1E Expanding the early childhood family education (ECFE) program to include programming for parents and children at risk of not being kindergarten ready, allowing programs to use early learning guidelines developed by the commissioner of human services or the early childhood indicators of progress developed by the commissioner of education; requiring the commissioner of education to develop a program accountability plan focusing on race, ethnicity and income demographics to ensure ECFE statewide accessibility; increasing ECFE funding; requiring the commissioner of education to implement a kindergarten readiness assessment based on a certain model developed by the department of education, to expand to all districts developmental assessments voluntarily administered to entering kindergartners and to set periodic progress milestones in the number of children demonstrating proficiency on assessment measures; requiring and providing for phase in of a school readiness kindergarten assessment initiative in school districts on a voluntary basis and an assessment results periodic report to the legislature; requiring the commissioner of education to make grants available to underrepresented parent education organizations including immigrant, English as a second language (ESL), tribal, low income and cultural populations to promote school readiness, specifying program components, evaluation and accountability and eligibility; appropriating money to the department of education for developmental assessment at kindergarten entrance and parent education grants
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