BILL NUMBER: AB 172 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 211
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 7, 2006
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2006
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 29, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 28, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 26, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 14, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chan
(Principal coauthor: Senator Escutia)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Berg, Bermudez, Cohn, Coto, Evans,
Hancock, Jones, Koretz, Leno, Lieber, Liu, Montanez, Mullin, Nava,
Parra, Pavley, Ruskin, Salinas, and Yee)
(Coauthors: Senators Figueroa, Florez, Kuehl, Lowenthal, and
Ortiz)
JANUARY 20, 2005
An act to add Sections 8238, 8238.1, 8238.2, 8238.3, 8238.4,
8238.5, 8238.6, and 8239 to the Education Code, relating to child
care, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 172, Chan Child care: state preschool programs.
Existing law, the Child Care and Developmental Services Act,
establishes various full- and part-time programs for a comprehensive,
coordinated, and cost-effective system of developmental services for
children to age 13 and their parents. Other existing law, the
Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program, permits, until January 1, 2014,
school districts to participate in the program to provide
kindergarten preparedness opportunities to increase a child's
readiness for school. Existing law requires the Superintendent of
Public Instruction to administer state preschool programs including
part-time day and preschool appropriate programs for prekindergarten
children 3 to 5 years of age.
This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction
and the State Department of Education to administer prekindergarten
and family literacy programs in accordance with specified funding and
other requirements. The bill would require a participating program
to provide specified child development and family literacy services
as a condition of receiving funding. The bill would require a local
educational agency on behalf of one or more participating programs to
select a program coordinator who may be assigned one or more
specified duties. The bill would make an appropriation by making
$50,000,000 of the funds appropriated in a specified provision of the
Budget Act of 2006 for child development and preschool programs
available for expenditure by the Superintendent for purposes of
prekindergarten and family literacy programs, as specified. The bill
would require the Superintendent to conduct an evaluation of the
effectiveness of those programs, as specified. The bill would also
make an appropriation by making $5,000,000 of unearned contract funds
appropriated in a specified provision of the Budget Act of 2005 for
general child care programs available for expenditure by the
Superintendent to provide direct child care services for children in
participating classrooms, as specified. The bill would require the
Superintendent to encourage participating providers to offer full-day
services through a combination of part-day preschool slots and
part-day general child care and development programs.
This bill would appropriate $150,000 from the General Fund to the
State Department of Education for the 2006-07 fiscal year to
administer specified child development and preschool programs.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) A compelling body of respected research demonstrates that
quality preschool programs benefit children and their families, the
public school system, public safety, the economy, and society as a
whole.
(b) California has an enormous opportunity to reach children at a
time when they are eager and ready to learn. 90 percent of brain
development takes place before age five, making early childhood the
best time to invest in preschool programs that boost learning,
creativity, and social skills. Preschool programs lay a strong
foundation that helps children succeed in school and in life.
(c) Quality preschool experiences boost academic achievement in
school, decrease grade retention, decrease special education
placements, and increase graduation rates. Quality preschool further
reduces the likelihood of later arrest and incarceration, and
increases college attendance and earnings in adulthood. A recent Rand
Corporation report states that every dollar invested in quality
preschool in California would return as much as two to four dollars
to the public.
(d) Quality preschool experiences decrease special education
placements, in part because they have the potential to provide early
identification and intervention for young children with exceptional
needs, which can reduce the need for ongoing special education
services. Providing access to quality preschool for children with
exceptional needs can help support their development and prepare them
for a successful transition to kindergarten and beyond.
(e) Research confirms the many benefits that children, parents,
and preschool programs gain when parents are involved in their child'
s preschool learning both inside the classroom and at home.
(f) The Council of Chief State School Officers has found that
efforts to reform and strengthen public education cannot succeed
without a concerted effort to support and improve programs that
provide care and education for our youngest children.
SEC. 2. Section 8238 is added to the Education Code, to read:
8238. As a condition of receipt of funds pursuant to Section
8238.4, a participating program shall include, but not be limited to,
both of the following:
(a) Age and developmentally appropriate activities for children in
participating classrooms that are designed to facilitate their
transition to kindergarten.
(b) Opportunities for parents and legal guardians to work with
their children on interactive literacy activities. For purposes of
this subdivision, "interactive literacy activities" means activities
in which parents or legal guardians actively participate in
facilitating the acquisition by their children of prereading skills
through guided activities such as shared reading, learning the
alphabet, and basic vocabulary development.
SEC. 3. Section 8238.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
8238.1. As a condition of receipt of funds pursuant to Section
8238.4, a participating program shall coordinate the provision of all
of the following:
(a) Parenting education for parents and legal guardians of
children in participating classrooms to support the development by
their children of literacy skills. Parenting education shall include,
but not be limited to, instruction in all of the following:
(1) Providing support for the educational growth and success of
their children.
(2) Improving the parent-school communications and parental
understanding of school structures and expectations.
(3) Becoming active partners with teachers in the education of
their children.
(b) Referrals, as necessary, to providers of instruction in adult
education and English as a second language in order to improve the
academic skills of parents and legal guardians of children in
participating classrooms.
SEC. 4. Section 8238.2 is added to the Education Code, to read:
8238.2. A local educational agency on behalf of one or more
participating programs may select a program coordinator whose duties
may include the following:
(a) Developing a system to coordinate the provision of literacy
services to families at the local educational agency and community
level.
(b) Creating an organizational partnership between each program
provider and an adult education program operated by a local
educational agency or other community provider, as needed.
(c) Promoting parental involvement in participating classrooms.
SEC. 5. Section 8238.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:
8238.3. As a condition of receipt of funds pursuant to Section
8238.4, a participating program shall provide staff development for
teachers in participating classrooms that includes, but is not
limited to, all of the following:
(a) Development of a pedagogical knowledge including, but not
limited to, improved instructional strategies.
(b) Knowledge and application of developmentally appropriate
assessments of the prereading skills of children in participating
classrooms.
(c) Information on working with families, including the use of on
site coaching, for guided practice in interactive literacy
activities.
SEC. 6. Section 8238.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
8238.4. Of funds appropriated in Schedule (1) of Item
6110-196-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2006 (Ch. 48,
Stats. 2006) for child development and preschool programs, fifty
million dollars ($50,000,000) is available for expenditure by the
Superintendent as follows:
(a) (1) Forty-five million dollars ($45,000,000) to reimburse
participating programs on a per-child basis at the same rate that is
used for the state preschool program, as determined in the annual
Budget Act or other statute.
(2) The funds described in paragraph (1) shall be assigned to
programs located in the attendance area of elementary schools in
deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, based on the 2005 base Academic
Performance Index pursuant to Section 52056. Within elementary
schools in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, based on the 2005 base Academic
Performance Index, preference shall be provided to underserved areas
as described in subdivision (d) of section 8279.3.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, programs receiving
funding in this section shall serve children who would attend
kindergarten in the subsequent academic year. No child shall receive
services from a program under this section for more than one year.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a program
receiving funding pursuant to this section may provide services to
children in families above the income eligibility threshold, as
described in Sections 8263 and 8263.1, if the number of contracted
slots exceed the number of eligible children. No more than 20 percent
of contracted slots may be filled by children in families above the
income eligibility threshold.
(5) The department shall report to the Department of Finance and
the Legislature at budget hearings the number of children who are
being served with the funds described in paragraph (1). The report
shall also include the number of children served above the income
eligibility threshold and the age of all children served.
(b) (1) Five million dollars ($5,000,000) to be distributed to
each participating classroom at a rate of two thousand five hundred
dollars ($2,500) per classroom per school year. Funds received
pursuant to this subdivision may be used for all of the following
purposes:
(A) Compensation and support costs for program coordinators as
described in Section 8238.2.
(B) Staff development pursuant to Section 8238.3.
(C) Family literacy services.
(D) Instructional materials, including consumables.
(2) In the event that the total amount described in paragraph (1)
is insufficient to fund all of the participating classrooms at the
per classroom rate described in that paragraph, the classroom rate
shall be prorated accordingly.
(c) The appropriation of funds for purposes of this section beyond
the amounts described in this section shall be in the annual Budget
Act or other statute.
SEC. 7. Section 8238.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
8238.5. Subject to the availability of funds for purposes of this
section, as described in subdivision (c) of 8238.4, the
Superintendent shall conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of
prekindergarten and family literacy programs established pursuant to
this article. To the extent feasible, the evaluation shall do both of
the following:
(a) Rely on quantifiable measures of academic achievement of
participating children, including, but not limited to, performance on
the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program test and the English
language development test administered in grade 3.
(b) Estimate the costs and benefits of the programs.
SEC. 8. Section 8238.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:
8238.6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, up to five
million dollars ($5,000,000) of unearned contract funds appropriated
in Schedule (1.5)(a) of Item 6110-196-0001 of Section 2.00 of the
Budget Act of 2005 (Ch. 38, Stats. 2005) for general child care
programs is available for expenditure by the Superintendent to
provide direct child care services for children in participating
classrooms to meet the child care needs of parents for the portion of
each day that is not covered by services provided as part of a
preschool program pursuant Section 8238.4.
SEC. 9. Section 8239 is added to the Education Code, to read:
8239. The Superintendent shall encourage participating providers
to offer full-day services through a combination of part-day
preschool slots and part-day general child care and development
programs. In order to facilitate a full-day of services, all of the
following shall apply:
(a) Part-day preschool programs shall operate between 175 and 180
days.
(b) Part-day general child care and development programs may
operate a minimum of 246 days per year unless the child development
contract specified a lower minimum days of operation. Part-day
general child care and development programs may operate a full-day
for the remainder of the year after the completion of the preschool
program.
(c) Full day services provided under this section shall be
reimbursed at no more than the standard reimbursement rate with
adjustment factors.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of law, to be eligible for
part-day child care, a child who is enrolled in a preschool program
shall be required to meet the eligibility requirements specified in
paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 8238.4 and the
requirements pursuant to Section 8263 and 8263.1 at the time of
enrollment in a preschool. Subsequent to enrollment, a child shall
be deemed eligible for part-day care as long as the child is enrolled
in a preschool program.
SEC. 10. The sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000)
is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department
of Education for the 2006-07 fiscal year to administer the programs
described in Section 8238.4 of the Education Code.