SF0055 - Preschool programs.
|
2001 |
State of Wyoming |
01LSO-0123.E1 ENGROSSED |
SENATE FILE NO. SF0055
Preschool programs.
Sponsored by: Joint Labor, Health and Social Services
Interim Committee
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to the
creation of preschools; providing
2
institutions which may establish a preschool; providing
3
funding for preschools; providing for a program assessment
4
for a preschool; requiring a report; providing an
5
appropriation; and providing for an effective date.
6
7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
8
9 Section
1. W.S.
21-23-101 through 21-23-106 are
10 created to read:
11
12 CHAPTER 23
13 PRESCHOOLS
14
15 21-23-101. Definitions.
16
17 (a) As used in this chapter:
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1
2 (i) "At-risk
student" means any student who
3
shows a probability for failure or nonattendance when they
4
reach the early grades of public schools;
5
6 (ii) "Economically
disadvantaged student" means
7
a student who has qualified or would qualify for free or
8
reduced priced lunch under the national school lunch
9
program as established under 42 U.S.C. § 1751 et seq.;
10
11 (iii) "Preschool
provider" means any school
12 district, preschool developmental
disability program,
13 private nonprofit organization or
private for profit
14 organization applying for a contract
from the department of
15 education under this chapter.
16
17 21-23-102. State preschool committee;
composition;
18 duties.
19
20 (a) There is
created a state preschool committee
21 comprised of:
22
23 (i) An employee
of the department of education
24 selected by the state superintendent
of public instruction;
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1
2 (ii) An employee
of the department of family
3
services selected by the governor;
4
5 (iii) An employee
of the department of health
6
selected by the governor; and
7
8 (iv) A person
who has received an advanced
9
degree in early childhood education selected by the
10 superintendent of public
instruction; and
11
12 (v) A member of
the general public who is also a
13 parent selected by the governor.
14
15 (b) The state
preschool committee shall recommend
16 specific contracts to the state
superintendent of public
17 instruction. The superintendent of public instruction may
18 deviate from the recommendations of
the preschool committee
19 provided under this section. When
the superintendent of
20 public instruction does deviate from
the recommendations of
21 the preschool committee, he shall
give a written
22 explanation for the deviations. This
written explanation
23 shall be classified as a public
record and is subject to
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1
Wyoming's Public Records Act contained in chapter 4 of
2
title 16.
3
4 21-23-103. Application evaluation.
5
6 (a) Any
preschool provider wishing to receive a
7
contract to provide services under this chapter shall apply
8
to the department of education.
9
10 (b) The state
preschool committee shall use the
11 following factors to evaluate and
determine whether a
12 preschool provider should receive a
contract:
13
14 (i) The
mechanism which the preschool uses for
15 selecting and recruiting students
at-risk;
16
17 (ii) An
appropriate balance of at-risk and non
18 at-risk students in the preschool
which maximizes the
19 success of those students who are
at-risk;
20
21 (iii) The
curriculum of the program and the
22 degree to which it is age and
developmentally appropriate;
23
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1 (iv) The
qualifications of the staff to
2
implement the program;
3
4 (v) The physical safety of the children;
5
6 (vi) The
proposed cost per student of the
7
program;
8
9 (vii) A design in the proposed program for a
10 home to school program to include
parental involvement and
11 instruction to teach parents on how
to better assist their
12 children to be successful in their
environment;
13
14 (viii) Whether the
contract will create a
15 reasonable geographic distribution
of contracts and
16 spending throughout the state; and
17
18 (ix) Whether the
contract will create a
19 reasonable mixture of acceptable age
appropriate and
20 developmentally appropriate programs
and curriculums which
21 those preschools implement.
22
23 21-23-104. Eligible students.
24
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1 Children who have
attained the age of three (3) on or
2
before September 15, but who have not attained the age of
3
six (6) on or before September 15 of the year in which they
4
plan to participate in the program and who qualify as at-
5
risk students are eligible to attend preschool programs
6
receiving contracts under this chapter. Any student not
7
qualifying as an at-risk student may attend the preschool
8
provided the preschool provider grants admission. Funding
9
under the contracts shall be based solely on those students
10 who are classified as at-risk students
as provided by W.S.
11 21-23-106(a).
12
13 21-23-105. State superintendent;
program evaluation;
14 report; rulemaking authority.
15
16 (a) The state
superintendent of public instruction
17 shall evaluate the preschool
programs established by this
18 act and provide a written report no
later than September 1,
19 2005, and every four (4) years
thereafter, to the
20 legislature on the success of the
programs in improving the
21 school readiness of the students and
in reducing the risk
22 of violent or other antisocial
behavior of the students who
23 participate in the program. The
evaluation shall include a
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1
comparison of the mechanisms used by providers to identify
2
at-risk students.
3
4 (b) The state
superintendent shall establish
5
application procedures by rule and regulation necessary for
6
implementation of this chapter.
7
8 21-23-106. Contracts; reimbursements; conditions.
9
10 (a) Reimbursement
for service providers in the
11 preschool program shall be on a per
student basis, and may
12 vary depending on the hours per day
or days per week the
13 program serves the student, and
reimbursement shall be set
14 forth in the contract between the
department of education
15 and the preschool provider. The
reimbursement may be at
16 different rates for different
providers.
17
18 (b) In addition
to subsection (a) of this section,
19 the contract shall:
20
21 (i) Specify the
percentage of the time the
22 student is required to attend in
order for the preschool to
23 receive funding and may provide for
absences due to
24 extenuating circumstances;
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1
2 (ii) For private
for profit programs acting as
3
preschool providers the per student reimbursement shall not
4
exceed the charge made for private paying students;
5
6 (iii) For private
nonprofit organizations the
7
per student reimbursement shall not exceed the greater of
8
the charge made for private paying students or the per
9
student cost of providing the service.
10
11 (c) The special
education services required by an
12 individual education plan (IEP) for
children with
13 disabilities served by the program
shall not be funded
14 through this chapter, but shall be
supplied by the regional
15 developmental disability program
funded by the state.
16
17 (d) At the
direction of the governor, funds
18 authorized to support the services
specified in this
19 chapter may be diverted to the
developmental preschools to
20 cover the documented services
provided in W.S.
21 21-23-106(c).
22
23 Section
2. Thereis appropriated five hundred
24 seventy-five thousand three hundred
eighty-four dollars
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1 ($575,384.00) from the
general fund for the fiscal year
2
beginning July 1, 2001 to the department of education to
3
implement the purposes of this act.
4
5 Section 3. This act is effective July 1, 2001.
6
7 (END)
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