SB613 CD1

PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that, according to a 2006 junior kindergarten pilot program evaluation report commissioned by the Hawaii Educational Policy Center, additional funding and support are needed to implement a flexible, developmentally-appropriate junior kindergarten program for young children. Specifically, the junior kindergarten program sets as a goal the requirements that qualified teaching professionals who will implement developmentally-appropriate standards, curricula, and assessments, will teach classroom environments of one adult for every ten students.

SECTION 2. The purpose of this Act is to increase the supply and enhance the quality of early childhood education opportunities for young children in the State by:

(1) Requiring the department of education to encourage and enable inclusionary classes with both special education eligible and general education students three to five years of age;

(2) Promoting developmentally-appropriate junior kindergarten and kindergarten programs with appropriate student-to-teacher ratios, standards, curricula, and assessments;

(3) Supporting the preparation and professional development of early childhood educators and administrators; and

(4) Increasing the availability of facilities for early childhood education programs through the identification of unused public school facilities.

PART II

SECTION 3. Section 302A-410, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-410 Quality early education plan. (a) The department plan for quality early education shall focus on children from ages four up to six years.

(b) The board shall adopt standards and criteria for quality early education based on current national standards and the needs of Hawaii's children. The standards and criteria shall provide the basis upon which the early education plan shall be developed.

(c) The department [~~of education~~] shall work cooperatively with the department of human services, the department of health, college level education programs, early education organizations, parents of young children, and other appropriate organizations, in developing a quality early education plan. The plan shall include but not be limited to the following:

(1) Standards for curriculum, activities, facilities, and teacher training for early childhood education;

(2) Methods and materials designed to involve and educate parents and guardians in the education and development of their young children;

(3) A timetable and implementation schedule, approved by the board, to be submitted to the governor and the legislature;

(4) Costs for delivery of early childhood services, including how costs can be shared between the public and private sectors; and

(5) Assessment of training and certification capacity of teachers, including assurances by teacher training institutions to recruit and graduate qualified staff for early childhood education.

(d) Early education shall be delivered through private providers to the maximum extent possible, and provision shall be made to enable parents and guardians to opt for home care if they so choose by providing early childhood education resources in each school for in-home use.

(e) The department shall collaborate with parents and private providers to encourage and enable inclusionary classes with both special education eligible and general education students three to five years of age, subject to available resources and individualized education plans, including consideration of the following options:

(1) Special education eligible preschool children may receive services in private preschool programs located both on departmental school sites and in the community if required by their individualized education program;

(2) The facilities for providing early education offer a variety of possibilities by working with partnership options between the public and private offers;

(3) Special education personnel may provide services at any site as provided in the individualized education plans process; and

(4) Departmental special education preschool personnel may provide services to general education preschool students in their special education preschool classrooms.

[~~(e)~~] (f) Beginning with the 1997-1998 school year, this section shall be interpreted as though the term "certification" read "licensing", as the term is used in part III, subpart D, and as circumstances require."

SECTION 4. Section 302A-411, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-411 Junior kindergarten and kindergarten program; establishment; attendance. (a) The department shall establish and maintain junior kindergartens and kindergartens with a program of instruction as a part of the public school system; provided that:

(1) Attendance shall not be mandatory; and

(2) Charter schools shall be excluded from mandatory participation in the program.

(b) The department's kindergarten report card shall assess an individual junior kindergarten or kindergarten student's readiness for grade one based on a range of characteristics.

[~~(b)~~] (c) The department shall establish a two-tier junior kindergarten and kindergarten program to support the range of developmental abilities of children in junior kindergarten and kindergarten. Any school may move students between junior kindergarten and kindergarten as the school deems appropriate. Junior kindergarten students may graduate directly to grade one.

(d) The program shall include instructional strategies for junior kindergarten and kindergarten students that meet the needs and abilities of students.

(e) The program shall include any or all of the following models:

(1) Classrooms composed exclusively of either junior kindergarten or kindergarten students;

(2) Coordination with public, private, or public-private entities to address the needs of junior [~~kindergarten-eligible~~] kindergarten and preschool-age special education students within the school's community; and

(3) The blending of junior kindergarten and kindergarten students in a single classroom.

[~~(c)~~] (f) Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, a child who will be at least five years of age on or before December 31 of the school year may attend a public school kindergarten. Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, a child who will be at least five years of age on or before August 1 of the school year may attend a public school kindergarten. Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, a child who will be at least five years of age after August 1 and before January 1 of the school year may attend a public school junior kindergarten.

(g) The department may give preference to qualified teachers to be placed in junior kindergarten and kindergarten programs beginning in the 2008-2009 school year, who have early childhood education credentials and experience as follows:

(1) Early childhood education, program level PK-3, as licensed by the Hawaii teacher standards board;

(2) Elementary education, program level K-6, as licensed by the Hawaii teacher standards board, with additional coursework leading to a certificate in early childhood education; or

(3) Special education, program level K-12, as licensed by the Hawaii teacher standards board, with additional coursework leading to a certificate in early childhood education;

provided that the preference shall not violate any collective bargaining agreement executed between the public employer and the exclusive representative of bargaining unit (5). The department shall ensure that school administrators of junior kindergarten and kindergarten programs receive professional development in best practices for effective leadership of all kindergarten programs.

[~~(d)~~] (h) The department may accept gifts to establish and maintain junior kindergartens and kindergartens."

SECTION 5. The department of education, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2008, shall:

(1) Complete the planning and development of the appropriate curriculum for the junior kindergarten program; and

(2) Submit its findings and recommendations to the legislature on the planned junior kindergarten curricula, successful models, and assessments to be used in the placement and movement of students between junior kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade, as well as facilities to be used for junior kindergarten.

PART III

SECTION 6. The legislature recognizes that a 2002 public-private initiative entitled "pre-plus" resulted in the development of seventeen additional preschool classroom facilities on public elementary school campuses. The department of education, department of human services, and department of accounting and general services collaborated with private early childhood education providers to increase the availability of early education opportunities for over three hundred fifty four‑year-old children with high needs. However, more support is needed to increase the supply of suitable classrooms for early childhood programs statewide by expanding existing pre‑plus facilities on public school campuses, increasing the number of public school campuses with pre-plus facilities, and creating off-campus pre-plus facilities through the involvement of and partnerships with the private sector.

SECTION 7. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- Early childhood education facilities; pre-plus. (a) There is established the pre-plus program. The department and the department of human services shall work collaboratively to develop suitable pre-plus classrooms on department campuses statewide, including conversion charter school campuses, for early childhood education programs serving preschool-age children between three and five years of age.

(b) The department shall coordinate site selection for public school sites, with priority given to public school sites that serve students predominantly of low socio-economic status or with special needs who require full-inclusion opportunities, or schools that are in restructuring under the federal No Child Left Behind Act."

SECTION 8. Section 302A-1506.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§302A-1506.5[]] Early childhood education facilities; identifying sites. (a) The department of education shall identify unused public school facilities for use by early childhood education programs. Suitable empty classrooms, as determined by the department, shall be inventoried for potential use in early childhood education programs. Priority shall be given to facilities on sites with sufficient space for three or more classrooms to be renovated or constructed.

(b) The department shall assist in the identification of possible construction sites for private providers to build early childhood education facilities.

(c) The department shall submit an annual report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session on:

(1) The number of classrooms that would be suitable for early childhood education programs; and

(2) The cost of renovating these classrooms to meet early childhood education standards."

PART IV

SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	613
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 2
		C.D. 1