Legislative Session number- 85

Bill Name: SF0579

1E Expanding the early childhood family education (ECFE) program to include
programming for parents and children at risk of not being kindergarten ready,
allowing programs to use early learning guidelines developed by the commissioner
of human services or the early childhood indicators of progress developed by the
commissioner of education; requiring the commissioner of education to develop a
program accountability plan focusing on race, ethnicity and income demographics
to ensure ECFE statewide accessibility; increasing ECFE funding; requiring the
commissioner of education to implement a kindergarten readiness assessment based
on a certain model developed by the department of education, to expand to all
districts developmental assessments voluntarily administered to entering
kindergartners and to set periodic progress milestones in the number of children
demonstrating proficiency on assessment measures; requiring and providing for
phase in of a school readiness kindergarten assessment initiative in school
districts on a voluntary basis and an assessment results periodic report to the
legislature; requiring the commissioner of education to make grants available to
underrepresented parent education organizations including immigrant, English as
a second language (ESL), tribal, low income and cultural populations to promote
school readiness, specifying program components, evaluation and accountability
and eligibility; appropriating money to the department of education for
developmental assessment at kindergarten entrance and parent education
grants
(rt)