Text: SF00100 Text: SF00102 Text: SF00100 - SF00199 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 256.25 PREKINDERGARTEN
1 2 INSTRUCTION PROGRAM.
1 3 A prekindergarten instruction program is established to
1 4 provide four-year-old children with learning experiences to
1 5 enhance school readiness and develop social and preacademic
1 6 skills which shall increase their chances of success in
1 7 kindergarten and throughout subsequent educational
1 8 experiences. The goal of the program is to facilitate the
1 9 availability of a voluntary prekindergarten instruction
1 10 program on a no-cost basis for every four-year-old child in
1 11 participating school districts. The program shall be
1 12 administered by the department of education, as follows:
1 13 1. Children four years of age on September 1 of a school
1 14 budget year, whose parents or legal guardians are residents of
1 15 the state, shall be eligible to participate in the program.
1 16 The program shall be voluntary for both families and school
1 17 districts, and shall furnish prekindergarten instruction
1 18 pursuant to the regular school system calendar for the length
1 19 of a typical school day, as provided in section 256.7,
1 20 subsection 19, and section 279.10. Prekindergarten
1 21 instruction program services shall be offered at local public
1 22 school facilities, or by contractual arrangement with the
1 23 school district through private providers of preschool
1 24 services as provided in subsection 3.
1 25 2. The school readiness goals of the prekindergarten
1 26 instruction program shall be to provide a developmentally
1 27 appropriate preschool program emphasizing growth in language
1 28 and literacy, math concepts, science, arts, physical
1 29 development, and personal and social competence. The
1 30 department shall establish prekindergarten instruction
1 31 curriculum guidelines, sample instructional materials, and
1 32 furnish inspection and consultation services to ensure
1 33 compliance with program goals and requirements.
1 34 Prekindergarten instruction program service providers shall
1 35 coordinate with the department regarding specific curriculum
2 1 requirements and assessment practices. At a minimum,
2 2 providers shall be required to keep accurate attendance,
2 3 illness, and disciplinary records, document compliance with
2 4 curriculum requirements, and implement a progress monitoring
2 5 procedure subject to departmental approval.
2 6 3. A school district may submit an application to provide
2 7 prekindergarten instruction program services directly at a
2 8 public school facility in the school district, or by contract
2 9 with a private child care center for the provision of
2 10 services. An applicant shall furnish information relating to
2 11 a proposed prekindergarten instruction program service
2 12 delivery plan, the education and experience of school or
2 13 private child care center staff relating to the provision of
2 14 prekindergarten instruction, and a proposed budget.
2 15 Application forms and approval criteria shall be established
2 16 by the department by rule. A school district which proposes
2 17 to contract with a private child care center shall provide
2 18 documentation regarding the private child care center's
2 19 ability to comply with program requirements in the
2 20 application. A private child care center contracting with a
2 21 school district shall be a licensed child care center pursuant
2 22 to section 237A.2, or shall meet the requirements for a child
2 23 care program pursuant to section 279.49, and shall be required
2 24 to maintain an enrollment of at least four children who are
2 25 four years of age for every seven children enrolled at the
2 26 center.
2 27 4. Prekindergarten instruction program services offered by
2 28 a school district participating in the program shall be
2 29 available free of charge to parents or legal guardians seeking
2 30 to enroll four-year-old children in the program. A school
2 31 district which is participating in the program shall maintain
2 32 a list of school facilities and private child care centers
2 33 within the district offering prekindergarten program
2 34 instruction. The department shall establish by rule health
2 35 screening certification criteria, procedures for accommodation
3 1 of special needs children, and a permissible fee schedule for
3 2 the provision of meals and field trips.
3 3 5. A participant school district shall be eligible to
3 4 receive additional supplementary weighting pursuant to section
3 5 257.11, subsection 4A. Amounts received by a school district,
3 6 or a private child care center contracting with a school
3 7 district, shall be in addition to, and shall not supplant, any
3 8 other source of funding relating to the provision of preschool
3 9 or child day care services, including amounts received for
3 10 programs and services for at-risk children.
3 11 6. School districts participating in the prekindergarten
3 12 instruction program shall annually submit a report to the
3 13 department regarding program status, observed successes and
3 14 problem areas, adequacy of funding, and additional information
3 15 as determined appropriate by the department. The department
3 16 shall compile a prekindergarten instruction program summary
3 17 report and submit the report to the general assembly by
3 18 January 1 each year.
3 19 Sec. 2. Section 257.11, Code 2001, is amended by adding
3 20 the following new subsection:
3 21 NEW SUBSECTION. 4A. PREKINDERGARTEN INSTRUCTION PROGRAMS.
3 22 Pupils attending classes in a school district which is
3 23 participating in the prekindergarten instruction program
3 24 pursuant to section 256.25 for the budget year beginning July
3 25 1, 2001, and succeeding budget years, are assigned a
3 26 weighting, in addition to the weighting assigned in subsection
3 27 1, of five thousandths. Amounts received pursuant to the
3 28 additional weighting provided in this subsection shall be
3 29 utilized by school districts to furnish prekindergarten
3 30 instruction programs either in public school facilities, or
3 31 pursuant to contract in a private child care center licensed
3 32 pursuant to section 237A.2, or child care program as provided
3 33 in section 279.49.
3 34 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of
3 35 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
4 1 EXPLANATION
4 2 This bill provides for the establishment and funding of a
4 3 prekindergarten instruction program. The bill provides that
4 4 the purpose of the program shall be to provide four-year-old
4 5 children with learning experiences to enhance school readiness
4 6 and develop social and preacademic skills which shall increase
4 7 their chances of success in kindergarten and throughout
4 8 subsequent educational experiences. The bill provides that
4 9 the program will be administered by the department of
4 10 education, and shall facilitate the availability of a
4 11 voluntary prekindergarten instruction program on a no-cost
4 12 basis for every four-year-old child in participating school
4 13 districts.
4 14 The bill provides that children who shall be four years of
4 15 age on September 1 of a school budget year, whose parents or
4 16 legal guardians are residents of the state, shall be eligible
4 17 to participate in the program. The bill provides that the
4 18 program shall furnish prekindergarten instruction pursuant to
4 19 the regular school system calendar for the length of a typical
4 20 school day, offered at local public school facilities or by
4 21 contractual arrangement with the school district through
4 22 private providers of preschool services.
4 23 The bill provides that the school readiness goals of the
4 24 program shall be to provide a developmentally appropriate
4 25 preschool program emphasizing growth in language and literacy,
4 26 math concepts, science, arts, physical development, and
4 27 personal and social competence. The bill provides that the
4 28 department shall establish prekindergarten instruction
4 29 curriculum guidelines, sample instructional materials, and
4 30 furnish inspection and consultation services to ensure
4 31 compliance with program goals and requirements.
4 32 The bill provides that a school district may submit an
4 33 application to provide prekindergarten program services
4 34 directly at a public school facility in the school district,
4 35 or may contract with a private child care center for the
5 1 provision of services. The bill provides that a school
5 2 district which proposes to contract with a private child care
5 3 center shall provide documentation regarding the private child
5 4 care center's ability to comply with program requirements in
5 5 the application, and that the district shall also furnish
5 6 information relating to a proposed prekindergarten program
5 7 service delivery plan, the education and experience of school
5 8 or private child care center staff relating to the provision
5 9 of prekindergarten instruction, and a proposed budget. The
5 10 bill provides that application forms and approval criteria
5 11 shall be established by the department by rule. The bill
5 12 provides that a private child care center contracting with a
5 13 school district shall be a licensed child care center pursuant
5 14 to Code section 237A.2, or shall meet the requirements for a
5 15 child care program pursuant to Code section 279.49, and shall
5 16 be required to maintain an enrollment of at least four
5 17 children who are four years of age for every seven children
5 18 enrolled at the center.
5 19 The bill provides that prekindergarten program services
5 20 offered by a school district participating in the program
5 21 shall be available free of charge to parents or legal
5 22 guardians seeking to enroll four-year-old children in the
5 23 program, and that a school district which is participating in
5 24 the program shall maintain a list of school facilities and
5 25 private child care centers within the district offering
5 26 prekindergarten program instruction.
5 27 The bill provides that a participant school district shall
5 28 be eligible to receive additional supplementary weighting
5 29 equal to .005 per pupil attending classes in the school
5 30 district pursuant to Code section 257.11, subsection 4A, as
5 31 created in the bill. The bill further provides that amounts
5 32 received by a school district, or a private child care center
5 33 contracting with a school district, shall be in addition to,
5 34 and shall not supplant, any other source of funding relating
5 35 to the provision of preschool or child day care services,
6 1 including amounts received for programs and services for at-
6 2 risk children. The bill provides that school districts
6 3 participating in the prekindergarten instruction program shall
6 4 annually submit a report to the department regarding program
6 5 status, observed successes and problem areas, adequacy of
6 6 funding, and additional information as determined appropriate
6 7 by the department, and that the department shall compile a
6 8 prekindergarten instruction program summary report and submit
6 9 the report to the general assembly by January 1 each year.
6 10 The bill takes effect upon enactment.
6 11 LSB 2231SS 79
6 12 rn/cf/24
Text: SF00100 Text: SF00102 Text: SF00100 - SF00199 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
© 2001 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
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