
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC9840]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                CHAPTER 105--COMMUNITY SERVICES PROGRAMS
 
                   SUBCHAPTER II--HEAD START PROGRAMS
 
Sec. 9840. Participation in Head Start programs


(a) Criteria for eligibility

    (1) The Secretary shall by regulation prescribe eligibility for the 
participation of persons in Head Start programs assisted under this 
subchapter. Except as provided in paragraph (2), such criteria may 
provide--
        (A) that children from low-income families shall be eligible for 
    participation in programs assisted under this subchapter if their 
    families' incomes are below the poverty line, or if their families 
    are eligible or, in the absence of child care, would potentially be 
    eligible for public assistance; and
        (B) pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary shall 
    prescribe, that--
            (i) programs assisted under this subchapter may include, to 
        a reasonable extent, participation of children in the area 
        served who would benefit from such programs but whose families 
        do not meet the low-income criteria prescribed pursuant to 
        subparagraph (A); and
            (ii) a child who has been determined to meet the low-income 
        criteria and who is participating in a Head Start program in a 
        program year shall be considered to continue to meet the low-
        income criteria through the end of the succeeding program year.

In determining, for purposes of this paragraph, whether a child who has 
applied for enrollment in a Head Start program meets the low-income 
criteria, an entity may consider evidence of family income during the 12 
months preceding the month in which the application is submitted, or 
during the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which the 
application is submitted, whichever more accurately reflects the needs 
of the family at the time of application.
    (2) Whenever a Head Start program is operated in a community with a 
population of 1,000 or less individuals and--
        (A) there is no other preschool program in the community;
        (B) the community is located in a medically underserved area, as 
    designated by the Secretary pursuant to section 254c(b)(3) \1\ of 
    this title and is located in a health professional shortage area, as 
    designated by the Secretary pursuant to section 254e(a)(1) of this 
    title;
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    \1\ See References in Text note below.
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        (C) the community is in a location which, by reason of 
    remoteness, does not permit reasonable access to the types of 
    services described in clauses (A) and (B); and
        (D) not less than 50 percent of the families to be served in the 
    community are eligible under the eligibility criteria established by 
    the Secretary under paragraph (1);

the Head Start program in each such locality shall establish the 
criteria for eligibility, except that no child residing in such 
community whose family is eligible under such eligibility criteria 
shall, by virtue of such project's eligibility criteria, be denied an 
opportunity to participate in such program. During the period beginning 
on October 30, 1984, and ending on October 1, 1994, and unless 
specifically authorized in any statute of the United States enacted 
after October 30, 1984, the Secretary may not make any change in the 
method, as in effect on April 25, 1984, of calculating income used to 
prescribe eligibility for the participation of persons in the Head Start 
programs assisted under this subchapter if such change would result in 
any reduction in, or exclusion from, participation of persons in any of 
such programs.

(b) Establishment of fee schedule or charging of fees; payment by 
        families willing and able to pay

    The Secretary shall not prescribe any fee schedule or otherwise 
provide for the charging of any fees for participation in Head Start 
programs, unless such fees are authorized by legislation hereafter 
enacted. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the 
families of children who participate in Head Start programs and who are 
willing and able to pay the full cost of such participation from doing 
so. A Head Start agency that provides a Head Start program with full-
working-day services in collaboration with other agencies or entities 
may collect a family copayment to support extended day services if a 
copayment is required in conjunction with the collaborative. The 
copayment charged to families receiving services through the Head Start 
program shall not exceed the copayment charged to families with similar 
incomes and circumstances who are receiving the services through 
participation in a program carried out by another agency or entity.

(c) Availability of more than one year of services; children eligible

    Each Head Start program operated in a community shall be permitted 
to provide more than 1 year of Head Start services to eligible children 
(age 3 to compulsory school attendance) in the State. Each Head Start 
program operated in a community shall be permitted to recruit and accept 
applications for enrollment of children throughout the year.

(d) Indian tribes

    (1) An Indian tribe that--
        (A) operates a Head Start program;
        (B) enrolls as participants in the program all children in the 
    community served by the tribe (including a community that is an off-
    reservation area, designated by an appropriate tribal government, in 
    consultation with the Secretary) from families that meet the low-
    income criteria prescribed under subsection (a)(1)(A) of this 
    section; and
        (C) has the resources to enroll additional children in the 
    community who do not meet the low-income criteria;

may enroll such additional children in a Head Start program, in 
accordance with this subsection, if the program predominantly serves 
children who meet the low-income criteria.
    (2) The Indian tribe shall enroll the children in the Head Start 
program in accordance with such requirements as the Secretary may 
specify by regulation promulgated after consultation with Indian tribes.
    (3) In providing services through a Head Start program to such 
children, the Indian tribe may not use funds that the Secretary has 
determined, in accordance with section 9835(g)(3) of this title, are to 
be used for expanding Head Start programs under this subchapter.

(Pub. L. 97-35, title VI, Sec. 645, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 504; Pub. L. 
98-558, title I, Sec. 105, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2879; Pub. L. 99-425, 
title I, Sec. 104, Sept. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 966; Pub. L. 101-501, title 
I, Secs. 113, 114, Nov. 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 1231; Pub. L. 101-597, title 
IV, Sec. 401(e), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3035; Pub. L. 103-252, title 
I, Sec. 111, May 18, 1994, 108 Stat. 637; Pub. L. 105-285, title I, 
Sec. 112, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2718.)

                       References in Text

    Section 254c of this title, referred to in subsec. (a)(2)(B), was in 
the original a reference to section 330 of the Public Health Service 
Act, act July 1, 1944, which was omitted in the general amendment of 
subpart I (Sec. 254b et seq.) of part D of subchapter II of chapter 6A 
of this title by Pub. L. 104-299, Sec. 2, Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3626. 
Sections 2 and 3(a) of Pub. L. 104-299 enacted new sections 330 and 330A 
of act July 1, 1944, which are classified, respectively, to sections 
254b and 254c of this title.


                               Amendments

    1998--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 112(a), substituted 
``criteria may provide--'' for ``criteria may provide'', realigned 
margins of subpars. (A) and (B), in subpar. (B) substituted ``shall 
prescribe, that--'' for ``shall prescribe, that'', inserted ``(i)'' 
before ``programs assisted under this subchapter may'', and substituted 
``subparagraph (A); and'', cl. (ii), and concluding provisions for 
``clause (A).''
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 112(b), inserted at end ``A Head 
Start agency that provides a Head Start program with full-working-day 
services in collaboration with other agencies or entities may collect a 
family copayment to support extended day services if a copayment is 
required in conjunction with the collaborative. The copayment charged to 
families receiving services through the Head Start program shall not 
exceed the copayment charged to families with similar incomes and 
circumstances who are receiving the services through participation in a 
program carried out by another agency or entity.''
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 112(c), inserted at end ``Each 
Head Start program operated in a community shall be permitted to recruit 
and accept applications for enrollment of children throughout the 
year.''
    Subsec. (d)(1)(B). Pub. L. 105-285, Sec. 112(d), substituted ``a 
community that is an off-reservation area, designated by an appropriate 
tribal government, in consultation with the Secretary'' for ``a 
community with a near-reservation designation, as defined by the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs''.
    1994--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-252, Sec. 111(1), substituted ``shall 
be permitted to provide more than 1 year of Head Start services to 
eligible children (age 3 to compulsory school attendance) in the 
State.'' for ``may provide more than one year of Head Start services to 
children from age 3 to the age of compulsory school attendance in the 
State in which the Head Start program is located. The Secretary may not 
issue or enforce any rule (as defined in section 551(4) of title 5) or 
guideline that forbids any Head Start agency to carry out a Head Start 
program in accordance with the authority described in the preceding 
sentence.''
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103-252, Sec. 111(2), added subsec. (d).
    1990--Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 101-501, Sec. 113, substituted 
``1994'' for ``1990'' in closing provisions.
    Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 101-597 substituted ``health professional 
shortage area'' for ``health manpower shortage area''.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-501, Sec. 114, inserted at end ``The 
Secretary may not issue or enforce any rule (as defined in section 
551(4) of title 5) or guideline that forbids any Head Start agency to 
carry out a Head Start program in accordance with the authority 
described in the preceding sentence.''
    1986--Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 99-425 substituted ``1990'' for 
``1986'' in closing provisions.
    1984--Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 98-558, Sec. 105(a), inserted at end 
``During the period beginning on October 30, 1984, and ending on October 
1, 1986, and unless specifically authorized in any statute of the United 
States enacted after October 30, 1984, the Secretary may not make any 
change in the method, as in effect on April 25, 1984, of calculating 
income used to prescribe eligibility for the participation of persons in 
the Head Start programs assisted under this subchapter if such change 
would result in any reduction in, or exclusion from, participation of 
persons in any of such programs.''
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98-558, Sec. 105(b), added subsec. (c).


                    Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 103-252 effective May 18, 1994, but not 
applicable to Head Start agencies and other recipients of financial 
assistance under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) until Oct. 
1, 1994, see section 127 of Pub. L. 103-252, set out as a note under 
section 9832 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 101-501 effective Oct. 1, 1990, see section 
1001(a) of Pub. L. 101-501, set out as a note under section 8621 of this 
title.


                    Effective Date of 1986 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 99-425 effective Oct. 1, 1986, see section 1001 
of Pub. L. 99-425, set out as a note under section 8621 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1758, 1766, 9835, 9840a of 
this title.
