1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to early childhood education; establishing a 
  1.3             pilot grant program for full-day enrichment 
  1.4             kindergarten; appropriating money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [FULL-DAY ENRICHMENT KINDERGARTEN GRANTS.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A grant program is 
  1.8   established to encourage full-day enriched programming for 
  1.9   kindergarten students. 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [AWARDS.] Providers of kindergarten programming 
  1.11  may apply for grants under this section to offer full-day 
  1.12  kindergarten enrichment programs that meet the criteria in 
  1.13  subdivision 3.  The commissioner of children, families, and 
  1.14  learning must establish application procedures and forms and set 
  1.15  appropriate timelines for grant applications.  Up to six grants 
  1.16  may be awarded to eligible providers.  The providers must agree 
  1.17  to offer the kindergarten enrichment program for at least three 
  1.18  years.  Grant awards may be made to school districts with 
  1.19  school-age care programs under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  1.20  124D.19, subdivision 1, and private providers of kindergarten 
  1.21  programs.  Proposals must contain a description of 
  1.22  research-based reading and instructional offerings that are 
  1.23  appropriate for kindergarten students, the use of nongeneral 
  1.24  fund money to expand kindergarten programming, and the methods 
  1.25  to evaluate the expanded kindergarten program. 
  2.1      Subd. 3.  [PROGRAM DESIGN.] The program must offer extended 
  2.2   hours of enrichment activities for kindergarten students 
  2.3   enrolled in morning or afternoon classes.  The activities must 
  2.4   be designed to complement kindergarten instruction.  At a 
  2.5   minimum, the kindergarten enrichment program must be offered 
  2.6   Monday through Friday during the school year.  The program may 
  2.7   charge a sliding fee based on family income.  The provider and 
  2.8   participating families may receive money from other public and 
  2.9   private sources to cover the costs of the program.  The 
  2.10  enrichment program must be available to all kindergarten 
  2.11  students at a participating provider. 
  2.12     Subd. 4.  [USE OF GRANT FUNDS.] A provider that receives a 
  2.13  grant under this section may use the funds for: 
  2.14     (1) start-up costs associated with the full-day enrichment 
  2.15  program, including the cost of promoting the program to parents 
  2.16  of kindergarten students; and 
  2.17     (2) identifying and developing financing alternatives for 
  2.18  participating families, including promotional materials and 
  2.19  technical assistance to aid families in using education tax 
  2.20  credits and deductions, child care assistance funds, and 
  2.21  dependent care credits, and establishing partnerships with local 
  2.22  lending institutions to provide loans to cover the enrichment 
  2.23  program fees. 
  2.24     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.25     $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 2001 from the 
  2.26  general fund to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  2.27  learning for grants under section 1.  Up to ten percent of the 
  2.28  amount may be used by the commissioner for technical and 
  2.29  financing assistance to aid providers in the successful 
  2.30  implementation of expanded kindergarten programs.  The 
  2.31  commissioner must report to committees of the legislature having 
  2.32  jurisdiction over early childhood education on the grant program 
  2.33  by January 15, 2002.