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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- H 5790 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC001545 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- RHODE ISLAND PRE-KINDERGARTEN EDUCATI ON |
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| 16 | 16 | | ACT |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Representatives Cotter, Baginski, Morales, Speakman, Tanzi, Casimiro, |
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| 18 | 18 | | Kazarian, Kislak, McNamara, and Batista |
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| 19 | 19 | | Date Introduced: February 22, 2023 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Referred To: House Finance |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | |
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| 23 | 23 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 16-87 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Pre-Kindergarten 1 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Education Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections: 2 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 16-87-8. High-quality, universal pre-kindergarten. 3 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (a) The general assembly acknowledges the need to adequately prepare all children to 4 |
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| 28 | 28 | | succeed in school by providing access to publicly funded, high quality pre-kindergarten education 5 |
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| 29 | 29 | | programs for all children ages three (3) and four (4). 6 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (b) Access to free, inclusive and high-quality pre-kindergarten classrooms in a mixed-7 |
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| 31 | 31 | | delivery system that includes Head Start agencies, local education agencies, licensed center-based 8 |
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| 32 | 32 | | child care providers, and licensed family child care providers, or family child care networks, shall 9 |
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| 33 | 33 | | be expanded annually across all communities in Rhode Island until every family who wants a high-10 |
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| 34 | 34 | | quality pre-kindergarten seat for their children ages three (3) or four (4), has one. 11 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (c) Universal access will be considered achieved when no less than seventy percent (70%) 12 |
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| 36 | 36 | | of all children ages three (3) and four (4) are enrolled in high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. 13 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (d) For the school year 2024-2025, the Rhode Island pre-kindergarten program 14 |
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| 38 | 38 | | administered by the department of education shall make funds available to offer no less than four 15 |
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| 39 | 39 | | thousand (4,000) high-quality pre-kindergarten seats through a mixed-delivery model, of which no 16 |
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| 40 | 40 | | less than twenty-five percent (25%) shall be made available for all children age three (3). 17 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (e) No later than December 31, 2023, the department of education, in collaboration with 18 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC001545 - Page 2 of 6 |
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| 45 | 45 | | the department of human services, the Head Start Collaboration Office, and the RI early learning 1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | council shall submit to the governor, speaker of the house, senate president, and chairs of house 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | and senate finance committees and education committees a year-by-year growth plan to achieve 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | universal access to high-quality pre-kindergarten for all children ages three (3) and four (4). The 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | growth plan shall detail annual growth targets and projected funding needs, as well as how the state 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | will: 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | (1) Equitably distribute pre-kindergarten funding to eligible providers, as described in § 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | 16-87-9(a); 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (2) Ensure that infant-toddler care is further strengthened through state investments as the 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | state pre-kindergarten program is expanded to achieve universal access; 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (3) Prepare, recruit and retain a highly-qualified early childhood workforce, and ensure 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | adequate wages for early childhood educators, regardless of setting, that provide a living wage and 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | are equivalent to wages for elementary educators with similar credentials and experience in the 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | state; 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | (4) Build capacity among new and existing providers to ensure quality standards are met 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | in all settings; and 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (5) Ensure providers in the mixed-delivery system have sufficient facilities to expand 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | access to high-quality pre-kindergarten services. 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | 16-87-9. High quality elements. 19 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (a) To expand access to high-quality pre-kindergarten education programs, the state shall 20 |
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| 65 | 65 | | implement and provide sufficient funding to support a mixed-delivery system comprised of eligible 21 |
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| 66 | 66 | | providers including local education agencies, Head Start agencies, licensed center-based child care 22 |
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| 67 | 67 | | providers, licensed family child care providers or licensed family child-care provider networks, or 23 |
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| 68 | 68 | | a consortium of these entities. 24 |
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| 69 | 69 | | (b) To build and maintain an adequate system of providers, the state shall support a 25 |
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| 70 | 70 | | continuous quality improvement system for providers of pre-kindergarten services participating in, 26 |
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| 71 | 71 | | or seeking to participate in, the state pre-kindergarten program. 27 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (c) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education (the 28 |
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| 73 | 73 | | "department") is hereby authorized to promulgate and adopt rules and regulations for the 29 |
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| 74 | 74 | | implementation of high quality, universal pre-kindergarten. Research-based quality standards shall 30 |
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| 75 | 75 | | be defined in regulation by the department, and shall include, but not be limited to: 31 |
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| 76 | 76 | | (1) Teacher education and certification; 32 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (2) Class size and staff ratios; 33 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (3) Learning time; 34 |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | |
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| 81 | 81 | | LC001545 - Page 3 of 6 |
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| 82 | 82 | | (4) Developmentally appropriate, evidence-based learning standards; 1 |
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| 83 | 83 | | (5) Curriculum prioritizing developmentally appropriate, play-based learning; 2 |
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| 84 | 84 | | (6) Access, inclusion and support for students with special needs; 3 |
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| 85 | 85 | | (7) Support for English language learners; 4 |
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| 86 | 86 | | (8) Professional development; 5 |
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| 87 | 87 | | (9) Child assessments; and 6 |
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| 88 | 88 | | (10) Observations and coaching to improve practice. 7 |
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| 89 | 89 | | (d) To whatever extent deemed necessary by the department, quality standards may be 8 |
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| 90 | 90 | | differentiated by pre-kindergarten education setting, such that every provider-type in a mixed-9 |
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| 91 | 91 | | delivery model is able and expected to meet the highest research-based quality standards as defined 10 |
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| 92 | 92 | | by the department. 11 |
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| 93 | 93 | | 16-87-10. Successful transitions. 12 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (a) Successful coordination between Rhode Island’s high-quality pre-kindergarten and 13 |
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| 95 | 95 | | kindergarten programs is essential for setting a solid foundation for all students. In order to have a 14 |
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| 96 | 96 | | seamless pathway from pre-kindergarten to third grade, standards, curriculum, instruction and 15 |
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| 97 | 97 | | assessments shall be aligned. 16 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (b) Effective transition programs and practices to help students and families move 17 |
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| 99 | 99 | | successfully from one setting to another shall be established. 18 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (c) All local education agencies (LEAs) in Rhode Island shall develop a kindergarten 19 |
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| 101 | 101 | | transition strategy to support incoming students and families. The transition strategy shall include 20 |
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| 102 | 102 | | two (2) parts: 21 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (1) Student and family communication and engagement plans; and 22 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (2) Program-level transition plans. 23 |
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| 105 | 105 | | (d) These strategies may include: 24 |
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| 106 | 106 | | (1) For student and family transition, the following strategies shall be considered: 25 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (i) Student visits to their future kindergarten classroom; 26 |
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| 108 | 108 | | (ii) Kindergarten teacher visits to the pre-kindergarten classrooms; 27 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (iii) Workshops for families of incoming kindergarten children; and 28 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (iv) Kindergarten orientation sessions the summer before school starts. 29 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (2) For program-level transition planning the following strategies shall be considered: 30 |
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| 112 | 112 | | (i) Creation of transition teams and liaisons between pre-kindergarten programs and district 31 |
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| 113 | 113 | | schools; 32 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (ii) Joint professional development and data sharing for pre-kindergarten to third grade 33 |
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| 115 | 115 | | teachers; and 34 |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | |
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| 118 | 118 | | LC001545 - Page 4 of 6 |
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| 119 | 119 | | (iii) Teacher-to-teacher conferences. 1 |
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| 120 | 120 | | 16-87-11. Pre-Kindergarten facilities. 2 |
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| 121 | 121 | | (a) No later than December 31, 2023, the department of human services shall provide the 3 |
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| 122 | 122 | | senate president and the speaker of the house with a report on the status of disbursement and impact 4 |
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| 123 | 123 | | of capital funds made available by the early learning facilities general obligation bond approved on 5 |
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| 124 | 124 | | March 2, 2021. 6 |
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| 125 | 125 | | (b) The department of elementary and secondary education and the department of human 7 |
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| 126 | 126 | | services shall establish programs and initiatives to ensure providers renovate, acquire, develop, 8 |
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| 127 | 127 | | and/or expand facilities that meet licensing and facilities standards, in order to increase access to 9 |
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| 128 | 128 | | high-quality pre-kindergarten learning environments. Programs and initiatives may include, but 10 |
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| 129 | 129 | | shall not be limited to: 11 |
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| 130 | 130 | | (1) Grant programs to be used for facility planning, predevelopment activities, and/or 12 |
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| 131 | 131 | | urgent facility maintenance required for the health, safety and quality of existing programs; 13 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (2) Supporting the establishment of strategic partnerships between local education agencies 14 |
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| 133 | 133 | | and community-based early learning providers to make use of available space in existing facilities; 15 |
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| 134 | 134 | | and/or 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | (3) Technical assistance for providers to access capital, navigate licensing standards for 17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | facilities, and/or begin the facility improvement and development processes. 18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | SECTION 2. Section 16-87-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-87 entitled "Rhode Island 19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | Pre-Kindergarten Education Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | 16-87-4. Early childhood workforce development. 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | (a) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall work with 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | other state departments and private philanthropy to establish a statewide, comprehensive, research-23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | based early childhood workforce development scholarship program to expand the number of early 24 |
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| 143 | 143 | | childhood educators who have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and 25 |
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| 144 | 144 | | who work with children from birth to age five (5). 26 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (b)(1) In furtherance of the goals set forth in this chapter, no later than January 1, 2023, the 27 |
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| 146 | 146 | | governor’s workforce board shall convene a working group comprised of representatives from the 28 |
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| 147 | 147 | | department of elementary and secondary education, department of human services, office of the 29 |
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| 148 | 148 | | postsecondary commissioner, the RI early learning council, organized labor, and early childhood 30 |
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| 149 | 149 | | education industry employers, whose purpose shall be to identify barriers to entry into the early 31 |
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| 150 | 150 | | childhood education workforce, and to design accessible and accelerated pathways into the 32 |
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| 151 | 151 | | workforce, including, but not limited to, registered apprenticeships and postsecondary credit for 33 |
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| 152 | 152 | | prior work experience. 34 |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | |
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| 155 | 155 | | LC001545 - Page 5 of 6 |
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| 156 | 156 | | (2) No later than April 1, 2023, the working group shall provide the general assembly with 1 |
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| 157 | 157 | | recommendations for addressing the barriers to workforce entry and implementing the solutions 2 |
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| 158 | 158 | | identified by the working group; the recommendations shall outline any administrative and 3 |
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| 159 | 159 | | legislative action that would be required by participating agencies to implement the 4 |
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| 160 | 160 | | recommendations. 5 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (3) If and when appropriate, and in accordance with program administration guidelines, the 6 |
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| 162 | 162 | | industry employers may seek to create a sector partnership via the real jobs Rhode Island program 7 |
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| 163 | 163 | | to implement workforce solutions. 8 |
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| 164 | 164 | | SECTION 3. Sections 16-87-3 and 16-87-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-87 entitled 9 |
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| 165 | 165 | | "Rhode Island Pre-Kindergarten Education Act" are hereby repealed. 10 |
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| 166 | 166 | | 16-87-3. Planning phase for a pre-Kindergarten program. 11 |
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| 167 | 167 | | (a) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall begin 12 |
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| 168 | 168 | | planning an initial, pilot pre-Kindergarten program that meets high quality standards, builds on the 13 |
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| 169 | 169 | | existing early childhood education infrastructure in the state (including child care, Head Start and 14 |
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| 170 | 170 | | public schools) and serves children ages three (3) and four (4) who reside in communities with 15 |
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| 171 | 171 | | concentrations of low performing schools. This planning phase will develop specific goals to 16 |
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| 172 | 172 | | expand the pilot pre-Kindergarten program over time and will also identify opportunities to 17 |
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| 173 | 173 | | strengthen care and learning programs for infants and toddlers. 18 |
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| 174 | 174 | | (b) During this planning phase, the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary 19 |
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| 175 | 175 | | education will quantify the resources needed to achieve and maintain high quality standards in pre-20 |
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| 176 | 176 | | Kindergarten programs and identify incentives and supports to develop a qualified early education 21 |
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| 177 | 177 | | workforce, including opportunities for experienced early childhood educators and 22 |
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| 178 | 178 | | paraprofessionals to acquire college degrees and earn early childhood teacher certification. 23 |
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| 179 | 179 | | (c) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education will begin to 24 |
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| 180 | 180 | | develop plans to collect and analyze data regarding the impact of the pilot pre-Kindergarten 25 |
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| 181 | 181 | | program on participating children's school readiness and school achievement. 26 |
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| 182 | 182 | | 16-87-5. Reporting. 27 |
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| 183 | 183 | | The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall report back to 28 |
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| 184 | 184 | | the general assembly and the governor on the progress of the pilot planning phase no later than 29 |
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| 185 | 185 | | October 31, 2008. 30 |
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| 186 | 186 | | SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. 31 |
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| 187 | 187 | | ======== |
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| 188 | 188 | | LC001545 |
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| 189 | 189 | | ======== |
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| 190 | 190 | | |
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| 191 | 191 | | |
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| 192 | 192 | | LC001545 - Page 6 of 6 |
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| 193 | 193 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 194 | 194 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 195 | 195 | | OF |
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| 196 | 196 | | A N A C T |
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| 197 | 197 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- RHODE ISLAND PRE-KINDERGARTEN EDUCATI ON |
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| 198 | 198 | | ACT |
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| 199 | 199 | | *** |
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| 200 | 200 | | This act would create public, high-quality pre-kindergarten education programs which are 1 |
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| 201 | 201 | | available to all children ages three (3) and four (4) throughout Rhode Island to increase children’s 2 |
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| 202 | 202 | | school readiness. This act would also require the Rhode Island Pre-Kindergarten Program to make 3 |
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| 203 | 203 | | funds available to offer no less than four thousand (4,000) high-quality pre-kindergarten seats for 4 |
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| 204 | 204 | | the school year 2024-2025. This act would repeal the statutory laws pertaining to the initial pilot 5 |
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| 205 | 205 | | pre-kindergarten program. 6 |
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| 206 | 206 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 7 |
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| 207 | 207 | | ======== |
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| 208 | 208 | | LC001545 |
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| 209 | 209 | | ======== |
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