§ 26-6.2-305. Universal, Voluntary Preschool Program – Recommendations – Report

1. The transition working group, working with the consultant and with the advice of the transition advisory group, shall develop recommendations for a new statewide, universal, voluntary preschool program to begin operating in the 2023-24 school year that is administered by the new department and meets the requirements specified in this section. The transition working group shall ensure that the recommendations for the new preschool program are aligned and coordinated with the recommendations in the transition plan. The new preschool program at a minimum must:
   1. Align existing funding for the existing Colorado preschool program created in article 28 of title 22 and anticipated preschool funding from the preschool programs cash fund and incorporate the existing preschool program into the new preschool program to operate as a single state-level preschool program and align with other relevant early childhood programs operated by the existing departments to achieve a streamlined preschool experience for children, families, and early childhood care and learning providers; and
   2. Be designed to meet the use requirements specified in section 24-22-118 (3)(b) and (3)(d) for the money in the preschool programs cash fund and the program requirements specified in section 24-22-118 (3)(c) for the new preschool program.
2. The recommendations for the new preschool program must be informed by the analysis of the use of existing early childhood programs and services conducted pursuant to section 26-6.2-303 (8) and designed to ensure that the new preschool program operates within the following parameters:
   1. The money from the preschool programs cash fund must be distributed through the new state-level preschool program to support high-quality preschool programs that implement developmentally and culturally appropriate whole-child, quality learning experiences that support the learning and development of all children, including strategies that support the needs of children who are dual-language learners and children who are members of groups that have historically faced barriers to accessing quality preschool programming;
   2. The money that is distributed through the new preschool program must be allocated to both school-based and community-based preschool program providers, including head start agencies;
   3. The administration of the new preschool program must ensure that school-based and community-based preschool program providers meet standards for fiscal accountability and comply with nondiscrimination laws;
   4. Money that is allocated for child care and for preschool programming must be blended or braided, and when applicable also blended or braided with money for programs provided by head start agencies, to enable communities to support a full day of child care and early learning services for working families;
   5. The new state-level preschool program must ensure alignment with state and federal requirements under the “Exceptional Children’s Educational Act”, part 1 of article 20 of title 22, and part B and part C of the federal “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act”, 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400 et seq., as amended;
   6. The design of the new state-level preschool program must focus on children, families, and child care and learning providers to allow easy access for families to choose the preschool programs, and additional child care programs, that are most appropriate for their children and their circumstances;
   7. The state-level preschool program must establish program standards for local preschool program quality that are designed to support child development and the successful transition of children and families to school and that are aligned and integrated with standards from other early childhood care and learning programs in the state;
   8. The new preschool program must integrate with the local infrastructure for early childhood, including the early childhood councils or other locally designated structures, to support coordination of early childhood programs at the local level, continuous quality improvement, recruitment and retention of the early childhood workforce, and children’s and families’ access to comprehensive services; and
   9. The new preschool program must be subject to a program evaluation that includes the program’s effects on child and family outcomes.
3. 1. In addressing the allocation and distribution of money to local preschool program providers, the recommendations for the new preschool program, at a minimum, must address the process for calculating funding rates and how the rates are designed to support quality preschool programs and the process for distributing money through the new preschool program.
   2. With regard to the requirement that the new preschool program align with federal and state requirements for serving children with disabilities, the recommendations for the new preschool program must address, at a minimum, the components of an interagency agreement and other strategies to define the roles and responsibilities of the new department, the department of education, local education agencies, and preschool providers regarding:
      1. How the new preschool program, as implemented in conjunction with preschool special education, will maintain alignment with federal requirements for identifying and serving preschool children with disabilities and the roles of the new department and the department of education;
      2. Accountability and oversight of school- and community-based preschool program providers with regard to federal requirements for identifying and serving preschool children with disabilities, including how the new preschool program and the new department will coordinate with the department of education in its role as the lead agency responsible for compliance with the federal “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act”, 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400 et seq., as amended, and the “Exceptional Children’s Educational Act”, part 1 of article 20 of title 22;
      3. How preschool special education services must be delivered and how community-based preschool program providers will be held accountable for providing access and necessary supports in implementing a mixed-delivery preschool program;
      4. How the new preschool program will be integrated with the existing requirements imposed on local education agencies related to the provision of preschool special education services, including, but not limited to, staff qualifications and identifying, evaluating, determining the eligibility of, and providing services to children with disabilities; and
      5. How the new preschool program will reduce duplicative oversight and regulation of school- and community-based preschool programs implementing services for preschool children with disabilities.

Source: L. 2021: Entire part added, (HB 21-1304) ch. 307, p. 1843, § 1, effective June 23.