BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          Date of Hearing:   July 15, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          SB 311  
          (Beall) - As Amended July 6, 2015


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          Urgency:  Yes State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:  This bill authorizes the Alum Rock Union Elementary  
          School District (ARUESD) to develop and implement an  
          individualized plan to provide preschool services within a  
          transitional kindergarten (TK) classroom on a five year pilot  
          basis through June 30, 2021.  Specifically, this bill:










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          1)Authorizes ARUESD and a preschool program (Kidango) to develop  
            the pilot, pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).   
            Requires the MOU to clarify the use of facilities, shared  
            goals of the pilot project, and responsibilities of both  
            parties.


          2)Requires ARUESD and the preschool program to consult with the  
            Santa Clara Office of Education and First 5 of Santa Clara  
            County in the development of the individualized part day  
            preschool plan for children residing in the district.


          3)Requires the plan to include the following:


             a)   Elements to address local needs, conditions, and  
               priorities of families in the school district for purposes  
               of preparing children for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12,  
               inclusive.


             b)   Increased access to preschool in the school district to  
               prepare children for transitional kindergarten and  
               kindergarten.


             c)   The provision of supplemental services to children in  
               transitional kindergarten.


             d)   The provision of parent education, parent engagement,  
               and family support services.


             e)   Systems to facilitate transition of children and their  
               families from a federal Head Start program and preschool to  
               transitional kindergarten and kindergarten.









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             f)   Collaboration between preschool, transitional  
               kindergarten and kindergarten teachers.





          4)Provides that a child is eligible to participate in the pilot  
            based on free and reduced-price meal (FRPM) eligibility,  
            participation in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program  
            or if the child is a foster youth.


          5)Authorizes children up to the age of admission to kindergarten  
            to participate in the pilot program.


          6)Requires the pilot project plan to be submitted to the  
            governing board of the school district for approval.  Upon  
            approval by the governing board, the plan or modifications to  
            the plan shall be submitted to California Department of  
            Education (CDE) for review. CDE shall either approve or  
            disapprove the plan, or modifications to the plan, within 30  
            days of receipt of the plan.


          7)Requires the ARUESD and the preschool program to submit  
            interim reporting requirements to the Legislature and CDE  
            demonstrating if the program increased enrollment of children  
            eligible for FRPM and increased provision of child development  
            services.  Further requires the district and the preschool, in  
            consultation with the Santa Clara County Office of Education  
            and First 5 of Santa Clara County, to submit a report to the  
            Legislature and CDE on or before December 31, 2020,  
            recommending if the program should continue.


          8)Specifies no additional state funds shall be used for purposes  








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            of implementing the pilot program.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)This bill specifies no additional state funding shall be used  
            to implement the program; however, this bill effectively  
            prevents a reversion of preschool dollars, potentially in the  
            range of $170,000 to $860,000, thus a potential loss of  
            Proposition 98/GF.  


            The preschool provider subject to this pilot plans to  
            repurpose an existing California State Preschool Program  
            (CSPP) grant to pay for the services under the pilot. The  
            pilot expands eligibility to serve children up to five years  
            old and changes income eligibility requirements. These changes  
            increase the likelihood that the preschool provider will  
            utilize a greater portion of their CSPP grant. Currently, CDE  
            predicts this provider will only utilize 84% of their existing  
            $13.8 million state contract. Traditionally, early education  
            dollars that revert to the state have been reallocated to  
            serve other early care needs in high need communities.


          2)Proposition 98/GF cost pressure, potentially in the millions,  
            to expand age and income eligibility for CSPP program grantees  
            throughout the state. 


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. The CSPP offers part-day and full-day preschool  
            programs through contracts with local educational agencies,  
            private contractors, and colleges.  Part-day preschool  
            operates three hours per day for 175 days.  The General Child  
            Care program provides "wrap around" to provide full-day care.   








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            The 2015-16 Budget Act provides 9,500 new slots to the CSPP  
            part-day and full-day programs.    

            Under current law, priority for enrollment for CSPP goes to  
            four- or three-year-old neglected or abused children who are  
            recipients of Child Protective Services or recipients who are  
            at risk of being neglected or abused, without regard to  
            income.  Second priority goes to four-year-old children who  
            were enrolled in CSPP as a three-year-old, followed by  
            four-year-old children with the lowest income ranking.   
            Three-year-old children may be enrolled after four-year-olds  
            are enrolled.  

            This bill is sponsored by Kidango, a Bay Area early childhood  
            education and preschool provider.  In May of 2015, Kidango was  
            awarded $866,400 in CSPP funding to serve 96 children (ages  
            three and four) in a full-day preschool setting. The sponsor  
            indicates their goal is to instead use these funds to provide  
            part-day services within ARUESD for transitional kindergarten  
            students using ARUESD classroom facilities.   Existing CDE  
            guidance does not currently allow CSPP contracts to provide  
            before or after school services for transitional kindergarten.  


            The bill also expands eligibility by allowing families to use  
            FRPM eligibility (which allows families to self-certify),  
            participation in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program  
            or a child's status as a foster youth for purposes of CSPP  
            funding.  Currently, eligibility is determined using the CSPP  
            application and income eligibility of 70% of the State Median  
            Income (SMI). According to the author, this process is overly  
            burdensome and time consuming. 

          2)Existing law options for expanding transitional kindergarten.  
            Current law authorizes a number of options to provide an  
            extended day to transitional kindergarten students.  Current  
            regulations authorize children enrolled in transitional  
            kindergarten who are in need of before or after school  
            services to be enrolled in the General Child Care and  








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            Alternative Payment Programs.  School districts can also seek  
            state after school program funds or use local control funding  
            formula dollars for this purpose.  It is not clear to what  
            extent the ARUESD has pursued these other options.


          3)Urgency. According to the author, this bill is urgent because  
            the district is attempting to implement the program in the  
            2015-16 school year. According to the ARUESD website, the  
            school year begins August 26.   Even if the bill were signed  
            by mid-July, current provisions in the bill make it highly  
            unlikely the program would be implemented by August. The bill  
            requires a plan developed by the school district and Kidango  
            to be approved by the ARUESD governing board and the CDE.   
            Once the plan is submitted to the CDE, the department has 30  
            days to review and to approve, or disapprove the plan.  


          4)Other pilots.  The Legislature has authorized other pilot  
            projects in San Mateo County and the city of county of San  
            Francisco that provide limited local flexibility to adjust  
            eligibility rules, provider rates and family fees to  
            accommodate higher cost of living and higher cost to provide  
            care in these areas.  AB 833 (Bonta), on Suspense in the  
            Senate Appropriations Committee, authorizes Alameda to  
            establish a similar pilot.  This bill is different than the  
            other pilots in that it only applies to CSPP and not all early  
            development programs, and the flexibilities granted by this  
            bill are limited to funds received by one agency rather than  
            on a countywide basis.             


          Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081














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