SF0055 Preschool programs.
2001 |
State of Wyoming |
01LSO-0123 |
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) The amount
of parental involvement which
10 the program incorporates, including instruction
which
11 teaches parents how to better assist their
children;
12
13 (viii) Whether the
contract will create a
14 reasonable geographic distribution of
contracts and
15 spending throughout the state; and
16
17 (ix) Whether the
contract will create a
18 reasonable mixture of acceptably age
appropriate and
19 developmentally appropriate programs and
curriculums which
20 those preschools implement.
21
22 21-23-104. Eligible students.
23
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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 thousand dollars ($500,000.00) from
the general fund for
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1 the fiscal year
beginning July 1, 2001 to the department of
2
education to implement the purposes of this act.
3
4 Section 3. This act is effective July 1, 2001.
5
6 (END)
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