qualify for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), and federal housing assistance (commonly known as Section 8). The bill also provides statutory authority for the eligibility of families that qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Families that qualify for state-funded food assistance programs with eligibility standards identical or substantially similar to the standards for SNAP must also be eligible for Head Start. 

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 728 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 728

   To amend the Head Start Act to include TANF, SSI, SNAP, WIC, and 
       federal housing assistance as eligible public assistance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2025

    Mr. Garamendi (for himself, Mr. Turner of Texas, Mr. Jackson of 
Illinois, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Ansari, 
   Mr. Thanedar, Ms. McClellan, Ms. Titus, Mr. Correa, Ms. Moore of 
Wisconsin, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez 
   of Texas, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, and Mrs. Hayes) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                               Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Head Start Act to include TANF, SSI, SNAP, WIC, and 
       federal housing assistance as eligible public assistance.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Head Start Eligibility Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

     Section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (25) and (26) as paragraphs 
        (26) and (27), respectively, and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (24) the following:
            ``(25) The term `public assistance', as defined by the 
        Secretary, shall include--
                    ``(A) assistance received under part A of title IV 
                of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
                    ``(B) benefits received under title XVI of the 
                Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.);
                    ``(C) supplemental nutrition assistance program 
                benefits received under the Food and Nutrition Act of 
                2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);
                    ``(D) the nutrition assistance program (NAP) under 
                section 19 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 
                U.S.C. 2018) and the food distribution program on 
                Indian Reservations (FDPIR) under section 4(a) of the 
                Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note);
                    ``(E) State-funded food assistance programs, with 
                income eligibility standards identical or substantially 
                identical to those of the supplemental nutrition 
                assistance program under of the Food and Nutrition Act 
                of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);
                    ``(F) assistance received under section 17 of the 
                Child Nutrition Act (42 U.S.C. 1786 et seq.);
                    ``(G) assistance received under section 8 of the 
                United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f et 
                seq.); and
                    ``(H) additional benefits and assistance provided 
                under Federal law as determined by the Secretary.''.
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