EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*sb0913*
SENATE BILL 913
F5, O4 EMERGENCY BILL 3lr3024
CF HB 770
By: Senator Guzzone
Introduced and read first time: February 15, 2023
Assigned to: Rules
Re–referred to: Education, Energy, and the Environment, February 24, 2023
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
Senate action: Adopted
Read second time: March 7, 2023
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Publicly Funded Full–Day Prekindergarten Program – Tier I Child – Alteration 2
of Definition 3
Education – Community Eligibility Provision Schools and Prekindergarten 4
Enrollment and Funding – Alterations 5
FOR the purpose of altering the definition of a “Tier I child” who may be enrolled beginning 6
in a certain school year to a full–day prekindergarten program, to include children 7
with a disability, children who are homeless youths, and children who are from 8
homes in which English is not the primary spoken language; exempting certain 9
schools from the requirement to collect a certain eligibility form if the school is in a 10
local school system in which all schools participate in the community eligibility 11
provision; altering the definition of “prekindergarten enrollment”, beginning in a 12
certain school year, to include certain Tier II children for certain funding purposes; 13
altering the categories of certain Tier II children who are given priority for the 14
expansion of prekindergarten slots; altering the categories of children who may be 15
enrolled in a full–day prekindergarten program beginning in a certain school year; 16
and generally relating to publicly funded full–day prekindergarten community 17
eligibility provision schools and prekindergarten enrollment and funding. 18
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 19
Article – Education 20
Section 5–229(a) 5–229(b) through (d), 7–1A–01(a), 7–1A–03, and 7–1A–08 21
Annotated Code of Maryland 22
(2022 Replacement Volume) 23 2 SENATE BILL 913
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 1
Article – Education 2
Section 5–222(c), 5–229(a), 7–1A–01(i), 7–1A–04(a), and 7–1A–06 3
Annotated Code of Maryland 4
(2022 Replacement Volume) 5
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 6
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 7
Article – Education 8
5–222. 9
(c) (1) THIS SUBSECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO SCHOOLS IN A LOCAL 10
SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT O PTED INTO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF 11
AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY PROVISIO NS FOR ALL SCHOOLS I N THE 12
LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEM . 13
(2) By school year 2022–2023, the State alternative income eligibility form 14
shall be collected by each school that is participating in the United States Department of 15
Agriculture community eligibility provision and may be collected by all other schools. 16
[(2)] (3) The State alternative income eligibility form shall be developed 17
by the Department and shall include a statement indicating that the income information 18
requested on the form is used to determine local and State funding for education. 19
5–229. 20
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 21
(2) “County program amount” means, for each county, the product of the 22
per pupil amount and the prekindergarten enrollment. 23
(3) “Family share” means the amount calculated under subsection (e) of 24
this section rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 25
(4) “Local share” means, for each county, the result of the county program 26
amount minus the State share rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 27
(5) “Per pupil amount” means: 28
(i) In fiscal year 2023, $10,094; 29
(ii) In fiscal year 2024, $11,594; 30
SENATE BILL 913 3
(iii) In fiscal year 2025, $13,003; 1
(iv) In fiscal year 2026, $14,473; 2
(v) In fiscal year 2027, $15,598; 3
(vi) In fiscal year 2028, $16,811; 4
(vii) In fiscal year 2029, $18,118; 5
(viii) In fiscal year 2030, $19,526; and 6
(ix) In subsequent fiscal years, the per pupil amount for the prior 7
fiscal year increased by the inflation adjustment rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 8
(6) “Prekindergarten enrollment” means: 9
(i) Beginning in fiscal year 2023, the number of Tier I children AND 10
TIER II CHILDREN WHO ARE A P RIORITY UNDER § 7–1A–06(D) OF THIS ARTICLE 11
enrolled with an eligible prekindergarten provider; and 12
(ii) Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the number of Tier I and Tier II 13
children enrolled with an eligible prekindergarten provider. 14
(7) “State share” means, for each county, rounded to the nearest whole 15
dollar, the following calculations multiplied by 0.5: 16
(i) Multiply the per pupil amount by the county’s prekindergarten 17
enrollment; 18
(ii) Divide the result calculated under item (i) of this paragraph by 19
the ratio, rounded to seven decimal places, of local wealth per pupil to statewide wealth per 20
pupil; and 21
(iii) Multiply the result calculated under item (ii) of this paragraph 22
by the result, rounded to seven decimal places, that results from dividing the total program 23
amount by the sum of all of the results calculated under item (ii) of this paragraph for all 24
counties. 25
(8) “Tier I child” has the meaning stated in § 7–1A–01 of this article. 26
(9) “Tier II child” has the meaning stated in § 7–1A–01 of this article. 27
(10) “Tier III child” has the meaning stated in § 7–1A–01 of this article. 28
(11) “Total program amount” means the product of the per pupil amount and 29
the statewide prekindergarten enrollment. 30 4 SENATE BILL 913
(b) To be eligible for public funding, a prekindergarten provider shall comply with 1
Title 7, Subtitle 1A of this article. 2
(c) (1) (i) As calculated under subsection (d) of this section, there is a State 3
share and local share of the per pupil amount for Tier I children. 4
(ii) There is no family share for Tier I children. 5
(2) As calculated under subsection (e) of this section and beginning in fiscal 6
year 2025, there is a State share, local share, and family share of the per pupil amount for 7
Tier II children. 8
(3) Tier III children are not eligible for funding under this section. 9
(d) (1) For public providers, each fiscal year: 10
(i) The State shall distribute the State share to each county board; 11
and 12
(ii) The county board shall distribute to each public provider the 13
minimum school funding amount for prekindergarten calculated under § 5–234 of this 14
subtitle. 15
(2) For private providers, each fiscal year: 16
(i) The State shall distribute the State share for private providers 17
to the Department; 18
(ii) The county shall distribute the local share for private providers 19
to the Department; and 20
(iii) The Department shall distribute the State and local share to the 21
private providers. 22
7–1A–01. 23
(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 24
(i) “Tier I child” means a child: 25
(1) Who is 3 or 4 years old; 26
(2) (I) Whose family income is less than or equal to 300% of the federal 27
poverty level; OR 28
(II) WHO IS A CHILD WITH A DISABILITY; 29 SENATE BILL 913 5
(III) WHO IS A HOMELESS YOU TH; OR 1
(IV) WHO IS FROM A HOME IN WHICH ENGLISH IS NOT THE 2
PRIMARY SPOKEN LANGU AGE; and 3
(3) Whose family chooses to enroll the child in full–day prekindergarten. 4
7–1A–03. 5
(a) Except as provided under subsection (b) of this section, a county board shall 6
ensure that: 7
(1) Beginning in the 2022–2023 school year, prekindergarten slots 8
provided by eligible private providers shall account for at least 30% of the total 9
prekindergarten slots provided by eligible prekindergarten providers in each county; 10
(2) The proportion of eligible private provider prekindergarten slots in each 11
county increases by 5 percentage points every school year, until, in the 2026–2027 school 12
year, eligible private provider prekindergarten slots account for at least 50% of eligible 13
prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county; and 14
(3) In each year after the 2026–2027 school year, the proportion of eligible 15
private provider prekindergarten slots in each county shall continue to constitute at least 16
50% of eligible prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county. 17
(b) (1) The Department shall issue a waiver from the requirements of this 18
section to a county board if: 19
(i) All families in the county who desire to enroll their eligible 20
children with eligible prekindergarten providers are able to do so; or 21
(ii) After reasonable cross–jurisdictional or regional efforts, there 22
are too few eligible private providers to meet the minimum requirements of this section. 23
(2) The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 24
3 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 25
2029–2030 school year. 26
(3) The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 27
4 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 28
2026–2027 school year. 29
(4) The Department shall establish waiver application procedures to carry 30
out the provisions of this subsection. 31
7–1A–04. 32 6 SENATE BILL 913
(a) All eligible prekindergarten providers shall include structural elements that 1
are evidence–based and nationally recognized as important for ensuring program quality, 2
including: 3
(1) Beginning in the 2025–2026 school year: 4
(i) High staff qualifications, including teachers who, at a minimum, 5
hold: 6
1. State certification for teaching in early childhood 7
education; or 8
2. A bachelor’s degree in any field and are pursuing 9
residency through the Maryland Approved Alternative Preparation Program, which 10
includes early childhood coursework, clinical practice, and evidence of pedagogical content 11
knowledge; and 12
(ii) Teaching assistants who have at least: 13
1. A Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate; or 14
2. An associate’s degree; 15
(2) Professional development for all staff; 16
(3) A student–to–classroom personnel ratio of no more than 10 to 1 in each 17
class; 18
(4) Class sizes of no more than 20 students per classroom; 19
(5) A full–day prekindergarten program; 20
(6) [Inclusion of students with disabilities to ensure access to and full 21
participation in all program opportunities; 22
(7)] For at least 1 year before a student’s enrollment in kindergarten, 23
learning environments that: 24
(i) Are aligned with State Early Learning and Development 25
Standards; 26
(ii) Use evidence–based curricula; and 27
(iii) Use instruction methods that are: 28
1. Developmentally appropriate; and 29 SENATE BILL 913 7
2. Culturally and linguistically responsive; 1
[(8)] (7) Individualized accommodations and supports for all students; 2
[(9)] (8) Instructional staff salaries and benefits that are comparable to 3
the salaries and benefits of instructional staff employed by the county board of the county 4
in which the early learning program is located; 5
[(10)] (9) Program evaluation to ensure continuous program improvement; 6
[(11)] (10) On–site or accessible comprehensive services for students; 7
[(12)] (11) Community partnerships that promote access to comprehensive 8
services for families of students; and 9
[(13)] (12) Evidence–based health and safety standards. 10
7–1A–06. 11
(a) Beginning in the 2022–2023 school year, Tier I children who are 3 or 4 years 12
old AND CHILDREN WHO ARE A PRIORITY UNDER SUB SECTION (D) OF THIS SECTION 13
may be enrolled in a full–day prekindergarten program under this subtitle. 14
(b) (1) The proportion of enrolled Tier I children who are 3 years old shall 15
increase annually until all Tier I children who are 3 years old are enrolled in a full–day 16
prekindergarten program. 17
(2) The proportion of enrolled Tier I children who are 4 years old shall 18
increase annually so that all Tier I children who are 4 years old shall be enrolled in a 19
full–day prekindergarten program. 20
(c) Beginning in the 2024–2025 school year, Tier II children may be enrolled in a 21
full–day prekindergarten program if space is available to encourage socioeconomic diversity 22
in prekindergarten classrooms. 23
(d) Priority in expanding prekindergarten slots shall be provided to 3– and 4–year 24
olds who are[: 25
(1)] Tier I children[; 26
(2) Children with disabilities, regardless of income; OR 27
(3) Homeless youth; and 28
8 SENATE BILL 913
(4) Children from homes in which English is not the primary spoken 1
language]. 2
(e) The ability of a family to choose the prekindergarten provider in which to 3
enroll their child does not supersede local authority to set school attendance boundaries. 4
7–1A–08. 5
On or before December 1, 2021, and each December 1 thereafter, each county board 6
shall submit the following information, disaggregated by eligible private and eligible public 7
providers, to the Department and the Accountability and Implementation Board 8
established under Title 5, Subtitle 4 of this article: 9
(1) The number of eligible prekindergarten providers in the county; 10
(2) The number of eligible prekindergarten providers in the county that, in 11
the immediately preceding calendar year, expanded to offer prekindergarten programs that 12
are open for pupil attendance a minimum of 6.5 hours during each school day; 13
(3) The Maryland EXCELS program quality rating level of each eligible 14
prekindergarten provider in the county; 15
(4) The participation rate of all county 3– and 4–year olds in eligible 16
prekindergarten providers established or expanded in accordance with this subtitle, 17
disaggregated by age and tier, if applicable; 18
(5) The number and proportion of eligible prekindergarten providers in the 19
county that are eligible private providers; 20
(6) A measure of school readiness in accordance with § 7–210 of this title; 21
and 22
(7) A demonstration that the expansion of prekindergarten programs in 23
the county gave priority to: 24
(i) Children in areas with limited or no access to quality child care, 25
regardless of family income; 26
(ii) Tier I children; and 27
(iii) Students with disabilities, regardless of family income. 28
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FUR THER ENACTED, That this Act is an emergency 29
measure, is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health or safety, has 30
been passed by a yea and nay vote supported by three–fifths of all the members elected to 31
each of the two Houses of the General Assembly, and shall take effect from the date it is 32
enacted. 33 SENATE BILL 913 9
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.