California-2015-AB2660-Amended

BILL NUMBER: AB 2660	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 12, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member McCarty
   (  Coauthor:   Assembly Member 
 Eduardo Garcia   Coauthors:   Assembly
Members   Bonta,   Dodd,   and Eduardo
Garcia  )

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to add and repeal Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section
8780) of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
relating to early education.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2660, as amended, McCarty. Early education:  three-year
  multiyear  plan.
   Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
administer all California state preschool programs, which include
part-day age and developmentally appropriate programs for 3- and
4-year-old children, as provided. Existing law provides that 3- and
4-year-old children are eligible for the state part-day preschool
program if the family meets one of several eligibility requirements,
including income eligibility.
   This bill would require the State Department of Education, in
consultation with the State Board of Education and the State Advisory
Council on Early Learning and Care, on or before  July 1,
2017,  January 1, 2018,  to submit to the
Legislature and the Department of Finance a plan that provides a
 3-year   multiyear  plan for providing
access to  income eligible   income-eligible
 children to high-quality prekindergarten programs for a minimum
of one year before enrollment in kindergarten and a  3-year
  multiyear  plan for ensuring that publicly funded
prekindergarten programs  focus on certain areas. 
 include specified elements. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 8780) is added to
Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 4.5.  THE QUALITY EARLY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT ACT
OF 2016


   8780.  This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Quality
Early Education and Development Act of 2016.
   8781.  (a) On or before  July 1, 2017,  
January 1, 2018,  the department, in consultation with the state
board and the State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care,
shall submit to the Legislature and the Department of Finance a plan
that provides both of the following:
   (1) A  three-year  multiyear  plan for
providing access for  income eligible  
income-eligible  children to high-quality prekindergarten
programs for a minimum of one year before enrollment in 
kindergarten.   kindergarten, which shall include
opportunities and challenges relating to facility requirements. 

   (2) A  three-year   multiyear  plan for
ensuring that publicly funded prekindergarten programs  focus
on all of the following areas, which are most closely associated
with positive outcomes for children:   include, but are
not limited to, all of the following elements, which are most closely
associated with high   -quality prekindergarten programs,
positive outcomes for children, and sustainable funding at a level
adequate to achieve high quality:  
   (A) School readiness.  
   (B) Child development. 
   (C) Family engagement.  
   (D) Educator capacity, preparation, and professional development.
 
   (E) Program environment.  
   (A) Comprehensive and developmentally appropriate early learning
standards and curricula that address the whole child, including
academic, social-emotional, and physical development.  
   (B) Child assessments that consider academic, social-emotional,
and physical development progress, and support meaningful
teacher-child interaction and instruction, and program planning that
addresses the needs of a child.  
   (C) Sufficient learning time through the provision of a full-day
program.  
   (D) Meaningful family encouragement that promotes partnerships
between the program and families to support child development across
multiple domains,  including, but not limited to, academic,
social-emotional, and physical.  
   (E) Support for diverse learners, including dual language learners
and children with special needs, which may include primary language
instruction and inclusion programs.  
   (F) Class size and child-to-staff ratios that promote optimal
learning, based on generally accepted evidence-based professional
standards.  
   (G) Comprehensive program assessments that measure elements of
program quality, including, but not limited to, child-to-staff
ratios, teacher qualifications, the nature of interactions between
children and teachers, and the types of learning activities in which
the children engage.  
   (H) A well-implemented quality rating and improvement system
(QRIS) that builds upon the existing QRIS infrastructure in the
state, articulates standards that promote continuous improvement, and
provides a basis for program accountability.  
   (I) Continuous support for teachers, staff, and program leaders
through evidence-based coaching and mentoring programs and
job-embedded professional learning opportunities.  
   (J) Well-prepared teachers with training that addresses early
childhood education, including child development and instruction of
young children. This portion of the plan shall specifically address
all of the following:  
   (i) Strategies for multiple pathways to degrees, certificates, and
credentials, including support for early childhood educators to
attain additional education and qualifications, and strategies to
support a workforce that reflects the diversity of the state. 

   (ii) Recommendations for changes to the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing's requirements for the issuance and renewal of permits
authorizing service in the care, development, and instruction of
children in child care and development programs and permits
authorizing supervision of a child care and development program.
 
   (iii) Recommendations for aligning preparation requirements for
educators working with children from infancy through eight years of
age to the 2015 report by the Institute of Medicine and National
Research Council titled Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth
Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation.  
   (iv) Strategies for achieving pay parity for prekindergarten
educators and staff with educators and staff of the transitional
kindergarten through 12th grade public education system. 
   (b) For purposes of this section, "prekindergarten programs"
includes all of the following:
   (1) Transitional kindergarten.
   (2) State preschool.
   (3) Head Start programs. 
   (c) For purposes of this section, "income eligible" has the same
meaning as subdivision (a) of Section 8263.1.  
   (c) For purposes of this section, "income eligible" has the same
meaning specified for each prekindergarten program, as applicable.

   (d) The plan shall be submitted to the Legislature in compliance
with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
   8782.  Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
chapter is repealed on January 1, 2021.