BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session AB 47 (McCarty) - State preschool program. ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: July 2, 2015 |Policy Vote: ED. 6 - 1 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: No | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 47 (McCarty) Page 1 of ? 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 AB 47 (McCarty) Page 2 of ? 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 AB 47 (McCarty) Page 3 of ? 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 AB 47 (McCarty) Page 4 of ? 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. -- END --