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S1406..........................................................by EDUCATION EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT - Adds to and amends existing law relating to early childhood development and education to provide a short title; to provide legislative findings; to define terms; to permit prekindergarten programs; to provide for establishment, composition and responsibilities of prekindergarten councils; to provide for prekindergarten plans and programs; to provide for rulemaking authority; to provide for pilot prekindergarten programs; to provide for a report; to provide for the Prekindergarten Fund; to remove a provision providing for distribution of moneys to the economic recovery reserve fund; and to provide for distribution of moneys to the Prekindergarten Fund. 02/08 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/11 Rpt prt - to Educ
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2008IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1406 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION; AMENDING TITLE 33, 3 IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW CHAPTER 57, TITLE 33, IDAHO CODE, TO 4 PROVIDE A SHORT TITLE, TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS, TO DEFINE TERMS, 5 TO PERMIT COMMUNITY-BASED PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS, TO PROVIDE FOR ESTAB- 6 LISHMENT, COMPOSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PREKINDERGARTEN COUNCILS, TO 7 PROVIDE FOR PREKINDERGARTEN PLANS, TO PROVIDE FOR PREKINDERGARTEN PRO- 8 GRAMS, TO PROVIDE FOR RULEMAKING AUTHORITY, TO PROVIDE FOR PREKINDERGARTEN 9 ASSESSMENT, TO PROVIDE FOR PILOT PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS, AND TO PROVIDE 10 FOR THE PREKINDERGARTEN FUND; AND AMENDING SECTION 63-2520, IDAHO CODE, TO 11 REMOVE A PROVISION PROVIDING FOR DISTRIBUTION OF MONEYS TO THE ECONOMIC 12 RECOVERY RESERVE FUND, TO PROVIDE FOR DISTRIBUTION OF MONEYS TO THE 13 PREKINDERGARTEN FUND AND TO PROVIDE CORRECT TERMINOLOGY. 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 15 SECTION 1. That Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended 16 by the addition thereto of a NEW CHAPTER, to be known and designated as Chap- 17 ter 57, Title 33, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 18 CHAPTER 57 19 IDAHO EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION ACT 20 33-5701. SHORT TITLE. This act shall be known and cited as the "Idaho 21 Early Childhood Development and Education Act." 22 33-5702. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. (1) The legislature finds that a high 23 quality prekindergarten education that is designed based on national research 24 into the learning potential and requirements of young children holds a vast 25 opportunity to provide children with a greatly improved chance at educational 26 success. 27 (2) The legislature finds that high quality prekindergarten education 28 will return economic benefits exceeding each dollar invested by reducing stu- 29 dent remediation, enhancing effective kindergarten through grade 12 30 classrooms, reducing crime and incarceration costs, increasing high school 31 graduation rates, increasing college admission rates, reducing the number of 32 children in the juvenile justice system, reducing child protection referrals 33 and significantly increasing lifetime earnings. 34 (3) The legislature finds that Idaho's children are best served by high 35 quality prekindergarten for children four (4) years of age that meet their 36 diverse needs and that are delivered through qualified community-based pro- 37 grams including private child care providers and faith-based organizations, 38 head start programs and public schools. 39 (4) The legislature finds that parental involvement is an essential com- 40 ponent of Idaho's prekindergarten. The essential role of parents as the 41 child's first teachers will be strengthened by prekindergarten education. 2 1 (5) The legislature finds that establishing pilot prekindergarten pro- 2 grams presents an important opportunity for Idaho to evaluate the role of 3 prekindergarten in our state's mission of creating a great education system 4 for Idaho's children. 5 (6) The legislature finds that high quality prekindergarten can best be 6 implemented in Idaho through the establishment of ten (10) pilot 7 prekindergarten programs that can be analyzed and evaluated and subsequently 8 expanded to other districts as the experience and value of such programs are 9 developed. 10 33-5703. DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter: 11 (1) "Board of trustees" means the board of trustees of a school district. 12 (2) "Child care facility" means a public, private or faith-based child 13 care facility or a public, private or faith-based preschool or a head start 14 program. 15 (3) "Department" means the state department of education. 16 (4) "District" means an Idaho public school district. 17 (5) "Early childhood educator" means an educator possessing qualifica- 18 tions established by the state board to provide early childhood education. 19 (6) "Prekindergarten" means an educational program for children at least 20 four (4) years of age provided by a qualified early childhood educator for not 21 less than twenty-five (25) hours within a period of two (2) weeks. 22 (7) "State board" means the state board of education. 23 33-5704. COMMUNITY-BASED PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM. Subject to funding as 24 provided for in this chapter, prekindergarten programs may be offered to chil- 25 dren four (4) years of age by community-based child care facilities, to be 26 funded, in part, by state funds administered by local districts. 27 33-5705. PREKINDERGARTEN COUNCILS. (1) A prekindergarten council may be 28 established in a district to: 29 (a) Develop a district prekindergarten plan; and 30 (b) Serve as an advisory prekindergarten council for a prekindergarten 31 program established in the district. 32 (2) The members of the council shall be appointed by the superintendent 33 of the district and shall be representative of public and private entities in 34 the district that are committed to preparing young children for school. The 35 council shall include: 36 (a) Three (3) parents of preschool age children; 37 (b) Three (3) educators certified in early childhood education; 38 (c) Three (3) representatives of child care programs; 39 (d) The superintendent of the district; and 40 (e) Two (2) community members committed to developing prekindergarten. 41 (3) In developing a district prekindergarten plan, the prekindergarten 42 council shall: 43 (a) Conduct an inventory of all prekindergarten resources within the 44 school district, including resources available at qualified child care 45 facilities and head start programs and public schools; 46 (b) Perform a prekindergarten needs assessment to determine the need for 47 quality prekindergarten in the district; 48 (c) Determine the personnel, facilities and other program costs necessary 49 to establish a pilot prekindergarten program; 50 (d) Determine what local, state and private financial resources may be 51 accessed to support prekindergarten education; 52 (e) Maximize and focus on delivery of early education to children 3 1 impacted by risk factors identified herein; 2 (f) Determine how the prekindergarten program will include components of 3 and work with "parents as teachers," child care providers and the Idaho 4 child care program to provide a continuum of early childhood education in 5 the community; 6 (g) Maximize the participation of parents, avoid duplication of existing 7 services in the community and make the best possible use of resources; and 8 (h) Provide for appropriate facilities, materials and prekindergarten 9 instruction. 10 (4) The prekindergarten plan may provide for delivery of prekindergarten 11 instruction by contract with a qualified child care facility or facilities. 12 Early childhood educators may be employed by a child care provider, may be 13 provided to the child care facility by the school district or may be employed 14 by the district for prekindergarten at district schools. 15 33-5706. PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM. (1) After it has approved the 16 prekindergarten plan as provided in section 33-5705, Idaho Code, the 17 district's board of trustees may apply to the state board for funding of the 18 district's prekindergarten program. 19 (2) The state board shall evaluate and prioritize the prekindergarten 20 plan applications, taking into consideration: 21 (a) The funding available for prekindergarten, including available local 22 funds and the ratio of local to state funds; 23 (b) The number of public elementary schools in the school district that 24 are not meeting adequate yearly progress under the no child left behind 25 act; 26 (c) The potential for parental involvement in the proposed 27 prekindergarten program; and 28 (d) An assessment of factors that contribute to the risk of children 29 being unprepared for kindergarten or having significant potential to bene- 30 fit from prekindergarten, which factors may include: 31 (i) The proportion of children meeting eligibility criteria to 32 receive free or reduced cost lunches; 33 (ii) The need for extraordinary language development, including the 34 estimated proportion of students with limited English proficiency 35 among the four (4) years of age preschool population; 36 (iii) The proportion of parents who have not completed high school; 37 and 38 (iv) The proportion of parents who were younger than eighteen (18) 39 years of age at the time of their first child's birth. 40 (3) (a) The state board may approve plans to be funded by grants to the 41 selected districts from the prekindergarten fund. Funding for 42 prekindergarten programs shall be for a period of four (4) consecutive 43 years subject to renewal at the end of that period; and 44 (b) State funding provided to support an approved prekindergarten plan 45 shall be limited to the cost of instruction by qualified early childhood 46 educators. 47 (4) The state board shall adopt rules to: 48 (a) Specify procedures by which prekindergarten councils may apply for 49 prekindergarten grants; 50 (b) Provide for a maximum prekindergarten class size of twenty (20) chil- 51 dren per certified early childhood educator and for a ratio of teachers 52 and qualified teacher's aides to participating children of not less than 53 one (1) to ten (10); 54 (c) Establish certification standards for early childhood educators that 4 1 require at least a bachelor's degree with a specialization in early child- 2 hood education; 3 (d) Establish qualification standards for teacher's aides participating 4 in the prekindergarten program; 5 (e) Provide for the development of state prekindergarten learning stan- 6 dards; and 7 (f) Provide a format for prekindergarten plans. 8 (5) The superintendent of a district that receives funding from the state 9 board for a prekindergarten program grant shall be responsible for the admin- 10 istration of the grant. 11 33-5707. PREKINDERGARTEN ASSESSMENT. (1) The state board of education 12 shall provide an annual report to the legislature on the implementation and 13 development of the prekindergarten program. 14 (2) The annual report to the legislature shall include accountability 15 measures including longitudinal data from a statistically sufficient number of 16 program recipients to assess the impact of the Idaho prekindergarten program 17 at three levels: kindergarten readiness, kindergarten through sixth grade 18 remediation and graduation rates. 19 33-5708. PILOT PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM. (1) Subject to available funding, 20 the state board is authorized to select up to ten (10) pilot prekindergarten 21 programs from applications submitted by districts for funding from the 22 prekindergarten fund. 23 (2) The application for the pilot prekindergarten program shall include a 24 prekindergarten education plan that meets the requirements of section 33-5705, 25 Idaho Code. 26 (3) The state board shall provide grants to selected districts for pilot 27 prekindergarten programs using the criteria set forth in section 33-5706(2), 28 Idaho Code. 29 (4) The state board shall prepare an annual report for submission to the 30 legislature evaluating the performance of each pilot prekindergarten program. 31 (5) On or before fiscal year 2013, the implementation and administration 32 of the pilot prekindergarten programs established under this chapter shall be 33 reviewed by the legislature for approval prior to implementation of a state- 34 wide program. 35 33-5709. PREKINDERGARTEN FUND. There is hereby created and established in 36 the state treasury a fund to be known as the "Prekindergarten Fund" in which 37 shall be deposited the revenues derived from the tax imposed in section 38 63-2506, Idaho Code, and any additional appropriations from the general fund. 39 All moneys deposited in such fund are hereby continually appropriated for the 40 purposes set forth in this chapter. The state board is charged with the admin- 41 istration of this fund. 42 SECTION 2. That Section 63-2520, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 43 amended to read as follows: 44 63-2520. DISTRIBUTION OF MONEYS COLLECTED. Revenues received from the 45 taxes imposed by this chapter, and any revenues received from licenses, per- 46 mits, penalties, interest, or deficiency additions, shall be distributed by 47 the tax commission as follows: 48 (a) An amount of money shall be distributed to the state refund account 49 sufficient to pay current refund claims. All refunds authorized under this 50 chapter by the commission shall be paid through the state refund account, and 5 1 those moneys are continuously appropriated. 2 (b) On and after July 1, 2005, the balance remaining with the state trea- 3 surer after deducting the amount described in subsection (a) of this section 4 shall be distributed as follows: 5 (1) 17.3% of such balance shall be distributed to the permanent building 6 fund created by section 57-1108, Idaho Code. 7 (2) 0.4% of such balance shall be distributed to the centraltumorcancer 8 registryaccountfund. The amount of money so distributed to the central 9tumorcancer registryaccountfund shall not exceed the fiscal year's 10 appropriation, and at such time as the appropriation has been distributed 11 to the centraltumorcancer registryaccountfund during any fiscal year, 12 all such distributions in excess of the appropriation shall be made 13 instead to the general fund of the state of Idaho. 14 (3) 1% of such balance shall be distributed to the cancer control account 15 created by section 57-1702, Idaho Code. Revenues received in the cancer 16 control account shall be paid over to the state treasurer by the state tax 17 commission to be distributed as follows: 18 (i) Such amounts as are appropriated for purposes specified in sec- 19 tion 57-1702, Idaho Code, shall be expended as appropriated; 20 (ii) Any balance remaining in the cancer control account on June 30 21 of any fiscal year after the amounts withdrawn by appropriation have 22 been deducted, shall be reserved for transfer to the general fund on 23 July 1 and the state controller shall order such transfer. 24 (4) An amount equal to the annual general fund appropriation for bond 25 levy equalization, pursuant to section 33-906, Idaho Code, shall be annu- 26 ally distributed to the general fund. 27 (5) All remaining moneys shall be distributed as follows: 28 (i) For the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2005, and ending June 29 30, 2006, all moneys shall be distributed to the economic recovery 30 reserve fund created by section 67-3520, Idaho Code. 31 (ii) For fiscal years on and after July 1, 2006, all moneys shall be 32 distributed to the permanent building fund with the moneys to be used 33 for the repair, remodel and restoration of the state capitol building 34 and state facilities pertaining to the capitol restoration until such 35 time as the capitol restoration is adequately funded as certified by 36 the director of the department of administration. 37 (iii)ThereafterUpon such certification and subject to legislative 38 approval, all moneys shall be distributed to theeconomic recovery39reserveprekindergarten fund created by section67-352033-5709, 40 Idaho Code.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 17710C2
Idaho Early Childhood Development and Education Act
The legislation recognizes that a high quality pre-kindergarten
program holds a vast opportunity for Idaho's pre-kindergarten age
children by providing them with a greatly improved chance at
educational success.
The act provides for initial state support for pilot pre-
kindergarten programs that will provide experience for subsequent
statewide implementation.
The purpose of this bill is to establish a voluntary pre-
kindergarten program for children 4 years of age. Local pre-K
councils appointed by the district superintendent may plan and
develop a high quality pre-K program for the community. Pre-K
education is to be provided by qualified pre-K educators and in
compliance with state pre-kindergarten learning standards.
The legislation allows flexibility for a pre-K educator to be
provided by contract to a qualified public, private, church or
charity based child care facility, or by any combination of such
providers. State grants would cover the cost of providing a
certified early childhood educator for community based programs.
The bill requires that early childhood educators be certified and
hold a degree in early childhood education.
The act identifies criteria to be considered by the State Board
of Education in developing priorities for funding pre-K programs
and authorizes the Board to develop standards and procedures.
The community based pre-K will be funded by grants from a state
pre-K education fund to supplement locally provided resources.
FISCAL NOTE
Grants for the community based pre-K program will be made from
the Pre-kindergarten Fund created by the bill. The fund can
receive distributions, appropriations, grants and donations. The
fund will be administered by the State Board of Education.
Grants for community based pre-K programs will be administered
locally.
Pilot stage:
A state general fund one-time appropriation of $4 million will
fund 10 pilot community based pre-K programs over four years.
FY 2009: $150,000 Department of Education Staffing and program
design
FY 2010: $150,000 Staffing and program administration
$1,100,000 Pre-K pilot demonstration projects
FY 2012: $200,000 Staffing and program administration
$1,250,000 Pre-K pilot demonstration projects
Implementation state:
The bill calls for an FY 2013 budget decision point for $18
million to be distributed annually from the cigarette and tobacco
tax fund to the Pre-kindergarten fund.
FY 2013: $150,000 staffing and program administration
$17,750,000 pre-K program funding
Contact
Name: Senator Mike Burkett
Phone: 332-1414
Name: Senator Stan Bastian
Phone: 332-1391
Name: Senator Tim Corder
Phone: 332-1343
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1406