Child Care and Early Education E-Update January 2008

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Child Care and Early Education Legislative Network E-Update

January 2008

In this Update:

Georgetown University Professors William Gormley and Deborah Phillips will soon be releasing the results of their continuing evaluation of Tulsa's much-heralded pre-k program. Previously, they found that the pre-k program boosts pre-reading skills by approximately seven months, pre-writing skills by approximately six months, and pre-math skills by approximately four months. They will soon be releasing findings on classroom quality, pre-k and Head Start, and cognitive and socio-emotional development. One of their Tulsa papers, on the effects of pre-k on Hispanic children (including English-language learners), is already available. Other forthcoming publications will be released during 2008.

For papers, including the Tulsa papers, please click here to see the website of the Center for Research on Children in the U.S. (CROCUS). Professors Gormley and Phillips are available to talk about their research, by phone or email at gormleym@georgetown.edu or Deborah.dap4@gmail.com. In addition, they may also be available to testify before legislative committees, schedules permitting.

Legislative Tracking Tools and Snapshot

NCSL is proud to be using State Net to track all legislation concerning child care and early education issues. A computerized legislative tracking system, State Net provides fast and accurate information to the legislative community. If you need bill language or information on other states' legislative action concerning a particular issue, please contact Kelli Kelty (kelli.kelty@ncsl.org). In addition, NCSL will be posting biweekly snapshots of the latest legislative action addressing child development and early learning throughout the 2008 legislative session. Contact Kelli Kelty if you have any suggestions about how this can best serve your needs.

Recent Events

New Prekindergarten Legislation introduced by Alaska, Mississippi, New Hampshire and South Dakota

In the start of the 2008 legislative session, four states that currently do not have prekindergarten programs have introduced legislation addressing prekindergarten programs in their states. Alaska introduced House Bill 306 which provides that an elementary school consists of a pre-elementary program provided by a school district for students three through five years of age. In addition, Alaska also introduced House Bill 332 which provides that an elementary school consists of a pre-elementary program supervised by the Department of Education and Early Development, operated by the department as a Head Start program, or located in a public school for federal funding purposes. The bill provides that pre-elementary students may not be counted in a school's average daily membership. Mississippi's legislature introduced Senate Bill 2278 which appropriates $20 million for FY 2009 to fund the "Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2007." The Act requires the Department of Human Services to implement a voluntary early care and education grant program, which will be a collaboration among the entities providing prekindergarten programs, including Head Start, licensed child care facilities and licensed public, parochial and private school prekindergarten programs. New Hampshire introduced House Bill 1299 which establishes a commission to study the feasibility of creating a preschool incentive fund program. Finally, South Dakota introduced two bills concerning prekindergarten programs. Senate Bill 26 requires the Board of Education to promulgate rules to establish standards for the accreditation of prekindergarten programs and establish standards for preparation of certified personnel for those programs. The second bill, Senate Bill 154, allows public schools to maintain prekindergarten programs and provides the Board of Education with rule-making authority for those programs. The bill also provides funding through the state education formula for students in accredited prekindergarten programs.

Head Start Reauthorization Bill Signed into law on December 13, 2007

On Wednesday, December 13, 2007, President Bush signed into law the "Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007." The Head Start Reauthorization will help more children arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed by raising the eligibility ceiling, setting clear standards and measures for Head Start programs, improving coordination with other early childhood education programs and strengthening program accountability. The law requires the Governor of each state to establish a State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care to assure collaboration and coordination among all the early childhood programs in the state. In addition, the law requires that at least 50 percent of Head Start teachers, nation-wide, must, by September 30, 2013, have a BA or advanced degree in early childhood education or a related degree with experience teaching preschool age children.

To read the new law please click here.

Early Childhood Recommendations Released in Connecticut

On January 15, 2008, during the Governor's Early Childhood Summit, Governor M. Jodi Rell introduced Connecticut's new infant-toddler systems framework called "First Words, First Steps: Connecticut's Infant-Toddler Systems Framework." The framework is available online at http://www.ecpolicycouncil.org/.

If you are interested, the summit agenda, the overview of the "First Words, First Steps: Connecticut's Infant-Toddler Systems Framework" and links to additional resources (including a link to the websites of Zero to Three, United Ways of Connecticut, and the Center on the Developing Child) are also available at the Early Policy Council website at www.ecpolicycouncil.org.

Kansas Governor proposes $27 million in new funding for early childhood programs

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius' 2008 State of the State Address included a proposal for $27 million in new funding for early childhood programs. Of the new funding, $23 million would be for the Early Childhood Block Grant administered by the Children's Cabinet. Grants would be eligible for schools, child care, Early Head Start, Head Start, and community-based programs that provide research-based child development services for at-risk infants, toddlers and their families, and preschool for three- and four-year-olds.

In addition, $1.2 million would be for establishment of the Kansas Preschool Program. The Kansas Preschool Program would combine the Four-Year-Old At-Risk Program and the Children's Cabinet Pre-K Pilot Program into one program within the Department of Education. The Children's Cabinet would have oversight of funding for the program while the Department of Education would be responsible for administration of the program. The quality standards, accountability requirements, and community-based partnerships as found in the Pre-K Pilot Program would remain a part of the Kansas Preschool Program.

The Governor's proposal included $500,000 for a Child Care pilot program to encourage child care collaboration with Early Head Start, Head Start, and the Kansas Preschool Program.

Upcoming Events

NCSL Education Finance Summit Pre-Conference, "Financing Preschool through the Education Finance Formula and Other Options" on February 15, 2008 from 12:30-3:30pm

NCSL will be hosting an Education Finance Summit Pre-Conference on Friday, February 15, 2008 from 12:30-3:30pm in San Antonio, Texas. This pre-conference event will provide a snapshot of state experiences with funding preschool through the school funding formula and other financing methods and discuss the pros and cons of various approaches. Diana Stone, Washington Appleseed Center, will present the latest trends on how some states are funding pre-k through the education school funding formula. Gina Day, Texas Education Agency and Bobbi Lussier, Tennessee Office of Early Learning will offer state perspectives and experiences on funding pre-k in their states. In 2007, thirty-six states appropriated new funds for preschool. While states are using a variety of strategies, the school finance formula is a growing mechanism for financing both school- and community-based preschool. If you would like to attend the pre-conference event or if you have any questions, please contact Julie Poppe, (303) 856-1497, julie.poppe@ncsl.org.

This pre-conference will take place prior to the start of the NCSL Education Finance Summit that runs from February 15-17, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas. For more information, please visit www.ncsl.org/edfinancesummit.

National Symposium on Early Childhood Science and Policy on June 26 - 27, 2008

To help states learn and apply program evaluation research and the science of early childhood development to state policy, the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, and NCSL will jointly present a National Symposium on Early Childhood Science and Policy on June 26-27, 2008, to take place at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Letters are being sent to legislative leaders and governors' staff and states are being asked to submit applications by February 8, 2008. Feel free to contact Steffanie Clothier, (303)856-1416, steffanie.clothier@ncsl.org, or Jennifer Stedron, (303)856-1427, jennifer.stedron@ncsl.org for more information.

The National Symposium on Early Childhood Science and Policy is designed to build leadership capacity in the states for developing and implementing science-based policies that enhance children’s learning, behavior, and health. State-based teams of legislators, gubernatorial policy advisors, and business and civic leaders will join with Harvard faculty members and other world-renowned researchers to learn about recent advances in neuroscience, molecular biology, medicine, and developmental psychology—which together form an integrated science of early childhood development—as well as evidence-based policy implications from program evaluation research.

For more information visit http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu/content/policy.html

This e-update is made possible by the generous support of The Pew Charitable Trusts and The Buffett Early Childhood Fund. If you have information you would like to share with us, please email Kelli Kelty.

This e-update is an informational service for state legislators and legislative staff who are part of NCSL's Child Care and Early Education Legislative Network. Contact Kelli Kelty or call (303) 856-1389 for more information about the content of this update, or to submit information about your state. To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE: Contact Shannon Watson-Borden.

Child Care and Early Education Legislative Network E-Update

In this Update:

What's New

Recent Events

Upcoming Events

What's New

Recent Events

Upcoming Events