SLS 20RS-418 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 112
BY SENATOR FIELDS
EARLY CHILDHOOD ED. Provides relative to the Early Childhood Care and Education
Network. (gov sig)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 17:407.23(A), (B), and (C), relative to the Early Childhood Care
3 and Education Network; to provide relative to the uniform assessment and
4 accountability system for publicly funded early childhood education programs; and
5 to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 17:407.23(A), (B), and (C) are hereby amended and reenacted to read
8 as follows:
9 ยง407.23. Early Childhood Care and Education Network; creation; components;
10 duties and responsibilities; pilot programs
11 A. Not later than July 1, 2013, the The State Board of Elementary and
12 Secondary Education, hereinafter called the state board, shall create a comprehensive
13 and integrated network through which to manage and oversee all programs funded
14 through state or federal resources that provide early childhood care or educational
15 services.
16 B. To facilitate the creation of this network, the The state board shall:
17 (1) Establish a definition of Define kindergarten readiness aligned with state
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 112
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1 content standards for elementary and secondary schools.
2 (2) Establish performance targets for children under the age of three and
3 academic standards for kindergarten readiness for three- and four-year old children
4 to be used in publicly funded early childhood education programs.
5 (3)(a) Create a uniform assessment and accountability system for publicly
6 funded early childhood education programs that includes a letter grade indicative of
7 student performance.
8 (b) The state board shall designate the 2015-2016 school year as an academic
9 learning year in which a three-level rating system, not to be based on letter grades
10 nor used for consequences, shall be used to create practice performance profiles for
11 publicly funded sites and the community networks in which they are included. The
12 state board and the state Department of Education shall specify in public
13 communications that any ratings assigned during the 2015-2016 school year are
14 practice ratings for the academic learning year. The state board shall submit a
15 written report on the progress of the academic learning year to the House Committee
16 on Education and the Senate Committee on Education not later than forty-five days
17 prior to the 2016 Regular Session of the Legislature.
18 (4) Coordinate with the Department of Children and Family Services and the
19 Louisiana Department of Health to align the standards for the licensing of child care
20 facilities, including the requirements for participation in the Louisiana Quality Start
21 Child Care Rating System, with the standards established for early childhood
22 education programs.
23 (5) Establish a timeline for the creation and implementation of the early
24 childhood care and education network that shall be fully implemented by the
25 beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.
26 (6) Incorporate feedback from the Early Childhood Care and Education
27 Commission into a statewide policy on local governance and coordination.
28 C.(1) In creating this network, the The state board, through the state
29 Department of Education, shall work cooperatively and collaboratively with the
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 112
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1 Department of Children and Family Services and the Louisiana Department of
2 Health to establish a seamless early childhood educational system that is coordinated
3 and integrated across all programs and related state agencies, regardless of public
4 funding source.
5 (2)(a) The state Department of Education shall submit the plans and
6 recommendations formulated by the impacted agencies to Louisiana's Early
7 Childhood Advisory Council, the Child Care Association of Louisiana, and the
8 nonpublic school commission appointed by the state board pursuant to R.S. 17:11 for
9 review and comment.
10 (b) Each reviewing entity shall submit its comments and recommendations
11 to the state Department of Education, which shall prepare a summary report to be
12 submitted to the state board for its consideration not later than January 1, 2013.
13 (3) By not later than March 1, 2013, the state board shall submit a written
14 report to each member of the legislature, the Senate Committee on Education
15 secretary, and the House Committee on Education secretary on the status of
16 development of the early childhood care and education network. Such report shall
17 include but not be limited to any recommendations relative to changes in law or
18 administrative policy needed to properly implement the network.
19 * * *
20 Section 2. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
21 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
22 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
23 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
24 effective on the day following such approval.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Cheryl Serrett.
DIGEST
SB 112 Original 2020 Regular Session Fields
Present law requires the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to
create a network through which to manage and oversee all programs funded through state
or federal resources that provide early childhood care or educational services. Also requires
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 112
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BESE to create a uniform assessment and accountability system for publicly funded early
childhood education programs that includes a letter grade indicative of student performance.
Present law designates 2015-2016 as an academic learning year in which a three-level rating
system, not to be based on letter grades nor used for consequences, shall be used to create
practice performance profiles for publicly funded sites and the community networks in
which they are included. Requires BESE and the state Dept. of Education to specify in public
communications that any ratings assigned during the 2015-2016 school year are practice
ratings for the academic learning year.
Present law requires BESE to submit a written report on the progress of the academic
learning year to the House and Senate education committees not later than 45 days prior to
the 2016 Regular Session.
Proposed law removes outdated provisions regarding creation of the network.
Effective upon signature of the governor or lapse of time for gubernatorial action.
(Amends R.S. 17:407.23(A), (B), and (C))
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.