1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education finance; increasing funding for
1.3 	early education programs; appropriating money;
1.4 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 124D.135,
1.5 	subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in
1.6 	Minnesota Statutes, chapter 124D.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 124D.135,
1.9 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.10 		Subdivision 1.Revenue.  The revenue for early childhood
1.11 	family education programs for a school district equals $120 for
1.12 	fiscal years 2003 and 2004 and $96 for fiscal year 2005, $120
1.13 	for fiscal year 2006, and $125 for fiscal year 2007 and later,
1.14 	times the greater of:
1.15 	(1) 150; or
1.16 	(2) the number of people under five years of age residing
1.17 	in the district on October 1 of the previous school year.

1.18 	Sec. 2. [124D.175] MINNESOTA EARLY LEARNING FOUNDATION.
1.19 		Subdivision 1.Goal. The Minnesota Early Learning
1.20 	Foundation is a public-private partnership which shall identify
1.21 	cost-effective ways to deliver quality early care and education
1.22 	experiences and parent education for families whose children are
1.23 	at risk of being unprepared for school.  The partnership shall
1.24 	also develop infrastructure supports and accountability measures
1.25 	to increase quality of early care and education settings and
1.26 	build community capacity for school readiness.  The partnership
2.1 	shall evaluate the resulting benefits and long-term savings to
2.2 	the Minnesota economy and the effectiveness of strategies for
2.3 	increasing children's readiness for school at kindergarten
2.4 	entrance.
2.5 		Subd. 2.Board. The Minnesota Early Learning Foundation,
2.6 	once established under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
2.7 	Code, shall be governed by a board made up of public and private
2.8 	citizens with more than 50 percent of the members from the
2.9 	private sector.  The governor shall appoint the public sector
2.10 	members, including members from government, academia, and civil
2.11 	society.
2.12 	A review and planning advisory committee shall provide
2.13 	knowledgeable counsel and advice to the executive director and
2.14 	board for development of policies and procedures for the
2.15 	Minnesota Early Learning Foundation and review of cost-effective
2.16 	strategies for strengthening Minnesota's early care and
2.17 	education capabilities.  The committee shall include parents;
2.18 	representatives of the early care and education field,
2.19 	kindergarten through grade 12 education, and public libraries;
2.20 	and business leaders, and shall reflect the ethnic and
2.21 	geographic diversity of the state of Minnesota.
2.22 		Subd. 3.Matching funds; awards. The Minnesota Early
2.23 	Learning Foundation shall match dollars appropriated from the
2.24 	state with nonpublic dollars raised by the board.  The board
2.25 	shall award grants for:
2.26 	(1) projects, including pilot projects that demonstrate
2.27 	successful approaches to the delivery of early childhood
2.28 	services and parent education to low-income families;
2.29 	(2) scholarships to low-income families to access early
2.30 	childhood parent education and high-quality early learning
2.31 	programs for their children; and 
2.32 	(3) strategies to improve the quality of early care and
2.33 	education through early learning standards and assessment, a
2.34 	quality rating system, program improvement grants, and
2.35 	professional development grants.

2.36 	Sec. 3. SCHOOL READINESS KINDERGARTEN ASSESSMENT
3.1 	INITIATIVE.
 3.2 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. The commissioner of
3.3 	education shall establish a system for assessing the school
3.4 	readiness of children entering kindergarten, building on the two
3.5 	school readiness studies conducted by the Department of
3.6 	Education in 2002 and 2003.  The department shall also set
3.7 	biennial milestones for progress in the number of children
3.8 	reaching proficiency on all measures of the assessment.
3.9 		Subd. 2.Description. (a) The school readiness
3.10 	kindergarten assessment initiative must be implemented in all
3.11 	school districts in Minnesota on a voluntary basis over a
3.12 	five-year period.  The schedule for implementation is as follows:
3.13 	(1) fiscal year 2007, 6,000 entering kindergarteners;
3.14 	(2) fiscal year 2008, 18,000 entering kindergarteners;
3.15 	(3) fiscal year 2009, 30,000 entering kindergarteners;
3.16 	(4) fiscal year 2010, 45,000 entering kindergarteners; and 
3.17 	(5) fiscal year 2011, 60,000 entering kindergarteners.
3.18 	(b) Results of the assessment must be included in the
3.19 	annual school performance report cards under Minnesota Statutes,
3.20 	section 120B.36.
3.21 		Subd. 3.Evaluation and reporting. The commissioner
3.22 	shall evaluate the effectiveness of the data gathering system
3.23 	for implementing developmental assessments at kindergarten
3.24 	entrance on a school-by-school basis.  The commissioner shall
3.25 	report to the senate and house of representatives committees
3.26 	having jurisdiction over early childhood education on the
3.27 	progress toward reaching the milestones in odd-numbered years
3.28 	beginning with fiscal year 2007.

3.29 	Sec. 4. COORDINATION OF EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION
3.30 	PROGRAMS.
 3.31 	(a) The commissioners of education, human services, and
3.32 	health shall identify how they will coordinate activities and
3.33 	resources, with input from local communities and tribal
3.34 	governments, including setting priorities, aligning policies,
3.35 	and leveraging existing resources to achieve the goal for
3.36 	increased school readiness of all Minnesota children.  The
4.1 	commissioners shall report on the progress made, which must
4.2 	include information on:
4.3 	(1) coordinating and disseminating resources and
4.4 	information on school readiness and early care and education,
4.5 	health, and nutrition, including child mental health and family
4.6 	support to:
4.7 	(i) parents and families with children birth to age five
4.8 	through key entry points, such as women, infants, and children
4.9 	(WIC), family home visiting, child welfare, public and private
4.10 	health care providers, and other public programs; and 
4.11 	(ii) early care and education providers, public and private
4.12 	health care providers, foster care providers, temporary care
4.13 	providers, shelters, crisis nurseries, and other facilities
4.14 	providing long-term or temporary care for young children from
4.15 	birth to age five;
4.16 	(2) supporting families, schools, and communities in
4.17 	facilitating the transition of young children into the
4.18 	kindergarten environment;
4.19 	(3) identifying, coordinating, and sharing resources and
4.20 	strategies between state departments that address the cultural
4.21 	and linguistic needs of families served;
4.22 	(4) amending the state Medicaid plan to expand the use of
4.23 	the child and teen checkup funding for allowable child
4.24 	development services, such as outreach for early childhood
4.25 	screening, and streamlining the process for voluntary
4.26 	certification of school districts as child and teen checkup
4.27 	providers; and 
4.28 	(5) referring children ages three to five in the child
4.29 	welfare system to the interagency early intervention system for
4.30 	a developmental screening and referral to services if problems
4.31 	are identified.
4.32 	(b) The commissioners shall report to the senate and house
4.33 	of representatives committees having jurisdiction over early
4.34 	care and education by March 1, 2006.

4.35 	Sec. 5. APPROPRIATIONS.
 4.36 		Subdivision 1.Department of education. The sums
5.1 	indicated in this section are appropriated from the general fund
5.2 	to the Department of Education for the fiscal years designated.
5.3 		Subd. 2.Minnesota early learning foundation. For the
5.4 	Minnesota Early Learning Foundation under Minnesota Statutes,
5.5 	section 124D.175:
5.6 	$ 2,500,000 .....2006 
5.7 	This is a onetime appropriation.  Any amounts not expended
5.8 	in fiscal year 2006 may be carried forward to fiscal year 2007.
5.9 		Subd. 3.School readiness kindergarten assessment
5.10 	initiative. For the school readiness kindergarten assessment
5.11 	initiative:
5.12 	$  450,000 .....2006 
5.13 	$  500,000 .....2007 
5.14 	These amounts must be added to the department's base
5.15 	appropriations.
5.16 		Subd. 4.School readiness. For revenue for school
5.17 	readiness programs under Minnesota Statutes, sections 124D.15
5.18 	and 124D.16:
5.19 	$10,706,000 .....2006 
5.20 	$11,042,000 .....2007 
5.21 	The 2006 appropriation includes $1,417,000 for 2005 and
5.22 	$9,289,000 for 2006.
5.23 	The 2007 appropriation includes $1,729,000 for 2006 and
5.24 	$9,313,000 for 2007.
5.25 		Subd. 5.Early childhood family education aid. For early
5.26 	childhood family education aid under Minnesota Statutes, section
5.27 	124D.135:
5.28 	$19,155,000 .....2006 
5.29 	$22,328,000 .....2007 
5.30 	The 2006 appropriation includes $1,861,000 for 2005 and
5.31 	$17,294,000 for 2006.
5.32 	The 2007 appropriation includes $3,220,000 for 2006 and
5.33 	$19,108,000 for 2007.
5.34 		Subd. 6.Health and developmental screening aid. For
5.35 	health and developmental screening aid under Minnesota Statutes,
5.36 	sections 121A.17 and 121A.19:
6.1 	$ 3,076,000 .....2006 
6.2 	$ 3,512,000 .....2007 
6.3 	The 2006 appropriation includes $418,000 for 2005 and
6.4 	$2,658,000 for 2006.
6.5 	The 2007 appropriation includes $495,000 for 2006 and
6.6 	$3,017,000 for 2007.
6.7 		Subd. 7.Head start program. For Head Start programs
6.8 	under Minnesota Statutes, section 119A.52:
6.9 	$18,375,000 .....2006 
6.10 	$18,375,000 .....2007