1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; establishing an early childhood
1.3 	education pilot program for at-risk children between
1.4 	the age of three and entering kindergarten.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. PILOT PROGRAM FOR AT-RISK PRE-K CHILDREN.
 1.7 		Subdivision 1.Establishment; eligibility; application
1.8 	process. (a) An early childhood education pilot program for
1.9 	at-risk children between the age of three and entering
1.10 	kindergarten is established to develop or expand developmentally
1.11 	appropriate and cost-effective programs for children who:
1.12 	(1) are members of a household with an income less than 75
1.13 	percent of the statewide median family income;
1.14 	(2) live in divorced or separated households headed by a
1.15 	single parent;
1.16 	(3) have experienced residential instability or
1.17 	homelessness in the past 12 months;
1.18 	(4) have a parent who has not received a high school
1.19 	diploma or its equivalent;
1.20 	(5) speak a primary language other than English;
1.21 	(6) are determined by a qualified early childhood or other
1.22 	professional to require additional developmental screening,
1.23 	diagnosis, or treatment; or 
1.24 	(7) have a parent who has undergone treatment for chemical
1.25 	abuse or mental illness.
2.1 	(b) An applicant for a grant must be a qualified provider
2.2 	of care, education, and social services for young children and
2.3 	their families.  The applicant must demonstrate to the
2.4 	satisfaction of the education commissioner that, at a minimum,
2.5 	the applicant:
2.6 	(1) has successfully operated an early childhood program
2.7 	for two or more calendar years;
2.8 	(2) addresses the physical and educational needs of young
2.9 	children and their families; and 
2.10 	(3) measures its success in meeting the needs of the young
2.11 	children and families it serves.
2.12 	(c) To obtain a grant under this section, a qualified
2.13 	provider must submit an application to the education
2.14 	commissioner in the form and manner the commissioner
2.15 	prescribes.  The application must demonstrate the applicant's
2.16 	qualifications, consistent with paragraph (b), and describe how
2.17 	the applicant proposes to develop or expand a developmentally
2.18 	appropriate and cost-effective program for at-risk young
2.19 	children and their families.  The commissioner may require an
2.20 	applicant to submit additional information.
2.21 		Subd. 2.Grant awards. The commissioner may award up to
2.22 	five grants to qualified providers throughout the state.  The
2.23 	amount of the grant shall be based on the number of children and
2.24 	families expected to participate in the provider's program.
2.25 	Grant recipients must use the grant award to provide a
2.26 	developmentally appropriate and cost-effective program for
2.27 	at-risk young children and their families.
2.28 		Subd. 3.Evaluation. The commissioner, after evaluating
2.29 	the programmatic and cost-effectiveness of the grant recipients'
2.30 	programs and identifying the elements of developmentally
2.31 	appropriate and cost-effective programs for at-risk young
2.32 	children and their families, must submit by January 15, 2008, a
2.33 	written report of the commissioner's findings to the early
2.34 	childhood committees in the legislature.
2.35 	
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2005.

2.36 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 3.1 	$........ is appropriated from the general fund in fiscal
3.2 	year 2006 to the commissioner of education for the purpose of a
3.3 	pilot program to develop or expand developmentally appropriate
3.4 	and cost-effective programs for at-risk young children and their
3.5 	families under section 1.  Any funds not expended in fiscal year
3.6 	2006 do not cancel and are available in fiscal year 2007.

3.7 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2005.