File No. 840

Senate, May 24, 2011

The Committee on Appropriations reported through SEN. HARP of the 10th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 10-16z of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):

(a) There is established the Early Childhood Education Cabinet. The cabinet shall consist of: (1) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee, (2) one representative from the Department of Education who is responsible for programs required under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as amended from time to time, appointed by the Commissioner of Education, (3) the Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's designee, (4) a representative from an institution of higher education in this state appointed by the Commissioner of Higher Education, (5) the Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's designee, (6) the Commissioner of Developmental Services, or the commissioner's designee, (7) the Commissioner of [Mental Health and Addiction Services] Children and Families, or the commissioner's designee, (8) the executive director of the Commission on Children, or the executive director's designee, (9) the project director of the Connecticut Head Start State Collaboration Office, (10) a [representative from a Head Start program] parent or guardian of a child who attends or attended a school readiness program appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, (11) a representative of a local provider of early childhood education appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, (12) two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom is a member of the House of Representatives and one of whom is a parent who has a child attending a school in a priority school district, (13) two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom is a member of the Senate and one of whom is a representative of a public elementary school with a prekindergarten program, (14) two appointed by the Governor, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Head Start Association and one of whom is a representative of the business or philanthropic community in this state, [appointed by the Governor,] and (15) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee. The chairperson of the council shall be appointed from among its members by the Governor.

Sec. 2. Section 10-16y of the general statutes is repealed. (Effective July 1, 2011)

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill changes the membership of the Early Childhood Education Cabinet, and is not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact.

The Out Years

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

OLR Bill Analysis

sSB 1103

AN ACT CONCERNING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.

SUMMARY:

This bill eliminates the State Department of Education's (SDE) Office of Early Childhood Planning, Outreach, and Coordination and all of its duties.

It also changes the membership of the Early Childhood Education Cabinet and expands the membership from 17 to 18.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2011

OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD PLANNING ELIMINATED

The bill eliminates the Office of Early Childhood Planning and its following duties:

1. planning, developing, and coordinating, with other agencies, the delivery of services to children from birth to nine years old;

2. coordinating the implementation of an Early Childhood Education Information System capable of tracking numerous elements of school readiness programs and the children they serve;

3. developing and reporting on an early childhood accountability plan, in consultation with the cabinet;

4. implementing a communications strategy for outreach to families, service providers, and policymakers;

5. starting, not later than September 1, 2011, a statewide longitudinal evaluation of early childhood programs, in consultation with the Department of Social Services (DSS); and

6. developing, coordinating, and supporting public and private partnerships to aid early childhood initiatives.

EARLY CHILDHOOD CABINET MEMBERSHIP

The cabinet is made up of various department heads or their representatives, including SDE, DSS, and the Department of Public Health, plus legislators and representatives of prekindergarten programs.

The bill changes cabinet membership as follows, it:

1. replaces the mental health and addiction services commissioner or her designee, with the children and families commissioner;

2. changes the House minority leader's appointment from a Head Start program representative to a parent of a child attending a school readiness program; and

3. increases the gubernatorial appointments from one to two by adding a representative of the CT Head Start Association.

BACKGROUND

School Readiness

School readiness programs provide nonsectarian developmentally appropriate learning for children ages three and four (and five year olds who are not eligible to enroll in school or choose school readiness instead according to statute). The programs must provide at least 450 hours over at least 180 days, with some exceptions, and must meet state standards (CGS § 10-16p).

Early Childhood Cabinet's Duties to Satisfy Federal Head Start

The cabinet carries out various coordination and planning duties and submits annual reports to the legislature regarding the health, safety, and learning of children birth to nine years of age (CGS § 10-16z(b)). These duties are required to satisfy the federal Head Start Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-134).

Legislative History

The Senate referred the bill (File 507) to the Appropriations Committee, which reported a substitute on deleting language that transferred some of the Office of Early Childhood Planning's duties to SDE, while eliminating other duties.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Education Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute

Human Services Committee

Joint Favorable

Appropriations Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute