Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 51 and Title 49.

LEGISLATIVE INTENT FOR PRE-K PROGRAMS<br /> <br /> Present law provides that under the Voluntary Pre-K for Tennessee Act of 2005, it is the legislative intent, based on the success of Tennessee's existing pilot pre-K programs, that such programs be expanded on a voluntary basis by LEAs and the communities they serve in order to provide more opportunities for quality early childhood education and pre-K experiences while meeting standards for kindergarten readiness. Present law also provides that such law is not an entitlement to any service or program and that the implementation of these programs by LEAs is voluntary.<br /> <br /> This bill rewrites the above provisions to, instead, provide that the legislative intent is to expand these programs without them being voluntary and that each LEA is required to establish a pre-K program that provides the number of classrooms necessary to serve all children who are four on or before August 15 and who reside in the geographic area served by the LEA ("eligible children").<br /> <br /> ESTABLISHMENT OF PRE-K PROGRAMS<br /> <br /> This bill changes the present law regarding the pre-K program that serves at-risk children, requiring, instead, that each LEA establish a pre-K program that serves all eligible children. Each pre-K program must be designed to comprehensively address the educational needs of the children enrolled in the program, including the child's cognitive, physical, social, and emotional needs.<br /> <br /> This bill requires each LEA to establish an initial enrollment deadline for children to enroll in the pre-K program. If, in the application period for a school year, the number of program applications received by the LEA exceeds the number of students the LEA is able to serve, then the LEA must select students for participation in the pre-K program through an enrollment lottery process.<br /> <br /> PRE-K PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS<br /> <br /> This bill requires a pre-K program to have voluntary enrollment and meet the following criteria:<br /> <br /> (1) Consist of a maximum class size of 20;<br /> <br /> (2) Have at least one licensed teacher per classroom who is certified in early childhood education;<br /> <br /> (3) Have at least one educational assistant per classroom who holds a child development associate credential or associate degree in early childhood education, or who is actively working toward acquiring such credentials. If a person with such credentials is unavailable, then educational assistants who hold a high school diploma and who have relevant experience working with children in pre-K or other early childhood programs may be employed to satisfy this requirement;<br /> <br /> (4) Provide a minimum of five and one-half hours of quality instructional time per day;<br /> <br /> (5) Use an educational, age-appropriate curriculum that is aligned with the early learning standards approved by the department of education and that includes, at a minimum, literacy, writing, math, and science skills;<br /> <br /> (6) Have a developmental learning program that addresses the cognitive, physical, emotional, social, and communication areas of child development;<br /> <br /> (7) Meet the criteria for a "high-quality pre-K program," as identified by the department of education; and<br /> <br /> (8) Comply with the state board of education's rules and policies related to early childhood education and pre-K programs.<br /> <br /> COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENTS <br /> <br /> This bill replaces the present law provisions regarding collaborative agreements for the operation of a pre-K program. Instead, this bill authorizes an LEA to contract and enter into collaborative agreements for the operation of a pre-K program with non-school system entities in the geographical area served by the LEA, including, nonprofit and for-profit child care providers and Head Start programs. However, an LEA must not contract or collaborate with a child care provider licensed by the department of human services, unless the provider has attained the highest designation under the rated licensing system administered by the department. Further, LEAs must use the pre-K/kindergarten growth portfolio model approved by the state board of education, or a comparable alternative measure of student growth approved by the state board of education and adopted by the LEA, in the evaluation of pre-K and kindergarten teachers. LEAs are required to notify teachers evaluated using a growth portfolio model of any training or professional development opportunities available on growth portfolio models.<br /> <br /> REMOVAL OF COMMUNITY PRE-K ADVISORY COUNCIL<br /> <br /> Under present law, each LEA applying for programs under the present law are required to create and appoint a community pre-K advisory council. This bill removes such requirement.<br /> <br /> APPROPRIATIONS AND FUNDING<br /> <br /> Under present law, pre-K programs are subject to annual appropriations, and the commissioner of education is required to recommend a funding amount per classroom. This bill provides, instead, that subject to appropriations, this state must fund 100 percent of the costs required for an LEA to provide the number of classrooms, and employ the number of licensed teachers and educational assistants required for the LEA to comply with this bill. Subject to appropriations, the commissioner of education must also allocate to each LEA an amount sufficient for the LEA to serve all eligible children in the LEA's pre-K program.<br /> <br /> Under this bill, an eligible child is not required to pay tuition or fees to enroll in, or attend, a pre-K program established by an LEA. However, this bill does not prohibit an LEA from charging fees for child care provided outside of the instructional day of the LEA's pre-K program.<br /> <br /> OFFICE OF EARLY LEARNING<br /> <br /> Present law requires the establishment of an office of early learning within the department of education. The office must (i) administer the pre-K classroom application process; (ii) review existing regulations and standards, and recommend needed changes, to promote a consistent approval, assessment and monitoring process for providers of pre-K programs; and (iii) provide an annual report to the governor and the general assembly on the status of pre-K programs, which must include, at a minimum, the number, location and types of providers of pre-K classrooms and the number of at-risk children served. The annual report must be posted on the department of education, office of early learning website to provide public access to the report.<br /> <br /> This bill removes the requirement that the office administer the pre-K classroom application process; and requires the office to review existing rules and standards, recommend needed changes, promote a consistent assessment and monitoring process for providers of pre-K programs, and provide an annual report to the governor and the general assembly on the status of pre-K programs, which must include the number, location, and types of providers of pre-K classrooms and the number of children served. This bill requires that the annual report be posted on the department of education, office of early learning's website to provide public access to the report.<br />