SF 2630

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/21/2019 03:38pm

A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying eligibility, participation, and requirements for
early childhood, child care, and family support programs; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2018, sections 124D.151, subdivisions 4, 5, 6; 124D.165, by adding a
subdivision; 245C.12; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter
245C.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 124D.151, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Eligibility.

A child who is four years of age as of September 1 in the calendar
year in which the school year commences is eligible to participate in a voluntary
prekindergarten program free of charge. new text begin An eligible four-year-old child served in a
mixed-delivery system by a child care center, family child care program licensed under
section 245A.03, or community-based organization may be charged a fee as long as the
mixed-delivery partner was not awarded a seat for that child. new text end Each eligible child must
complete a health and developmental screening within 90 days of program enrollment under
sections 121A.16 to 121A.19, and provide documentation of required immunizations under
section 121A.15.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 124D.151, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Application process; priority for high poverty schools.

(a) deleted text begin To qualify for
program approval for fiscal year 2017, a district or charter school must submit an application
to the commissioner by July 1, 2016. deleted text end To qualify for program approval deleted text begin for fiscal year 2018
and later deleted text end , a district or charter school must submit an application to the commissioner by
January 30 of the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which the program will be
implemented. The application must include:

(1) a description of the proposed program, including the number of hours per week the
program will be offered at each school site or mixed-delivery location;

(2) an estimate of the number of eligible children to be served in the program at each
school site or mixed-delivery location; and

(3) a statement of assurances signed by the superintendent or charter school director that
the proposed program meets the requirements of subdivision 2.

(b) The commissioner must review all applications submitted deleted text begin for fiscal year 2017 by
August 1, 2016, and must review all applications submitted for fiscal year 2018 and later deleted text end
by March 1 of the fiscal year in which the applications are received and determine whether
each application meets the requirements of paragraph (a).

(c) The commissioner must divide all applications for new or expanded voluntary
prekindergarten programs under this section meeting the requirements of paragraph (a) and
school readiness plus programs into deleted text begin four deleted text end new text begin five new text end groups as follows: the Minneapolis new text begin school
district; new text end deleted text begin and deleted text end new text begin the new text end St. Paul school deleted text begin districts deleted text end new text begin district new text end ; other school districts located in the
metropolitan equity region as defined in section 126C.10, subdivision 28; school districts
located in the rural equity region as defined in section 126C.10, subdivision 28; and charter
schools. Within each group, the applications must be ordered by rank using a sliding scale
based on the following criteria:

(1) concentration of kindergarten students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches by
school site on October 1 of the previous school year. A school site may contract to partner
with a community-based provider or Head Start under subdivision 3 or establish an early
childhood center and use the concentration of kindergarten students eligible for free or
reduced-price meals from a specific school site as long as those eligible children are
prioritized and guaranteed services at the mixed-delivery site or early education center. For
school district programs to be operated at locations that do not have free and reduced-price
lunch concentration data for kindergarten programs for October 1 of the previous school
year, including mixed-delivery programs, the school district average concentration of
kindergarten students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches must be used for the rank
ordering;

(2) presence or absence of a three- or four-star Parent Aware rated program within the
school district or close proximity of the district. School sites with the highest concentration
of kindergarten students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches that do not have a three-
or four-star Parent Aware program within the district or close proximity of the district shall
receive the highest priority, and school sites with the lowest concentration of kindergarten
students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches that have a three- or four-star Parent
Aware rated program within the district or close proximity of the district shall receive the
lowest priority; and

(3) whether the district has implemented a mixed delivery system.

(d) new text begin If the participation limit under subdivision 6 is higher than the participation limit for
the previous year, new text end the limit on participation for the programs as specified in subdivision 6
must initially be allocated among the deleted text begin four deleted text end new text begin five new text end groups based on each group's percentage
share of the statewide kindergarten enrollment on October 1 of the previous school year. new text begin If
the participation limit is the same as the participation limit for the previous year, the
participation limit must initially be allocated among the five groups based on each group's
participation limit for the previous school year. new text end Within each group, the participation limit
deleted text begin for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 deleted text end must first be allocated to school sites approved for aid in the
previous year to ensure that those sites are funded for the same number of participants as
approved for the previous year. The remainder of the participation limit for each group must
be allocated among school sites in priority order until that region's share of the participation
limit is reached. If the participation limit is not reached for all groups, the remaining amount
must be allocated to the highest priority school sites, as designated under this section, not
funded in the initial allocation on a statewide basis. deleted text begin For fiscal year 2020 and later, the
participation limit must first be allocated to school sites approved for aid in fiscal year 2017,
and then to school sites approved for aid in fiscal year 2018 based on the statewide rankings
under paragraph (c).
deleted text end

(e) Once a school site or a deleted text begin mixed delivery deleted text end new text begin mixed-delivery new text end site under subdivision 3 is
approved for aid under this subdivision, it shall remain eligible for aid if it continues to
meet program requirements, regardless of changes in the concentration of students eligible
for free or reduced-price lunches.

(f) If the total number of participants approved based on applications submitted under
paragraph (a) is less than the participation limit under subdivision 6, the commissioner must
notify all school districts and charter schools of the amount that remains available within
30 days of the initial application deadline under paragraph (a), and complete a second round
of allocations based on applications received within 60 days of the initial application deadline.

(g) Procedures for approving applications submitted under paragraph (f) shall be the
same as specified in paragraphs (a) to (d), except that the allocations shall be made to the
highest priority school sites not funded in the initial allocation on a statewide basis.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for applications for fiscal year 2020 and
later.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 124D.151, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Participation limits.

(a) Notwithstanding section 126C.05, subdivision 1,
paragraph (d), the pupil units for a voluntary prekindergarten program for an eligible school
district or charter school must not exceed 60 percent of the kindergarten pupil units for that
school district or charter school under section 126C.05, subdivision 1, paragraph (e).

(b) In reviewing applications under subdivision 5, deleted text begin the commissioner must limit the
estimated state aid entitlement approved under this section to $27,092,000 for fiscal year
2017. If the actual state aid entitlement based on final data exceeds the limit in any year,
the aid of the participating districts must be prorated so as not to exceed the limit.
deleted text end

( deleted text begin c) The commissioner must limit the total number of funded participants in the voluntary
prekindergarten program under this section to not more than 3,160.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (c), deleted text end the commissioner must limit the total number of
participants in the voluntary prekindergarten and school readiness plus programs to not
more than deleted text begin 6,160 participants for fiscal year 2018 and deleted text end 7,160 participants for fiscal year 2019 new text begin
and later new text end .

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2020 and later.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 124D.165, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Early learning scholarship account. new text end

new text begin (a) An account is established in the
special revenue fund known as the "early learning scholarship account."
new text end

new text begin (b) Funds appropriated for early learning scholarships under this section shall be
transferred to the early learning scholarship account in the special revenue fund.
new text end

new text begin (c) Money in this account is annually appropriated to the commissioner for early learning
scholarships under this section. Money in the account is available until spent. Any returned
funds are available to be regranted.
new text end

new text begin (d) Up to $950,000 annually is appropriated to the commissioner for costs associated
with administering and monitoring early learning scholarships.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 245C.12, is amended to read:

245C.12 BACKGROUND STUDY; TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Access to data. new text end

deleted text begin (a) deleted text end For the purposes of background studies completed
by tribal organizations performing licensing activities otherwise required of the commissioner
under this chapter, after obtaining consent from the background study subject, tribal licensing
agencies shall have access to criminal history data in the same manner as county licensing
agencies and private licensing agencies under this chapter.

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Adoptions; child foster care. new text end

deleted text begin (b) deleted text end Tribal organizations may contract with the
commissioner to obtain background study data on individuals under tribal jurisdiction related
to adoptions according to section 245C.34. Tribal organizations may also contract with the
commissioner to obtain background study data on individuals under tribal jurisdiction related
to child foster care according to section 245C.34.

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Nursing facility. new text end

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end For the purposes of background studies completed to
comply with a tribal organization's licensing requirements for individuals affiliated with a
tribally licensed nursing facility, the commissioner shall obtain criminal history data from
the National Criminal Records Repository in accordance with section 245C.32.

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Child care. new text end

new text begin (a) Tribal organizations may contract with the commissioner to:
new text end

new text begin (1) conduct background studies on individuals affiliated with a child care program
sponsored, managed, or licensed by a tribal organization; and
new text end

new text begin (2) obtain background study data on individuals affiliated with a child care program
sponsored, managed, or licensed by a tribal organization.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner must include a national criminal history record check in a
background study conducted under paragraph (a).
new text end

new text begin (c) A tribally affiliated child care program that does not contract with the commissioner
to conduct background studies is exempt from the relevant requirements in this chapter. For
a background study conducted under this subdivision to be transferable to other child care
entities, the study must include all components of studies for a certified license-exempt
child care center under this chapter.
new text end

Sec. 6.

new text begin [245C.125] BACKGROUND STUDY; HEAD START PROGRAMS.
new text end

new text begin (a) Head Start programs that receive funds under section 119A.52 may contract with
the commissioner to:
new text end

new text begin (1) conduct background studies on individuals affiliated with a Head Start program; and
new text end

new text begin (2) obtain background study data on individuals affiliated with a Head Start program.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner must include a national criminal history record check in a
background study conducted under paragraph (a).
new text end

new text begin (c) A Head Start program site that does not contract with the commissioner, is not
licensed, and is not registered to receive payments under chapter 119B is exempt from the
relevant requirements in this chapter. Nothing in this section supersedes requirements for
background studies in this chapter or chapter 119B or 245H that relate to licensed child care
programs or programs registered to receive payments under chapter 119B. For a background
study conducted under this section to be transferable to other child care entities, the study
must include all components of studies for a certified license-exempt child care center under
this chapter.
new text end