Researcher: MGS Page 1 4/12/22
OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5279
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes in the early childhood
education statutes:
1. expands the Early Childhood Cabinet’s membership and
changes its attendance and compensation requirements (§ 1);
2. makes a technical change to the criminal history records check
system that certain child care providers who accept state child
care subsidies must use (§ 2);
3. extends the validity of the early childhood teacher credential
issued by the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) to certain people
with associate degrees (§ 3);
4. changes family child care home staffing and enrollment
requirements (§ 4); and
5. reduces the number of weeks a child care program must operate
to be a “year-round” program, lowering the threshold from 50 to
48 weeks per year and impacting certain OEC program
operations (§ 5).
The bill also makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2022, except the provisions on criminal
history records checks (§ 2) and early childhood teacher credentials (§ 3)
take effect upon passage.
§ 1 — EARLY CHILDHOOD CABINET MEMBERSHIP
The Early Childhood Cabinet is an advisory body to OEC. The bill 2022HB-05279-R000408-BA.DOCX
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increases the cabinet’s membership from 25 to 27, adding two
appointments to the governor’s eight in current law. These new
appointees must be (1) an individual who is a licensed family child care
home provider and member of a staffed family child care network (i.e.,
a regional community initiative offering ongoing support services)
identified by the OEC commissioner and (2) a parent recommended by
an OEC-appointed parent advisory group. The bill specifies that the
parent member appointed by the governor may be compensated, within
available appropriations, for his or her time at and travel to cabinet
meetings; current law prohibits all other members from receiving
compensation (including other parent members).
Additionally, the bill eliminates from current law the mechanism that
removes members from the cabinet if they miss three consecutive
meetings or 50% of all meetings in one calendar year. By law, the cabinet
must meet at least quarterly.
§ 3 — EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER CREDENTIAL
By law, OEC may issue an early childhood teaching credential to
people who hold either an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree with
a concentration in early childhood education. The degree program must
be (1) from a regionally accredited institution and (2) approved by OEC
and either (a) the Board of Regents for Higher Education or (b) the Office
of Higher Education.
Under current law, this credential’s validity ends on June 30, 2021,
when issued to someone who holds an associate degree. The bill
removes the credential’s termination date, making it valid indefinitely,
as when issued by the office to someone with a bachelor’s degree.
§ 4 — FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME STAFFING AND ENROLLMENT
Under current law, a family child care home may care for up to six
children, including the provider’s own children who are not in school
full time, plus three more children during the regular school year who
are in school full time. However, if the provider has more than three
children who are in school full time, then all of the provider’s children
may attend. 2022HB-05279-R000408-BA.DOCX
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The bill maintains the base maximum number of enrolled children at
six throughout the year, including the provider’s own children who are
not enrolled in school full time, in situations where the provider does
not employ an OEC-approved assistant or substitute. But if an assistant
or substitute is employed, the bill allows for up to nine children to be
cared for, even if none of the children attend school full time.
As is the case under current law, family child care home providers,
during the school year, may care for up to three more children in school
full time, including the provider’s own children, for a maximum total of
nine, without the help of an assistant or substitute staffer. (And if the
provider has more than three children who are the provider’s own and
are in school full time, the provider may care for them as well.)
By law and unchanged by the bill, during the summer months when
school is not in session, if the family child care home provider employs
an OEC-approved assistant or substitute staff member, then the
provider may care for up to three additional school-aged children. As
under existing law, (1) an assistant or substitute staff member is not
required if all of the additional school-age children are the provider’s
own and (2) if the provider has more than three school-age children, all
of them may attend during the summer months, even if this means more
than three additional school-age children are attending.
§ 5 — YEAR-ROUND PROGRAM DEFINITION
The bill lowers, from 50 to 48, the number of weeks per year that a
child care program must generally operate to be considered a “year-
round” program. This new definition broadens the potential number of
(1) school readiness programs that must use the excess portion of their
per-pupil school readiness grant for salary staff increases and (2) child
care programs to which the commissioner must give preference when
(a) purchasing services and (b) awarding a supplemental quality
enhancement grant.
School Readiness Staff Salary Increases
By law, school readiness programs are non-religious, state-funded
programs that provide a developmentally appropriate learning 2022HB-05279-R000408-BA.DOCX
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experience for children age three to five years old who are too young to
enroll in kindergarten.
Existing law requires state-licensed school readiness programs that
operate full-day, year-round programs and receive school readiness
per-pupil state grants to use any grant amount exceeding $8,927 per
child exclusively to increase the salary of individuals directly
responsible for teaching or caring for children in school readiness
program classrooms (CGS § 10-16p(l)). By reducing the number of
weeks that a school readiness program must operate to be considered a
“year-round” program, the bill broadens the potential number of school
readiness programs that must use their per-pupil grant excess for staff
salary increases.
Purchase of Child Care Services
By law, if the OEC commissioner directly purchases child care
services, she must give preference to providers of full-day and year-
round programs. These programs may be provided by public schools,
child care centers, group or family child care homes, family resource
centers, or Head Start, among others (CGS § 17b-749a). By reducing the
number of weeks that a child care program must operate to be
considered a “year-round” program, the bill broadens the potential
number of child care programs to which the commissioner must give
preference when purchasing services.
Supplemental Quality Enhancement Grant
By law, the OEC’s supplemental quality enhancement grant program
provides, within available appropriations, competitive grants to child
care centers or school readiness programs to help them enhance their
programs through accreditation or the purchase of educational
equipment, among other things. The commissioner must give priority
to applicant programs that operate year-round, among other criteria
(CGS § 17b-749c). By reducing the number of weeks that a program
must operate to be considered a “year-round” program, the bill
broadens the potential number of programs to which the commissioner
must give preference when awarding this grant. 2022HB-05279-R000408-BA.DOCX
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BACKGROUND
Related Bill
SB 2, § 19 (File 276), favorably reported by the Committee on
Children, contains similar language to § 4 of the bill. It requires family
child care homes to employ an OEC-approved assistant to care for more
than six and up to nine children year round rather than only during the
summer and for children that are not the provider’s own children. It also
allows all of a family child care home provider’s own children to be
cared for by the provider during any time of year.
SB 2, §§ 1 & 2, also contains language impacting § 5 of the bill,
specifically affecting school readiness grants. Beginning in FY 23, it (1)
raises the per child cost cap for the school readiness program (2) and
increases the amount that programs must use for salary increases.
HB 5465, § 11, favorably reported by the Education Committee,
contains similar language to § 4 of the bill, relating to family child care
staffing and enrollment.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Education Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 39 Nay 0 (03/25/2022)