Sec. 10-16p. Definitions. Lead agency for school readiness; standards. Grant programs.
Sec. 10-16p. Definitions. Lead agency for school readiness; standards. Grant
programs. (a) As used in sections 10-16o to 10-16s, inclusive, 10-16u, 17b-749a and
17b-749c:
(1) "School readiness program" means a nonsectarian program that (A) meets the
standards set by the department pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and the requirements of section 10-16q, and (B) provides a developmentally appropriate learning experience of not less than four hundred fifty hours and one hundred eighty days for eligible
children, except as provided in subsection (d) of section 10-16q;
(2) "Eligible children" means children three and four years of age and children five
years of age who are not eligible to enroll in school pursuant to section 10-15c, or who
are eligible to enroll in school and will attend a school readiness program pursuant to
section 10-16t;
(3) "Priority school" means a school in which forty per cent or more of the lunches
served are served to students who are eligible for free or reduced price lunches pursuant
to federal law and regulations, excluding such a school located in a priority school
district pursuant to section 10-266p or in a former priority school district receiving a
grant pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and, on and after July 1, 2001, excluding
such a school in a transitional school district receiving a grant pursuant to section 10-16u;
(4) "Severe need school" means a school in a priority school district pursuant to
section 10-266p or in a former priority school district in which forty per cent or more
of the lunches served are served to students who are eligible for free or reduced price
lunches;
(5) "Accredited" means accredited by the National Association for the Education
of Young Children, a Head Start on-site program review instrument or a successor
instrument pursuant to federal regulations, or otherwise meeting such criteria as may
be established by the commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social
Services, unless the context otherwise requires;
(6) "Year-round" means fifty weeks per year, except as provided in subsection (d)
of section 10-16q;
(7) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Education; and
(8) "Department" means the Department of Education.
(b) The Department of Education shall be the lead agency for school readiness. For
purposes of this section and section 10-16u, school readiness program providers eligible
for funding from the Department of Education shall include local and regional boards
of education, regional educational service centers, family resource centers and providers
of child day care centers, as defined in section 19a-77, Head Start programs, preschool
programs and other programs that meet such standards established by the Commissioner
of Education. The department shall establish standards for school readiness programs.
The standards may include, but need not be limited to, guidelines for staff-child interactions, curriculum content, including preliteracy development, lesson plans, parent
involvement, staff qualifications and training, transition to school and administration.
The department shall develop age-appropriate developmental skills and goals for children attending such programs. The commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioners of Higher Education and Social Services and other appropriate entities, shall develop
a continuing education training program for the staff of school readiness programs. For
purposes of this section, prior to July 1, 2015, "staff qualifications" means there is in
each classroom an individual who has at least the following: (1) A credential issued by
an organization approved by the Commissioner of Education and nine credits or more,
and on and after July 1, 2005, twelve credits or more, in early childhood education or
child development from an institution of higher education accredited by the Board of
Governors of Higher Education or regionally accredited; (2) an associate's degree with
nine credits or more, and on and after July 1, 2005, twelve credits or more, in early
childhood education or child development from such an institution; (3) a four-year degree with nine credits or more, and on and after July 1, 2005, twelve credits or more,
in early childhood education or child development from such an institution; or (4) certification pursuant to section 10-145b with an endorsement in early childhood education
or special education, and on and after July 1, 2015, "staff qualifications" means there
is in each classroom an individual who has at least the following: (A) A bachelor's
degree in early childhood education or childhood development, or in a related field
approved by the Commissioner of Education from an institution of higher education
accredited by the Board of Governors of Higher Education or regionally accredited; or
(B) certification pursuant to section 10-145b with an endorsement in early childhood
education or special education.
(c) The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services, shall establish a grant program to provide spaces in accredited school
readiness programs for eligible children who reside in priority school districts pursuant
to section 10-266p or in former priority school districts as provided in this subsection.
Under the program, the grant shall be provided, in accordance with this section, to the
town in which such priority school district or former priority school district is located.
Eligibility shall be determined for a five-year period based on an applicant's designation
as a priority school district for the initial year of application, except that if a school
district that receives a grant pursuant to this subsection is no longer designated as a
priority school district at the end of such five-year period, such former priority school
district shall continue to be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to this subsection. Grant
awards shall be made annually contingent upon available funding and a satisfactory
annual evaluation. The chief elected official of such town and the superintendent of
schools for such priority school district or former priority school district shall submit a
plan for the expenditure of grant funds and responses to the local request for proposal
process to the Departments of Education and Social Services. The departments shall
jointly review such plans and shall each approve the portion of such plan within its
jurisdiction for funding. The plan shall: (1) Be developed in consultation with the local
or regional school readiness council established pursuant to section 10-16r; (2) be based
on a needs and resource assessment; (3) provide for the issuance of requests for proposals
for providers of accredited school readiness programs, provided, after the initial requests
for proposals, facilities that have been approved to operate a child care program financed
through the Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority and have received
a commitment for debt service from the Department of Social Services pursuant to
section 17b-749i, are exempt from the requirement for issuance of annual requests for
proposals; and (4) identify the need for funding pursuant to section 17b-749a in order
to extend the hours and days of operation of school readiness programs in order to
provide child day care services for children attending such programs.
(d) (1) The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner
of Social Services, shall establish a competitive grant program to provide spaces in
accredited school readiness programs for eligible children who reside (A) in an area
served by a priority school or a former priority school as provided for in subdivision
(2) of this subsection, (B) in a town ranked one to fifty when all towns are ranked in
ascending order according to town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f, whose school district is not a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p,
or (C) in a town formerly a town described in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, as
provided for in said subdivision (2). A town in which a priority school is located, a
regional school readiness council, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-16r, for a
region in which such a school is located or a town described in subparagraph (B) of this
subdivision may apply for such a grant in an amount not to exceed one hundred seven
thousand dollars per priority school or town. Eligibility shall be determined for a five-year period based on an applicant's designation as having a priority school or being a
town described in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision for the initial year of application.
Grant awards shall be made annually contingent upon available funding and a satisfactory annual evaluation. The chief elected official of such town and the superintendent
of schools of the school district or the regional school readiness council shall submit a
plan, as described in subsection (c) of this section, for the expenditure of such grant
funds to the Department of Education. In awarding grants pursuant to this subsection,
the commissioner shall give preference to applications submitted by regional school
readiness councils and may, within available appropriations, provide a grant in excess
of one hundred seven thousand dollars to towns with two or more priority schools in
such district. A town or regional school readiness council awarded a grant pursuant to
this subsection shall use the funds to purchase spaces for such children from providers
of accredited school readiness programs.
(2) (A) Commencing with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, if a town received
a grant pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection and is no longer eligible to receive
such a grant, the town may receive a phase-out grant for each of the three fiscal years
following the fiscal year such town received its final grant pursuant to subdivision (1)
of this subsection.
(B) The amount of such phase-out grants shall be determined as follows: (i) For the
first fiscal year following the fiscal year such town received its final grant pursuant to
subdivision (1) of this subsection, in an amount that does not exceed seventy-five per
cent of the grant amount such town received for the town or school's final year of
eligibility pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection; (ii) for the second fiscal year
following the fiscal year such town received its final grant pursuant to subdivision (1)
of this subsection, in an amount that does not exceed fifty per cent of the grant amount
such town received for the town's or school's final year of eligibility pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection; (iii) for the third fiscal year following the fiscal year such
town received its final grant pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, in an amount
that does not exceed twenty-five per cent of the grant amount such town received for the
town's or school's final year of eligibility pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(e) (1) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, priority school districts and former
priority school districts shall receive grants based on the sum of the products obtained
by (A) multiplying the district's number of contracted slots on March 30, 2008, by the
per child cost pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 10-16q, except
that such per child cost shall be reduced for slots that are less than year-round, and (B)
multiplying the number of additional slots the districts have requested for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 2009, by the per child cost pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection
(b) of said section 10-16q, except such per child cost shall be reduced for slots that are
less than year-round. If said sum exceeds the available appropriation, such number
of requested additional slots shall be reduced, as determined by the Commissioner of
Education, to stay within the available appropriation.
(2) If funds appropriated for the purposes of subsection (c) of this section are not
expended, the Commissioner of Education may use such unexpended funds to support
local school readiness programs. The commissioner may use such funds for purposes
including, but not limited to, (A) assisting local school readiness programs in meeting
and maintaining accreditation requirements, (B) providing training in implementing the
preschool assessment and curriculum frameworks, including training to enhance literacy
teaching skills, (C) developing a state-wide preschool curriculum, (D) developing student assessments for students in grades kindergarten to two, inclusive, (E) developing
and implementing best practices for parents in supporting preschool and kindergarten
student learning, (F) developing and implementing strategies for children to transition
from preschool to kindergarten, (G) providing for professional development, including
assisting in career ladder advancement, for school readiness staff, and (H) providing
supplemental grants to other towns that are eligible for grants pursuant to subsection
(c) of this section.
(3) Notwithstanding subdivision (2) of this subsection, for the fiscal years ending
June 30, 2008, and June 30, 2009, the Department of Education may retain up to one
hundred ninety-eight thousand two hundred dollars of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section for coordination, program evaluation and administration.
(f) Any school readiness program that receives funds pursuant to this section or
section 10-16u shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender,
religion or disability. For purposes of this section, a nonsectarian program means any
public or private school readiness program that is not violative of the Establishment
Clause of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut or the Establishment Clause of
the Constitution of the United States of America.
(g) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, no funds received by a town pursuant
to subsection (c) or (d) of this section or section 10-16u shall be used to supplant federal,
state or local funding received by such town for early childhood education, provided
(1) a town may use the greater of (A) twenty-five thousand dollars, or (B) up to five per
cent but no more than fifty thousand dollars of the amount received pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) of this section or section 10-16u for coordination, program evaluation
and administration, and (2) if a town provides twenty-five thousand dollars in local
funding for early childhood education coordination, program evaluation and administration, such town may use up to ten per cent but no more than seventy-five thousand
dollars of such amount for coordination, program evaluation and administration. Each
town that receives a grant pursuant to said subsection (c) or (d) or section 10-16u shall
designate a person to be responsible for such coordination, program evaluation and
administration and to act as a liaison between the town and the Departments of Education
and Social Services. Each school readiness program that receives funds pursuant to this
section or section 10-16u shall provide information to the department or the school
readiness council, as requested, that is necessary for purposes of any school readiness
program evaluation.
(h) For the first three years a town receives grants pursuant to this section, such
grants may be used, with the approval of the commissioner, to prepare a facility or staff
for operating a school readiness program and shall be adjusted based on the number of
days of operation of a school readiness program if a shorter term of operation is approved
by the commissioner.
(i) A town may use grant funds to purchase spaces for eligible children who reside
in such town at an accredited school readiness program located in another town. A
regional school readiness council may use grant funds to purchase spaces for eligible
children who reside in the region covered by the council at an accredited school readiness
program located outside such region.
(j) Children enrolled in school readiness programs funded pursuant to this section
shall not be counted (1) as resident students for purposes of subdivision (22) of section
10-262f, or (2) in the determination of average daily membership pursuant to subdivision
(2) of subsection (a) of section 10-261.
(k) Up to two per cent of the amount of the appropriation for this section may be
allocated to the competitive grant program pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. The
determination of the amount of such allocation shall be made on or before August first.
(P.A. 97-259, S. 2, 41; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-11, S. 25, 65; P.A. 98-239, S. 30, 35; 98-252, S. 32, 80; P.A. 99-230,
S. 1, 10; P.A. 00-187, S. 4, 75; P.A. 01-173, S. 48, 67; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 11-13, 54; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7,
S. 10; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 15, 30, 32; P.A. 04-15, S. 1; 04-26, S. 1; 04-215, S. 2; 04-254, S. 3; P.A. 05-13, S.
5; 05-245, S. 1, 10, 28; P.A. 06-13, S. 1, 2; 06-135, S. 1, 23; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3, S. 17; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S.
44, 50; P.A. 08-85, S. 1; 08-170, S. 4, 35.)
History: P.A. 97-259 effective July 1, 1997; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-11 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(3),
added new Subdiv. (4) defining "severe need school" and redesignated former Subdivs. (4) to (7) as Subdivs. (5) to (8),
effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-239 amended Subsec. (c)(3) to provide that, after the initial requests for proposals, facilities
approved to operate a child care program financed through CHEFA and which have received a commitment for debt service
pursuant to Sec. 17b-749i are exempt from the requirement for issuance of annual requests for proposals, effective June
8, 1998, and applicable to all grants submitted on and after July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-252 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to allow the
commissioner to approve programs for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1998, and June 30, 1999, that are for less hours
and days, amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (e)(3) to remove cap of $120,000
per fiscal year, amended Subsec. (g) to allow a town to use up to 5% but no more than $50,000 for coordination, program
evaluation and administration, and added new Subsec. (h) re use of grants in certain years to prepare a facility or staff for
operating a program, effective June 8, 1998; P.A. 99-230 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to add children attending pursuant to
Sec. 10-16t, to renumber existing Subsec. (a)(7) and (8) as Subsec. (a)(8) and (9) and to add new Subsec. (a)(7) defining
"year-round", amended Subsec. (e) to change the percentages in Subdivs. (1) to (3), inclusive, and to add Subdiv. (4) re
use of a percentage of grant funds not earmarked by town for expenditure, and added Subsec.(g)(2) re authorization to use
increased amount of grant funds for coordination, program evaluation and administration for towns that provide $25,000 in
local funding for such purposes, to require towns that receive grants to designate a person to be responsible for coordination,
program evaluation and administration and to act as a liaison between the town and the departments, and to require programs
to provide information for evaluation purposes, and added Subsecs. (i) re purchase of spaces in program in another town
or region and (j) re children not counted as resident students for purposes of Sec. 10-262f, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-187 added provisions re transitional school districts and former priority school districts, amended Subsec. (b) to specify
the standards for staff qualifications on and after July 1, 2003, amended Subsec. (d) to allow the awarding of grants in
excess of $100,000 to towns with one or more priority schools, amended Subsec. (e) to base grants on the "average" number
of enrolled kindergarten students in a priority school district for the "three years" prior to the year the grant is to be paid
rather than on the number of such students for the prior year and to provide that no such district receives a grant that is
less than the grant it received for the prior fiscal year, and amended Subsec. (h) to extend the provision to the fiscal year
ending June 30, 2001, and add requirement for the commissioner's approval, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended
Subsec. (j) to designate portion of existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and add Subdiv. (2) re determination of average daily
membership, effective July 1, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 amended Subsec. (b) to require curriculum content to include
preliteracy development, amended Subsec. (c)(1) to add reference to the "regional" school readiness council, amended
Subsec. (e)(1) to establish a threshold for grants of at least $150,000 and (e)(4) to increase the percentage of funds that are
not earmarked that the department is able to use from 10% to 50%, amended Subsec. (g)(1) to allow a town to use the
greater of the amounts pursuant to Subparas. (A) or (B), to designate the existing limit as Subpara. (B) and to add Subpara.
(A) re $25,000, and amended Subsec. (h) to remove limitation on the provision for specific fiscal years and to substitute
limitation for the first three years a town receives grants, effective July 1, 2001; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 added Subsec.
(k) re appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, effective August 15, 2002 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (k)
the numeric dollar amounts "$2,576,580" and "$198,199" were replaced editorially by the Revisors with "two million five
hundred seventy-six thousand five hundred eighty dollars" and "one hundred ninety-eight thousand one hundred ninety-nine dollars" for consistency with customary statutory usage); June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (b) to make
definition of "staff qualifications" applicable beginning July 1, 2004, rather than July 1, 2003, amended Subsec. (d) by
designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1), adding reference to former priority schools therein and adding Subdiv. (2)
re grants for former priority schools and amended Subsec. (k) by adding provisions re appropriations for the fiscal years
ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 04-15 amended Subsec. (b) to change staff
qualifications on and after July 1, 2005, in Subdivs. (1), (2) and (3), and to add Subdiv. (4) re endorsement in early childhood
education or special education, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-26 made technical changes in Subsec. (d)(2), effective April
28, 2004; P.A. 04-215 deleted definition of "approved" in Subsec. (a), made technical changes throughout, deleted "or
approved" re school readiness program throughout, amended Subsec. (d) to increase maximum grant amount from $100,000
to $107,000 and deleted Subsec. (e)(1) provision re per cent amount of appropriation for noncompetitive grant and former
Subsec. (e)(2) re per cent amount of appropriation for competitive grant, and amending redesignated Subdiv. (3) by changing
plan submission deadline from January first, to October first, by increasing amount of funds not earmarked for expenditure
that department may use from 50% to 70%, and by adding provision re amounts that may be used for school readiness
professional development, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-254 amended Subsec. (d)(1) by adding provision re towns ranked
according to wealth and deleted former Subsec. (k) re appropriations for fiscal years ending June 30, 2003, June 30, 2004,
and June 30, 2005, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 05-13 amended Subsec. (d) by extending competitive grant program and
phase-out to certain towns and making conforming changes, effective May 4, 2005; P.A. 05-245 made a technical change
in Subsec. (a)(1), amended Subsec. (b) to extend the current definition of "staff qualifications" to July 1, 2015, and to
introduce new standards for staff qualifications on and after July 1, 2015, amended Subsec. (d)(1) by extending grant
eligibility from the towns ranked one to twenty-eight, to the towns ranked one to fifty when all towns are ranked in ascending
order according to town wealth, and amended Subsec. (e)(1) by adding language re supplemental grants received in the
fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-13 made technical changes in Subsecs. (d) and (e)(3),
effective May 2, 2006; P.A. 06-135 amended Subsec. (e)(3) to delete percentage requirements and provide that Department
of Education may determine the distribution of funds not earmarked for expenditure for the purposes of professional
development and preschool and kindergarten assessments and added Subsec. (k) re funding for programs in certain towns,
effective July 1, 2006; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3 amended Subsec. (e)(3) to replace former provisions re use of funds not
earmarked for expenditure by a town by October first for supplemental grants to other eligible towns, school readiness
professional development and activities related to preschool and kindergarten student development evaluations or assessments with new provisions re use of unexpended funds to support local school readiness programs, effective July 1, 2007;
June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 amended Subsec. (e)(3) to add Subpara. (H) re supplemental grants to other eligible towns, and
amended Sec. 48 of P.A. 05-245, added editorially by the Revisors as Subsec. (e)(4) of this section, to extend the administrative set-aside for department to the fiscal years ending June 30, 2008, and June 30, 2009, effective October 6, 2007; P.A.
08-85 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(5), effective July 1, 2008; P.A. 08-170 amended Subsec. (e) to replace former
formula in Subdiv. (1) re distribution of funds with Subparas. (A) and (B) re formula for fiscal year ending June 30, 2009,
based on district's program capacity, to delete former Subdiv. (2) re administrative set-aside and to redesignate existing
Subdivs. (3) and (4) as Subdivs. (2) and (3), and amended Subsec. (k) to replace former provisions with provisions re
allocation of up to 2% of appropriation for section to competitive grant program, effective July 1, 2008.