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Regular Session, 2010
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 148
BY REPRESENTATIVE AUSTIN BADON
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the
feasibility of consolidating the administration and evaluation of the LA4 and 8(g)
prekindergarten programs and to adopt identical standards for these programs.
WHEREAS, in 1986, Louisiana voters dedicated Louisiana's federally awarded Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act funds to education through the Louisiana Quality Education
Support Fund, which became known as "8(g)" funding; and
WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 10.1 of the Constitution of Louisiana permits the
State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to allocate 8(g) funding to
provide compensation to city or parish school board professional instructional employees;
to ensure an adequate supply of superior textbooks, library books, equipment, and other
instructional materials; to fund exemplary programs in elementary and secondary schools
designed to improve student academic achievement or vocational-technical skills; to fund
carefully defined research efforts, including pilot programs designed to improve student
academic achievement; to fund school remediation programs and preschool programs; to
fund the teaching of foreign languages in elementary and secondary schools; and to fund an
adequate supply of teachers by providing scholarships or stipends to prospective teachers
in academic or vocational-technical areas where there is a critical teacher shortage; and
WHEREAS, in 2001, the legislature enacted the LA4 prekindergarten program,
which has become a model program due to its high standards and positive student outcomes;
and
WHEREAS, BESE continues to support a separate 8(g) Model Early Childhood
Program in most local school districts; and
WHEREAS, the LA4 program's enrollment is currently almost five times that of the
8(g) prekindergarten program, as evidenced by an enrollment of approximately sixteen ENROLLEDHCR NO. 148
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thousand children in LA4 and approximately three thousand five hundred children in the
8(g) prekindergarten program during the 2009-2010 school year; and
WHEREAS, the state appropriated more than seventy-five million dollars to support
LA4 in Fiscal Year 2010, compared with an allocation of approximately thirteen million five
hundred thousand dollars by BESE to local school districts for 8(g) prekindergarten
programs; and
WHEREAS, the LA4 and 8(g) prekindergarten programs are very similar, each
requiring certified teachers, the same pupil-teacher ratios of ten to one, the same maximum
class size of twenty students, appropriate materials and equipment, developmentally
appropriate and research-based curriculum which incorporates the Louisiana Comprehensive
Curriculum and Grade Level Expectations, professional development for teachers, the
operation of a full school year, a minimum six-hour instructional day for students, an
emphasis on the enrollment of "at-risk" children, the use of pre- and post-tests to gather
student data, the provision of appropriate meals and snacks, and site visits and monitoring;
and
WHEREAS, the LA4 program additionally requires on-site technical assistance to
teachers and coordinators, transportation, collaboration with other early childhood programs,
provides for resource coordination, and offers an additional four hours of daily after-school
enrichment activities to children; and
WHEREAS, the LA4 program is free for all children who qualify for free or reduced
price meals, and tuition for other students is based on ability to pay; and
WHEREAS, the state Department of Education (DOE) and BESE employ separate
staffs to administer the LA4 and 8(g) prekindergarten programs and conduct separate
evaluations of these very similar programs, rendering these functions duplicative and costly
to the state; and
WHEREAS, the Commission on Streamlining Government's recommendation No.
210 was to "merge and assign the administration of the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education's block grant program focused on pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk
four-year-old children into the Department of Education's Cecil J. Picard LA4 Early
Childhood Program"; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 148
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WHEREAS, the Commission on Streamlining Government elaborated on this
recommendation by stating, "Now that the LA4 Program and its infrastructure is firmly
established in DOE, it is not necessary for BESE to continue to administer an 8(g) preschool
program separately. Also, BESE's role is primarily policy, whereas DOE's role is program
administrator, so that transfer lets each entity focus on its mission".
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, to study the
feasibility of consolidating the administration and evaluation of the LA4 and 8(g)
prekindergarten programs and to ensure that school districts receive the support necessary
to spend all available funds to serve eligible children in both programs.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature further urges and requests the
State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt identical program standards
for the LA4 and 8(g) prekindergarten programs in order to provide high-quality early
childhood experiences and support services to all at-risk Louisiana four-year old children
to ensure that they are prepared for future academic and social success, as evidenced by the
provision of child-centered programs directed toward the development of cognitive, social,
emotional, communication, health, and physical development in a manner and at a pace
consistent with the needs and capabilities of the individual child.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the governor, the
Senate Committee on Education, and the House Committee on Education, not later than
sixty days prior to the 2011 Regular Session.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and to the state
superintendent of education.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE