HF 2263 (LSB 5703YH (2) 85)

HOUSE FILE 2263

BY  MASCHER

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to publicly funded preschool and early childhood programming and making appropriations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 256C.3, subsection 4, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2014, is amended to read as follows:

   Effective with the budget year beginning July 1, 2015, each school district shall implement an approved local program to provide preschool in accordance with this chapter.  The state board shall adopt rules to further define the following requirements of school districts implementing the preschool program:
    Sec. 2.  Section 256C.3, subsection 4, Code 2014, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  e.  (1)  A school district participating in the preschool program shall utilize district information and information accessed through the departmental data systems to identify which children are receiving services under or participating in a state-funded or district-funded preschool program, the head start program, or other preschool program reported by parents of the participating children. The departmental data systems may include the unique student identifier, the student reporting in Iowa system, or other relevant data system. The school district and the early childhood Iowa area governing board for any area encompassing the school district shall review the information. The purpose of the review is for the district and the area board to implement action steps to assure that all of the eligible children residing in the district and the area are aware of and able to participate in publicly funded preschool programs. The action steps shall focus on securing the participation of children from low-income families.
   (2)  A school district participating in the preschool program shall annually document how the district works in collaboration with participating families, early care providers, and community partners, as described in subsection 3, to expand the preschool programming to settings other than the school district’s facilities in order to be as convenient and cost effective as possible for the families of the children who are eligible for the programming.
   (3)  Each school district subject to this paragraph “e” shall submit to the department an annual report describing the reviews and action steps implemented pursuant to subparagraph (1) and the information documented pursuant to subparagraph (2). The report content, time frame, and other requirements shall be determined by the department. The department shall make the reports publicly available and shall summarize the content of the reports submitted in the department’s annual condition of education report.
    Sec. 3.  Section 279.51, Code 2014, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  2A.  In addition to the amount allocated under subsection 1, paragraph “b”, there is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the department of education for the following fiscal years, the following amounts for allocation to the child development coordinating council established in chapter 256A, to be used as additional funding for the purposes set out in subsection 2 of this section and section 256A.3:
   a.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014, fifteen million dollars.
   b.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, thirty million dollars.
   c.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016, forty-five million dollars.
   d.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2017, and succeeding fiscal years, sixty million dollars.
    Sec. 4.  STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED.  In accordance with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under section 257.16. This specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to publicly funded preschool and early childhood programming and makes appropriations.
   Code section 256C.3, relating to preschool program requirements, is amended to require each school district to provide a preschool program approved by the department of education, effective with the school budget year beginning July 1, 2015.
   In addition, Code section 256C.3 is amended to require each school district participating in the preschool program to review various data sources to identify the children in the district participating in publicly funded preschool. The school district and any early childhood Iowa area governing board for the area encompassing the school district are required to implement action steps to assure that all of the eligible children residing in the district and the area are aware of and able to participate in publicly funded preschool programs. Also, a school district participating in the preschool program must annually document how the district works in collaboration with participating families, early care providers, and community partners, to expand the preschool programming to settings other than the school district’s facilities in order to be as convenient and cost effective as possible for the families of the children who are eligible for the programming. Each school district subject to the two new requirements must submit an annual report to the department of education describing the reviews and action steps implemented pursuant to, and the information on, collaboration. The report content, time frame, and other requirements are to be determined by the department. The department is required to make the reports publicly available and to summarize the content of the reports submitted in the department’s annual condition of education report.
   A standing limited appropriation of $60 million is phased in by the bill over a four-year period. The appropriation is to be allocated to the child development coordinating council to be used as additional funding for the council’s grants to school districts to establish programs for three-year-old, four-year-old, and five-year-old at-risk children, which programs are a combination of preschool and full-day kindergarten, and to provide educational support services to parents of at-risk children from birth through three years of age.
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under Code section 257.16. The specification is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state mandates included in the bill.