BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 47 (McCarty) - State preschool program.
          
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          |Version: July 2, 2015           |Policy Vote: ED. 6 - 1          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015   |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill requires that by January 1, 2017, all  
          children eligible for state subsidized child development  
          services that do not have access to transitional kindergarten  
          (TK) or the federal Head Start program, have access to the state  
          preschool program the year before they enter kindergarten,  
          contingent upon funding in the annual Budget Act.  This bill  
          also provides Legislative intent that funds be allocated to  
          expand the state preschool program to provide full day, full  
          year preschool for all eligible low-income children, as  
          specified.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           Cost pressures in the low hundreds of millions to provide all  
            eligible children that do not have access to TK or the federal  
            Head Start program access to the state preschool program the  
            year before they enter kindergarten.  A separate provision in  
            the bill that provides Legislative intent for State Preschool  







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            expansion could create cost pressures of over one billion  
            depending on its interpretation.  See staff comments.   
            (General Fund and Proposition 98)

           Administrative costs to the California Department of Education  
            (CDE) of 8.0 positions and about $917,000, including travel  
            costs for additional site visits.  (General Fund)


          Background:  Existing law establishes the state preschool program for  
          purposes of providing part-day and full-day developmentally  
          appropriate programs designed to facilitate the transition to  
          kindergarten for three- and four-year-old children in  
          educational development, health services, social services,  
          nutritional services, parent education and participation,  
          evaluation, and staff development.  Existing law requires that  
          first priority go to three- or four-year-old neglected or abused  
          children who are recipients of child protective services, or who  
          are at risk of being neglected, abused, or exploited upon  
          written referral from a legal, medical, or social service  
          agency.  After this priority is satisfied then the next priority  
          is given to eligible four-year-old children who are not enrolled  
          in a state-funded TK program before enrolling eligible  
          three-year-old children. (Education Code § 8235 and 8236)  The  
          General Child Care program provides the remainder of a full-day  
          program as well as additional days of care.
          Existing law defines TK as the first year of a two year  
          kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten  
          curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate, and  
          requires schools, as a condition of receiving apportionments for  
          TK, to admit a child who will have their fifth birthday between  
          September 2 and December 2.  (EC § 48000 (d))

          Head Start programs support children from birth to age five, in  
          centers, child care partner locations, and in their own homes.   
          Three- and four-year-old preschoolers made up over 80 percent of  
          the children served by Head Start last year.  Head Start  
          preschool services may be half-day or full-day.  Like the state  
          preschool program, Head Start provides wraparound services that  
          include early learning, health, and family well-being.  Head  
          Start programs prioritize enrollment for children in foster  
          care, children with disabilities, and children whose families  
          are homeless.  The state's Head Start program is the largest in  
          the nation and is administered through a system of 74 grantees  








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          and 88 delegate agencies.  The majority of these agencies also  
          have contracts with the CDE to administer general child care  
          and/or State Preschool programs.  Many of the programs are  
          located at the same site.

          Existing law requires a child to be admitted to kindergarten if  
          the child will have his or her fifth birthday on or before  
          September 1 of the school year.  (EC § 48000)

          The Budget Act of 2014 provided $67 million to add 7,500  
          full-day, full-year State Preschool slots and an additional $3  
          million for 4,000 more slots beginning June 15, 2015.  The  
          Budget Act of 2015 restores funding for 7,030 full-day preschool  
          slots effective January 1, 2016 for an estimated cost of $34.3  
          million ($30.9 million Proposition 98).  The budget also  
          includes $12.1 million in Proposition 98 funds for 2,500  
          additional part-day preschool slots.




          Proposed Law:  
            This bill requires that by January 1, 2017, all eligible  
          children, as specified, that do not have access to TK or the  
          federal Head Start program, have access to the state preschool  
          program the year before they enter kindergarten, if their  
          parents wish to enroll them and contingent upon funding in the  
          annual Budget Act.  

          This bill also provides Legislative intent that: (1) all  
          low-income children have access to either a state preschool  
          program or TK, and (2) funds be are allocated to expand the  
          state preschool program to provide full day, full year preschool  
          for all eligible low-income children who otherwise would not be  
          served in state preschool, TK, or the federal Head Start  
          program.


          Related  
          Legislation:  SB 858 (Chapter 32, Statutes of 2014), the  
          education omnibus trailer bill, included Legislative intent: (1)  
          to provide quality preschool opportunities for all low-income  
          children whose families wish to enroll them, and (2) that the  
          state provide all low-income four-year-old children from working  








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          families with full-day, full-year early education and care.


          Staff  
          Comments:  This bill guarantees all eligible children access to  
          the state preschool program the year before they enter  
          kindergarten if the following apply: (1) they do not have access  
          to TK or the federal Head Start program; (2) their parents wish  
          to enroll them; and (3) if there is an appropriation in the  
          annual Budget Act for this purpose.  Ultimately, costs will  
          depend on the number of children currently not being served,  
          funding made available, and parental choice.  Assuming half of  
          the approximately 35,000 eligible four-year-olds in California  
          not served by TK, the state preschool program, or federal Head  
          Start would qualify and receive full-day, full-year preschool  
          (at a rate of $9,633) and the other half would receive part-day  
          preschool (at a rate of $4,177), costs could be roughly $240  
          million.  
          This bill also provides Legislative intent that funds be  
          allocated to expand the state preschool program to provide  
          full-day, full-year preschool for all eligible low-income  
          children who otherwise would not be served in state preschool,  
          TK, or the federal Head Start program.  This provision could be  
          interpreted to expand full-day preschool to all eligible  
          three-year-olds, in conflict with the provision described above.  
           Including three-year-olds could require an additional roughly  
          $740 million, assuming half are eligible for full-day preschool.  
           However, because this provision specifically calls out  
          full-day, full-year preschool, intent could be interpreted to  
          provide full-day, full-year preschool to all low-income children  
          regardless of whether the family establishes a need, such as the  
          parents working.  This interpretation would significantly  
          increase cost pressures by roughly another $387 million.   
          Depending on how this provision is interpreted, cost pressures  
          could range significantly from the high hundreds of millions to  
          over one billion.


          This bill is related to the Legislative intent provided in SB  
          858, though not identical.  One main difference appears to be  
          that this bill includes intent to provide full day, full year  
          preschool to both eligible three- and four-year-olds whereas SB  
          858 seems to only apply to four-year-olds.  It is unclear how  
          intent language of SB 858 and this bill would interact with one  








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          another.


          The CDE indicates that this bill would likely drive  
          administrative costs of about 8.0 positions and over $900,000,  
          ongoing.  With these positions, the CDE would address such  
          things as increases in the number of contracts, apportionments,  
          and the need for technical assistance; and workload related to  
          verifying eligibility and attendance, site visits, and contract  
          monitoring.  The CDE would issue a request for applications for  
          available funding for state preschool slots and then allocate  
          funds to qualified contractors.  


          It is unclear what the response would be from the field and  
          whether they will be able to provide additional children  
          preschool services, as required by this bill, if funding is  
          provided in the budget.  Also, the expanded access to preschool  
          could drive cost pressures at the local level for such things as  
          additional facilities for instruction to take place.




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