1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; creating an early learning hub system; appropriating money;
1.3 	proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 124D.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. [124D.152] EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND LEARNING 
1.6 	COMMUNITY HUB PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. An early childhood care and learning community hub 
1.8 	planning and implementation grant program is established to develop and support early 
1.9 	childhood care and learning community hubs. An early childhood care and learning 
1.10 	community hub must promote an aligned, coordinated, and family-centered system for the 
1.11 	support and appropriate development of children ages birth to five years, ensure that children 
1.12 	arrive at school ready to succeed, and ensure that Minnesota's young children live in families 
1.13 	that are healthy, stable, and attached by coordinating and improving families' access to:
1.14 	(1) community early care and education services;
1.15 	(2) physical and mental health services;
1.16 	(3) stable housing;
1.17 	(4) parent support, education, and career services, including appropriate prenatal services; 
1.18 	and
1.19 	(5) other family support services, including high quality, affordable child care services 
1.20 	that stabilize, support, and assist families in meeting their children's health and developmental 
1.21 	needs.
2.1 		Subd. 2.Definitions. (a) As used in this section, the following definitions apply.
2.2 	(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of education.
2.3 	(c) "Council" means the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care 
2.4 	under section 124D.141.
2.5 	(d) "Early childhood care and learning community hub" means any entity designated by 
2.6 	regional partners to coordinate early learning services, as determined by rules adopted by 
2.7 	the commissioner in consultation with the commissioners of health, human services, and 
2.8 	employment and economic development.
2.9 	(e) "Regional partners" includes counties, cities, school districts, service cooperatives, 
2.10 	community colleges, public universities, private educational institutions, community 
2.11 	partnerships, nonprofit service providers, and tribes.
2.12 		Subd. 3.Request for proposals. The commissioner shall develop and implement a 
2.13 	process for requesting proposals from entities to become early childhood care and learning 
2.14 	community hubs. Proposals must be submitted in the form and manner specified by the 
2.15 	commissioner by rule. The commissioner must ensure that:
2.16 	(1) the applicant has the capacity to coordinate the provision of early learning services 
2.17 	to the community that will be served by the entity. An entity may meet the requirement of 
2.18 	this clause by submitting evidence that local stakeholders, including but not limited to 
2.19 	service providers, parents, community members, county governments, local governments, 
2.20 	and school districts, have participated in the development of the proposal and will maintain 
2.21 	a meaningful role in the early childhood care and learning community hub;
2.22 	(2) the services coordinated by the entity will be in alignment with the services provided 
2.23 	by the public schools of the community that will be served by the entity;
2.24 	(3) the entity will be in alignment with, and make advantageous use of, the system of 
2.25 	public health care and services available through local health departments and other publicly 
2.26 	supported programs delivered through, or in partnership with, counties and coordinated care 
2.27 	organizations;
2.28 	(4) the entity will be able to integrate efforts among education providers, providers of 
2.29 	health care, providers of human services, and providers of other programs and services in 
2.30 	the community;
2.31 	(5) the entity will use coordinated and transparent budgeting;
2.32 	(6) the entity must have a community advisory body that:
3.1 	(i) has the authority to initiate audits, recommend the terms of a contract, and provide 
3.2 	reports to the public and to the council on the outcomes of the provision of early learning 
3.3 	services to the community served by the entity; and
3.4 	(ii) has members selected through a transparent process and includes both public and 
3.5 	private entities, locally based parents and service recipients, human social service providers, 
3.6 	child care providers, health care providers, and representatives of local governments from 
3.7 	the service area. A majority of the advisory board must be a combination of locally based 
3.8 	parents and service recipients. The members must reflect the racial and socioeconomic 
3.9 	diversity of the community;
3.10 	(7) the entity will serve a community that is based on the population and service needs 
3.11 	of the community and will demonstrate the ability to improve results for at-risk children, 
3.12 	including the ability to identify, evaluate, and implement coordinated strategies to ensure 
3.13 	that a child is ready to succeed in school;
3.14 	(8) the entity will be able to raise and leverage significant funds from local public and 
3.15 	private sources and to secure in-kind support to support early learning services coordinated 
3.16 	by the entity and operate in a fiscally sound manner; and
3.17 	(9) the entity meets any other qualifications established by the commissioner.
3.18 		Subd. 4.Interagency coordination. In coordination with the commissioners of health, 
3.19 	human services, and employment and economic development, the commissioner shall 
3.20 	develop high-level goals and expectations for concrete outcomes for children in Minnesota 
3.21 	that are consistent with the purposes of the early childhood care and learning community 
3.22 	hubs in subdivision 1 and that will inform and guide the work of the early childhood care 
3.23 	and learning community hubs. The commissioner shall also develop useable, measurable, 
3.24 	and actionable metrics related to those goals and expectations that early childhood care and 
3.25 	learning community hubs may adopt.
3.26 		Subd. 5.Eligibility; application. (a) An applicant for a grant must be an entity designated 
3.27 	by regional partners interested in collaborating with community-based early childhood care 
3.28 	and education providers to maximize the services available to eligible families.
3.29 	(b) An interested applicant must submit a plan to the commissioner, in the form and 
3.30 	manner the commissioner, in coordination with the commissioners of health, human services, 
3.31 	and employment and economic development, determines, to implement an early childhood 
3.32 	care and learning community hub that is located in an appropriate community location. The 
3.33 	application must include criteria to ensure (1) that the early childhood care and learning 
3.34 	community hubs and the providers of early care and learning services with which the 
4.1 	community hub works are accountable for outcomes; (2) that services are provided in a 
4.2 	cost-efficient manner; and (3) that the services provided and the means by which those 
4.3 	services are provided are focused on the outcomes of the services. An applicant must include 
4.4 	in the plan a community-based assessment of the existing resources and needs for providing 
4.5 	high quality early care and education services, health and mental health services, and other 
4.6 	social services that support healthy families and safe neighborhoods. An applicant must set 
4.7 	forth high-level goals and expectations for concrete outcomes that are consistent with 
4.8 	high-level goals and expectations set forth by the commissioner but tailored to the existing 
4.9 	resources and needs of the local community. The applicant must identify metrics related to 
4.10 	those goals and expectations that are measurable and actionable. An applicant must provide 
4.11 	a plan for data tracking, sharing, and coordination.
4.12 	(c) Interested applicants also may apply to make prekindergarten to grade 3 school 
4.13 	readiness and academic success a community hub component.
4.14 		Subd. 6.Designating hubs. (a) When determining whether to designate an entity as an 
4.15 	early childhood care and learning community hub, the commissioner shall balance the 
4.16 	following factors:
4.17 	(1) the entity's ability to engage the community and be involved in the community;
4.18 	(2) the comprehensiveness of the programs and services the grantee expects to provide 
4.19 	or facilitate;
4.20 	(3) the level of need for additional early childhood care and learning resources in the 
4.21 	community;
4.22 	(4) the entity's ability to produce outcomes that benefit children;
4.23 	(5) the entity's resourcefulness;
4.24 	(6) the entity's use, or proposed use, of evidence-based practices; and
4.25 	(7) the number of children and families the grantee expects to serve.
4.26 	(b) In making awards, the commissioner shall consider whether or not the grantee expects 
4.27 	to include a prekindergarten to grade 3 school readiness and academic success grant 
4.28 	component in its early childhood care and learning community hub program. The 
4.29 	commissioner must award 60 percent of grant funds to applicants serving school districts 
4.30 	having 50 percent or more of enrolled children eligible for the federal free and reduced-price 
4.31 	lunch program in the preceding school year. The remaining 40 percent of grant funds are 
4.32 	available to other applicants. To the extent feasible and sufficient applications are made, 
4.33 	the commissioner must award grants in each of the governor's economic development 
5.1 	regions and in each county in the metropolitan area. Grant recipients must use the grant to 
5.2 	implement this program and must not use the grant to supplant existing early childhood 
5.3 	initiatives.
5.4 		Subd. 7.Program components. Grant recipients must:
5.5 	(1) provide for an ongoing assessment of local resources and needs for high quality early 
5.6 	care and learning services, health and mental health services, and other social services that 
5.7 	support safe neighborhoods and healthy families;
5.8 	(2) develop and implement, in consultation with a community advisory body under 
5.9 	subdivision 3, clause (6), a plan to improve the healthy development and school readiness 
5.10 	of children from before birth to kindergarten;
5.11 	(3) develop collaborative partnerships among school-based early childhood programs; 
5.12 	kindergarten teachers and other school officials; community-based Head Start and child 
5.13 	care programs including licensed centers, family child care homes, and unlicensed family 
5.14 	friend and neighbor caregivers; early intervention interagency committees; county, city, 
5.15 	and tribal social service agencies; and other appropriate partners to achieve the goals and 
5.16 	purposes of the early childhood care and learning community hub in this section and in the 
5.17 	local application and plan developed by the community hub;
5.18 	(4) provide meaningful kindergarten transition services for families that begin one school 
5.19 	year before a child enters kindergarten;
5.20 	(5) collaborate with health care providers and insurers in the community, local public 
5.21 	health departments, school districts, and other entities to ensure that meaningful early 
5.22 	childhood development and health screenings, including mental health screenings, are made 
5.23 	available to all children in the community and that necessary treatment and services are 
5.24 	provided to address concerns identified in the screenings;
5.25 	(6) develop and implement an evaluation plan to determine the effectiveness of the 
5.26 	collaboration, the level of parent satisfaction, and children's kindergarten readiness before 
5.27 	and after participating in the program;
5.28 	(7) assign an unduplicated Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System number to 
5.29 	each child participating in the program; and
5.30 	(8) report annually on or before August 1 to the commissioner regarding the 
5.31 	implementation and status of its work under this section.
5.32 		Subd. 8.Prekindergarten to grade 3 school readiness and academic success grant 
5.33 	component. (a) Interested applicants also may apply to the commissioner to include as part 
6.1 	of the early childhood care and learning community hub a prekindergarten school readiness 
6.2 	and academic success component that:
6.3 	(1) provides high-quality prekindergarten programming for three- and four-year-old 
6.4 	children with appropriate community early care and education partners that:
6.5 	(i) where applicable, has an upper level rating based on the Parent Aware system under 
6.6 	section 124D.142;
6.7 	(ii) offers programs meeting Head Start performance standards; or
6.8 	(iii) satisfies other commissioner-determined quality standards;
6.9 	(2) aligns prekindergarten through grade 3 standards, curriculum, and assessments;
6.10 	(3) coordinates prekindergarten through grade 3 programs through colocation where 
6.11 	possible;
6.12 	(4) provides meaningful transition activities for four-year-old children that begin one 
6.13 	school year before a child enters kindergarten;
6.14 	(5) promotes ongoing parent involvement from prekindergarten through grade 3; and
6.15 	(6) uses periodic, age-appropriate child assessments to determine program effectiveness.
6.16 	(b) If an early childhood care and learning community hub applies for and receives a 
6.17 	prekindergarten to grade 3 school readiness and academic success grant under this 
6.18 	subdivision, the grant shall be equivalent to ten percent of the total appropriated to any 
6.19 	individual or entity in the region covered by the early childhood care and learning community 
6.20 	hub pursuant to sections 124D.13, 124D.135, 124D.15, 124D.151, 124D.16, 124D.162, and 
6.21 	124D.165 in the immediately prior fiscal year. The individuals and entities in the region 
6.22 	covered by the early childhood care and learning community hub must transfer 
6.23 	appropriations, grants, or other revenues under sections 124D.13, 124D.135, 124D.15, 
6.24 	124D.151, 124D.16, 124D.162, and 124D.165 to the early childhood care and learning 
6.25 	community hub. The early childhood care and learning community hub may allocate those 
6.26 	funds at their discretion for the purposes in this subdivision. The early childhood care and 
6.27 	learning community hub shall coordinate with Head Start programs to enhance the use of 
6.28 	funds appropriated under sections 119A.50 to 119A.545 to best serve the region. The early 
6.29 	childhood care and learning community hub shall work with the commissioner of human 
6.30 	services to enhance and coordinate the use of funds authorized and appropriated under 
6.31 	chapter 119B to best serve eligible children and families in the region. The commissioner 
6.32 	must provide for an evaluation of this grant program and must make recommendations 
7.1 	concerning the program to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over education policy 
7.2 	and finance by January 15, 2019.
7.3 		Subd. 9.Matched funding. The commissioner may require that, as a condition of 
7.4 	receiving funding as a designated early childhood care and learning community hub under 
7.5 	this section, the community hub provide matching funding. The percentage of matching 
7.6 	funding shall be determined by the commissioner and may vary for each fiscal year. County, 
7.7 	city, school district, and private funds may be used for matching purposes. Any money 
7.8 	received by an early childhood care and learning community hub is subject to the restrictions 
7.9 	of this section.
7.10 		Subd. 10.Administrative costs. An entity designated as part of an early childhood care 
7.11 	and learning community hub may not use more than 15 percent of the money received by 
7.12 	the entity from the council to pay administrative costs of the entity.
7.13 		Subd. 11.Evaluation. The commissioner must provide for an evaluation of the grant 
7.14 	program and must make recommendations concerning the program to the legislative 
7.15 	committees with jurisdiction over education policy and finance by January 15, 2019.

7.16 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2017.

7.17 	Sec. 2. Appropriation.
 7.18 	$....... in fiscal year 2018 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner for 
7.19 	purposes of the early childhood care and learning community hub planning and 
7.20 	implementation grant program under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.152.