| 1 | 1 | | |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- H 6009 |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | LC001928 |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- RHODE ISLAND PREKINDERGARTEN EDUC ATION |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | ACT |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Noret, Casimiro, Solomon, Handy, and |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | Phillips |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | Date Introduced: March 01, 2023 |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | Referred To: House Finance |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 16-87 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Prekindergarten 1 |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | Education Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 2 |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | 16-87-8. High quality, universal prekindergarten. 3 |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | (a) The general assembly acknowledges the need to adequately prepare all children to 4 |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | succeed in school by providing access to publicly funded, high quality prekindergarten education 5 |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | programs for all children ages three (3) and four (4) and to sustain and expand access to high-6 |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | quality early care and education programs for infants and toddlers under age three (3). 7 |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | (b) Access to free, inclusive and high-quality prekindergarten classrooms in a mixed-8 |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | delivery system that includes state investments to be layered on top of federal investments to sustain 9 |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | and expand the federally managed Head Start program model for children ages three (3) and four 10 |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | (4) and the federally managed Early Head Start program model for infants and toddlers under age 11 |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | three (3). 12 |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | The state managed prekindergarten program model shall be sustained and expanded in a 13 |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | mixed delivery-system that includes Head Start agencies, local education agencies, licensed center-14 |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | based child care providers, and licensed family child care providers, or family child care networks, 15 |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | shall be expanded annually across all communities in Rhode Island until every family who wants 16 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | a high-quality prekindergarten seat for their children ages three (3) or four (4), has one. 17 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | (c) Universal access will be considered achieved when no less than seventy percent (70%) 18 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | LC001928 - Page 2 of 7 |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | of all children ages three (3) and four (4) are enrolled in high-quality prekindergarten programs. 1 |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | (d) For the school year 2023-2024, the Rhode Island prekindergarten program administered 2 |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | by the department of education shall make funds available that are needed to sustain all existing RI 3 |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | Pre-K classrooms through a mixed-delivery model and to ensure programs can offer competitive 4 |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | wages to RI Pre-K teachers and teaching assistants. 5 |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | For the school year 2023-2024, the department of human services shall make funds 6 |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | available through state contracts with Head Start agencies to ensure programs can offer competitive 7 |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | wages to Head Start and Early Head Start classroom teachers and teaching assistants so that all one 8 |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | hundred eight (108) Head Start classrooms serving children ages three (3) and four (4) and forty 9 |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | (40) Early Head Start classrooms serving infants and toddlers under age three (3) will be open and 10 |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | staffed with qualified early educators. 11 |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | (e) No later than December 1, 2023, the department of education, in collaboration with the 12 |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | department of human services, the Head Start Collaboration Office, and the RI early learning 13 |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | council shall submit to the governor, speaker of the house, senate president, and chairs of house 14 |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | and senate finance committees and education committees a revised year-by-year growth plan to 15 |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | achieve universal access to high-quality prekindergarten for all children ages three (3) and four (4) 16 |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | including investments in both the federally managed Head Start model and the state managed 17 |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | prekindergarten model; the growth plan shall detail annual growth targets and projected funding 18 |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | needs, as well as how the state will: 19 |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | (1) Equitably distribute prekindergarten funding to eligible providers, to sustain and 20 |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | expand access to both the federally managed Head Start model and the state managed 21 |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | prekindergarten model, as described in §16-87-9(a); 22 |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | (2) Ensure that Early Head Start classrooms serving infants and toddlers under age three 23 |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | (3) are adequately funded and can be sustained and expanded with a combination of federal and 24 |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | state resources to deliver high-quality early care and education staffed with competitively-25 |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | compensated educators who meet or exceed the qualifications outlined in the federal Head Start 26 |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | Performance Standards; 27 |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | (3) Set year-by-year investment targets for each year of the pre-K growth plan to sustain 28 |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | and improve access to high-quality infant-toddler early care and education in both child care centers 29 |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | and family child care homes staffed with qualified and skilled educators; 30 |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | (4) Identify resources needed to prepare, recruit and retain a highly-qualified early 31 |
|---|
| 76 | 76 | | childhood educator workforce statewide to staff existing programs that provide support for healthy 32 |
|---|
| 77 | 77 | | child development and early learning opportunities for children from infancy through age five (5). 33 |
|---|
| 78 | 78 | | This shall include resources needed to ensure adequate wages to attract and retain qualified and 34 |
|---|
| 79 | 79 | | |
|---|
| 80 | 80 | | |
|---|
| 81 | 81 | | LC001928 - Page 3 of 7 |
|---|
| 82 | 82 | | skilled early childhood educators, regardless of setting, that provide a living wage and are 1 |
|---|
| 83 | 83 | | equivalent to wages for elementary educators with similar credentials and experience in the state; 2 |
|---|
| 84 | 84 | | (5) Build capacity among new and existing early care and education providers to ensure 3 |
|---|
| 85 | 85 | | quality standards are met in all settings; and 4 |
|---|
| 86 | 86 | | (6) Ensure providers in the mixed-delivery system have sufficient facilities to expand 5 |
|---|
| 87 | 87 | | access to high-quality prekindergarten and infant/toddler early care and education services. 6 |
|---|
| 88 | 88 | | 16-87-9. High quality elements. 7 |
|---|
| 89 | 89 | | (a) To expand access to high-quality prekindergarten education programs, the state shall 8 |
|---|
| 90 | 90 | | implement and provide sufficient funding to support a mixed-delivery system including state 9 |
|---|
| 91 | 91 | | investments to sustain all state prekindergarten, Head Start, and Early Head Start classrooms 10 |
|---|
| 92 | 92 | | statewide and to expand these models through contracting with eligible providers including local 11 |
|---|
| 93 | 93 | | education agencies, Head Start agencies, licensed center-based child care providers, licensed family 12 |
|---|
| 94 | 94 | | child care providers or licensed family child-care provider networks, or a consortium of these 13 |
|---|
| 95 | 95 | | entities. 14 |
|---|
| 96 | 96 | | (b) To build and maintain an adequate system of providers, the state shall support a 15 |
|---|
| 97 | 97 | | continuous quality improvement system for providers of prekindergarten services participating in, 16 |
|---|
| 98 | 98 | | or seeking to participate in, the state prekindergarten program and shall work with the federal Office 17 |
|---|
| 99 | 99 | | of Head Start to ensure all Head Start and Early Head Start programs receive continuous quality 18 |
|---|
| 100 | 100 | | improvement support 19 |
|---|
| 101 | 101 | | (c) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education (the 20 |
|---|
| 102 | 102 | | "department") is hereby authorized to promulgate and adopt rules and regulations for the 21 |
|---|
| 103 | 103 | | implementation of high quality, universal prekindergarten. Research-based quality standards shall 22 |
|---|
| 104 | 104 | | be defined in regulation by the department, and shall include, but not be limited to: 23 |
|---|
| 105 | 105 | | (1) Teacher education and certification; 24 |
|---|
| 106 | 106 | | (2) Class size and staff ratios; 25 |
|---|
| 107 | 107 | | (3) Learning time; 26 |
|---|
| 108 | 108 | | (4) Developmentally appropriate, evidence-based learning standards; 27 |
|---|
| 109 | 109 | | (5) Curriculum prioritizing developmentally appropriate, play-based learning; 28 |
|---|
| 110 | 110 | | (6) Access, inclusion and support for students with special needs, including a system to 29 |
|---|
| 111 | 111 | | ensure delivery of high-quality, inclusive early education services required by the Individuals with 30 |
|---|
| 112 | 112 | | Disabilities Education Act to children with developmental delays and disabilities who are enrolled 31 |
|---|
| 113 | 113 | | in community-based programs which may or may not be located in the same municipality where 32 |
|---|
| 114 | 114 | | the child lives; 33 |
|---|
| 115 | 115 | | (7) Support for English language learners; 34 |
|---|
| 116 | 116 | | |
|---|
| 117 | 117 | | |
|---|
| 118 | 118 | | LC001928 - Page 4 of 7 |
|---|
| 119 | 119 | | (8) Professional development; 1 |
|---|
| 120 | 120 | | (9) Child assessments; and 2 |
|---|
| 121 | 121 | | (10) Observations and coaching to improve practice. 3 |
|---|
| 122 | 122 | | (d) To whatever extent deemed necessary by the department, quality standards may be 4 |
|---|
| 123 | 123 | | differentiated by prekindergarten education setting and include federal support and oversight for 5 |
|---|
| 124 | 124 | | the Head Start and Early Head Start Performance Standards, such that every provider-type in a 6 |
|---|
| 125 | 125 | | mixed-delivery model is able and expected to meet the highest research-based quality standards as 7 |
|---|
| 126 | 126 | | defined by the department. 8 |
|---|
| 127 | 127 | | 16-87-10. Successful transition. 9 |
|---|
| 128 | 128 | | (a) Successful coordination between Rhode Island’s high-quality prekindergarten and 10 |
|---|
| 129 | 129 | | kindergarten programs is essential for setting a solid foundation for all students. In order to have a 11 |
|---|
| 130 | 130 | | seamless pathway from prekindergarten to third grade, standards, curriculum, instruction and 12 |
|---|
| 131 | 131 | | assessments shall be aligned. 13 |
|---|
| 132 | 132 | | (b) Effective transition programs and practices to help students and families move 14 |
|---|
| 133 | 133 | | successfully from one setting to another shall be established. 15 |
|---|
| 134 | 134 | | (c) All local education agencies (LEAs) in Rhode Island shall develop a kindergarten 16 |
|---|
| 135 | 135 | | transition strategy to support incoming students and families. The transition strategy must include 17 |
|---|
| 136 | 136 | | two (2) parts: 18 |
|---|
| 137 | 137 | | (1) Student and family communication and engagement plans; and 19 |
|---|
| 138 | 138 | | (2) Program-level transition plans. 20 |
|---|
| 139 | 139 | | (d) These strategies may include: 21 |
|---|
| 140 | 140 | | (1) For student and family transition, the following strategies shall be considered: 22 |
|---|
| 141 | 141 | | (i) Student visits to their future kindergarten classroom; 23 |
|---|
| 142 | 142 | | (ii) Kindergarten teacher visits to the prekindergarten classrooms; 24 |
|---|
| 143 | 143 | | (iii) Workshops for families of incoming kindergarten children; and 25 |
|---|
| 144 | 144 | | (iv) Kindergarten orientation sessions the summer before school starts. 26 |
|---|
| 145 | 145 | | (2) For program-level transition planning the following strategies shall be considered: 27 |
|---|
| 146 | 146 | | (i) Creation of transition teams and liaisons between prekindergarten programs and district 28 |
|---|
| 147 | 147 | | schools; 29 |
|---|
| 148 | 148 | | (ii) Joint professional development and data sharing for prekindergarten to third grade 30 |
|---|
| 149 | 149 | | teachers; and 31 |
|---|
| 150 | 150 | | (iii) Teacher-to-teacher conferences. 32 |
|---|
| 151 | 151 | | 16-87-10. Prekindergarten facilities. 33 |
|---|
| 152 | 152 | | (a) No later than December 31, 2023, the department of human services shall provide the 34 |
|---|
| 153 | 153 | | |
|---|
| 154 | 154 | | |
|---|
| 155 | 155 | | LC001928 - Page 5 of 7 |
|---|
| 156 | 156 | | senate president and the speaker of the house with a report on the status of disbursement and impact 1 |
|---|
| 157 | 157 | | of capital funds made available by the early learning facilities general obligation bond approved 2 |
|---|
| 158 | 158 | | March 2, 2021. 3 |
|---|
| 159 | 159 | | (b) The department of elementary and secondary education and the department of human 4 |
|---|
| 160 | 160 | | services shall establish programs and initiatives to ensure providers renovate, acquire, develop, 5 |
|---|
| 161 | 161 | | and/or expand facilities that meet licensing and facilities standards, in order to sustain and increase 6 |
|---|
| 162 | 162 | | access to high-quality prekindergarten and early learning environments. Programs and initiatives 7 |
|---|
| 163 | 163 | | may include, but shall not be limited to: 8 |
|---|
| 164 | 164 | | (1) Grant programs to be used for facility planning, predevelopment activities, and/or 9 |
|---|
| 165 | 165 | | urgent facility maintenance required for the health, safety and quality of existing programs; 10 |
|---|
| 166 | 166 | | (2) Supporting the establishment of strategic partnerships between local education agencies 11 |
|---|
| 167 | 167 | | and community-based early learning providers to make use of available space in existing facilities; 12 |
|---|
| 168 | 168 | | and/or 13 |
|---|
| 169 | 169 | | (3) Technical assistance for providers to access capital, navigate licensing standards for 14 |
|---|
| 170 | 170 | | facilities, and/or begin the facility improvement and development processes. 15 |
|---|
| 171 | 171 | | SECTION 2. Section 16-87-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-87 entitled "Rhode Island 16 |
|---|
| 172 | 172 | | Prekindergarten Education Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 17 |
|---|
| 173 | 173 | | 16-87-4. Early childhood workforce development. 18 |
|---|
| 174 | 174 | | (a) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall work with 19 |
|---|
| 175 | 175 | | other state departments and private philanthropy to establish a statewide, comprehensive, research-20 |
|---|
| 176 | 176 | | based early childhood workforce development scholarship program to expand the number of early 21 |
|---|
| 177 | 177 | | childhood educators who have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and 22 |
|---|
| 178 | 178 | | who work with children from birth to age five (5). 23 |
|---|
| 179 | 179 | | (b)(1) In furtherance of the goals set forth in this chapter, no later than January 1, 2023, the 24 |
|---|
| 180 | 180 | | governor’s workforce board shall convene a working group comprised of representatives from the 25 |
|---|
| 181 | 181 | | department of elementary and secondary education, department of human services, office of the 26 |
|---|
| 182 | 182 | | postsecondary commissioner, the RI early learning council, organized labor, and early childhood 27 |
|---|
| 183 | 183 | | education industry employers, whose purpose shall be to identify barriers to entry into the early 28 |
|---|
| 184 | 184 | | childhood education workforce, and to design accessible and accelerated pathways into the 29 |
|---|
| 185 | 185 | | workforce, including, but not limited to, registered apprenticeships and postsecondary credit for 30 |
|---|
| 186 | 186 | | prior work experience. 31 |
|---|
| 187 | 187 | | (2) No later than April 1, 2023, the working group shall provide the general assembly with 32 |
|---|
| 188 | 188 | | recommendations for addressing the barriers to workforce entry and implementing the solutions 33 |
|---|
| 189 | 189 | | identified by the working group; the recommendations shall outline any administrative and 34 |
|---|
| 190 | 190 | | |
|---|
| 191 | 191 | | |
|---|
| 192 | 192 | | LC001928 - Page 6 of 7 |
|---|
| 193 | 193 | | legislative action that would be required by participating agencies to implement the 1 |
|---|
| 194 | 194 | | recommendations. 2 |
|---|
| 195 | 195 | | (3) If and when appropriate, and in accordance with program administration guidelines, the 3 |
|---|
| 196 | 196 | | industry employers may seek to create a sector partnership via the real jobs Rhode Island program 4 |
|---|
| 197 | 197 | | to implement workforce solutions. 5 |
|---|
| 198 | 198 | | 6 |
|---|
| 199 | 199 | | SECTION 3. Sections 16-87-3 and 16-87-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-87 entitled 7 |
|---|
| 200 | 200 | | "Rhode Island Prekindergarten Education Act" are hereby repealed. 8 |
|---|
| 201 | 201 | | 16-87-3. Planning phase for a prekindergarten program. 9 |
|---|
| 202 | 202 | | (a) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall begin 10 |
|---|
| 203 | 203 | | planning an initial, pilot prekindergarten program that meets high quality standards, builds on the 11 |
|---|
| 204 | 204 | | existing early childhood education infrastructure in the state (including child care, Head Start and 12 |
|---|
| 205 | 205 | | public schools) and serves children ages three (3) and four (4) who reside in communities with 13 |
|---|
| 206 | 206 | | concentrations of low performing schools. This planning phase will develop specific goals to 14 |
|---|
| 207 | 207 | | expand the pilot prekindergarten program over time and will also identify opportunities to 15 |
|---|
| 208 | 208 | | strengthen care and learning programs for infants and toddlers. 16 |
|---|
| 209 | 209 | | (b) During this planning phase, the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary 17 |
|---|
| 210 | 210 | | education will quantify the resources needed to achieve and maintain high quality standards in 18 |
|---|
| 211 | 211 | | prekindergarten programs and identify incentives and supports to develop a qualified early 19 |
|---|
| 212 | 212 | | education workforce, including opportunities for experienced early childhood educators and 20 |
|---|
| 213 | 213 | | paraprofessionals to acquire college degrees and earn early childhood teacher certification. 21 |
|---|
| 214 | 214 | | (c) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education will begin to 22 |
|---|
| 215 | 215 | | develop plans to collect and analyze data regarding the impact of the pilot prekindergarten program 23 |
|---|
| 216 | 216 | | on participating children’s school readiness and school achievement. 24 |
|---|
| 217 | 217 | | 16-87-5. Reporting. 25 |
|---|
| 218 | 218 | | The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall report back to 26 |
|---|
| 219 | 219 | | the general assembly and the governor on the progress of the pilot planning phase no later than 27 |
|---|
| 220 | 220 | | October 31, 2008. 28 |
|---|
| 221 | 221 | | SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. 29 |
|---|
| 222 | 222 | | ======== |
|---|
| 223 | 223 | | LC001928 |
|---|
| 224 | 224 | | ======== |
|---|
| 225 | 225 | | |
|---|
| 226 | 226 | | |
|---|
| 227 | 227 | | LC001928 - Page 7 of 7 |
|---|
| 228 | 228 | | EXPLANATION |
|---|
| 229 | 229 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
|---|
| 230 | 230 | | OF |
|---|
| 231 | 231 | | A N A C T |
|---|
| 232 | 232 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- RHODE ISLAND PREKINDERGARTEN EDUC ATION |
|---|
| 233 | 233 | | ACT |
|---|
| 234 | 234 | | *** |
|---|
| 235 | 235 | | This act would further develop a plan to expand public, high quality prekindergarten 1 |
|---|
| 236 | 236 | | education programs which are available to all children ages three (3) and four (4) throughout Rhode 2 |
|---|
| 237 | 237 | | Island to increase children’s school readiness. This act would require the department of education 3 |
|---|
| 238 | 238 | | to make funds available to sustain all existing state prekindergarten classrooms and the department 4 |
|---|
| 239 | 239 | | of human services to make funds available to layer on top off federal funds to sustain all existing 5 |
|---|
| 240 | 240 | | Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms for the school year 2023-2024, with sufficient 6 |
|---|
| 241 | 241 | | resources for programs to offer competitive wages to attract and retain qualified and skilled early 7 |
|---|
| 242 | 242 | | educators. This act would repeal the statutory laws pertaining to the initial pilot prekindergarten 8 |
|---|
| 243 | 243 | | program. 9 |
|---|
| 244 | 244 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 10 |
|---|
| 245 | 245 | | ======== |
|---|
| 246 | 246 | | LC001928 |
|---|
| 247 | 247 | | ======== |
|---|