SF 3300

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education; providing funding for early childhood and family
education; allocating Head Start funds; educating new parents; extending early
childhood and family education programs and providing for grants; providing for
a kindergarten readiness assessment and intervention pilot program; providing for
a grant program for child care providers to offer school readiness; appropriating
money: amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 119A.50, subdivision 1;
119A.52; 119A.53; 119A.545; 124D.13, subdivisions 2, 3; Laws 2005, First
Special Session chapter 5, article 7, section 20, subdivision 5; proposing coding
for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 119A; 124D; repealing Minnesota
Statutes 2004, section 119A.51.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 119A.50, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Department of Education.

The Department of Education is the
state agency responsible for administering the Head Start program. The commissioner
of education may make grants shall allocate funds according to the formula in section
119A.52 to public or private nonprofit agencies for the purpose of providing supplemental
funds for the federal Head Start program.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 119A.52, is amended to read:

119A.52 DISTRIBUTION OF APPROPRIATION AND PROGRAM
COORDINATION.

The commissioner of education must distribute shall allocate money appropriated
for that purpose to federally designated Head Start program grantees programs to expand
services and to serve additional low-income children. Money must be allocated to each
project Head Start grantee in existence on the effective date of Laws 1989, chapter 282.
Migrant and Indian reservation grantees programs must be initially allocated money
based on the grantees' programs' share of federal funds. The remaining money must be
initially allocated to the remaining local agencies based equally on the agencies' share of
federal funds and on the proportion of eligible children in the agencies' service area who
are not currently being served. upon the program's portion of eligible children not being
served within the geographic service area. Programs whose federal allocation exceeds
the number of eligible children within the geographic service area shall not receive an
allocation of state funds. A Head Start grantee program receiving an allocation of state
funds must be funded at a per child rate equal to its contracted, federally funded base level
for program accounts 20, 22, and 25 at the start of the fiscal year. In allocating funds under
this paragraph, the commissioner of education must assure that each Head Start grantee is
allocated no less funding in any fiscal year than was allocated to that grantee in fiscal year
1993. The commissioner may provide additional funding to grantees for start-up costs
incurred by grantees due to the increased number of children to be served. Before paying
money to the grantees programs, the commissioner must notify each grantee program of
its initial allocation, how the money must be used, and the number of low-income children
that must to be served with the allocation based upon the federally funded per child rate.
Each grantee program must present a work plan to the commissioner for approval. The
work plan must include the estimated number of low-income children and families it will
be able to serve, a description of the program design and service delivery area which
meets the needs of and encourages access by low-income working families, a program
design that ensures fair and equitable access to Head Start services for all populations and
parts of the service area, and a plan for coordinating services to maximize assistance for
child care costs available to families under chapter 119B. on the forms prescribed by
the commissioner under section 119A.535. Payments to programs shall be based on
the reported number of children actually served at the federally funded per child rate.
Programs shall be allowed to receive an advance of 25 percent of the total allocation at
the beginning of each fiscal year. For any grantee program that is not demonstrating
under section 119A.536, that they will actually serve the number of children the program
is funded to serve and therefor cannot utilize its full allocation, the commissioner must
reduce the allocation proportionately. Money available after the initial allocations are
reduced must be redistributed to eligible grantees programs demonstrating ability to serve
additional children. The redistribution of funds shall occur according to a schedule
determined by the commissioner.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 119A.53, is amended to read:

119A.53 FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.

Grantees Programs and the commissioner shall comply with federal regulations
governing the federal Head Start program, except for funding for innovative initiatives
under section 119A.52, which may be used to operate differently than federal Head
Start regulations. If a state statute or rule conflicts with a federal statute or regulation,
the state statute or rule prevails.

Sec. 4.

[119A.535] APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.

Eligible Head Start organizations must submit a plan to the department for approval
on a form and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner. The plan must include:

(1) the estimated number of low-income children and families the program will be
able to serve;

(2) a description of the program design and service delivery area which meets the
needs of and encourages access by low-income working families;

(3) a program design that ensures fair and equitable access to Head Start services for
all populations and parts of the service area; and

(4) a plan for coordinating services to maximize assistance for child care costs
available to families under chapter 119B.

Sec. 5.

[119A.536] REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

Programs receiving Head Start funds must report to the commissioner the number of
children actually served according to the schedule determined and forms prescribed by
the commissioner.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 119A.545, is amended to read:

119A.545 AUTHORITY TO WAIVE REQUIREMENTS DURING DISASTER
PERIODS.

The commissioner of education may waive requirements under sections 119A.50
to 119A.53 119A.535, for up to nine months after the disaster, for Head Start grantees
programs in areas where a federal disaster has been declared under United States Code,
title 42, section 5121, et seq., or the governor has exercised authority under chapter 12.
The commissioner shall notify the chairs of the appropriate senate Family and Early
Childhood Education Budget Division, the senate Education Finance Committee, the and
house Family and Early Childhood Education Finance Division, the house Education
Committee, and the house Ways and Means Committee committees ten days before the
effective date of any waiver granted under this section.

Sec. 7.

[124D.129] EDUCATE PARENTS PARTNERSHIP.

The commissioner must work in partnership with health care providers and
community organizations to provide parent education information to parents of newborns
at the time of birth. The commissioner must coordinate the partnership and the distribution
of informational material to the parents of newborns before they leave the hospital.
The commissioner must develop a resource Web site that promotes, at a minimum, the
department Web site for information and links to resources on child development, parent
education, child care, and consumer safety information.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 124D.13, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Program characteristics.

(a) Early childhood family education programs
are programs for children in the period of life from birth to kindergarten, for the parents
and other relatives of such these children, and for expectant parents. To the extent
that funds are insufficient to provide programs for all children, early childhood family
education programs should emphasize programming for a child from birth to age three
and encourage parents and other relatives to involve four- and five-year-old children in
school readiness programs, and other public and nonpublic early learning programs. Early
childhood family education programs may include the following:

(1) programs to educate parents and other relatives about the physical, mental,
and emotional development of children;

(2) programs to enhance the skills of parents and other relatives in providing for
their children's learning and development;

(3) learning experiences for children and parents and other relatives that promote
children's development;

(4) activities designed to detect children's physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral
problems that may cause learning problems;

(5) activities and materials designed to encourage self-esteem, skills, and behavior
that prevent sexual and other interpersonal violence;

(6) educational materials which may be borrowed for home use;

(7) information on related community resources;

(8) programs to prevent child abuse and neglect;

(9) other programs or activities to improve the health, development, and school
readiness of children; or

(10) activities designed to maximize development during infancy.

The programs must not include activities for children that do not require substantial
involvement of the children's parents or other relatives. The programs must be reviewed
periodically to assure the instruction and materials are not racially, culturally, or sexually
biased. The programs must encourage parents to be aware of practices that may affect
equitable development of children.

(b) For the purposes of this section, "relative" or "relatives" means noncustodial
grandparents or other persons related to a child by blood, marriage, adoption, or foster
placement, excluding parents.

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 124D.13, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Substantial parental involvement.

The requirement of substantial
parental or other relative involvement in subdivision 2 means that:

(a) parents or other relatives must be physically present much of the time in classes
with their children or be in concurrent classes;

(b) parenting education or family education must be an integral part of every early
childhood family education program;

(c) early childhood family education appropriations must not be used for traditional
day care or nursery school, or similar programs; and

(d) the form of parent involvement common to kindergarten, elementary school, or
early childhood special education programs such as parent conferences, newsletters, and
notes to parents do not qualify a program under subdivision 2.

Sec. 10.

[124D.137] EARLY CHILDHOOD AND FAMILY EDUCATION (ECFE)
PROGRAM GRANTS.

(a) A grant program is established to extend early childhood and family education
(ECFE) programs to licensed family child care providers as defined under section 245A.02
subdivision 19, and family, friend, and neighbor caregivers. ECFE programs may apply
for a grant to develop and implement a service model to assist child care providers and
caregivers to include an educational curriculum and developmental assessment appropriate
to the age of the children cared for by the provider or caregiver and parent education
support that the provider or caregiver can share with parents of the children.

(b) An ECFE program must submit an application to the commissioner in the form
and manner prescribed by the commissioner. The application must describe how the
applicant will develop and implement a service model. To the extent practicable, grant
recipients must be located throughout the state with at least one grant recipient in each of
the governor's economic development regions and each of the counties in the Minneapolis
and St. Paul metropolitan area. In addition to the geographical distribution of funds, the
commissioner shall consider the equitable distribution of grant funds to reflect the cultural
diversity of the service area.

Sec. 11.

[124D.162] KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT;
INTERVENTION PILOT PROGRAM.

Subdivision 1.

Assessment.

The commissioner of education must implement
a kindergarten readiness assessment representative of incoming kindergartners. The
assessment must be based on the Department of Education Kindergarten Readiness
Assessment at kindergarten entrance pilot study.

Subd. 2.

Intervention.

A school district that participates in the kindergarten
readiness assessment under subdivision 1 must establish a kindergarten readiness
intervention pilot program to provide additional instruction for children who are assessed
and identified as being not yet proficient in the developmental areas of language, literacy,
and mathematical thinking. Each child will have a locally determined intervention
strategy focusing the curriculum content on the individualized needs of that child. The
commissioner, at a district's request, must assist the district and the school to develop
the intervention program. At the end of the kindergarten school year, the district must
reassess each child who receives an intervention to evaluate the progress of the child
over the kindergarten year and the success of the intervention strategy developed for that
child. The district must report the results of the intervention and year-end assessment to
the commissioner.

Sec. 12.

[124D.163] GRANT PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL READINESS IN
CHILD CARE SETTINGS .

Subdivision 1.

Establishment.

A grant program is established to assist child care
centers, licensed family child care providers as defined under section 245A.02, and family,
friend, and neighbor caregivers to provide an educational component and implement
school readiness criteria in the child care setting.

Subd. 2.

Eligibility; application process.

(a) An applicant for a grant must be:

(1) a child care center eligible to participate in the federal Child and Adult Care
Food Program;

(2) licensed family child care provider as defined under section 245A.02;

(3) family, friend, or neighbor caregiver; or

(4) organization serving family, friend, or neighbor caregivers.

(b) An applicant must develop a plan to implement the school readiness program
requirements as described under section 124D.15, subdivision 3. The applicant must
submit an application to the commissioner of education in the form and manner determined
by the commissioner. The application must include a description of the applicant's plan
to implement the school readiness program requirements.

Subd. 3.

Grant review; award.

When reviewing an application, the commissioner
of education must determine whether all the requirements of subdivision 2 are met and
whether the applicant is able to implement its school readiness plan. The commissioner
may award grants to eligible applicants on a first come, first served basis to the extent that
funds are available. To the extent practicable, grant recipients must be located throughout
the state with at least one recipient in each of the governor's economic development
regions and each of the counties in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area. In
addition to the geographical distribution of funds, the commissioner must consider the
equitable distribution of grant funds to reflect the cultural diversity of the service area.

Subd. 4.

Grant proceeds; certification.

(a) A recipient must use the grant proceeds
to implement its school readiness plan. A recipient meeting the requirements of section
124D.15, subdivision 3, shall receive certification from the commissioner designating the
recipient as a child care provider or caregiver that provides an educational component and
promotes school readiness in the child care setting.

(b) The commissioner of education must publicize a list of all child care providers
and caregivers receiving certification under this subdivision. The commissioner of human
services must include the certified child care providers and caregivers in its child care
resource and referral database.

Subd. 5.

Report.

A grant recipient must demonstrate the impact of the educational
component and school readiness program requirements on the children in the child care
setting to the commissioner of education in a manner determined by the commissioner.

Sec. 13.

Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter 5, article 7, section 20, subdivision
5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5. Head Start program. For Head Start programs under Minnesota Statutes,
section 119A.52:

	$	19,100,000	.....	2006
	$	19,100,000	.....	2007

Any balance in the first year does not cancel but is available in the second year.

Sec. 14. APPROPRIATIONS.

Subdivision 1.

Department of Education.

The sums indicated in this section are
appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Education for the fiscal years
designated.

Subd. 2.

Educate parents.

For the Educate Parents Partnership under Minnesota
Statutes, section 124D.129:

The base for this program in fiscal year 2008 and later is $50,000.

$

80,000

.....

2007

Subd. 3.

School readiness in child care settings.

For grants to licensed family
child care providers and caregivers to implement school readiness programs under
Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.163:

$

6,100,000

.....

2007

Of this amount, $146,000 is to administer the grant program.

Subd. 4.

School readiness assessment and intervention pilot program.

For
the kindergarten readiness assessment and intervention pilot program under Minnesota
Statutes, section 124D.162:

$

1,787,000

.....

2007

Of this amount, $1,273,000 will be allocated to school districts at a rate of $1,000
per student identified as not yet proficient in language and literacy and $1,000 per student
identified as not yet proficient in mathematical thinking.

Of this amount, $514,000 is for the scoring of the student assessments, development,
and management of assessment database, teacher stipends, and training and technical
assistance to school districts.

Subd. 5.

Early childhood and family education program grants.

For grants to
extend early childhood and family education (ECFE) programs under Minnesota Statutes,
section 124D.137:

$

2,100,000

.....

2007

Of this amount, $124,000 is to administer the grant program and develop and
maintain a program database.

Sec. 15. REPEALER.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 119A.51, is repealed.