Maryland 2024 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB1381 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb1381
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 1381
8	8	F5 4lr2518
9	9
10	10	By: Delegate Reilly
11	11	Introduced and read first time: February 9, 2024
12	12	Assigned to: Appropriations
13	13
14	14	A BILL ENTITLED
15	15
16	16	AN ACT concerning 1
17	17
18	18	Education – Publicly Funded Prekindergarten – Payments to Private Providers 2
19	19	and Building Use 3
20	20
21	21	FOR the purpose of altering the definition of prekindergarten enrollment for private 4
22	22	prekindergarten providers; requiring the State Department of Education to forward 5
23	23	fund the State and local share or provide a pay guarantee of not greater than a 6
24	24	certain period of time for certain prekindergarten funding; authorizing a county 7
25	25	board of education and an eligible private prekindergarten provider to utilize certain 8
26	26	spaces for prekindergarten; prohibiting the Interagency Commission on School 9
27	27	Construction and the Department from establishing certain prekindergarten space 10
28	28	requirements; authorizing a county board to apply for certain funding for 11
29	29	prekindergarten spaces; and generally relating to publicly funded prekindergarten. 12
30	30
31	31	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
32	32	Article – Education 14
33	33	Section 5–229 and 7–1A–07 15
34	34	Annotated Code of Maryland 16
35	35	(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 17
36	36
37	37	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 18
38	38	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 19
39	39
40	40	Article – Education 20
41	41
42	42	5–229. 21
43	43
44	44	(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 22
45	45
46	46	(2) “County program amount” means, for each county, the product of the 23
47	47	per pupil amount and the prekindergarten enrollment. 24
48	48	2 HOUSE BILL 1381
49	49
50	50
51	51	(3) “ELIGIBLE PREKINDERGAR TEN PROVIDER” INCLUDES: 1
52	52
53	53	(I) AN ELIGIBLE PUBLIC KI NDERGARTEN PROVIDER ; AND 2
54	54
55	55	(II) AN ELIGIBLE PRIVATE K INDERGARTEN PROVIDER . 3
56	56
57	57	(4) “ELIGIBLE PRIVATE PREK INDERGARTEN PROVIDER ” HAS THE 4
58	58	MEANING STATED IN § 7–1A–01 OF THIS ARTICLE. 5
59	59
60	60	(5) “ELIGIBLE PUBLIC PREKI NDERGARTEN PROVIDER ” HAS THE 6
61	61	MEANING STATED IN § 7–1A– 01 OF THIS ARTICLE. 7
62	62
63	63	[(3)] (6) “Family share” means the amount calculated under subsection 8
64	64	(e) of this section rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 9
65	65
66	66	[(4)] (7) “Local share” means, for each county, the result of the county 10
67	67	program amount minus the State share rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 11
68	68
69	69	[(5)] (8) “Per pupil amount” means: 12
70	70
71	71	(i) In fiscal year 2023, $10,094; 13
72	72
73	73	(ii) In fiscal year 2024, $11,594; 14
74	74
75	75	(iii) In fiscal year 2025, $13,003; 15
76	76
77	77	(iv) In fiscal year 2026, $14,473; 16
78	78
79	79	(v) In fiscal year 2027, $15,598; 17
80	80
81	81	(vi) In fiscal year 2028, $16,811; 18
82	82
83	83	(vii) In fiscal year 2029, $18,118; 19
84	84
85	85	(viii) In fiscal year 2030, $19,526; and 20
86	86
87	87	(ix) In subsequent fiscal years, the per pupil amount for the prior 21
88	88	fiscal year increased by the inflation adjustment rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 22
89	89
90	90	[(6)] (9) (I) “Prekindergarten enrollment” means, FOR PUBLIC 23
91	91	PREKINDERGARTEN PROV IDERS: 24
92	92
93	93	[(i)] 1. Beginning in fiscal year 2023, the number of Tier I 25
94	94	children enrolled with an eligible PUBLIC prekindergarten provider; and 26
95	95	HOUSE BILL 1381 3
96	96
97	97
98	98	[(ii)] 2. Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the number of Tier I and 1
99	99	Tier II children enrolled with an eligible PUBLIC prekindergarten provider. 2
100	100
101	101	(II) “PREKINDERGARTEN ENROL LMENT” MEANS, FOR PRIVATE 3
102	102	PREKINDERGARTEN PROV IDERS: 4
103	103
104	104	1. FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025, THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF 5
105	105	TIER I CHILDREN ENROLLED WITH AN ELI GIBLE PRIVATE PREKIN DERGARTEN 6
106	106	PROVIDER IN THE 3 PRIOR SCHOOL YEARS PLUS THE NUMBER OF TIER II CHILDREN 7
107	107	ENROLLED WITH AN ELI GIBLE PRIVATE PREKIN DERGARTEN PROVIDER ; 8
108	108
109	109	2. FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026, THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF 9
110	110	TIER I CHILDREN ENROLLED WITH AN ELI GIBLE PRIVATE PREKIN DERGARTEN 10
111	111	PROVIDER IN THE 3 PRIOR SCHOOL YEARS PLUS THE AVERAGE NUMBER O F TIER II 11
112	112	CHILDREN ENROLLED WITH AN ELI GIBLE PRIVATE PREKIN DERGARTEN PROVIDER 12
113	113	IN THE 2 PRIOR SCHOOL YEARS ; AND 13
114	114
115	115	3. FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 AND EACH FISCAL YEAR 14
116	116	THEREAFTER , THE AVERAGE NUMBER O F TIER I AND TIER II CHILDREN ENROLLED 15
117	117	WITH AN ELIGIBLE PRI VATE PREKINDERGARTEN PROVIDER IN THE 3 PRIOR SCHOOL 16
118	118	YEARS. 17
119	119
120	120	[(7)] (10) “State share” means, for each county, rounded to the nearest 18
121	121	whole dollar, the following calculations multiplied by 0.5: 19
122	122
123	123	(i) Multiply the per pupil amount by the county’s prekindergarten 20
124	124	enrollment; 21
125	125
126	126	(ii) Divide the result calculated under item (i) of this paragraph by 22
127	127	the ratio, rounded to seven decimal places, of local wealth per pupil to statewide wealth per 23
128	128	pupil; and 24
129	129
130	130	(iii) Multiply the result calculated under item (ii) of this paragraph 25
131	131	by the result, rounded to seven decimal places, that results from dividing the total program 26
132	132	amount by the sum of all of the results calculated under item (ii) of this paragraph for all 27
133	133	counties. 28
134	134
135	135	[(8)] (11) “Tier I child” has the meaning stated in § 7–1A–01 of this article. 29
136	136
137	137	[(9)] (12) “Tier II child” has the meaning stated in § 7–1A–01 of this article. 30
138	138
139	139	[(10)] (13) “Tier III child” has the meaning stated in § 7–1A–01 of this 31
140	140	article. 32
141	141	4 HOUSE BILL 1381
142	142
143	143
144	144	[(11)] (14) “Total program amount” means the product of the per pupil 1
145	145	amount and the statewide prekindergarten enrollment. 2
146	146
147	147	(b) To be eligible for public funding, [a] AN ELIGIBLE prekindergarten provider 3
148	148	shall comply with Title 7, Subtitle 1A of this article. 4
149	149
150	150	(c) (1) (i) As calculated under subsection (d) of this section, there is a State 5
151	151	share and local share of the per pupil amount for Tier I children. 6
152	152
153	153	(ii) There is no family share for Tier I children. 7
154	154
155	155	(2) As calculated under subsection (e) of this section and beginning in fiscal 8
156	156	year 2025, there is a State share, local share, and family share of the per pupil amount for 9
157	157	Tier II children. 10
158	158
159	159	(3) Tier III children are not eligible for funding under this section. 11
160	160
161	161	(d) (1) For ELIGIBLE public PREKINDERGARTEN providers, each fiscal year: 12
162	162
163	163	(i) The State shall distribute the State share to each county board; 13
164	164	and 14
165	165
166	166	(ii) The county board shall distribute to each ELIGIBLE public 15
167	167	PREKINDERGARTEN provider the minimum school funding amount for prekindergarten 16
168	168	calculated under § 5–234 of this subtitle. 17
169	169
170	170	(2) (I) For ELIGIBLE private PREKINDERGARTEN providers, each 18
171	171	fiscal year: 19
172	172
173	173	[(i)] 1. The State shall distribute the State share for ELIGIBLE 20
174	174	private PREKINDERGARTEN providers to the Department; 21
175	175
176	176	[(ii)] 2. The county shall distribute the local share for ELIGIBLE 22
177	177	private PREKINDERGARTEN providers to the Department; and 23
178	178
179	179	[(iii)] 3. The Department shall distribute the State and local share 24
180	180	to the ELIGIBLE private PREKINDERGARTEN providers. 25
181	181
182	182	(II) FOR ELIGIBLE PRIVATE PREKINDERGARTEN PROV IDERS, 26
183	183	THE DEPARTMENT SHALL FORW ARD FUND THE STATE AND LOCAL SHARE TO 27
184	184	ELIGIBLE PRIVATE PREKINDERGARTEN PROV IDERS OR PROVIDE A PAY GUARANTEE 28
185	185	OF NOT GREATER THAN 30 DAYS. 29
186	186
187	187	(e) (1) On or before July 1, 2022, the Department shall establish a sliding scale 30
188	188	to calculate the family share required for Tier II children. 31
189	189	HOUSE BILL 1381 5
190	190
191	191
192	192	(2) The sliding scale developed by the Department shall be increased on a 1
193	193	linear basis with: 2
194	194
195	195	(i) A lower limit of $0 per pupil for a family with an income that is 3
196	196	300% of the federal poverty level; and 4
197	197
198	198	(ii) An upper limit of the per pupil amount for a family with an 5
199	199	income that is more than 300% but less than 600% of the federal poverty level. 6
200	200
201	201	(3) (i) Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the family shall pay the family 7
202	202	share to the publicly funded prekindergarten provider. 8
203	203
204	204	(ii) A county board may provide up to 100% of the family share on 9
205	205	behalf of the family. 10
206	206
207	207	(f) Income–eligible families shall have access to extended day services through 11
208	208	the Child Care Scholarship Program under Title 9.5, Subtitle 9 of this article. 12
209	209
210	210	(g) The Department, county boards, and eligible prekindergarten providers shall 13
211	211	work together to address the transportation needs of children enrolled in eligible 14
212	212	prekindergarten providers. 15
213	213
214	214	(h) On or before November 1, 2021, the Department shall report to the 16
215	215	Accountability and Implementation Board and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State 17
216	216	Government Article, the General Assembly on: 18
217	217
218	218	(1) Plans for an income verification process to determine eligibility for Tier 19
219	219	I, Tier II, or Tier III status of a child; 20
220	220
221	221	(2) Administrative procedures for distributing the funds required under 21
222	222	subsection (d) of this section; 22
223	223
224	224	(3) (i) Providing families with the ability to indicate a preference for the 23
225	225	public or private prekindergarten program in which to enroll the child; and 24
226	226
227	227	(ii) Communicating with families that the ability to choose to enroll 25
228	228	a child in a public provider outside the family’s attendance area is available only for 26
229	229	prekindergarten; 27
230	230
231	231	(4) Recommendations for the methodology the Department will use to 28
232	232	calculate the State, local, and family share for Tier II children under the sliding scale 29
233	233	developed under subsection (e) of this section; and 30
234	234
235	235	(5) Recommendations on whether to extend the prekindergarten 31
236	236	supplemental grant provided under § 5–232 of this subtitle. 32
237	237
238	238	7–1A–07. 33 6 HOUSE BILL 1381
239	239
240	240
241	241
242	242	(a) (1) The Interagency Commission on School Construction shall prioritize 1
243	243	public school construction funding requests for high quality prekindergarten classrooms. 2
244	244
245	245	(2) The Interagency Commission on School Construction shall consider the 3
246	246	availability of private eligible prekindergarten providers when determining priorities 4
247	247	under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 5
248	248
249	249	(b) (1) A county board AND AN ELIGIBLE PRIV ATE PREKINDERGARTEN 6
250	250	PROVIDER may partner with the State or the county government to address physical space 7
251	251	constraints for eligible prekindergarten providers by utilizing existing available space at a 8
252	252	location that is not an eligible prekindergarten provider including: 9
253	253
254	254	[(1)] (I) Senior care facilities; [or] 10
255	255
256	256	[(2)] (II) Community centers; 11
257	257
258	258	(III) COUNTY GOVERNMENT FAC ILITIES; OR 12
259	259
260	260	(IV) HOSPITALS. 13
261	261
262	262	(2) THE INTERAGENCY COMMISSION ON SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION 14
263	263	AND THE DEPARTMENT MAY NOT ESTABLISH SP ACE REQUIREMENTS FOR 15
264	264	PREKINDERGARTEN SPACE IN PUBLIC BUIL DINGS THAT ARE NOT S CHOOLS. 16
265	265
266	266	(C) (1) A COUNTY BOARD MAY APP LY FOR FUNDING FROM THE CAPITAL 17
267	267	IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM TO LEASE PUBLIC FACILITIES FOR PREKI NDERGARTEN 18
268	268	SPACE. 19
269	269
270	270	(2) THE MANAGEMENT OF THE LEASED PUBLIC FACILI TY SHALL BE 20
271	271	THE RESPONSIBILITY O F THE BUILDING OWNER AND NOT THE COUNTY B OARD. 21
272	272
273	273	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 22
274	274	1, 2024. 23