(a)
Lead agencies— The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, in collaboration with the Council—
(1)
designate a lead agency from among the Council agencies for the purpose of carrying out the 2-generation program described in title III; and
(2)
designate a lead agency from among the Council agencies for the purpose of carrying out any other 2-generation program established as described in section 201(a)(2).
(b)
Agency head determinations—
(1)
In general— A Council agency may participate (directly or by providing discretionary appropriations that have been appropriated to such agency) in a 2-generation program described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) only upon providing a written determination by the head of such agency to the lead agency designated under subsection (a)(1) that, based on the best available information, transferring resources to participate in such program will not—
(A)
result in such agency reducing any services (funded in whole or in part by the discretionary appropriations of such agency) that such agency provided prior to participating in the 2-generation program; and
(B)
otherwise adversely affect vulnerable populations that are recipients of such services.
(2)
Consideration— In making the determination under paragraph (1), the head of the Council agency may take into consideration the discretionary appropriations that will be used in the 2-generation program.
(c)
Transfer authority—
(1)
2-generation account— The lead agency designated under subsection (a) may establish an account for the purpose of carrying out a 2-generation program described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), allowing multiple Council agencies participating in the 2-generation program to combine discretionary appropriations for the purpose of carrying out the 2-generation program.
(2)
Transfers— Subject to the written approval of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and paragraph (4), the head of each Council agency participating in a 2-generation program may transfer discretionary appropriations of the agency to the account established under paragraph (1), to be used for such 2-generation program.
(3)
Availability—
(A)
Purposes— Subject to the waiver authority under subsection (d), the discretionary appropriations transferred under paragraph (2) shall remain available for the same purposes for which the appropriations were originally appropriated.
(B)
Obligation by the Federal Government— The discretionary appropriations transferred under paragraph (2) shall remain available for obligation by the Federal Government for the period for which such appropriations were permitted to remain available, as of the day before the date of the transfer.
(4)
Notice requirement— Not later than 30 days prior to transferring any discretionary appropriations under paragraph (2), the head of the Council agency transferring the appropriations shall provide written notice of the transfer to the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and other appropriate committees of Congress.
(d)
Waiver authority—
(1)
In general— To reduce administrative burdens (including application and reporting requirements) and subject to other provisions of this Act (but notwithstanding subsection (c)(3)(A)), the head of a Council agency participating in a 2-generation program described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) may waive (in whole or in part) the application, solely with respect to discretionary appropriations used in such 2-generation program, of any statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirement that such agency head—
(A)
is authorized to waive (in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Federal law authorizing such appropriations); or
(B)
would not otherwise be authorized to waive, but for the application of this subsection.
(2)
Limitations—
(A)
In general— An agency head described in paragraph (1) shall not waive any requirement related to nondiscrimination, wage and labor standards, or allocation of funds to State or sub-State levels.
(B)
Requirements— For the waiver of any statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirement described in paragraph (1)(B), an agency head described in paragraph (1) shall—
(i)
prior to granting the waiver, submit to the lead agency designated under subsection (a)(1) a written determination, with respect to the discretionary appropriations described in paragraph (1), that the granting of such waiver for purposes of the 2-generation program—
(I)
is consistent with the statutory purposes of the Federal program for which such discretionary appropriations were appropriated and the other provisions of this section, as well as the written determination by such agency head under subsection (b)(1);
(II)
is necessary to achieve the appropriate quantitative levels for the outcomes described in section 201(b) that the program is designed to achieve, and is no broader in scope than is necessary to achieve such levels; and
(III)
will result in—
(aa)
realizing efficiencies by simplifying reporting burdens or reducing administrative barriers with respect to such discretionary appropriations; or
(bb)
increasing the ability of individuals to obtain access to services that are provided through such discretionary appropriations; and
(ii)
provide at least 60 days of advance written notice to the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and other appropriate committees of Congress.
(e)
Prohibited use of assessment for young children— To participate in a 2-generation program described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), an entity shall provide an assurance that the entity will not assess the achievement of children from birth through grade 2, or programs providing services to such children, by engaging in activities that include—
(1)
assessing such children or programs in a manner that provides or leads to any reward or sanction for any individual child, teacher, early childhood education program, as defined in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (
20 U.S.C. 1003), or school;
(2)
using a single method for assessing the effectiveness of a program serving such children as the primary or only method for assessing such program; or
(3)
evaluating such children for any purpose other than to—
(A)
improve instruction or classroom environment;
(B)
target high-quality, evidence-based professional development;
(C)
determine the need for health (including mental health), disability, or family support services;
(D)
inform the quality improvement process for such programs at the State level;
(E)
evaluate such a program for the purposes of program improvement and providing information to the parents of children participating in such program; or
(F)
provide research conducted as part of a national evaluation.