BILL NUMBER: AB 2467 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2008 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2008 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brownley (Coauthor:Assembly MemberCotoCoauthors: Assembly Members Coto, Hancock, and Mullin ) FEBRUARY 21, 2008 An act to amend Sections 8282 and 8499.10 of, and to add Section 8283 to, the Education Code, relating to state preschool, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2467, as amended, Brownley. State preschool: information. (1) The Child Care and Development Services Act establishes various full- and part-time programs for a comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of developmental services for children to 13 years of age and their parents. Existing law requires certain information to be provided to a child's parent or guardian when a child is transferred from a state-funded preschool or infant and toddler program to a public school, which may, with the permission of the parent or guardian, be transferred to the pupil's elementary school. This bill would permit certain other information that the Superintendent of Public Instruction deems appropriate or helpful to be included on the information transfer form. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to contract for the development of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System to provide for the retention and analysis of pupil achievement data. This bill would require the Superintendent to convene a stakeholder group of specified members to determine, among other things, new strategies for implementing preschool information transfer. The bill would require the group to make recommendations to the Superintendent by December 31, 2009, and would require the Superintendent to explore the extent to which preschool summary information can be integrated into the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. The bill would require the Superintendent to report to the Legislature by March 1, 2011, on the implementation of a statewide preschool information transfer system. (3) Existing law requires the Superintendent to advise local educational agencies regarding related federal Head Start requirements. This bill would delete that requirement, and would authorize the Superintendent to include information from children in Head Start programs in the information transfer, subject to the consent of the child's parent or guardian.(4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.Vote:2/3majority . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 8282 of the Education Code is amended to read: 8282. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the state makes a substantial, annual investment in preschool, infant and toddler, and schoolage child development programs for eligible families. It is in the best interests of children and their families, and the taxpayers of California, to have information about the development and learning abilities of children developed in these settings, health and other information transferred to, or otherwise available to, the pupil's elementary school. (b) When a child in a state-funded preschool or infant and toddler program will be transferring to a local public school, the preschool or infant and toddler program shall provide the parent or guardian with information from the previous year deemed beneficial to the pupil and the public school teacher, including, but not limited to, development issues, social interaction abilities, health background, and diagnostic assessments, if any. The preschool or infant and toddler program, with the permission of the parent or guardian, may transfer this information to the pupil's elementary school. (c) A child who has participated in a state subsidized preschool that maintains results-based standards, including the desired results accountability system, may have the performance information transferred to any subsequent or concurrent public school setting. The transferred information shall be in summary form and only accomplished with the permission of the parent or guardian. (d) The information transfer form also may include information that the Superintendent deems appropriate and helpful to the public school teacher, including the child's or family's eligibility for or participation in other public support programs, whether the child has an individualized education plan or has received a diagnosis for any type of special services, or whether the child is an English language learner, in need of remedial assistance, an after school program, special transportation, or full-day child care. SEC. 2. Section 8283 is added to the Education Code, to read: 8283. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that a procedure for preschool information transfer to public schools be established. The preschool information transfer system shall be flexible to meet local needs and standardized enough to meet state data system and pupil tracking needs. (b) The Superintendent shall convene a stakeholder group to determine current methods used by some preschools to transfer information, best practices, impediments, and any new strategies for implementing preschool information transfer. The stakeholder group shall be appointed by the Superintendent and shall include, but is not limited to, the following: (1) An administrator from a preschool operated by a local educational agency. (2) An administrator from a preschool operated by a nonprofit, community-based organization. (3) An administrator from a preschool operated by a private organization. (4) An administrator from a federal Head Start contracting organization. (5) A representative of kindergarten teachers. (6) A representative of county superintendents of schools. (7) State Department of Education staff. (c) The stakeholder group shall make recommendations to the Superintendent by December 31, 2009. (d) The Superintendent shall explore the extent to which preschool summary information may be integrated into the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. (e) The Superintendent shall report to the Legislature by March 1, 2010, on the implementation of a statewide preschool information transfer system including, but not limited to, best methods, costs, and the integration of preschool information into the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. SEC. 3. Section 8499.10 of the Education Code is amended to read: 8499.10. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The Congress has recognized the importance of the transfer from preschool to primary school. Section 642A of Title VI of Subtitle A of Chapter 8 of Subchapter B of the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35) was enacted to require grantees of federal Head Start funds to take steps to coordinate with and involve the local educational agency serving the community, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (1) Developing and implementing a systematic procedure for transferring, with parental or guardian consent, Head Start program records for each participating child to the school in which the child will enroll. (2) Establishing channels of communication between Head Start staff and their counterparts in the schools, including, but not limited to, teachers, social workers, and health staff, to facilitate the coordination of programs. (3) Conducting meetings involving parents, kindergarten or elementary school teachers, and Head Start program teachers to discuss the educational, developmental, and other needs of individual children. (4) Organizing and participating in joint transition-related training of school staff and Head Start staff. (5) Developing and implementing a family outreach and support program in cooperation with entities carrying out parental involvement efforts under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.). (6) Assisting families, administrators, and teachers in enhancing educational and developmental continuity between Head Start services and elementary school classes. (7) Linking the services provided in the Head Start program with the education services provided by the local educational agency. (b) The Superintendent may include information from children in Head Start programs in the information transfer developed pursuant to Section 8283, provided that consent is obtained from the child's parent or guardian.SEC. 4.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order that the child care program needs of the state be addressed as soon as possible, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.