BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1902
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 1902 (Bonta) - As Amended: April 9, 2014
SUBJECT : California State Preschool Program: part-day
preschool: fee
SUMMARY : Repeals the requirement to assess and collect fees
for families with children in part-day preschool programs.
Eliminates the requirement for the report on fees collected from
families who have children enrolled in the California State
Preschool Program (CSPP) to report the amount of family fees
collected for the part-day preschool programs. Specifies that
the authority provided to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to establish a fee schedule shall not apply to
the part-day preschool program.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes eligibility for child care services and child
development programs administered by the California Department
of Education (CDE) and requires the SPI to adopt rules and
regulations on eligibility, enrollment and priority of
services needed for implementation (Education Code (EC)
Section 8263 et seq.).
2)Establishes the CSPP and provides that the programs shall
include, but not be limited to, part-day age and
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 parent
participation, evaluation, and staff development. (EC Section
8235)
3)Specifies the following regarding part-day CSPP:
a) Three- and four-year-old children are eligible if a
family meets at least one of the following criteria:
i) The family is on aid;
ii) The family is income eligible;
iii) The family is homeless; or,
AB 1902
Page 2
iv) The family is one whose children are recipients of
protective services, or whose children have been
identified as being abused, neglected, or exploited, or
at risk of being abused, neglected, or exploited.
b) Authorizes enrollment of children in families whose
income is no more than 15 percent above the income
eligibility threshold after all eligible three- and
four-year-old children have been enrolled. Specifies that
no more than 10 percent of children enrolled, calculated
throughout the entire contract, may be filled by children
in families above the income threshold.
c) Requires the part-day CSPP to operate for a minimum of
three hours per day and a minimum of 175 days per year,
unless the contract specifies fewer days.
d) Requires a participating part-day preschool program to
coordinate the provision of all of the following:
i) Opportunities for parents and legal guardians to
work with their children on interactive literacy
activities.
ii) Parenting education for parents and legal guardians
to support the development of their children's literacy
skills. Specifies the types of activities that
constitute parenting education.
iii) Staff development for teachers. (EC Section 8238)
4)Requires fees to be assessed and collected for families with
children in part-day CSPP, or families receiving wraparound
child care services, or both. (EC Section 8239 (e))
5)Requires the SPI to annually report to the Department of
Finance, on or before October 1 of each year, the fees
collected from families who have children enrolled in the
CSPP. Requires the report to distinguish between family fees
collected for part-day preschool programs and fees collected
for wraparound child care services. (EC Section 8239 (f))
6)Defines "income eligible" as a family whose adjusted monthly
income is at or below 70% of the state median income (SMI),
adjusted for family size, and adjusted annually. For the
2013-14 fiscal year, the income eligibility shall be 70% of
the SMI that was in use for the 2007-08 fiscal year, adjusted
AB 1902
Page 3
for family size. (EC Section 8263.1)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background on child care and development programs .
The CDE administers a child care and development system,
maintaining 1,401 service contracts with approximately 758
public and private agencies supporting and providing services to
children from birth through 12 years of age. Contractors include
school districts, county offices of education, cities, colleges,
other public entities, community-based organizations, and
private agencies. In fiscal year (FY) 2013-14, $2.1 billion was
provided for child care and development programs from state and
federal funds, enrolling an estimated 340,000 children. This is
down from $2.669 billion initially provided in the FY 2010-11
budget (prior to midyear trigger cuts) with almost 416,000
slots. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, overall
funding for the child care and development program has decreased
by almost $1 billion since 2008-09, with the elimination of
110,000 slots. The Governor's proposed FY 2014-15 budget
provides an increase of $66 million over FY 2013-14 funds for a
total of $2.2 billion for child care and development programs to
provide an estimated 343,000 child care and preschool slots.
CSPP . This bill repeals the requirement to assess and collect
fees for the part-day CSPP and the requirement to report the
corresponding amount collected in the annual report on fees
collected through the CSPP. The CSPP offers part-day and
full-day preschool programs through contracts with local
educational agencies, private contractors, and colleges. These
programs are required to comply with not just health and safety
standards under Title 22 regulations, but also higher
developmental and teacher qualification standards under Title 5
regulations adopted by the CDE. A part-day program operates at
a minimum of three hours per day. The FY 2014-15 proposed
budget for CSPP is $509 million for 136,755 slots, an increase
of 573 slots from the prior year. Priority for enrollment 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. Income eligibility
is 70% of the SMI ($46,896 for a family of four).
AB 1902
Page 4
Part-day CSPP fees . As part of the FY 2012-13 budget act, SB
1016 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 38,
Statutes of 2012, required fees to be assessed and collected for
the part-day preschool program, beginning July 1, 2012. The fee
is collected according to a family fee schedule based on the
income of the family and family size. For example, a family of
four earning $2,860 a month or $34,320 annually is assessed
$3.45 per day or $69 per month if the child attends daily. If
the family receives wrap around child care services in order to
get full day care, the family pays the full day fee. A child at
risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation; a family receiving child
protective services or a family that has a certification from a
county child welfare agency that child care services is
necessary; and a family receiving CalWORKs may be exempt from
family fees.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
| Family |
| Fee |
| Schedule |
-------------------------------------------------------------------
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Part?t| Full?t|Family |Family |Family |Family |Family |Family |Family |Family |Family |Family |Family |
| ime | ime | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Size | Size | Size | Size | Size | Size | Size | Size | Size | Size | Size |
| Daily |Daily | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fee |Fee | 1 or | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 1,820 | 1,950| 2,167 | 2,513 | 2,860| 2,925| 2,990| 3,055| 3,120 | 3,185| 3,250 |
|1.00 | 2.00 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 1,893 | 2,028| 2,253 | 2,614 | 2,974| 3,042| 3,109| 3,177| 3,245 | 3,312| 3,380 |
|1.25 | 2.50 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 1,965 | 2,106| 2,340 | 2,714 | 3,089| 3,159| 3,229| 3,299| 3,369 | 3,440| 3,510 |
|1.50 | 3.00 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,038 | 2,184| 2,426 | 2,815 | 3,203| 3,276| 3,349| 3,421| 3,494 | 3,567| 3,640 |
|1.75 | 3.50 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
AB 1902
Page 5
|$ | $ | 2,111 | 2,262| 2,513 | 2,915 | 3,317| 3,393| 3,468| 3,544| 3,619 | 3,694| 3,770 |
|2.00 | 4.00 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,184 | 2,340| 2,600 | 3,016 | 3,432| 3,510| 3,588| 3,666| 3,744 | 3,822| 3,900 |
|2.25 | 4.50 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,257 | 2,418| 2,686 | 3,116 | 3,546| 3,627| 3,707| 3,788| 3,869 | 3,949| 4,030 |
|2.65 | 5.30 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,329 | 2,496| 2,773 | 3,217 | 3,661| 3,744| 3,827| 3,910| 3,993 | 4,076| 4,160 |
|3.05 | 6.10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,402 | 2,574| 2,860 | 3,317 | 3,775| 3,861| 3,946| 4,032| 4,118 | 4,204| 4,290 |
|3.45 | 6.90 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,475 | 2,652| 2,946 | 3,418 | 3,889| 3,978| 4,066| 4,154| 4,243 | 4,331| 4,420 |
|3.85 | 7.70 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,548 | 2,730| 3,033 | 3,518 | 4,004| 4,095| 4,186| 4,277| 4,368 | 4,459| 4,550 |
|4.25 | 8.50 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,621 | 2,808| 3,120 | 3,619 | 4,118| 4,212| 4,305| 4,399| 4,492 | 4,586| 4,680 |
|4.65 | 9.30 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,693 | 2,886| 3,206 | 3,719 | 4,232| 4,329| 4,425| 4,521| 4,617 | 4,713| 4,810 |
|5.05 | 10.10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,766 | 2,964| 3,293 | 3,820 | 4,347| 4,446| 4,544| 4,643| 4,742 | 4,841| 4,940 |
|5.45 | 10.90 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,839 | 3,042| 3,380 | 3,920 | 4,461| 4,563| 4,664| 4,765| 4,867 | 4,968| 5,070 |
|5.85 | 11.70 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,912 | 3,120| 3,466 | 4,021 | 4,576| 4,680| 4,784| 4,888| 4,992 | 5,096| 5,200 |
|6.25 | 12.50 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 2,985 | 3,198| 3,553 | 4,122 | 4,690| 4,797| 4,903| 5,010| 5,116 | 5,223| 5,330 |
|6.65 | 13.30 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 3,057 | 3,276| 3,640 | 4,222 | 4,804| 4,914| 5,023| 5,132| 5,241 | 5,350| 5,460 |
|7.05 | 14.10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
| $ | $ | 3,130 | 3,354| 3,726 | 4,323| 4,919| 5,031| 5,142| 5,254| 5,366 | 5,478| 5,590 |
| 7.45 | 14.90 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
AB 1902
Page 6
| $ | $ | 3,203 | 3,374| 3,749 | 4,348| 4,948| 5,061| 5,173| 5,286| 5,398 | 5,510| 5,623 |
| 7.60 | 15.20 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | 3,283 | 3,393| 3,770 | 4,373 | 4,976| 5,089| 5,202| 5,315| 5,428 | 5,541| 5,655 |
|7.75 | 15.50 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | | 3,413| 3,792 | 4,399 | 5,006| 5,120| 5,233| 5,347| 5,461 | 5,575| 5,688 |
|7.90 | 15.80 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | | 3,432| 3,813 | 4,423 | 5,033| 5,148| 5,262| 5,376| 5,491 | 5,605| 5,720 |
|8.05 | 16.10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | | 3,518| 3,835 | 4,448 | 5,062| 5,177| 5,292| 5,407| 5,522 | 5,637| 5,752 |
|8.23 | 16.45 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | | | 3,856 | 4,473 | 5,090| 5,206| 5,322| 5,437| 5,553 | 5,669| 5,785 |
|8.43 | 16.85 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | | | 3,880 | 4,500 | 5,121| 5,237| 5,354| 5,470| 5,586 | 5,703| 5,819 |
|8.63 | 17.25 | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------|
|$ | $ | | | 3,908 | 4,534 | 5,159| 5,276| 5,394| 5,511| 5,628 | 5,745| 5,863 |
|8.88 | 17.75 | | | | | | | | | | | |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mont| | | | | | | | | | | |
| hly | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Inco| 3,283 | 3,518 | 3,908 | 4,534 | 5,159 | 5,276 | 5,394 | 5,511 | 5,628 | 5,745 |5,863 |
| me | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ceili| | | | | | | | | | | |
| ngs | | | | | | | | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: California Department of Education
Impact of family fees . According to contractors, the fee has
deterred families from enrolling in or remaining in the CSPP and
has resulted in a significant workload increase to assess and
collect the fee. Families that do enroll but are unable to pay
drop out of the program after a few months, some without ever
paying the fee. Contractors also report that they have slots
that are not filled due to the fees. An example: Options - A
Child Care and Human Services Agency located in southern
AB 1902
Page 7
California report that parents leave as soon as they learn of
the fee. As a result, Options has not been able to fill all of
their CSPP classes, has closed a number of classes this year and
anticipates closing additional classes next year. Additionally,
the agency reports that over 100 families have not kept up with
the fees and will be terminated from the program. These are low
income families that are financially strapped. According to the
CDE, almost 71.6% of families that participate in part-day CSPP
have incomes that are 40% or lower of the SMI.
Amount of fees collected . The CDE reports that between July and
December 2013, $5.372 million was collected from part-day
preschool program family fees. When annualized, the CDE
projects receiving $10.7 million a year. This does not result
fully in the expansion of slots. The budget was reduced by $3.4
million; an amount the Legislative Analyst's Office predicted
would be collected in fees.
Budget Subcommittee action last year . The Assembly Budget
Subcommittees 1 on Health and Human Services and 2 on Education
Finance approved a motion to repeal the part-day CSPP fee during
last year's budget hearings. It was not ultimately adopted in
the FY 2013-14 budget.
Revised fee schedule . AB 86 (Budget Committee), Chapter 48,
Statutes of 2013, required the SPI to modify the family fee
schedule. The fees are based on the same income levels, but
instead of a daily fee, the fee is a monthly amount based on the
number of hours, or the anticipated number of hours, required by
the family per month. The revised fee schedule is intended to
be easier to implement and is expected to be implemented
beginning July 1.
Arguments in support . The author states, "Family fees for
part-day preschool have reduced access to valuable early child
education programs by creating a financial hardship for families
and have generated a large administrative burden for CSPP
contractors, including the use of additional time and resources
to manage the high turnover in enrollment and the complex system
of collecting fees, which compromise the stability of the
classroom."
The California Children and Families Commission (First 5
California) states, "The imposition of this fee has caused an
undue burden on both families and on State Preschool programs.
AB 1902
Page 8
For low-income families eligible for state preschool services,
even a few dollars per day to pay for these fees can impose
significant cost resulting in fewer children receiving the high
quality early education services they need in order to be ready
for kindergarten, and to succeed in school and in life."
Research has shown that high quality early education programs
can affect future academic achievement. A 2009 report by the
RAND Corporation concludes that preschool can be a solution for
raising achievement overall and in narrowing achievement gaps
between groups of students.
Related legislation . SB 1123 (Liu), pending in the Senate,
modifies Title 5 general child care and development programs
serving children from birth to age three, including the
elimination of the part-day CSPP fees.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Child Development Administrators Association
(co-sponsor)
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson (co-sponsor)
Advancement Project
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council
Bakersfield City School District
California Child Care Resource and Referral Network
California Children and Families Commission
California Head Start Association
Chabot College Children's Center
Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles
Children Now
Community Action Marin
Community Child Care Council of Alameda County
Continuing Development Incorporated/Child Development Centers
Davis Street Family Resource Center
Early Edge California
Hughson State Preschool
Isla Vista Youth Projects
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
Kernville Union School District Preschool
Lake County Office of Education, Child Development Programs
Lemon Grove School District
Local Early Education Planning Council of Santa Clara County
AB 1902
Page 9
Options - A Child Care and Human Services Agency
Orange Children & Parents Together
Riverside Unified School District's Early Childhood Department
San Diego County Office of Education
San Mateo County Child Care Partnership Council
Santa Barbara County Child Care Planning Council
Shasta County Office of Education Early Childhood Services
Many individuals
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087