BILL NUMBER: AB 495	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 13, 2009
	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   early childhood
education  .



	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 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
  by January 1, 2011, specified data relating to early
childhood education on its DataQuest Internet Web site, and any
successor system. This data would be required to be updated at least
every 2 years  .
   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. 
   (g) Early childhood education is an integral part of the state's
education system. 
  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   Early
Childhood Education 


   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.  
   32436.  (a) By January 1, 2011, the department shall post, at a
minimum, statewide and county-level data on the availability and need
of child care and child development programs for infants, toddlers,
and preschoolaged children on its DataQuest Internet Web site. This
data shall be updated no less than every two years.
   (b) This data referred in subdivision (a) shall also be included
in any future system that the department creates to replace or
upgrade the DataQuest system.