Amended
IN
Senate
July 01, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
May 24, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 12, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 29, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
February 03, 2021 |
Introduced by Assembly Members McCarty, Aguiar-Curry, Berman, Burke, Carrillo, Chiu, Friedman, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Lorena Gonzalez, Maienschein, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Ting, Valladares, Waldron, and Wicks (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Nazarian) (Principal coauthors: Senators Dodd, Gonzalez, Limón, and Rubio) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bennett, Bloom, Cervantes, Cunningham, (Coauthor: Senator Min) |
December 07, 2020 |
(2)Existing law defines transitional kindergarten as the first year of a 2-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.
This bill would define a modified kindergarten curriculum to mean a developmental and academic curriculum that bridges the California Preschool Learning Foundations developed by the State Department of
Education and the kindergarten academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education. The bill would require the department, on or before May 1, 2024, to post and maintain on its internet website recommendations on research and evidence-based curricula and assessments for instructional and diagnostic use in all California state preschool programs and transitional kindergarten classrooms.
(3)
(4)
As used in this chapter:
(a)“Alternative payments” includes payments that are made by one childcare agency to another agency or childcare provider for the provision of childcare and development services, and payments that are made by an agency to a parent for the parent’s purchase of childcare and development services.
(b)“Alternative payment program” means a local government agency or nonprofit organization that has contracted with the department pursuant to Section 8220.1 to provide alternative payments and to provide support services to parents and providers.
(c)“Applicant or
contracting agency” means a school district, community college district, college or university, county superintendent of schools, county, city, public agency, private nontax-exempt agency, private tax-exempt agency, or other entity that is authorized to establish, maintain, or operate services pursuant to this chapter. Private agencies and parent cooperatives, duly licensed by law, shall receive the same consideration as any other authorized entity with no loss of parental decisionmaking prerogatives as consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
(d)“Assigned reimbursement rate” is that rate established by the contract with the agency and is derived by dividing the total dollar amount of the contract by the minimum child day of average daily enrollment level of service required.
(e)“Attendance” means the number of children present at a childcare and development facility. “Attendance,” for purposes of reimbursement, includes excused absences by children because of illness, quarantine, illness or quarantine of their parent, family emergency, or to spend time with a parent or other relative as required by a court of law or that is clearly in the best interest of the child.
(f)“Capital outlay” means the amount paid for the renovation and repair of childcare and development facilities to comply with state and local health and safety standards, and the amount paid for the state purchase of relocatable childcare and development facilities for lease to qualifying contracting agencies.
(g)“Caregiver” means a person who provides direct care, supervision,
and guidance to children in a childcare and development facility.
(h)“Childcare and development facility” means a residence or building or part thereof in which childcare and development services are provided.
(i)“Childcare and development programs” means those programs that offer a full range of services for children from infancy to 13 years of age, for any part of a day, by a public or private agency, in centers and family childcare homes. These programs include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1)General childcare and development.
(2)Migrant childcare and development.
(3)Childcare provided by the California School Age Families Education Program (Article 7.1 (commencing with Section 54740) of Chapter 9 of Part 29 of Division 4 of Title 2).
(4)California state preschool program.
(5)Resource and referral.
(6)Childcare and development services for children with exceptional needs.
(7)Family childcare home education network.
(8)Alternative payment.
(9)Schoolage community childcare.
(j)“Childcare and development services” means those
services designed to meet a wide variety of needs of children and their families, while their parents or guardians are working, in training, seeking employment, incapacitated, or in need of respite. These services may include direct care and supervision, instructional activities, resource and referral programs, and alternative payment arrangements.
(k)“Children at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation” means children who are so identified in a written referral from a legal, medical, or social service agency, or emergency shelter.
(l)“Children with exceptional needs” means either of the following:
(1)Infants and toddlers under three years of age who have been determined to be eligible for early
intervention services pursuant to the California Early Intervention Services Act (Title 14 (commencing with Section 95000) of the Government Code) and its implementing regulations. These children include an infant or toddler with a developmental delay or established risk condition, or who is at high risk of having a substantial developmental disability, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 95014 of the Government Code. These children shall have active individualized family service plans, shall be receiving early intervention services, and shall be children who require the special attention of adults in a childcare setting.
(2)Children 3 to 21 years of age, inclusive, who have been determined to be eligible for special education and related services by an individualized education program team according to the special education
requirements contained in Part 30 (commencing with Section 56000) of Division 4 of Title 2, and who meet eligibility criteria described in Section 56026 and, Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 56333) of Chapter 4 of Part 30 of Division 4 of Title 2, and Sections 3030 and 3031 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. These children shall have an active individualized education program, shall be receiving early intervention services or appropriate special education and related services, and shall be children who require the special attention of adults in a childcare setting. These children include children with intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance (also referred to as emotional disturbance), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other
health impairments, or specific learning disabilities, who need special education and related services consistent with Section 1401(3)(A) of Title 20 of the United States Code.
(m)“Closedown costs” means reimbursements for all approved activities associated with the closing of operations at the end of each growing season for migrant child development programs only.
(n)“Cost” includes, but is not limited to, expenditures that are related to the operation of childcare and development programs. “Cost” may include a reasonable amount for state and local contributions to employee benefits, including approved retirement programs, agency administration, and any other reasonable program operational costs. “Cost” may also include amounts for licensable facilities in the community
served by the program, including lease payments or depreciation, downpayments, and payments of principal and interest on loans incurred to acquire, rehabilitate, or construct licensable facilities, but these costs shall not exceed fair market rents existing in the community in which the facility is located. “Reasonable and necessary costs” are costs that, in nature and amount, do not exceed what an ordinary prudent person would incur in the conduct of a competitive business.
(o)“Elementary school,” as contained in former Section 425 of Title 20 of the United States Code (the National Defense Education Act of 1958, Public Law 85-864, as amended), includes early childhood education programs and all child development programs, for the purpose of the cancellation provisions of loans to students in institutions of higher learning.
(p)“Family childcare home education network” means an entity organized under law that contracts with the department pursuant to Section 8245 to make payments to licensed family childcare home providers and to provide educational and support services to those providers and to children and families eligible for state-subsidized childcare and development services. A family childcare home education network may also be referred to as a family childcare home system.
(q)“Health services” include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1)Referral, whenever possible, to appropriate health care providers able to provide continuity of medical care.
(2)Health screening and health treatment, including a full range of immunization recorded on the appropriate state immunization form to the extent provided by the Medi-Cal Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code) and the Child Health and Disability Prevention Program (Article 6 (commencing with Section 124025) of Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code), but only to the extent that ongoing care cannot be obtained using community resources.
(3)Health education and training for children, parents, staff, and providers.
(4)Followup treatment through referral to appropriate health care agencies or individual health care professionals.
(r)“Higher educational institutions” means the Regents of the University of California, the Trustees of the California State University, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and the governing bodies of any accredited private nonprofit institution of postsecondary education.
(s)“Intergenerational staff” means persons of various generations.
(t)“Limited-English-speaking-proficient and non-English-speaking-proficient children” means children who are unable to benefit fully from an English-only childcare and development program as a result of either of the following:
(1)Having used a language other than English when they first began to speak.
(2)Having a language other than English predominantly or exclusively spoken at home.
(u)“Parent” means a biological parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, foster parent, caretaker relative, or any other adult living with a child who has responsibility for the care and welfare of the child.
(v)“Program director” means a person who, pursuant to Sections 8244 and 8360.1, is qualified to serve as a program director.
(w)“Proprietary childcare agency” means an organization or facility providing childcare, which is operated for profit.
(x)“Resource and referral programs” means programs that provide information to parents, including referrals and coordination
of community resources for parents and public or private providers of care. Services frequently include, but are not limited to: technical assistance for providers, toy-lending libraries, equipment-lending libraries, toy- and equipment-lending libraries, staff development programs, health and nutrition education, and referrals to social services.
(y)“Severely disabled children” are children with exceptional needs from birth to 21 years of age, inclusive, who require intensive instruction and training in programs serving pupils with the following profound disabilities: autism, blindness, deafness, severe orthopedic impairments, serious emotional disturbances, or severe intellectual disabilities. “Severely disabled children” also include those individuals who would have been eligible for enrollment in a developmental center for
handicapped pupils under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 56800) of Part 30 of Division 4 of Title 2 as it read on January 1, 1980.
(z)“Short-term respite childcare” means childcare service to assist families whose children have been identified through written referral from a legal, medical, or social service agency, or emergency shelter as being neglected, abused, exploited, or homeless, or at risk of being neglected, abused, exploited, or homeless. Childcare is provided for less than 24 hours per day in childcare centers, treatment centers for abusive parents, family childcare homes, or in the child’s own home.
(aa)(1)“Site supervisor” means a person who, regardless of the person’s title, has operational program responsibility for a childcare and
development program at a single site. A site supervisor shall hold a permit issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing that authorizes supervision of a childcare and development program operating in a single site. The Superintendent may waive the requirements of this subdivision if the Superintendent determines that the existence of compelling need is appropriately documented.
(2)For California state preschool programs, a site supervisor may qualify under any of the provisions in this subdivision, or may qualify by holding an administrative credential or an administrative services credential. A person who meets the qualifications of a program director under both Sections 8244 and 8360.1 is also qualified under this subdivision.
(ab)“Standard reimbursement rate” means
that rate established by the Superintendent pursuant to Section 8265.
(ac)“Startup costs” means those expenses an agency incurs in the process of opening a new or additional facility before the full enrollment of children.
(ad)“California state preschool program” means part-day and full-day educational programs for low-income or otherwise disadvantaged three- and four-year-old children.
(ae)“Support services” means those services that, when combined with childcare and development services, help promote the healthy physical, mental, social, and emotional growth of children. Support services include, but are not limited to: protective services, parent training, provider and staff training, transportation, parent
and child counseling, child development resource and referral services, and child placement counseling.
(af)“Teacher” means a person with the appropriate permit issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing who provides program supervision and instruction that includes supervision of a number of aides, volunteers, and groups of children.
(ag)“Underserved area” means a county or subcounty area, including, but not limited to, school districts, census tracts, or ZIP Code areas, where the ratio of publicly subsidized childcare and development program services to the need for these services is low, as determined by the Superintendent.
(ah)“Workday” means the time that the parent requires temporary care for a child for
any of the following reasons:
(1)To undertake training in preparation for a job.
(2)To undertake or retain a job.
(3)To undertake other activities that are essential to maintaining or improving the social and economic function of the family, are beneficial to the community, or are required because of health problems in the family.
(ai)“Three-year-old children” means children who will have their third birthday on or before December 1 of the fiscal year in which they are enrolled in a California state preschool program. Children who have their third birthday on or after December 2 of the fiscal year, may be enrolled in a
California state preschool program on or after their third birthday. Any child under four years of age shall be served in a California state preschool program facility, licensed in accordance with Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
(aj)“Four-year-old children” means children who will have their fourth birthday on or before December 1 of the fiscal year in which they are enrolled in a California state preschool program, or any child whose fifth birthday occurs after September 1 of the fiscal year in which they are enrolled in a California state preschool and whose parent or guardian has opted to retain them in a California state preschool program.
(ak)“Homeless children and youth” has the same meaning as defined in Section 11434a(2) of the federal McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.).
(al)“Local educational agency” means a school district, a county office of education, a community college district, or a school district acting on behalf of one or more schools within the school district.
(a)(1)Each applicant or contracting agency funded pursuant to Section 8235 shall give first priority to three- or four-year-old neglected or abused children who are recipients of child protective services, or who are at risk of being neglected, abused, or exploited upon written referral from a legal, medical, or social service agency. If an agency is unable to enroll a child in this first priority category, the agency shall refer the child’s parent or guardian to local resources and referral services so that services for the child can be located.
(2)Notwithstanding Section 8263, after children in the first priority category set forth in paragraph (1) are enrolled,
each agency funded pursuant to Section 8235 shall give priority to eligible four-year-old children who are not enrolled in a state-funded transitional kindergarten program, including four-year-old children whose parent or guardian elects to retain them in the California state preschool program pursuant to subdivision (aj) of Section 8208, before enrolling eligible three-year-old children. Each agency shall certify to the Superintendent that enrollment priority is being given to eligible four-year-old children.
(b)(1)(A)Commencing June 15, 2015, and notwithstanding any other law, in awarding new funding for the expansion of a California state preschool program that is appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose in any fiscal year, the Superintendent, after taking into account the
geographic criteria established pursuant to Section 8279.3 and the data described in subparagraph (B), shall give priority to applicant agencies that, in expending the expansion funds, will provide the greatest progress toward achieving access to full-day, full-year services for all income-eligible four-year-old children.
(B)In awarding funding pursuant to subparagraph (A) and in order to promote access for all income-eligible four-year-old children to at least a part-day California state preschool program, the department shall take into account the needs assessments submitted to the department pursuant to Section 8499.5 and any other high-quality data resources available to the department.
(2)Expansion funding awarded pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be apportioned at the rate
described in Section 8265 and as determined in the annual Budget Act.
(3)A family childcare home education network shall be eligible to apply for expansion funding awarded pursuant to paragraph (1).
(c)This section does not preclude a local educational agency from subcontracting with an appropriate public or private agency to operate a California state preschool program and to apply for funds made available for purposes of this section. If a school district chooses not to operate or subcontract for a California state preschool program, the Superintendent shall work with the county office of education and other eligible agencies to explore possible opportunities in contracting or alternative subcontracting to provide a California state preschool program.
(d)This section does not prevent eligible children who are receiving services from continuing to receive those services in future years pursuant to this chapter.
(2)For purposes of this section, “modified kindergarten curriculum” means a developmental and academic curriculum that bridges the California Preschool Learning Foundations developed by the department and the kindergarten academic content standards adopted by the state board.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature for transitional kindergarten to enhance the school readiness of every child in the state by bridging the gap between preschool and school entry so that every child is socially-emotionally and academically prepared for the rigor of school.
(4)On or before May 1, 2024, the department shall post and maintain on its internet website recommendations on research and evidence-based curricula and assessments for instructional and diagnostic use in all California state preschool programs and transitional kindergarten classrooms that meet all the following criteria:
(A)Is age and developmentally appropriate
for all children eligible for preschool and transitional kindergarten enrollment.
(B)Includes a focus on content that is aligned with the California Preschool Learning Foundations developed by the department and kindergarten academic content standards adopted by the state board, including language, literacy, and mathematics.
(C)Is articulated as the preparatory curriculum for the year before kindergarten, is not a repetition of kindergarten standards or foundations, and builds upon children’s skills at preschool or transitional kindergarten entry.
(D)Has an organized developmental scope and sequence that includes plans and materials for learning experiences based on developmental progressions and how children learn.
(E)Supports and encourages inclusive learning environments.
(F)Supports the instruction of dual language learners.
(G)Uses child observation and other diagnostic tools to support child development and academic goals.
(H)Supports and encourages family engagement, physical activity, and learning through play.