BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 837|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 837
Author: Steinberg (D), et al.
Amended: 5/28/14
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-1, 4/9/14
AYES: Liu, Block, Galgiani, Hancock, Hueso, Monning
NOES: Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Correa
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SUBJECT : California Prekindergarten Program
SOURCE : Early Edge California
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Superintendent of Public Instruction
DIGEST : This bill establishes the California Pre-Kindergarten
Program (CPKP), with specific requirements for local education
agencies to provide certain programming, and to meet quality
standards. The statewide CPKP targets low-income and English
learner four-year-olds, and specifies eligibility requirements,
and requires the expansion to be funded annually by the
Legislature.
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ANALYSIS :
Transitional Kindergarten
Existing law:
1.Establishes compulsory education, requiring children to attend
school from age 6-18.
2.Requires a child to be admitted to kindergarten if the child
will have his/her fifth birthday on or before one of the
following dates:
A. December 2 of the 2011-12 school year.
B. November 1 of the 2012-13 school year.
C. October 1 of the 2013-14 school year.
D. September 1 of the 2014-15 school year and each year
thereafter.
1.Defines "TK" as the first year of a two-year kindergarten
program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is
age and developmentally appropriate.
2.Requires schools, as a condition of receiving apportionments
for TK, to:
A. Admit to TK in the 2012-13 school year a child who will
have his/her fifth birthday between November 2 and December
2.
B. Admit to TK in the 2013-14 school year a child who will
have his/her fifth birthday between October 2 and December
2.
C. Admit to TK in the 2014-15 school year, and each year
thereafter, a child who will have his/her fifth birthday
between September 2 and December 2.
State Preschool
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Existing law:
1.Establishes the California 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.
2.Provides that three- and four-year old children are eligible
for State Preschool if the family meets one of the following:
A. Current CalWORKs recipient.
B. Income eligible.
C. Children are recipients of protective services (abused,
neglected or exploited or at risk of being abused,
neglected or exploited).
1.Provides that three- and four-year olds are eligible for
wraparound child care services to supplement part-day State
Preschool if the family is eligible for State Preschool and
the parents need care for at least one of the following
reasons:
A. The child is a recipient of protective services, or at
risk.
B. The parents are engaged in vocational training, as
specified, employed or seeking employment, seeking
permanent housing, or are incapacitated.
This bill:
1.Establishes, starting in the 2015-16 school year, establishes
the CPKP to do all of the following:
A. Support all children in developing the skills needed to
build a strong foundation for success in school and life.
These skills shall be based on developmental domains
outlined in the California Preschool Learning Foundations
developed by the Department of Education, and to include,
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but not be limited to, all of the following:
1) Cognitive skills such as language, early
literacy, and numeracy.
2) Social-emotional skills such as perseverance,
self-control, self-esteem, motivation, and
conscientiousness.
3) Physical skills such as gross and fine motor
development, and healthy eating habits.
4) English language development for non-English
speakers.
A. Provide an environment that is appropriate for the age,
development, and linguistic abilities of the eligible
children.
B. Build on high-quality early learning and child care
programs, including federal Head Start programs, to sustain
and support the cognitive, social-emotional, and physical
development that children achieve while attending
prekindergarten programs.
1.Requires a child be eligible to attend prekindergarten if both
of the following are met:
A. The child is eligible for free or reduced-price meals,
as specified.
B. The child is not eligible to enroll in a kindergarten
school and, commencing with the 2015-16 school year, will
have his/her fourth birthday on or before September 1 of
the applicable school year.
1.Provides that federal funding for preschool programs, and
state funding annually appropriated in the Budget Act for the
support of state preschool programs other than the program
required by this article, to be used to provide services for
eligible three-, four-, and five-year-old children, including,
but not limited to, augmenting prekindergarten to provide
full-day, full-year learning and child care services for
participants, as specified.
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2.Requires all prekindergarten classes be taught by a teacher
who possesses a permit or credential issued by the Commission
on Teacher Credentialing, as specified.
3.Requires, on or before July 1, 2015, the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing, in collaboration with the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, the California Community Colleges, the
California State University, private postsecondary educational
institutions, and the University of California, if it chooses
to participate, establish a workforce development plan for
prekindergarten teachers and paraprofessionals, and the
administrators who supervise them, that recommends the steps
necessary to provide adequate opportunities and resources for
existing and prospective early childhood educators to obtain
the necessary qualifications on or before July 1, 2021.
4.Adds children having access to, and are enrolled in, quality
preschool opportunities in the year before kindergarten,
either through a prekindergarten program or other preschool
programs as a state priority.
Comments
According to the author's office, in a multi-year strategy to
bridge achievement gaps and renew and strengthen early learning
and care opportunities for all low- income children in
California, the Senate proposes to make strategic adjustments to
existing programs and modest new investments, starting in the
2014-15 budget year. At full implementation in 2019-20, the
Fair Start plan offers 234,000 low-income four-year-olds access
to high-quality pre-kindergarten, representing nearly half of
all four-year-olds in California. Four-year-old children with
at least one working parent from low-income families would be
eligible for full-day pre-kindergarten and 77,000 are expected
to take advantage of that full-day opportunity. The transition
would begin to take effect in fall 2015 at a modest additional
cost of $378 million.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the most
substantial costs of this bill will be enrollment costs to
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expand Pre-Kindergarten. The expansion is contingent on the
availability of Budget funding, and potential fee revenue.
State costs will also depend on the degree to which children who
access CPKP would have participated in another child care
program absent this bill, and the degree of state financial
participation in that program.
Average Daily Attendance (ADA): Potentially substantial
increase in ADA costs, likely in the hundreds of millions of
dollars annually, to expand full and part-day pre-school
programs. Enrollment is likely to increase substantially over
time as families become aware of their program eligibility,
and the process is streamlined.
Facilities: Unknown, potentially substantial costs to schools
to construct new classrooms or purchase portables.
Teacher qualifications: Potentially substantial state cost
pressure to ensure capacity in California community colleges
and public university teacher credentialing programs to
provide the training that teachers and paraprofessionals will
require by 2021.
State administration: Significant costs, likely in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars for the California Department
of Education to promulgate regulations, provide technical
assistance to local education agencies, and collaborate with
the Commission on Teaching Credentialing on a workforce
development plan. The Department also estimates that it
requires two personnel years at the Education Programs
Consultant level to staff the regulation promulgation process,
which could take 6-12 months.
Professional development: Significant local cost pressure.
Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs): Potentially
significant local costs (and state cost pressure) to
incorporate this program into a local education agency's LCAP.
California State Preschool Program: Potentially substantial
costs to meet higher quality standards and training
requirements, and to increase the reimbursement rate for
certain programs.
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SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/14)
Early Edge California (co-source)
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce (co-source)
Superintendent of Public Instruction (co-source)
PQ:nl 5/28/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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