82 FR 57905 - CLASS Condition of the Head Start Designation Renewal System
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 235 (December 8, 2017)
Administration for Children and Families
Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 235 (December 8, 2017)
| Page Range | 57905-57906 | |
| FR Document | 2017-26483 |
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 235 (Friday, December 8, 2017)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 57905-57906] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2017-26483] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families 45 CFR Part 1304 RIN 0970-AC63 CLASS Condition of the Head Start Designation Renewal System AGENCY: Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: OHS invites public comment on several specific changes being considered for the CLASS condition of the Designation Renewal System (DRS) as outlined in the Head Start Program Performance Standards. We are considering changes to the CLASS condition with a goal of improving implementation and transparency of the DRS. Changes being considered include removal of the ``lowest 10 percent'' provision of the CLASS condition, an increase of the minimum thresholds for the Emotional Support and Classroom Organization domains to a score of 5, removal of the minimum threshold for the Instructional Support domain, and establishment of authority for the Secretary to set an absolute minimum threshold for the Instructional Support domain prior to the start of each fiscal year to be applied for DRS CLASS reviews in the same fiscal year. OHS requests feedback on these possible changes as well as alternative changes to the CLASS condition, particularly ways the Instructional Support threshold could be set and/or adjusted that would incentivize program improvement while acknowledging the current state of the field. OHS also invites feedback on other conditions of the DRS. DATES: Submit comments by February 6, 2018. ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by [docket number and/or RIN number], by either of the following methods:Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow instructions for sending comments. We prefer to receive comments via this method. Mail: Office of Head Start, Attention: Colleen Rathgeb, Director, Division of Planning, Oversight and Policy, 330 C Street SW., Washington, DC 20024. Instructions: All submissions received must include our agency name and the docket number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this notice. All comments will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. We accept anonymous comments. If you wish to remain anonymous, enter ``N/ A'' in the required fields. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colleen Rathgeb, Director, Division of Planning, Oversight and Policy, Office of Head Start, [[email protected]], (202) 358-3263 (not a toll-free call). Deaf and hearing impaired individuals may call the Federal Dual Party Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Information The Head Start program provides grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide comprehensive education and child development services to economically disadvantaged children, from birth to age five, and families and to help young children develop the skills they need to be successful in school. Our agencies provide these families comprehensive services to support children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. In addition to education services, agencies provide children and their families with health, nutrition, social, and other services. To drive program quality improvement, the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-134, (the Act) required HHS to develop a system to facilitate designation of Head Start grantees delivering a high-quality and comprehensive program for a period of five years and required grantees not delivering high-quality and comprehensive services to enter open competition for continued funding. Prior to the Act, when HHS designated a Head Start agency, it remained a Head Start grantee indefinitely unless the grantee either relinquished funding or HHS terminated its grant. To meet the requirement in the Act, HHS established the DRS, which is described in 45 CFR 1304.10 through 16. The DRS includes seven conditions. If an agency meets any of the seven conditions, it must compete with other providers in the community for renewed grant funding. The seven conditions are: (1) A deficiency under section 641A(c)(1)(A), (C), or (D) of the Act; (2) failure to establish, utilize, and analyze children's progress on agency-established School Readiness goals; (3) scores below minimum thresholds in the Classroom Assessment Scoring System: Pre-K (CLASS) domains or in the lowest 10 percent in any of the three domains of the agencies monitored in a given year unless the average score is equal to or above the standard of excellence; (4) revocation of a license to operate a center or program; (5) suspension from the program; (6) debarment from receiving federal or state funds or disqualified from the Child and Adult Care Food Program; or (7) an audit finding of at risk for failing to continue as ``a going concern.'' The Act also requires HHS to periodically evaluate whether or not the DRS criteria are applied in a manner that is transparent, reliable, and valid. Section 641(c)(1)(D) of the Act requires the DRS to be based in part on classroom quality as measured under section 641A(c)(2)(F), which refers to a valid and reliable research-based observational instrument, implemented by qualified individuals with demonstrated reliability, that assesses classroom quality, including assessing multiple dimensions of teacher-child interactions that are linked to positive child development and later achievement. The third condition of the DRS is based on use of the CLASS, which is an observational measurement tool for assessing the quality of teacher- [[Page 57906]] child interactions and classroom processes in three broad domains that support children's learning and development: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support. Changes to CLASS Condition Under Consideration Since HHS established the DRS, all grantees that had indefinite project periods have completed the DRS process. Based on CLASS data, observations collected throughout these cohorts, results of a recent evaluation, and feedback from the community, we are considering changes to the CLASS condition of the DRS in order to better improve implementation of the system. There are concerns about some aspects of the CLASS condition of the DRS that have been raised by Head Start grantees as well as in the recent evaluation. First, the requirement for grantees with the lowest 10 percent of scores on any of the three CLASS domains to compete may not be optimally targeting the grantees for competition with the lowest measures of classroom quality. For example, grantees have been required to compete due to an Emotional Support score of 5.69, which is very close to the Standard of Excellence (a 6--which developers of the CLASS deem the highest quality), while grantees very close to the minimum threshold in Instructional Support (e.g., score of 2.3) do not have to compete. We are considering an approach to establish higher specific thresholds that demonstrate an established acceptable level of quality in Emotional Support and Classroom Organization and an adjustable threshold for the Instructional Support domain where there is the greatest potential and need for program improvement. Second, we understand that the delay between completion of the CLASS review and grantees knowing their DRS designation status, due to the need to collect and analyze a full monitoring year's CLASS scores to determine the lowest 10 percent, creates uncertainty, stress, and concern among grantees, grantee staff, and families. Because classroom quality in Head Start programs is improving, as demonstrated by recent analysis of data from the 2006, 2009, and 2014 cohorts of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES),\1\ we are exploring options for the CLASS condition that would better balance an ability to drive quality improvement over time with an approach that would be more transparent, timely, and less burdensome for programs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ Aikens, N., Bush, C., Gleason, P., Malone, L., & Tarullo, L. (2016). Tracking Quality in Head Start Classrooms: FACES 2006 to FACES 2014. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- To inform our development of a notice of proposed rulemaking to change the DRS CLASS condition to meet the objectives described above, we are requesting public comments on several specific changes being considered. The changes under consideration are as follows: 1. Remove the ``lowest 10 percent'' provision of the CLASS condition described in 45 CFR 1304.11(c)(2). 2. Increase the minimum threshold described in 45 CFR 1304.11(c)(1)(i) for the Emotional Support domain from 4 to 5. 3. Increase the minimum threshold described in 45 CFR 1304.11(c)(1)(ii) for Classroom Organization from 3 to 5. 4. Remove the minimum threshold for the Instructional Support domain described in 45 CFR 1304.11(c)(1)(iii) and instead provide authority for the Secretary to set an absolute minimum threshold for the Instructional Support domain, considering the most recent CLASS data, by August 1 of each year to be used for CLASS Reviews conducted in the following fiscal year (October 1 through September 30). Together, these changes would allow grantees to know by August 1, before CLASS Reviews are conducted for the coming fiscal year, the exact threshold of classroom quality in each of the three domains that will be used to determine which grantees will be subject to an open competition for funding and which grantees will receive renewed funding non-competitively. Grantees would no longer have to wait until several months following the conclusion of the CLASS reviews for the fiscal year (September 30) to learn the lowest 10 percent cutoff in each of the 3 domains. Setting minimum thresholds of 5 in the Emotional Support and Classroom Organization domains would set a clear and consistent expectation of quality for all Head Start programs. Allowing the Secretary to set the minimum threshold in the Instructional Support domain prior to the start of each program year and monitoring year would allow for consideration of the most recent CLASS data for Head Start grantees while still supporting continuous quality improvement across the program as a whole. What We Are Looking for in Public Comments We invite comments about the specific changes being considered for the DRS CLASS condition. We also invite comments about any unintended consequences of removing the lowest 10 percent condition and whether an absolute threshold could influence scores. We are particularly interested in recommendations related to how the Secretary would consider establishing the minimum threshold for Instructional Support each year. For example, the regulation could establish an initial Instructional Support threshold (e.g., 2.3 or 2.5) that could be raised in increments of 0.1 based on certain criteria related to the available CLASS data from all prior years of Head Start monitoring, or the threshold could be set one standard deviation below the mean Instructional Support score over the 3 or 5 previous fiscal years. We are interested in other ideas of ways the Instructional Support threshold could be set and/or adjusted that would incentivize program improvement while acknowledging the current state of the field. We are also interested in feedback on another potential change to establish or maintain a minimum absolute threshold (such as a 2) that would require competition and a higher threshold (such as 2.5 or 3) and require grantees to focus on quality improvement before they were reevaluated to see if their Instructional Support score has improved. Only grantees without improvement or still below the threshold would then have to compete. We are interested in feedback on each of these possible approaches as well as others suggested by the field. If commenters do not support the changes being considered, comments offering alternative proposals to the CLASS condition or to other conditions of the DRS would be particularly helpful. Dated: December 5, 2017. Ann Linehan, Acting Director, Office of Head Start. [FR Doc. 2017-26483 Filed 12-7-17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
![Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 235 / Friday, December 8, 2017 / Proposed Rules 57905
practicable and legally permissible the Instructional Support domain, and addition to education services, agencies
methods, under Executive Order 12898 establishment of authority for the provide children and their families with
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). Secretary to set an absolute minimum health, nutrition, social, and other
In addition, the SIP is not approved threshold for the Instructional Support services.
to apply on any Indian reservation land domain prior to the start of each fiscal To drive program quality
or in any other area where EPA or an year to be applied for DRS CLASS improvement, the Improving Head Start
Indian tribe has demonstrated that a reviews in the same fiscal year. OHS for School Readiness Act of 2007, Pub.
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of requests feedback on these possible L. 110–134, (the Act) required HHS to
Indian country, this rule does not have changes as well as alternative changes to develop a system to facilitate
tribal implications as specified by the CLASS condition, particularly ways designation of Head Start grantees
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, the Instructional Support threshold delivering a high-quality and
November 9, 2000), because could be set and/or adjusted that would comprehensive program for a period of
redesignation is an action that affects incentivize program improvement while five years and required grantees not
the status of a geographical area and acknowledging the current state of the delivering high-quality and
does not impose any new regulatory field. OHS also invites feedback on comprehensive services to enter open
requirements on tribes, impact any other conditions of the DRS. competition for continued funding.
existing sources of air pollution on DATES: Submit comments by February 6, Prior to the Act, when HHS designated
tribal lands, nor impair the maintenance 2018. a Head Start agency, it remained a Head
of ozone national ambient air quality Start grantee indefinitely unless the
ADDRESSES: You may send comments,
standards in tribal lands. grantee either relinquished funding or
identified by [docket number and/or
HHS terminated its grant.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 RIN number], by either of the following To meet the requirement in the Act,
methods: HHS established the DRS, which is
Environmental protection, Air • Federal eRulemaking Portal:
pollution control, Incorporation by described in 45 CFR 1304.10 through
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 16. The DRS includes seven conditions.
reference, Intergovernmental relations, instructions for sending comments. We
Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone, Volatile If an agency meets any of the seven
prefer to receive comments via this conditions, it must compete with other
organic compounds. method. providers in the community for renewed
Dated: November 17, 2017. • Mail: Office of Head Start, grant funding. The seven conditions are:
Robert A. Kaplan, Attention: Colleen Rathgeb, Director, (1) A deficiency under section
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5. Division of Planning, Oversight and 641A(c)(1)(A), (C), or (D) of the Act; (2)
[FR Doc. 2017–26419 Filed 12–7–17; 8:45 am] Policy, 330 C Street SW., Washington, failure to establish, utilize, and analyze
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
DC 20024. children’s progress on agency-
Instructions: All submissions received
established School Readiness goals; (3)
must include our agency name and the scores below minimum thresholds in
docket number or Regulatory the Classroom Assessment Scoring
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND Information Number (RIN) for this
HUMAN SERVICES System: Pre-K (CLASS) domains or in
notice. All comments will be posted the lowest 10 percent in any of the three
Administration for Children and without change to https:// domains of the agencies monitored in a
Families www.regulations.gov, including any given year unless the average score is
personal information provided. We equal to or above the standard of
45 CFR Part 1304 accept anonymous comments. If you excellence; (4) revocation of a license to
wish to remain anonymous, enter operate a center or program; (5)
RIN 0970–AC63 ‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields. suspension from the program; (6)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: debarment from receiving federal or
CLASS Condition of the Head Start
Colleen Rathgeb, Director, Division of state funds or disqualified from the
Designation Renewal System
Planning, Oversight and Policy, Office Child and Adult Care Food Program; or
AGENCY: Office of Head Start (OHS), of Head Start, [colleen.rathgeb@ (7) an audit finding of at risk for failing
Administration for Children and acf.hhs.gov], (202) 358–3263 (not a toll- to continue as ‘‘a going concern.’’ The
Families (ACF), Department of Health free call). Deaf and hearing impaired Act also requires HHS to periodically
and Human Services (HHS). individuals may call the Federal Dual evaluate whether or not the DRS criteria
ACTION: Request for comments. Party Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 are applied in a manner that is
between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern transparent, reliable, and valid.
SUMMARY: OHS invites public comment Standard Time. Section 641(c)(1)(D) of the Act
on several specific changes being SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: requires the DRS to be based in part on
considered for the CLASS condition of classroom quality as measured under
the Designation Renewal System (DRS) Background Information section 641A(c)(2)(F), which refers to a
as outlined in the Head Start Program The Head Start program provides valid and reliable research-based
Performance Standards. We are grants to local public and private non- observational instrument, implemented
considering changes to the CLASS profit and for-profit agencies to provide by qualified individuals with
condition with a goal of improving comprehensive education and child demonstrated reliability, that assesses
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
implementation and transparency of the development services to economically classroom quality, including assessing
DRS. Changes being considered include disadvantaged children, from birth to multiple dimensions of teacher-child
removal of the ‘‘lowest 10 percent’’ age five, and families and to help young interactions that are linked to positive
provision of the CLASS condition, an children develop the skills they need to child development and later
increase of the minimum thresholds for be successful in school. Our agencies achievement. The third condition of the
the Emotional Support and Classroom provide these families comprehensive DRS is based on use of the CLASS,
Organization domains to a score of 5, services to support children’s cognitive, which is an observational measurement
removal of the minimum threshold for social, and emotional development. In tool for assessing the quality of teacher-
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![57906 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 235 / Friday, December 8, 2017 / Proposed Rules
child interactions and classroom improvement over time with an consequences of removing the lowest 10
processes in three broad domains that approach that would be more percent condition and whether an
support children’s learning and transparent, timely, and less absolute threshold could influence
development: Emotional Support, burdensome for programs. scores. We are particularly interested in
Classroom Organization, and To inform our development of a recommendations related to how the
Instructional Support. notice of proposed rulemaking to Secretary would consider establishing
change the DRS CLASS condition to the minimum threshold for Instructional
Changes to CLASS Condition Under meet the objectives described above, we
Consideration Support each year. For example, the
are requesting public comments on regulation could establish an initial
Since HHS established the DRS, all several specific changes being Instructional Support threshold (e.g., 2.3
grantees that had indefinite project considered. The changes under or 2.5) that could be raised in
periods have completed the DRS consideration are as follows: increments of 0.1 based on certain
process. Based on CLASS data, 1. Remove the ‘‘lowest 10 percent’’ criteria related to the available CLASS
observations collected throughout these provision of the CLASS condition data from all prior years of Head Start
cohorts, results of a recent evaluation, described in 45 CFR 1304.11(c)(2). monitoring, or the threshold could be
and feedback from the community, we 2. Increase the minimum threshold set one standard deviation below the
are considering changes to the CLASS described in 45 CFR 1304.11(c)(1)(i) for mean Instructional Support score over
condition of the DRS in order to better the Emotional Support domain from 4 to the 3 or 5 previous fiscal years. We are
improve implementation of the system. 5. interested in other ideas of ways the
There are concerns about some aspects 3. Increase the minimum threshold Instructional Support threshold could
of the CLASS condition of the DRS that described in 45 CFR 1304.11(c)(1)(ii) for be set and/or adjusted that would
have been raised by Head Start grantees Classroom Organization from 3 to 5. incentivize program improvement while
as well as in the recent evaluation. First, 4. Remove the minimum threshold for
acknowledging the current state of the
the requirement for grantees with the the Instructional Support domain
field. We are also interested in feedback
lowest 10 percent of scores on any of the described in 45 CFR 1304.11(c)(1)(iii)
on another potential change to establish
three CLASS domains to compete may and instead provide authority for the
or maintain a minimum absolute
not be optimally targeting the grantees Secretary to set an absolute minimum
threshold (such as a 2) that would
for competition with the lowest threshold for the Instructional Support
require competition and a higher
measures of classroom quality. For domain, considering the most recent
threshold (such as 2.5 or 3) and require
example, grantees have been required to CLASS data, by August 1 of each year
grantees to focus on quality
compete due to an Emotional Support to be used for CLASS Reviews
improvement before they were
score of 5.69, which is very close to the conducted in the following fiscal year
reevaluated to see if their Instructional
Standard of Excellence (a 6—which (October 1 through September 30).
Together, these changes would allow Support score has improved. Only
developers of the CLASS deem the
grantees to know by August 1, before grantees without improvement or still
highest quality), while grantees very
CLASS Reviews are conducted for the below the threshold would then have to
close to the minimum threshold in
coming fiscal year, the exact threshold compete. We are interested in feedback
Instructional Support (e.g., score of 2.3)
of classroom quality in each of the three on each of these possible approaches as
do not have to compete. We are
domains that will be used to determine well as others suggested by the field.
considering an approach to establish
higher specific thresholds that which grantees will be subject to an If commenters do not support the
demonstrate an established acceptable open competition for funding and changes being considered, comments
level of quality in Emotional Support which grantees will receive renewed offering alternative proposals to the
and Classroom Organization and an funding non-competitively. Grantees CLASS condition or to other conditions
adjustable threshold for the would no longer have to wait until of the DRS would be particularly
Instructional Support domain where several months following the conclusion helpful.
there is the greatest potential and need of the CLASS reviews for the fiscal year Dated: December 5, 2017.
for program improvement. (September 30) to learn the lowest 10 Ann Linehan,
Second, we understand that the delay percent cutoff in each of the 3 domains. Acting Director, Office of Head Start.
between completion of the CLASS Setting minimum thresholds of 5 in the [FR Doc. 2017–26483 Filed 12–7–17; 8:45 am]
review and grantees knowing their DRS Emotional Support and Classroom BILLING CODE 4184–01–P
designation status, due to the need to Organization domains would set a clear
collect and analyze a full monitoring and consistent expectation of quality for
year’s CLASS scores to determine the all Head Start programs. Allowing the
lowest 10 percent, creates uncertainty, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Secretary to set the minimum threshold
stress, and concern among grantees, in the Instructional Support domain National Oceanic and Atmospheric
grantee staff, and families. Because prior to the start of each program year Administration
classroom quality in Head Start and monitoring year would allow for
programs is improving, as demonstrated consideration of the most recent CLASS 50 CFR Part 679
by recent analysis of data from the 2006, data for Head Start grantees while still
2009, and 2014 cohorts of the Head Start supporting continuous quality [Docket No. 170817779–7779–01]
Family and Child Experiences Survey
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
improvement across the program as a RIN 0648–XF636
(FACES),1 we are exploring options for whole.
the CLASS condition that would better
What We Are Looking for in Public Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
balance an ability to drive quality
Comments Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands; 2018 and 2019
1 Aikens, N., Bush, C., Gleason, P., Malone, L., &
We invite comments about the Harvest Specifications for Groundfish
Tarullo, L. (2016). Tracking Quality in Head Start specific changes being considered for
Classrooms: FACES 2006 to FACES 2014.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and the DRS CLASS condition. We also AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
Human Services. invite comments about any unintended Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:45 Dec 07, 2017 Jkt 244001 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\08DEP1.SGM 08DEP1](https://thefederalregister.org/doc/82_FR_58140/page/2.svg)
Document Created: 2017-12-08 01:43:29
Document Modified: 2017-12-08 01:43:29
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Proposed Rules | |
| Action | Request for comments. | |
| Dates | Submit comments by February 6, 2018. | |
| Contact | Colleen Rathgeb, Director, Division of Planning, Oversight and Policy, Office of Head Start, [[email protected]], (202) 358-3263 (not a toll-free call). Deaf and hearing impaired individuals may call the Federal Dual Party Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. | |
| FR Citation | 82 FR 57905 | |
| RIN Number | 0970-AC63 |
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