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REFERENCE TITLE: results‑based school-readiness contracts |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-second Legislature First Regular Session 2015
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HB 2668 |
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Introduced by Representatives Bolding, Coleman
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AN ACT
AMENDING Title 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding chapter 20; relating to school programs.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 20, to read:
CHAPTER 20
ARIZONA SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
15-2501. Definitions
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Board" means the school readiness board.
2. "Economically disadvantaged" means a student who is any of the following:
(a) Eligible to receive free lunch under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code sections 1751 through 1785).
(b) Eligible to receive reduced price lunch under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code sections 1751 through 1785).
(c) Enrolled in a provision 2 or provision 3 school, as defined by the United States department of agriculture.
(d) Enrolled at a school that does not offer a lunch program and is a sibling of a student who meets the criteria prescribed in subdivision (a) or (b) of this paragraph.
3. "Eligible home-based educational technology provider" means a provider that intends to offer a home-based educational technology program.
4. "Eligible LEA" means a local education agency that has a data system capacity to collect longitudinal academic outcome data, including special education use by students, by identifying each student with a statewide unique student identifier.
5. "Eligible private provider":
(a) Means a child care program that either:
(i) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this paragraph, is licensed by this state.
(ii) Is exempt from licensure under the laws of this state and that meets other criteria as established by the board, consistent with the Constitution of Arizona.
(b) Does not include residential child care.
6. "Eligible student" means a student who is economically disadvantaged.
7. "Local education agency" or "LEA" means a school district or charter school.
8. "Performance outcome measure" means a cost avoidance in special education use for a student who is at risk for later special education placement in kindergarten programs and grades one through six and who receives preschool education funded pursuant to a results-based school‑readiness contract.
9. "Private entity" means a private investor or investors that enter into a results-based school-readiness contract and includes an authorized representative of the private investor or investors.
10. "Results-based school-readiness contract" means a contract entered into by the board, a private entity and a provider of early childhood education that may result in repayment to a private entity if certain performance outcome measures are achieved.
11. "Student who is at risk for later special education placement" means a preschool student who, at preschool entry, scores at or below two standard deviations below the mean on an assessment selected by the board.
15‑2502. School readiness board; membership; terms; vacancies; compensation; meetings; board termination
A. The school readiness board is established in the governor's office of strategic planning and budgeting consisting of the following members, none of whom may be an officer or employee of or hold a financial interest in any provider that receives a grant pursuant to this chapter:
1. The presiding officer of the state board of education or the presiding officer's designee.
2. The president of the state board for charter schools or the president's designee.
3. One member of the education committee of the house of representatives who is appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
4. One member of the education committee of the senate who is appointed by the president of the senate and who is a member of a different political party than the member appointed pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection.
5. One member who is an early childhood educator and who is appointed by the governor.
6. One member who is a representative of the business community and who is appointed by the governor.
7. One member with expertise in early childhood education who is appointed by the governor.
8 The parent of a child who is enrolled in a school district or charter school in this state and who is appointed by the governor.
B. Appointed members serve two‑year terms.
C. If a vacancy occurs for an appointed member, the person who appointed that member shall appoint a replacement member to serve the remainder of that member's term.
D. Members of the board are not entitled to compensation.
E. On request, the governor's office of strategic planning and budgeting shall provide staff support to the board.
F. The board members shall elect a chairperson from the board's membership.
G. The board shall meet at the call of the chairperson or at the call of a majority of the board members.
H. The board established by this section ends on July 1, 2023 pursuant to section 41‑3103.
15-2503. School readiness fund
A. The school readiness fund is established consisting of appropriations, federal grants, private donations and interest earned on monies deposited into the fund. The governor's office of strategic planning and budgeting shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are subject to legislative appropriation.
B. Monies in the fund shall be distributed by the governor's office of strategic planning and budgeting for the following purposes:
1. To fund the high quality school readiness grant program established by this chapter.
2. To fund results-based school-readiness contracts for eligible students to participate in the following:
(a) A high quality preschool program prescribed in this chapter.
(b) An eligible home-based educational technology program prescribed in this chapter.
3. To award grants under the high quality school readiness grant program.
4. To contract with an independent evaluator as required in this chapter.
5. In accordance with this chapter, to make payments to one or more private entities that the board has entered into a results-based contract with if the independent evaluator selected by the board determines that the performance-based results have been met.
6. For administration costs, including the monitoring of the programs prescribed in this chapter.
15-2504. High quality school readiness program; requirements
A. A high quality school readiness program may be established and shall be operated by an eligible LEA or an eligible private provider. The program shall include the following components:
1. An evidence-based curriculum that is aligned with applicable state standards and that incorporates intentional and differentiated instruction in whole-group, small-group and child-directed learning, including the following academic content areas:
(a) Oral language and listening comprehension.
(b) Phonological awareness and pre‑reading.
(c) Alphabet and word knowledge.
(d) Pre‑writing.
(e) Book knowledge and print awareness.
(f) Numeracy.
(g) Creative arts.
(h) Science and technology.
(i) Social studies, health and safety.
2. Ongoing, focused and intensive professional development for staff who participate in the school readiness program.
3. Ongoing assessment of a student's educational growth and developmental progress to inform instruction.
4. A pre-assessment and post-assessment, selected by the board in accordance with this chapter, of each student.
5. For a preschool program run by an eligible LEA, a class size that does not exceed twenty students, with at least one adult for every ten students in the class.
6. Ongoing program evaluation and data collection to monitor program goal achievement and implementation of required program components.
7. Family engagement, including ongoing communication between home and school and parent education opportunities based on each family's circumstances.
B. For a preschool program operated by an eligible LEA, each teacher shall obtain at least the minimum standard of a child development associate certification or an associate or bachelor's degree in an early childhood education related field.
C. For a preschool program operated by an eligible private provider, by a teacher's second year, each teacher shall obtain at least the minimum standard of a child development associate certification or an associate or bachelor's degree in an early childhood education related field.
D. A school readiness program operated by a home-based educational technology provider shall meet all of the following requirements:
1. Be an evidence-based and age-appropriate individualized interactive instruction assessment and feedback technology program that teaches eligible students early learning skills needed to be successful on enrollment into a kindergarten program.
2. Require regular parental engagement with the student in the student's use of the home-based educational technology program.
3. Be aligned with applicable state standards.
4. Require the administration of the pre-assessment and post‑assessment, designated by the board, of each eligible student.
5. Require technology providers to ensure successful implementation and utilization of the technology program.
15-2505. School readiness grants; requirements
A. School readiness grants are established to upgrade an existing preschool or home-based technology program to a high quality school readiness program for any of the following:
1. An eligible private provider.
2. An eligible LEA.
3. An eligible home-based educational technology provider.
B. The state board of education shall solicit proposals from eligible LEAs and make recommendations to the board to award grants to respondents based on the criteria prescribed in this section.
C. The board shall select a community organization to solicit proposals from eligible private providers and eligible home-based educational technology providers and make recommendations to the board to award grants to respondents based on the criteria prescribed in this section.
D. If sufficient monies are appropriated for this purpose, the school readiness board shall award grants to respondents based on the recommendations of the state board of education, the recommendations of the community organization selected by the school readiness board and the criteria prescribed in this section.
E. In awarding a grant under subsection D of this section, the state board of education, the community organization selected by the school readiness board and the school readiness board shall consider all of the following:
1. A respondent's capacity to effectively implement the components described in section 15‑2504.
2. The percentage of a respondent's students who are economically disadvantaged.
3. The level of administrative support and leadership at a respondent's program to effectively implement, monitor and evaluate the program.
F. The school readiness board may not award a grant to an LEA without obtaining approval from the state board of education.
G. To receive a grant under this section, a respondent that is an eligible LEA shall submit a proposal to the state board of education that details all of the following:
1. The respondent's strategy to implement the high quality components prescribed in section 15‑2504.
2. The number of students the respondent plans to serve, categorized by age and economically disadvantaged status.
3. The number of high quality preschool classrooms the respondent plans to operate.
4. The estimated cost per student.
H. To receive a grant under this section, a respondent that is an eligible private provider or an eligible home-based educational technology provider shall submit a proposal to the community organization selected by the board that details both of the following:
1. The respondent's strategy to implement the high quality components prescribed in section 15‑2504.
2. The number of students the respondent plans to serve, categorized by age and economically disadvantaged status.
3. For a respondent that is an eligible private provider, the number of high quality preschool classrooms the respondent plans to operate.
4. The estimated cost per student.
I. All recipients of grants under this section shall establish a preschool or home-based educational technology program with the components prescribed in Section 15‑2504.
J. A grant recipient shall allow classroom or other visits by an independent evaluator chosen by the board pursuant to section 15-2509. The independent evaluator shall determine whether a grant recipient has effectively implemented the components prescribed in Section 15‑2504 and report the independent evaluator's findings to the board.
K. A grant recipient that is an eligible LEA shall assign a statewide unique student identifier to each eligible student funded pursuant to a grant received under this section.
L. A grant recipient that is an eligible private provider or an eligible home-based educational technology provider shall work in conjunction with the state board of education to assign a statewide unique student identifier to each eligible student funded pursuant to a grant received under this section.
M. A grant recipient that is an LEA shall report annually to the school readiness board and the state board of education all of the following:
1. The number of students served by the preschool, reported by economically disadvantaged status.
2. Attendance data.
3. The cost per student.
4. Assessment results.
N. A grant recipient that is an eligible private provider or an eligible home-based educational technology provider shall report annually to the board and the community organization selected by the board all of the following:
1. The number of students served by the preschool or program, reported by economically disadvantaged status.
2. Attendance data.
3. The cost per student.
4. Assessment results.
O. The state board of education shall adopt rules to effectively administer and monitor the school readiness grant program that include the following:
1. A requirement that grant recipients to use the pre-assessment and post-assessment selected by the school readiness board.
2. The establishment of reporting requirements for grant recipients.
P. At the request of the school readiness board, the state board of education and the community organization selected by the school readiness board, the school readiness board shall annually share the information received from grant recipients with the state board of education.
15-2506. High quality preschool programs for eligible LEAs; requirements
A. To receive funding pursuant to a results-based school-readiness contract awarded under this chapter, an eligible LEA shall establish or currently operate a high quality preschool with the components prescribed in section 15‑2504.
B. An eligible LEA shall assign a statewide unique student identifier to each eligible student funded pursuant to a results-based school-readiness contract.
C. An eligible LEA may not use funds awarded pursuant to a results‑based contract to supplant monies for an existing high quality preschool program but may use the funds to supplement an existing high quality preschool program.
D. If permitted under federal law, an LEA may charge a sliding scale fee based of household income to a student participating in a high quality preschool program under this section.
E. An LEA that receives monies under this section shall report annually to the board the de-identified information prescribed in this chapter.
F. An eligible LEA may contract with an eligible private provider to provide the high quality preschool program to a portion of the LEA's eligible students funded by a results-based school-readiness contract.
G. The board shall determine in a results-based contract the portion of an LEA's eligible students funded by the school-readiness contract to be served by an eligible private provider.
H. To receive funding pursuant to a results-based school-readiness contract, an eligible private provider shall do all of the following:
1. Offer a preschool program that contains the components prescribed in section 15‑2504.
2. Allow classroom visits by the evaluator chosen in accordance with this chapter and the private entity to ensure that the components prescribed in this section are implemented.
3. Allow the evaluator chosen in accordance with this chapter to administer the required pre-assessment and post-assessments to eligible students funded under this chapter.
4. Report the information prescribed in this chapter to the board and the contracting LEA.
I. An LEA may provide the eligible private provider with all of the following:
1. Professional development.
2. Staffing or staff support.
3. Materials.
4. Assessments.
J. If permitted under federal law, an eligible private provider may charge a sliding scale fee based on household income to a student participating in a high quality preschool program under this section.
K. The eligible private provider may use grants, scholarships, or other funds to help fund the preschool program.
L. A contractual partnership established under this section shall comply with the requirements of the Constitution of Arizona.
M. The evaluator selected pursuant to this chapter shall annually evaluate all of the following:
1. The quality and outcomes of the high quality preschool program funded by a results-based school-readiness contract between a private entity and the board, including adherence to the required components prescribed in section 15‑2504 and the pre-assessment and post-assessment results of the assessment designated by the board under this chapter, of eligible students in the high quality preschool program.
2. Whether the performance outcome measures set in the results-based contract have been met, using de-identified data reported under this chapter.
15-2507. High quality preschool programs for eligible private providers; requirements
A. To receive funding pursuant to a results-based school-readiness contract awarded under this chapter, an eligible private provider shall:
1. Establish or currently operate a high quality preschool with the components prescribed in section 15‑2504.
2. Allow classroom visits by the evaluator chosen in accordance with this chapter and the private entity, to ensure that the components prescribed in section 15‑2504 are being implemented.
3. Allow the evaluator to administer the required pre-assessment and post-assessments to eligible students funded under this chapter.
B. An eligible private provider shall work in conjunction with the state board of education to assign a statewide unique student identifier to each eligible student funded pursuant to a results-based school‑readiness contract.
C. An eligible private provider may not use monies awarded pursuant to a results-based school‑readiness contract to supplant funds for an existing high quality preschool program, but may use the monies to supplement an existing high quality preschool program.
D. If permitted under federal law, an eligible private provider may charge a sliding scale fee based on household income to a student participating in a high quality preschool program under this section.
E. The eligible private provider may use grants, scholarships or other monies to help fund the preschool program.
F. An eligible private provider that receives funds under this section shall report annually to the board the de-identified information required by this chapter.
G. The state board of education shall annually share with the school readiness board aggregated longitudinal data on eligible students currently receiving funding under this section and any eligible students who previously received funding under this section, including academic achievement outcomes, special education use and English language learner services.
H. The evaluator selected pursuant to this chapter shall annually evaluate the quality and outcomes of a high quality preschool program funded by a results-based school-readiness contract between a private entity and the board, including the following:
1. Adherence to required components prescribed in section 15‑2504.
2. The pre-assessment and post-assessment results of eligible students in the high quality preschool program.
3. Whether the performance outcome measures set in the results‑based school‑readiness contract have been met, using de-identified or aggregated data required to be reported under this chapter.
15-2508. Home‑based educational technology for school‑readiness; requirements
A. To receive funding pursuant to a results-based school-readiness contract awarded under this chapter, an eligible home-based educational technology provider shall administer a home-based educational technology program designed to prepare eligible students for kindergarten.
B. An eligible home-based educational technology provider shall establish or currently operate a high quality school readiness program with the components prescribed in section 15‑2504.
C. An eligible home-based educational technology provider shall work in conjunction with the state board of education to assign a statewide unique student identifier to each eligible student funded pursuant to a results‑based school-readiness contract.
D. An eligible home-based educational technology provider that receives monies under this section shall report annually to the board the following de-identified information for eligible students funded in whole or in part pursuant to a results-based school-readiness contract:
1. The number of eligible students served by the home-based educational technology program, reported by economically disadvantaged status and English language learner status.
2. The average time and range of time usage that an eligible student spent using the program each week.
3. The cost per eligible student.
4. The assessment results of the pre-assessments and post-assessments selected by the board.
5. The number of eligible students served by the home-based educational technology program who participated in any other public or private preschool program, including the type of preschool attended.
E. The state board of education shall annually share with the school readiness board aggregated longitudinal data on eligible students currently receiving funding under this section and any eligible students who previously received funding under this section, including academic achievement outcomes, special education use and English language learner services.
F. The evaluator selected pursuant to this chapter shall annually evaluate:
1. The quality and outcomes of the home-based educational technology program funded by a results-based school-readiness contract between a private entity and the board, including the pre-assessment and post-assessment results, of eligible students in the program.
2. Whether the performance outcome measures set in the results‑based school‑readiness contract have been met, using de-identified or aggregated data required to be reported in this chapter.
15-2509. Results‑based school-readiness contracts; board duties; independent evaluator; parental permission
A. The board may negotiate and enter into a results-based school‑readiness contract with a private entity that is selected through a competitive process, to fund either of the high quality preschool programs prescribed in this chapter or a home-based educational technology program prescribed in this chapter, or any combination of these programs.
B. The board may not issue a results-based school-readiness contract if the total outstanding obligations of results-based school-readiness contracts issued by the board would exceed fifteen million dollars at any one time.
C. The board may provide for a repayment to a private entity to include a return of investment and an additional return on investment, dependent on the achievement of specific performance outcome measures set in the results-based school-readiness contract.
D. A contract issued pursuant to this section shall include:
1. A requirement that the repayment to the private entity be conditioned on specific performance outcome measures set in the results-based school-readiness contract.
2. A requirement for an independent evaluator to determine whether the performance outcomes have been achieved.
3. A provision that repayment to the private entity is based on available monies in the school readiness fund and is subject to legislative appropriation.
4. A provision that the private entity is not eligible to receive or view any personally identifiable student data.
E. The board shall select an independent, nationally recognized early childhood education evaluator through a request for proposals process to annually evaluate performance outcome measures prescribed in a results-based school-readiness contract of the board and the program of a recipient of the high quality school readiness grant.
F. The board shall select a uniform assessment of age-appropriate cognitive or language skills that:
1. Is nationally norm-referenced.
2. Has established reliability.
3. Has established validity with other similar measures and with later school outcomes.
4. Has strong psychometric characteristics.
G. At the end of each year of a results-based school-readiness contract after a student funded through a results-based school-readiness contract completes kindergarten, the independent evaluator shall determine whether the performance outcome measures set in the contract have been met.
H. The board shall ensure that the parent or guardian of an eligible student participating in a program funded pursuant to a results-based school‑readiness contract has given permission and signed an acknowledgment that the student's data may be shared with the independent evaluator for research and evaluation purposes. The board shall maintain documentation of the parental permission required by this subsection.
I. The department of education shall track the academic progress of students who are covered by a contract issued pursuant to this chapter.
15-2510. Reporting requirements; de-identified information
A. An eligible LEA, eligible private provider or eligible home-based educational technology provider that receives monies pursuant to a results‑based school-readiness contract under this chapter shall report annually to the board the following de-identified information for eligible students that are funded in whole or in part pursuant to a results-based school-readiness contract:
1. The number of eligible students served by the recipient's preschool or home-based educational technology program, reported by economically disadvantaged status and English language learner status.
2. Attendance data.
3. The cost per eligible student.
4. The results of the pre-assessments and post-assessments selected by the board.
5. Aggregated longitudinal data on eligible students who are currently receiving funding under this chapter and any eligible students who previously received funding under this chapter, including academic achievement outcomes, special education use and English language learner services.
B. For each year of a results-based school-readiness contract, the board shall report to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives both of the following:
1. The information collected under this chapter for each participating LEA, private provider and home-based educational technology provider.
2. The terms of the results-based school-readiness contract, including:
(a) The name of each private entity and the funding source.
(b) The amount of monies that each private entity has invested.
(c) The performance outcome measures prescribed in the results-based contract by which repayment will be determined.
(d) The repayment schedule to the private entity if the performance outcomes are met.
15-2511. Program termination
Notwithstanding section 15-2502, subsection h, the program established by this chapter ends on July 1, 2025 pursuant to section 41-3102.