2022 -- S 2680 | |
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LC005074 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- RHODE ISLAND PRE-KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION | |
ACT | |
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Introduced By: Senators Gallo, Cano, Pearson, Lawson, DiMario, Murray, Goodwin, and | |
Date Introduced: March 15, 2022 | |
Referred To: Senate Education | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Chapter 16-87 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Pre-Kindergarten |
2 | Education Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections: |
3 | 16-87-6. High-quality, universal pre-Kindergarten. |
4 | (a) The general assembly acknowledges the need to adequately prepare all children to |
5 | succeed in school by providing access to publicly funded, high quality pre-Kindergarten education |
6 | programs for all children ages three (3) and four (4). |
7 | (b) Access to free, inclusive and high-quality pre-Kindergarten classrooms in a mixed- |
8 | delivery system that includes Head Start centers, public school districts, child care centers and |
9 | family child care providers, shall be expanded across all communities in Rhode Island, so that no |
10 | later than June 30, 2028, every family who wants a high-quality pre-Kindergarten seat for their |
11 | children ages three (3) or four (4), shall have one. |
12 | (c) Universal access will be considered achieved when no less than seventy percent (70%) |
13 | of all children ages three (3) and four (4) are enrolled in high-quality pre-Kindergarten programs. |
14 | (d) For the school year 2023-2024, the Rhode Island Pre-Kindergarten program |
15 | administered by the department of education shall make funds available to offer no less than four |
16 | thousand (4,000) high-quality pre-Kindergarten seats through a mixed-delivery model, of which no |
17 | less than twenty-five percent (25%) shall be made available for all children age three (3). |
18 | (e) No later than December 31, 2022, the department of education, in collaboration with |
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1 | the department of human services, the Head Start Collaboration Office, and the RI early learning |
2 | council shall submit to the governor, speaker of the house, senate president, and chairs of house |
3 | and senate finance committees and education committees a year-by-year growth plan to achieve |
4 | universal access to high-quality pre-kindergarten for all children ages three (3) and four (4) by June |
5 | 30, 2028; the growth plan shall detail annual growth targets and projected funding needs, as well |
6 | as how the state will: |
7 | (1) Equitably distribute pre-Kindergarten funding to Head Start centers, center-based |
8 | providers, family child care providers and school districts; |
9 | (2) Ensure the expanding pre-Kindergarten program does not disrupt the stability of infant |
10 | and toddler care throughout the state; |
11 | (3) Prepare, recruit and retain a highly-qualified early childhood workforce; |
12 | (4) Build capacity among new and existing providers to ensure quality standards are met |
13 | in all settings; and |
14 | (5) Ensure providers in the mixed-delivery system have sufficient facilities to expand |
15 | access to high-quality pre-Kindergarten services. |
16 | 16-87-7. High quality elements. |
17 | (a) To expand access to high-quality pre-Kindergarten education programs, it is essential |
18 | to invest in expanding high-quality early learning in order to meaningfully increase children’s |
19 | school readiness. |
20 | (b) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education (the |
21 | "department") is hereby authorized to promulgate and adopt rules and regulations for the |
22 | implementation of high quality, universal pre-Kindergarten. The following quality standards shall |
23 | be established in regulation by the department: |
24 | (1) Teacher education and certification; |
25 | (2) Class size and staff ratios; |
26 | (3) Learning time; |
27 | (4) Learning standards; |
28 | (5) Curriculum; |
29 | (6) Support for students with special needs; |
30 | (7) Support for dual English language learners; |
31 | (8) Professional development; |
32 | (9) Child assessments; and |
33 | (10) Observations to improve practice. |
34 | (c) To whatever extent deemed necessary by the department, quality standards may be |
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1 | differentiated by pre-Kindergarten education setting, such that every provider-type in a mixed- |
2 | delivery model is able and expected to meet the highest quality standards as defined by the |
3 | department. |
4 | 16-87-8. Successful transitions. |
5 | (a) Successful coordination between Rhode Island’s high-quality pre-Kindergarten and |
6 | kindergarten programs is essential for setting a solid foundation for all students. In order to have a |
7 | seamless pathway from pre-Kindergarten to third grade, standards, curriculum, instruction and |
8 | assessments shall be aligned. |
9 | (b) Effective transition programs and practices to help students and families move |
10 | successfully from one setting to another shall be established. |
11 | (c) All local education agencies (LEAs) in Rhode Island shall develop a kindergarten |
12 | transition strategy to support incoming students and families. The transition strategy must include |
13 | two (2) parts: |
14 | (1) Student and family communication and engagement plans; and |
15 | (2) Program-level transition plans. |
16 | These strategies may include: |
17 | (1) For student and family transition, the following strategies shall be considered: |
18 | (i) Student visits to their future kindergarten classroom; |
19 | (ii) Kindergarten teacher visits to the pre-Kindergarten classrooms; |
20 | (iii) Workshops for families of incoming kindergarten children; and |
21 | (iv) Kindergarten orientation sessions the summer before school starts. |
22 | (2) For program-level transition planning the following strategies shall be considered: |
23 | (i) Creation of transition teams and liaisons between pre-Kindergarten programs and |
24 | district schools; |
25 | (ii) Joint professional development and data sharing for pre-Kindergarten to third grade |
26 | teachers; and |
27 | (iii) Teacher-to-teacher conferences. |
28 | 16-87-9. Pre-Kindergarten facilities. |
29 | (a) No later than December 31, 2022, the department of human services shall provide the |
30 | senate president and the speaker of the house with a report on the status of disbursement and impact |
31 | of capital funds made available by the early learning facilities general obligation bond approved |
32 | March 2, 2021. |
33 | (b) The department of elementary and secondary education and the department of human |
34 | services shall establish programs and initiatives to ensure providers renovate, acquire, develop, |
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1 | and/or expand facilities that meet licensing and facilities standards, in order to increase access to |
2 | high-quality pre-Kindergarten learning environments. Programs and initiatives may include, but |
3 | shall not be limited to: |
4 | (1) Grant programs to be used for facility planning, predevelopment activities, and/or |
5 | urgent facility maintenance required for the health, safety and quality of existing programs; |
6 | (2) Supporting the establishment of strategic partnerships between local education agencies |
7 | and community-based early learning providers to make use of available space in existing facilities; |
8 | and/or |
9 | (3) Technical assistance for providers to access capital, navigate licensing standards for |
10 | facilities, and/or begin the facility improvement and development processes. |
11 | SECTION 2. Section 16-87-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-87 entitled "Rhode Island |
12 | Pre-Kindergarten Education Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
13 | 16-87-4. Early childhood workforce development. |
14 | (a) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall work with |
15 | other state departments and private philanthropy to establish a statewide, comprehensive, research- |
16 | based early childhood workforce development scholarship program to expand the numbers of early |
17 | childhood educators who have an associate's or bachelor's degree in early childhood education and |
18 | who work with children from birth to age five (5). |
19 | (b)(1) In furtherance of the goals set forth in this chapter, no later than January 1, 2023, the |
20 | governor’s workforce board of Rhode Island shall convene a working group comprised of |
21 | representatives from the department of elementary and secondary education, department of human |
22 | services, office of the postsecondary commissioner, the RI early learning council, organized labor |
23 | and early childhood education industry employers, whose purpose shall be to identify barriers to |
24 | entry into the early childhood education workforce, and to design accessible and accelerated |
25 | pathways into the workforce, including, but not limited to, registered apprenticeships and |
26 | postsecondary credit for prior work experience. |
27 | (2) No later than April 1, 2023, the working group shall provide the general assembly with |
28 | recommendations for addressing the barriers to workforce entry and implementing the solutions |
29 | identified by the working group; the recommendations shall outline any administrative action to be |
30 | taken by the participating agencies to implement the recommendations, as well as any legislative |
31 | action required to make a solution feasible. |
32 | (3) If and when appropriate, and in accordance with program administration guidelines, the |
33 | industry employers may seek to create a sector partnership via the real jobs Rhode Island program |
34 | to implement workforce solutions. |
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1 | SECTION 3. Sections 16-87-3 and 16-87-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-87 entitled |
2 | "Rhode Island Pre-Kindergarten Education Act" are hereby repealed. |
3 | 16-87-3. Planning phase for a pre-Kindergarten program. |
4 | (a) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall begin |
5 | planning an initial, pilot pre-Kindergarten program that meets high quality standards, builds on the |
6 | existing early childhood education infrastructure in the state (including child care, Head Start and |
7 | public schools) and serves children ages three (3) and four (4) who reside in communities with |
8 | concentrations of low performing schools. This planning phase will develop specific goals to |
9 | expand the pilot pre-Kindergarten program over time and will also identify opportunities to |
10 | strengthen care and learning programs for infants and toddlers. |
11 | (b) During this planning phase, the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary |
12 | education will quantify the resources needed to achieve and maintain high quality standards in pre- |
13 | Kindergarten programs and identify incentives and supports to develop a qualified early education |
14 | workforce, including opportunities for experienced early childhood educators and |
15 | paraprofessionals to acquire college degrees and earn early childhood teacher certification. |
16 | (c) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education will begin to |
17 | develop plans to collect and analyze data regarding the impact of the pilot pre-Kindergarten |
18 | program on participating children's school readiness and school achievement. |
19 | 16-87-5. Reporting. |
20 | The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall report back to |
21 | the general assembly and the governor on the progress of the pilot planning phase no later than |
22 | October 31, 2008. |
23 | SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC005074 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- RHODE ISLAND PRE-KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION | |
ACT | |
*** | |
1 | This act would create public, high-quality pre-Kindergarten education programs which are |
2 | available to all children ages three (3) and four (4) throughout Rhode Island by June 30, 2028, to |
3 | increase children’s school readiness. This act would require the Rhode Island Pre-Kindergarten |
4 | Program to make funds available to offer no less than four thousand (4,000) high-quality pre- |
5 | Kindergarten seats for the school year 2023-2024. This act would repeal the statutory laws |
6 | pertaining to the initial pilot pre-Kindergarten program. |
7 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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