HOUSE BILL No. 6052

 

May 11, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Moore, Nofs, Meyer, Caul and Casperson and referred to the Committee on Education.

 

     A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled

 

"The state school aid act of 1979,"

 

by amending sections 32l and 37 (MCL 388.1632l and 388.1637),

 

section 32l as added and section 37 as amended by 2005 PA 155.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 32l. (1) From the general fund money appropriated in

 

section 11, there is allocated for 2005-2006 an amount not to

 

exceed $12,250,000.00 for competitive school readiness program

 

grants. These grants shall be made available through a competitive

 

application process as follows:

 

     (a) Any public or private nonprofit legal entity or agency may

 

apply for a grant under this section. However, a district or

 

intermediate district may not apply for a grant under this section


 

unless the district or intermediate district is acting as a fiscal

 

agent for a child caring organization regulated under 1973 PA 116,

 

MCL 722.111 to 722.128.

 

     (b) An applicant shall submit an application in the form and

 

manner prescribed by the department.

 

     (c) The department shall establish a diverse interagency

 

committee to review the applications. The committee shall be

 

composed of representatives of the department, appropriate

 

community, volunteer, and social service agencies and

 

organizations, and parents.

 

     (d) The superintendent shall award the grants and shall give

 

priority for awarding the grants based upon the following criteria:

 

     (i) Compliance with the state board-approved early childhood

 

standards of quality for prekindergarten.

 

     (ii) Active and continuous involvement of the parents or

 

guardians of the children participating in the program.

 

     (iii) Employment of teachers possessing proper training,

 

including a valid Michigan teaching certificate with an early

 

childhood (ZA) endorsement, a valid Michigan teaching certificate

 

with a child development associate credential (CDA), or a

 

bachelor's degree in child development with a specialization in

 

preschool teaching.  , and employment  If an applicant demonstrates

 

that it is unable to fully comply with this subparagraph after

 

making reasonable efforts to comply, the superintendent may still

 

give priority to the applicant if the applicant will employ

 

teachers who have proper training in early childhood development

 

equivalent to 4 years of formal training in early


 

childhood/preschool education or child development. This may

 

include 1 or more of the following:

 

     (A) A valid Michigan teaching certificate with an early

 

childhood (ZA) endorsement or a child development associate

 

credential (CDA).

 

     (B) A bachelor's degree in child care or child development.

 

     (C) A child development associate credential (CDA) combined

 

with an associate of arts (AA) degree in early childhood/preschool

 

education or child development.

 

     (iv) Employment of paraprofessionals possessing proper training

 

in early childhood development  , including an associate's degree

 

in early childhood education or child development or the

 

equivalent, or a child development associate (CDA) credential, or

 

the equivalent, as approved by the state board. A paraprofessional

 

who does not meet these requirements may be employed for not more

 

than 2 years while obtaining proper credentials if he or she has

 

completed at least 1 course in an appropriate training program  or

 

who have completed at least 1 course in an appropriate training

 

program, including, but not limited to, a child development

 

associate credential (CDA) program, an associate degree in child

 

development program, or a similar program, as approved by the

 

department.

 

     (v)  (iv)  Evidence of collaboration with the community of

 

providers in early childhood development programs including

 

documentation of the total number of children in the community who

 

would meet the criteria established in subparagraph (vi), and who

 

are being served by other providers, and the number of children who


 

will remain unserved by other community early childhood programs if

 

this program is funded.

 

     (vi)  (v)  The extent to which these funds will supplement

 

other federal, state, local, or private funds.

 

     (vii)  (vi)  The extent to which these funds will be targeted to

 

children who will be at least 4, but less than 5, years of age as

 

of December 1 of the year in which the programs are offered and who

 

show evidence of 2 or more "at-risk" factors as defined in the

 

state board report entitled "children at risk" that was adopted by

 

the state board on April 5, 1988.

 

     (viii)  (vii)  The program offers supplementary day care and

 

thereby offers full-day programs as part of its early childhood

 

development program.

 

     (ix)  (viii)  The application contains a plan approved by the

 

department to conduct and report annual school readiness program

 

evaluations and continuous improvement plans using criteria

 

approved by the department. At a minimum, the evaluations shall

 

include a self-assessment of program quality and assessment of the

 

gains in educational readiness and progress of the children

 

participating in the program.

 

     (e) An application shall demonstrate that the program has

 

established or has joined a multidistrict, multiagency school

 

readiness advisory committee that is involved in the planning and

 

evaluation of the program and that provides for the involvement of

 

parents and appropriate community, volunteer, and social service

 

agencies and organizations. The advisory committee shall include at

 

least 1 parent or guardian of a program participant for every 18


 

children enrolled in the program, with a minimum of 2 parent or

 

guardian representatives. The advisory committee shall do all of

 

the following:

 

     (i) Review the mechanisms and criteria used to determine

 

referrals for participation in the school readiness program.

 

     (ii) Review the health screening program for all participants.

 

     (iii) Review the nutritional services provided to all

 

participants.

 

     (iv) Review the mechanisms in place for the referral of

 

families to community social service agencies, as appropriate.

 

     (v) Review the collaboration with and the involvement of

 

appropriate community, volunteer, and social service agencies and

 

organizations in addressing all aspects of education disadvantage.

 

     (vi) Review, evaluate, and make recommendations for changes in

 

the school readiness program.

 

     (2) To be eligible for a grant under this section, a program

 

shall demonstrate that more than 50% of the children participating

 

in the program live with families with a household income that is

 

less than or equal to 250% of the federal poverty level.

 

     (3) The superintendent may award grants under this section at

 

whatever level the superintendent determines appropriate. However,

 

the amount of a grant under this section, when combined with other

 

sources of state revenue for this program, shall not exceed

 

$3,300.00 per participating child or the cost of the program,

 

whichever is less.

 

     (4) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an

 

applicant that receives a grant under this section for 2005-2006


 

shall also receive priority for funding under this section for

 

2006-2007 and 2007-2008. However, after 3 fiscal years of

 

continuous funding, an applicant is required to compete openly with

 

new programs and other programs completing their third year. All

 

grant awards under this section are contingent on the availability

 

of funds and documented evidence of grantee compliance with early

 

childhood standards of quality for prekindergarten, as approved by

 

the state board, and with all operational, fiscal, administrative,

 

and other program requirements.

 

     Sec. 37. (1) A district is eligible for an allocation under

 

section 32d if the district meets all of the requirements in

 

subsections (2), (3), and (4).

 

     (2) The district shall submit a preapplication, in a manner

 

and on forms prescribed by the department, by a date specified by

 

the department in the immediately preceding state fiscal year. The

 

preapplication shall include a comprehensive needs assessment and

 

community collaboration plan, and shall identify all of the

 

following:

 

     (a) The estimated total number of children in the community

 

who meet the criteria of section 32d and how that calculation was

 

made.

 

     (b) The estimated number of children in the community who meet

 

the criteria of section 32d and are being served by other early

 

childhood development programs operating in the community, and how

 

that calculation was made.

 

     (c) The number of children the district will be able to serve

 

who meet the criteria of section 32d including a verification of


 

physical facility and staff resources capacity.

 

     (d) The estimated number of children who meet the criteria of

 

section 32d who will remain unserved after the district and

 

community early childhood programs have met their funded

 

enrollments. The school district shall maintain a waiting list of

 

identified unserved eligible children who would be served when

 

openings are available.

 

     (3) The district shall submit a final application for

 

approval, in a manner and on forms prescribed by the department, by

 

a date specified by the department. The final application shall

 

indicate all of the following that apply:

 

     (a) The district complies with the state board approved early

 

childhood standards of quality for prekindergarten.

 

     (b) The district provides for the active and continuous

 

participation of parents or guardians of the children in the

 

program, and describes the district's participation plan as part of

 

the application.

 

     (c) The district only employs for this program the following:

 

     (i) Teachers possessing proper training. For programs the

 

district manages itself, a valid teaching certificate and an early

 

childhood (ZA) endorsement are required. This provision does not

 

apply to a district that subcontracts with an eligible child

 

development program. In that situation a teacher must have a valid

 

Michigan teaching certificate with an early childhood (ZA)

 

endorsement, a valid Michigan teaching certificate with a child

 

development associate credential (CDA), or a bachelor’s degree in

 

child development with specialization in preschool teaching.


 

     (ii) If a district determines that it is unable to fully comply

 

with subparagraph (i) after making reasonable efforts to comply,

 

teachers who have proper training in early childhood development

 

equivalent to 4 years of formal training in early

 

childhood/preschool education or child development. This may

 

include 1 or more of the following:

 

     (A) A valid Michigan teaching certificate with an early

 

childhood (ZA) endorsement or a child development associate

 

credential (CDA).

 

     (B) A bachelor's degree in child care or child development.

 

     (C) A child development associate credential (CDA) combined

 

with an associate of arts (AA) degree in early childhood/preschool

 

education or child development.

 

     (iii)  (ii)  Paraprofessionals possessing proper training in

 

early childhood development  , including an associate’s degree in

 

early childhood education or child development or the equivalent,

 

or a child development associate (CDA) credential, or the

 

equivalent as approved by the state board. A paraprofessional who

 

does not meet these requirements may be employed for not more than

 

2 years while obtaining proper credentials if he or she has

 

completed at least 1 course in an appropriate training program  or

 

who have completed at least 1 course in an appropriate training

 

program, including, but not limited to, a child development

 

associate credential (CDA) program, an associate degree in child

 

development program, or a similar program, as approved by the

 

department.

 

     (d) The district has submitted for approval a program budget


 

that includes only those costs not reimbursed or reimbursable by

 

federal funding, that are clearly and directly attributable to the

 

early childhood readiness program, and that would not be incurred

 

if the program were not being offered. If children other than those

 

determined to be educationally disadvantaged participate in the

 

program, state reimbursement under section 32d shall be limited to

 

the portion of approved costs attributable to educationally

 

disadvantaged children.

 

     (e) The district has established a, or has joined a

 

multidistrict, multiagency, school readiness advisory committee

 

consisting of, at a minimum, classroom teachers for

 

prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade; parents or

 

guardians of program participants; representatives from appropriate

 

community agencies and organizations; the district curriculum

 

director or equivalent administrator; and, if feasible, a school

 

psychologist, school social worker, or school counselor. In

 

addition, there shall be on the committee at least 1 parent or

 

guardian of a program participant for every 18 children enrolled in

 

the program, with a minimum of 2 parent or guardian

 

representatives. The committee shall do all of the following:

 

     (i) Ensure the ongoing articulation of the early childhood,

 

kindergarten, and first grade programs offered by the district or

 

districts.

 

     (ii) Review the mechanisms and criteria used to determine

 

participation in the early childhood program.

 

     (iii) Review the health screening program for all participants.

 

     (iv) Review the nutritional services provided to program


 

participants.

 

     (v) Review the mechanisms in place for the referral of

 

families to community social service agencies, as appropriate.

 

     (vi) Review the collaboration with and the involvement of

 

appropriate community, volunteer, and social service agencies and

 

organizations in addressing all aspects of educational

 

disadvantage.

 

     (vii) Review, evaluate, and make recommendations to a local

 

school readiness program or programs for changes to the school

 

readiness program.

 

     (f) The district has submitted for departmental approval a

 

plan to conduct and report annual school readiness program

 

evaluations and continuous improvement plans using criteria

 

approved by the department. At a minimum, the evaluations shall

 

include a self-assessment of program quality and assessment of the

 

gains in educational readiness and progress of the children

 

participating in the program.

 

     (g) More than 50% of the children participating in the program

 

live with families with a household income that is equal to or less

 

than 250% of the federal poverty level.

 

     (4) A consortium of 2 or more districts shall be eligible for

 

an allocation under section 32d if the districts designate a single

 

fiscal agent for the allocation. A district or intermediate

 

district may administer a consortium described in this subsection.

 

A consortium shall submit a single preapplication and application

 

for the children to be served, regardless of the number of

 

districts participating in the consortium.


 

     (5) With the final application, an applicant district shall

 

submit to the department a resolution adopted by its board

 

certifying the number of 4-year-old children who show evidence of

 

risk factors as described in section 32d who live with families

 

with a household income that is less than or equal to 250% of the

 

federal poverty level.