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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 608 FILED ON: 1/10/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 687
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Lindsay N. Sabadosa
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act ensuring high quality pre-kindergarten education.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/10/2025 1 of 4
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 608 FILED ON: 1/10/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 687
By Representative Sabadosa of Northampton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 687)
of Lindsay N. Sabadosa relative to ensuring high quality pre-kindergarten education. Education.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 566 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act ensuring high quality pre-kindergarten education.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Chapter 15D of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby
2amended by inserting after section 13 the following section:-
3 Section 13A. (a) The department of early education and care, in consultation with the
4department of elementary and secondary education, shall develop and administer the high quality
5pre-kindergarten Education grant program to support the implementation of high quality pre-
6kindergarten programs for children between the ages of 2 years and 9 months and the age a child
7becomes eligible for kindergarten in the district where he or she resides. The grants shall be used
8to invest in a high quality, mixed-delivery early education system in order to reduce the
9achievement gap and improve third-grade reading scores. Eligible grantees shall include 2 of 4
10individual school districts and collaborations of multiple school districts in a region. Proposals
11must include partnerships with licensed community-based early learning programs.
12 (b) The departments shall establish requirements for grant applicants which shall include,
13but not be limited to, the following: (1) a tracking system for preschool students in the program
14using the state student identifier system; (2) a child to instructor ratio of no more than 10 to 1; (3)
15tactics to engage families in the enrollment process and implementation of the plan required
16under subsection (c), and methods to ensure a high level of participation by families with 3 and 4
17year olds; (4) teacher qualifications and on-going professional development requirements; (5)
18full school day program in the district; (6) a class size of no more than 20 preschool students; (7)
19inclusion of children with disabilities; (8) instructional staff salaries and benefits comparable to
20the responding districts salaries and benefits for kindergarten to high school staff; (9)
21developmentally and linguistically appropriate instruction; (10) evidenced based curricula; (11)
22accommodations and support for access and participation in all learning opportunities by each
23child; (12) a learning environment aligned with the state early learning and development
24standards; (13) on-site or access to comprehensive services for children; (14) partnership with,
25and promotion of, community service providers for families to support children’s learning and
26development; (15) evidenced based health and safety standards; (16) a timetable for
27implementation; (17) program evaluation and data collection systems to ensure continuous
28improvement; (18) a description of the learning environment reflecting the state early learning
29and development standards; (19) a description of the physical structures for the education of the
30students; (20) a teacher evaluation system and professional improvement program; and (21) a
31vision and initial plan for serving children from birth to age 3.
32 Grants shall be awarded based on two primary criteria: readiness and need. 3 of 4
33 Readiness shall be defined as the community having in place an EEC-approved plan for
34preschool expansion. All grantees must meet this criteria. Plans must include: (1) detailed
35assessment of the local early education and care system, including supply of high-quality
36preschool classrooms, qualifications of teachers, facilities, and transportation; (2) estimate of the
37percentage of high-needs children entering kindergarten annually with no prior preschool
38experience; (3) a profile of family and community needs and assets, including parent
39perspectives and demand for preschool; (4) list of local resources such as funding or in-kind
40support, recent early learning initiatives, strategic plans, professional development strategies, and
41evidence of collaboration within the mixed-delivery system of early education and care; and (5)
42proposed program budgets.
43 Need shall be defined by the percentage of high-need students, as defined by the
44department of elementary and secondary education, enrolled in a grantee’s school district. In any
45given fiscal year, the department shall award implementation grants in order from highest need
46to lowest need until that fiscal year’s grant funds are expired.
47 In awarding grants, preference shall be given to districts designated as underperforming
48or chronically underperforming pursuant to section 1J of chapter 69.
49 (c) Each recipient of the grant shall establish a plan to implement the requirements set
50forth in subsection (b) and any other requirements as may be prescribed by the board of early
51education and care. Each district shall establish a local governing council to implement and
52oversee all aspects of the plan. Districts shall provide on a quarterly basis reports to the
53department of early education and care on all aspects of the plan. The district and the local
54council shall implement the plan as approved within the period of time approved by the 4 of 4
55department. Failure to satisfactorily implement the plan within the approved period of time shall
56result in the termination of the plan and reversion of the grant funds to the department.
57 (d) The board of early education and care shall promulgate regulations to implement the
58provisions of this act within six months of the effective date including guidelines for membership
59to local governing councils in each recipient district and evaluation criteria required in the
60quarterly reports. A grant awarded pursuant to this subsection shall require that recipients
61undertake ongoing evaluations of the implementation of the plan and all its aspects.
62 The commissioner of early education and care shall annually evaluate the effectiveness of
63programs established under this section, including the potential for replicating such programs
64throughout the commonwealth. The commissioner shall also provide technical assistance to
65school districts seeking to replicate programs funded under this section.