HB1822ham002 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. William Davis

Filed: 4/15/2021

10200HB1822ham002 LRB102 04053 CMG 25195 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1822

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1822, AS AMENDED, by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Early Childhood Program Recruitment and Eligibility Screening Act.

Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:

"Blended classroom" means a classroom that is operated under a program that gives the provider the option to operate classrooms that are shared by a Head Start program and an early childhood program in which children enrolled in the program are financially supported through several funding sources and agencies. Classrooms may be partially blended in which one or more classrooms are blended at one or more program locations but not all classrooms are blended, or classrooms may be fully blended in which every classroom is offered by a Head Start program and receives 90% of its funding from State or federal sources. However, other sources such as Title I and private tuition may also be used to support the enrollment of children.

"Classroom", with respect to a Head Start program, means a group of children who are supervised and taught by 2 paid staff members, both of whom are teachers or one of whom is a teacher and one of whom is a teacher's aide, and, if possible, a volunteer.

"Collaborative Program" means the program created under this Act.

"Communication" means an information exchange between a Preschool for All or Preschool for All Expansion program or Prevention Initiative program provider and a Head Start or Early Head Start provider that ensures that the parents or guardians of all eligible participants in a program are made aware of and are informed about the program options and their right to participate in the program of their choice.

"Early childhood program universal application" or "universal application" means an application form for services that is required to be utilized by Preschool for All or Preschool for All Expansion programs or Prevention Initiative programs and Head Start or Early Head Start programs in this State that provide services to children from birth to 5 years of age.

"Head Start or Early Head Start program" means a program that provides services to children and their families who live in extreme poverty, as set by guidelines established by the federal government that are tied to the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2), or to children who are homeless or in foster care; provides the skills those children need to be successful in school and life; promotes the school readiness of those children by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development in a learning environment that supports children's growth in language, literacy, mathematics, science, social and emotional functioning, the creative arts, and physical skills; provides approaches to learning to low-income children and their families; and provides health, educational, nutritional, social, and other services that are determined based on a family needs assessment.

"Head Start or Early Head Start program eligibility" means that families who live in extreme poverty, as determined by the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2), families who are homeless, children in foster care, and children from families who receive public assistance from this State's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program or from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are eligible regardless of income.

"Participating program" means a Head Start or Early Head Start program, Preschool for All or Preschool for All Expansion program, or Prevention Initiative program located (i) in any of the following zip codes for Collaborative Program One: 62001, 62002, 62010, 62232, 62018, 62021, 62024, 62025, 62034, 62040, 62046, 62048, 62249, 62058, 62060, 62061, 62062, 62067, 62074, 62084, 62281, 62087, 62294, 62090, 62095, or 62097; or (ii) in any of the following zip codes for Collaborative Program Two: 60406, 60419, 60422, 60426, 60428, 60429, 60430, 60445, 60452, 60469, 60477, or 60827.

"Scientifically valid research" includes applied research, basic research, and field-initiated research in which the rationale, design, and interpretation are soundly developed in accordance with the principles of scientific research.

Section 10. Findings.

(a) Every young child and family has the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society regardless of race, ethnicity, and social circumstances. Early childhood programs, including Head Start and Early Head Start programs, provide essential support, structure, and opportunities for young children and blended classroom structures that provide support, encourage learning, and promote a healthy child.

(b) Head Start and Early Head Start programs:

(1) provide support for the whole child by promoting school readiness and actively ensuring each child is healthy, including nutrition, oral health, and mental health, and is ready to learn;

(2) provide comprehensive health, educational, nutritional, social, and other services needed to aid participating children in attaining their full potential and to prepare children to succeed in school;

(3) attract and retain qualified staff who are capable of delivering and implementing a high-quality and comprehensive program, including the ability to carry out a research-based curriculum aligned with State early learning standards;

(4) have child-to-teacher ratios, group size, and family service worker caseloads that reflect best practices and are tied to high-quality service delivery;

(5) are based on scientifically valid research, including:

(A) curricula that are based on scientifically valid research, are developmentally appropriate, and promote the school readiness of children participating in the program involved; and

(B) teaching practices that are based, as appropriate, on scientifically valid research, that are developmentally appropriate, and that promote the school readiness of children participating in the programs.

(6) maintain strong fiscal controls and cost-effective fiscal management;

(7) coordinate and collaborate with other public or private entities providing early childhood education and developmental programs and services for young children in the community;

(8) coordinate with public and private entities that are willing to commit resources to assist the programs in meeting their program needs;

(9) facilitate the involvement of parents, grandparents, and kinship caregivers, as appropriate, of children participating in the programs and in activities at home and, if practicable, at the location of the programs, which is designed to help such persons become full partners in the education of their children;

(10) provide an opportunity for parents to participate in the development and overall conduct of the programs at the local level;

(11) provide parenting-skills training;

(12) perform a family needs assessment with respect to each participating family that includes consultation with parents, foster parents, grandparents, and kinship caregivers, as applicable, in a manner and language that such persons can understand, to the extent practicable, about the benefits of parental involvement;

(13) meet the diverse needs of the population served, including, but not limited to:

(A) meeting the needs of limited English-proficient children and their families by implementing procedures to identify such children, implementing plans to provide trained personnel, and implementing plans to provide services to assist these children in making progress toward the acquisition of the English language, while making meaningful progress in attaining knowledge, skills, abilities, and development; and

(B) meeting the needs of children with disabilities by implementing procedures to identify such children and implementing procedures for referral of these children for evaluation to State or local agencies providing services and plans for collaboration with those State or local agencies;

(14) reserve a percentage of their funding, as required and set by federal guidelines, for the enrollment of children with disabilities; and

(15) meet the needs of homeless children, including their transportation needs, and the needs of children in foster care.

(c) Blended classrooms in early childhood programs share all of the following characteristics:

(1) Costs are shared in that costs are prorated from each funding source.

(2) Separate audit trails are maintained for each funding source.

(3) A classroom must meet the operating requirements of all funding sources. If classroom standards are not comparable or the same between 2 or more classrooms, the most stringent standard applies.

(4) Children receive all services for which they are eligible.

(5) Wrap-around services provide before-school and after-school child care that is coordinated with child care providers and family resource centers.

(6) Head Start and Early Head Start programs coordinate with medical, health, mental health, and social service agencies to meet the comprehensive needs of children and families.

Section 15. Collaborative Program.

(a) The Collaborative Program is created to coordinate the enrollment of children into Preschool for All or Preschool for All Expansion programs or Prevention Initiative programs and Head Start or Early Head Start programs that provide services to children from birth to 5 years of age. The Collaborative Program shall provide improved program coordination to identify and serve children furthest from opportunity in this State by avoiding the duplication of services and the supplanting of federal funds and, instead, leveraging federal resources by maximizing the use of Head Start and Early Head Start federal program funds. The Collaborative Program shall coordinate with and further inform a regional-based community coordinating council.

(b) The Collaborative Program shall be implemented and administered jointly by the State Board of Education and the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development, which shall act in cooperation with participating programs.

(c) The Collaborative Program shall begin with the 2021-2022 school year and shall operate for a period of 2 school years.

Section 20. Early childhood program universal application; enrollment.

(a) The State Board of Education shall develop an early childhood program universal application. Participating programs shall use the universal application to determine a family's eligibility for any and all of the community's early childhood programs. One of the eligibility criteria included on the universal application must be based on the family's household income level, as determined by the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2).

(b) Parents and guardians shall be directed to the early childhood program universal application on the websites of the participating programs or the universal application shall be made available as a physical document available at the locations of the participating programs. The universal application may also be made available to parents or guardians through door-to-door recruitment efforts. The universal application may be completed by parents or guardians at their home or at the location of the participating program.

(c) If an applicant family meets the income eligibility guidelines established by a Head Start or Early Head Start program, the applicant family must be offered the opportunity for communication about enrollment into the Head Start or Early Head Start program and to enroll in the Head Start or Early Head Start program prior to enrolling in any other community program. If the applicant family does not meet the income eligibility guidelines set forth by the Head Start or Early Head Start program, the applicant family must be offered the opportunity for communication with other Preschool for All or Preschool for All Expansion programs or Prevention Initiative programs selected by the applicant family in which the child is eligible for enrollment.

(d) Within 48 hours after receiving a universal application, an intake staff member of a participating program shall store the application either electronically or in a physical location at a common access point that is readily accessible to other enrollment or intake staff members of the participating program.

(e) Participating programs shall communicate weekly during the primary enrollment period agreed to by the participating programs. After the primary enrollment period, the participating programs shall communicate as necessary.

Section 25. Waiting list. Head Start and Early Head Start programs, Preschool for All and Preschool for All Expansion programs, and Prevention Initiative programs shall coordinate with each other to ensure that a child whose household income meets the Head Start or Early Head Start program eligibility requirements or the eligibility requirements for other early childhood programs or for local, State, or federal early childhood programs remains on a waiting list for an eligible provider for no longer than 45 days. The programs participating in the Collaborative Program may develop a shared waiting list.

Section 90. Rules. The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development, may adopt any rules necessary to implement this Act.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2021.".