BILL NUMBER: AB 495	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 22, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 13, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Davis
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Fuentes,   Mendoza,   Portantino,  
and Torlakson   ) 
    (   Coauthor:   Senator   Liu
  ) 

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2009

   An act to add Article 14 (commencing with Section 32436) to
Chapter 3 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
relating to preschool.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 495, as amended, Davis. Preschool: data collection.
   Existing law provides for the licensure of child day care centers,
including centers that provide preschool services. Existing law
states the intent of the Legislature that all families have access to
child care and development services, through resource and referral
services, where appropriate, regardless of ethnic status, cultural
background, or special needs. 
   This bill would require the State Department of Education, in
consultation with the State Department of Social Services and the
Legislative Analyst's Office, to annually determine the number of 3-
and 4-year-old children in the state and in each county, the number
of licensed providers offering preschool services, and the number of
children that each licensed provider could accommodate with respect
to preschool services. The bill would require the department to post
this data on the most appropriate of its Internet Web sites, and to
update this data on the Internet Web site annually.  
   This bill would require the State Department of Education to post,
on a specified section of its Internet Web site, the number of
preschoolage children and the number of preschool slots on a state
and county-by-county basis, using data from the California Child Care
Portfolio published by the California Child Care Resource & Referral
Network. The bill would require the department to update the data
when the California Child Care Portfolio is updated. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) A child's participation in a quality preschool educational
program plays a critical role in his or her educational development
and success in school. Studies have shown that children who
participate in quality preschool programs are more likely to become
proficient readers by the third grade, graduate from high school, and
attend college than their peers who do not attend quality preschool
educational programs.
   (b) Scientific knowledge about child brain development confirms
the importance of participation in quality preschool educational
programs. Ninety percent of brain growth occurs before age five,
before most children enroll in kindergarten.
   (c) Quality preschool education provides a crucial opportunity to
engage parents in the education of their children, and to create a
habit of parental involvement that will last throughout a child's
academic career.
   (d) Studies have shown that early education and intervention for
children with special needs in preschool reduce the need for costly
special education services in later years.
   (e) Quality preschool education helps English learners develop
their English language skills and meet school readiness goals.
   (f) There is a severe shortage of quality, affordable preschool
education providers in California, and California lags behind the
nation in preschool enrollment.
  SEC. 2.  Article 14 (commencing with Section 32436) is added to
Chapter 3 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
to read:

      Article 14.  Preschool Data


   32436.  (a) The department, in consultation with the State
Department of Social Services and the Legislative Analyst's Office,
shall annually determine the number of three- and four-year-old
children in the state and in each county, the number of licensed
providers offering preschool services, and the number of children
that each licensed provider could accommodate with respect to
preschool services.
   (b) The department shall post the data specified in subdivision
(a) on the most appropriate of its Internet Web sites, and shall
update this data on the Internet Web site annually.  
   32436.  (a) The department shall post the following preschool
information in the Data and Statistics section of its Internet Web
site using data from the California Child Care Portfolio published by
the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network:
   (1) The number of children two to five years of age, inclusive, on
a state and county-by-county basis.
   (2) The number of preschool slots on a state and county-by-county
basis.
   (b) The department shall update the data when the California Child
Care Portfolio is updated.