GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 480*

 
 
Short Title:	Prekindergarten Prog. for At-Risk Children. 	()	
Sponsors:	Representatives Preston;  Barbee, Bowie, Cansler, Capps, Daughtry, Davis, Dockham, Esposito, Johnson, Kiser, McCombs, Mitchell, Rayfield, Rogers, Sexton, Sherrill, Wainwright, Walend, Weatherly, and Yongue.	
Referred to:	Education, if favorable, Appropriations.	
March 5, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM TO ENSURE THAT ALL CHILDREN have an opportunity to succeed in kindergarten.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Establishment of the Planning Task Force for the Development of a Prekindergarten Program. - The Department of Public Instruction, under the direction of the State Board of Education, shall establish the Planning Task Force for the Development of a Prekindergarten Program.
SECTION 2.  Purpose. - The purpose of the Task Force shall be to develop a prekindergarten program for four-year-old children in North Carolina to ensure that all children have an opportunity to succeed in kindergarten. 
SECTION 3.  Membership. - The Task Force membership shall include:
(1)	Specialists in early childhood development, including staff from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center in Chapel Hill;
(2)	Classroom teachers who are certified in early childhood education;
(3)	Representatives of the private day care providers in North Carolina;
(4)	Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services who are knowledgeable in the areas of early childhood development, current State and federally funded efforts in child development, and providing child care;
(5)	Representatives of Smart Start Partnerships;
(6)	Representatives of local school administrative units;
(7)	Representatives of Head Start prekindergarten programs in North Carolina; and
(8)	A Chair appointed by the State Board upon the recommendation of the Governor.
SECTION 4.  Components of the Program. - The Task Force shall develop a prekindergarten program to serve four-year-old children in North Carolina who are potentially at risk of not being ready for kindergarten.  The goal of the program shall be to make these children ready for kindergarten.  The program shall be consistent with standards and assessments established by the State Board of Education and shall include:
(1)	A curriculum or several curricula that are developed or selected by the Task Force. These curricula shall (i) focus primarily on oral language and emergent literacy, (ii) engage children through key experiences and provide background knowledge requisite for formal learning and successful reading in the early elementary years, (iii) involve active learning, (iv) promote measurable kindergarten language‑readiness skills that focus on emergency literacy and mathematical skills, and (v) develop skills that will prepare children emotionally and socially for kindergarten.
(2)	An emphasis on parental and family involvement with the prekindergarten program, ongoing assessment of each child by teachers, and regular discussions with parents.
(3)	A methodology and structure for identifying children who demonstrate educational needs on the basis of an assessment, and who are eligible to enter kindergarten the next school year.
(4)	Standards and guidelines for a program to provide grants to local school boards, private child care providers, and other entities willing to establish prekindergarten programs to serve these children.
(5)	Matching requirements for all State grants that are based on a county’s ability to pay.
(6)	A quality-control system that is developed in cooperation with the Department of Health and Human Services. Under this system, the Department's child care rating system may be used to determine program eligibility.
(7)	Standards for minimum teacher qualifications. Each classroom site that is initially funded must have at least one teacher who is certified or provisionally certified in birth to kindergarten education.
(8)	An evaluation system for programs that are established. The evaluation system shall include, at a minimum, participants’ readiness for kindergarten, percentage of participants scoring at or above grade level on the third grade end‑of‑grade test, and high school graduation rates.
(9)	A proposal for ongoing program evaluation that includes evaluation by expert methodologists outside the Departments of Public Instruction and Health and Human Services.
(10)	Recommendations on organizational placement and administration of the program.
SECTION 5.  Recommendations by the Task Force. - The Task Force shall make its recommendations to the State Board of Education by March 1, 2002.  Recommendations shall include:
(1)	Plans for providing grants for the operation of some limited number of grant‑funded prekindergarten programs for the 2002‑2003 school year.
(2)	Possible reallocations of funds from existing programs providing prekindergarten related care and services, including child care subsidies, in order to direct and coordinate funding for prekindergarten programs for four-year-olds with demonstrated educational needs. All potential funding sources, including federal as well as State-funded efforts, should be identified.
SECTION 6.  Recommendations by the State Board of Education. - The State Board of Education shall recommend legislation to the Regular 2002 Session of the 2001 General Assembly to establish a program that is based on, but not limited by, the Task Force’s recommendations. The State Board may accept preliminary applications from potential grantees but shall not make any funding commitments until after legislation is enacted by the General Assembly. 
SECTION 7.  Appropriation. - There is appropriated from the General Fund to the State Board of Education the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for the 2001‑2002 fiscal year to implement Sections 1 through 5 of this act.
SECTION 8.  Effective Date. - This act becomes effective July 1, 2001.