BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1042
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Hancock |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |February 12, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: March 30, 2016 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: | Yes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Child care: state preschool programs: age of
eligibility
SUMMARY
This bill expands eligibility for the California State Preschool
Program (CSPP) by adjusting the date of eligibility by three
months to include younger three-year-olds.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Establishes the CSPP for purposes of providing part-day
and full-day educational development programs to three- and
four-year-old children.
(Education Code § 8235)
2) Specifies that children are eligible for a CSPP if the
family currently receives aid, meets specified income
eligibility requirements, is homeless, or if the child is
the recipient of protective services, or has been
identified as neglected, abused or exploited (or at risk of
such). (EC § 8263)
3) Requires that a child enrolled in a CSPP be three- or
four-years-old on or before September 1st, of that fiscal
year. (EC § 8208)
SB 1042 (Hancock) Page 2
of ?
4) Further, requires a CSPP to prioritize service in the
following order:
a) Three- and four-year-olds who are neglected or
abused.
b) Eligible four-year-old children who are not
enrolled in a Transitional Kindergarten program.
c) Eligible three-year-olds. (EC § 8236)
ANALYSIS
1) This bill expands eligibility for the California State
Preschool Program (CSPP) by adjusting the date of
eligibility by three months to include younger
three-year-olds Specifically it:
a) Revises the definition in statute for
"Three-year-old children," to mean children who will
have their third birthday on or before December 1st,
of the fiscal year in which they are enrolled in a
CSPP, rather than on or before September 1st.
b) Deletes obsolete provisions that
phase-in enrollment-age requirements for California
state preschool program (CSPP).
c) Makes non-substantive technical
amendments.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. Prior to the implementation of
Transitional Kindergarten (TK), three-year-old children
were eligible to enroll in CSPP if their third birthday
fell on or before December 2nd of that fiscal year. To
align with the TK enrollment dates, the CSPP cutoff dates
shifted to September 1st. According to the author, with
more families enrolling four-year old children in TK, some
state preschool providers struggle to fill their programs
with eligible four-year-olds. This bill aims to provide
eligible children who turn three on or before December 1st
the opportunity to attend a CSPP while giving providers the
SB 1042 (Hancock) Page 3
of ?
ability to fill slots that otherwise would remain vacant.
2) Slots and priority. This bill does not increase the number
of slots for CSPP but rather seeks to give providers the
ability to fill existing slots with younger three-year
olds. Children considered to be at-risk and eligible
four-year-olds would continue to have priority in the
program. Recent data shows that four-year-old children
represent the majority of children in state preschool
programs at 56% full-day, and 64% part-day, followed by
three-year olds at 29% full-day and 19% part-day, with the
remaining population being five-year olds at 15% full-day
and 17% part-day.
In the absence of this bill, this funding would be
forfeited and returned to the state for possible
reallocation to other general fund purposes. While
preserving these funds for child care purposes is
reasonable, the committee may wish to consider whether
policy should focus on expansion of eligibility to include
younger children, or reallocation of slots (i.e.
redistribution of funds) to providers who are unable to
serve all eligible four-year olds.
3) Related budget activity. The Governor's Budget proposes to
create an Early Education Block Grant by consolidating Prop
98 funding for State Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten,
and the Preschool Quality Rating and Improvement System.
The Block Grant concept is very similar to the Local
Control Funding Formula in that distribution of funds would
be based on population and need. However, the Block Grant
proposal is still a work in progress and the administration
plans to unveil the remaining details of the program in the
coming months. Separate from the Governor's proposal, this
bill would adjust eligibility requirements for CSPP while
maintaining the existing priority requirements.
SUPPORT
Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council
Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement
Berkeley Unified School District
California Community College Early Childhood Educators
California Head Start Association
SB 1042 (Hancock) Page 4
of ?
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization
Kidango, Inc.
Rio Hondo College Child Development Center
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson
The Salvation Army
OPPOSITION
None received.
-- END --