S 2323 — HEADWAY Act

Summary

Head start Education And Development Workforce Advancement and Yield Act or the HEADWAY ActThis bill allows some teachers in Early Head Start programs to teach while in the process of earning their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential and completing training.Currently, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must ensure that all teachers providing direct services to children and families in Early Head Start centers (1) have a minimum of a CDA credential and have been trained in early childhood development, and (2) have been trained in early childhood development with a focus on infant and toddler development.The bill revises this requirement by requiring at least one teacher per classroom (instead of all teachers) to have a CDA credential and training. In particular, the bill requires HHS to ensure that (1) each additional teacher providing direct services to children and families is in the process of earning a CDA credential and completing training, and (2) the Early Head Start agency provides a mentor to oversee the progress and guide the work of a teacher who is in the process of earning a CDA credential and completing training.

Bill Text

• Introduced Introduced in Senate Current html July 17, 2025

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill amends the Head Start Act to allow additional teachers in Early Head Start programs to teach while they pursue a child development associate credential and requires mentoring for those teachers.

• 42 U.S.C. 9840a(h)(1)

  , not later than September 30, 2010, all teachers → at least one teacher per classroom who is

  This change modifies the requirement for teachers in Early Head Start programs to specify that at least one teacher per classroom is needed, rather than all teachers by a set date.

• 42 U.S.C. 9840a(h)(1)

  Early Head Start programs located in Early Head Start centers, have a minimum → an Early Head Start program located in an Early Head Start center, has a minimum

  This change clarifies the language regarding the minimum requirements for Early Head Start programs.

• 42 U.S.C. 9840a(h)(1)

  have been trained (or have → has been trained (or has

  This change corrects the grammatical structure to ensure that it is consistent for one teacher.

• 42 U.S.C. 9840a(h)(1)

  and

  This change removes the conjunction at the end of the sentence, which is likely necessary for proper syntax.

• 42 U.S.C. 9840a(h)

  (2) ensure that--(A) each additional teacher providing direct services to children and families described in paragraph (1) is working towards earning a credential that is, at a minimum, a child development associate credential and towards completing training (or equivalent coursework in early childhood development); and (B) during the period in which such a teacher is working towards earning that credential and completing that training or coursework, the Early Head Start agency employing the teacher shall provide a mentor to oversee the progress and guide the work of the teacher towards earning that credential and completing that training or coursework;

  This addition establishes a new requirement for additional teachers to work towards a child development associate credential while being mentored.

• 42 U.S.C. 9840a(h)(3)

  not later than September 30, 2012, all such teachers → at least one teacher per classroom providing direct services to children and families described in paragraph (1) has

  This change updates the requirement regarding teacher qualifications to align with the new provisions for additional teachers.

• 42 U.S.C. 9840a(h)(3)

  (or have → (or has

  This change corrects the grammatical structure to ensure consistency with the singular subject.

• 42 U.S.C. 9840a(h)(3)

  . → , and that each additional teacher providing direct services to such children and families is working towards completing that training or coursework.

  This change extends the teacher qualification requirements to include a stipulation for additional teachers working towards necessary training or coursework.

Action History

1. July 17, 2025

   Introduced in Senate

2. July 17, 2025

   Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

3. March 19, 2026

   Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held.

Sponsors

• Raphael G. Warnock · Primary
• Shelley Moore Capito · Cosponsor
• Ben Ray Luján · Cosponsor
• Dan Sullivan · Cosponsor

Subjects