HB 419

Abstract

Early childhood care and education system; need-based and demand-based funding. Requires, for the purpose of addressing family demand and preferences for affordable, high-quality early childhood care and education services, state general funds to be provided to support the provision of services to families for early childhood care and education, as specified in the general appropriation act. The bill requires the Department of Education to report each year by November 15 on the projected general funds needed for the upcoming two fiscal years based on cost of quality rate per child in order to (i) maintain the current number of slots at early childhood care and education programs, (ii) increase the number of slots using a projected growth report, and (iii) increase the number of slots to fully accommodate parent demand and eliminate waitlists. The bill requires such projected general funds to be based on the annual per-child cost, determined as set forth in the bill, for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, the Mixed Delivery Program, and the Child Care Subsidy Program, the current eligibility criteria for such programs, and maximization of certain regularly recurring federal funds. The bill requires each regional entity established by the Board of Education pursuant to applicable law, each local school division, and each locality to annually indicate the number of slots needed, respectively, in the region for the Mixed Delivery Program, the local school division for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, and the locality for the Child Care Subsidy Program. The bill requires the Department of Education to (a) reallocate by July 1 any slots with available funding from the Child Care Subsidy Program and the Mixed Delivery Program, (b) make adjustments based on family preferences following the fall enrollment periods, and (c) first expend all current-year state general funds in providing funding for slots. This bill is identical to SB 54.

Early childhood care and education system; need-based and demand-based funding; educator incentive; nonreverting fund to capture unspent early childhood care and education funding balances. Requires the Department of Education to (i) annually project and report the state general funds needed for the upcoming two fiscal years, based on a cost of quality rate per child, in order to maintain the current number of slots, increase the number of slots using a growth rate differential based on enrollment and parent demand growth in prior biennia, and increase the number of slots to fully accommodate parent demand and eliminate waitlists at early childhood care and education sites; (ii) administer an early childhood educator incentive program to be known as RecognizeB5 whereby a monetary incentive is provided to teachers who work directly with children for at least 30 hours per week at early childhood care and education sites that participate in the uniform measurement and improvement system known as VQB5, with the exception of teachers who are employed by local school boards; and (iii) administer and make distributions, for the purpose of providing certain early childhood care and education services, from the Early Childhood Care and Education Fund established in the bill, to which all balances of state general funds intended for the provision of services to families at early childhood care and education sites that are unspent at the end of each fiscal year are required to be credited instead of reverting to the general fund.

Early childhood care and education system; fundingformula; educator incentive; nonreverting fund to capture unspentearly childhood care and education funding balances. Requiresthe Department of Education to (i) establish and maintain a fundingformula for the provision of state general funds that support theprovision of services to families at early childhood care and educationsites that establishes the minimum funding and number of slots perbiennium based on a cost of quality rate per child, actual data fromthe prior year, unserved waitlists, and a growth rate differentialbased on enrollment and parent demand growth in prior biennia; (ii)administer an early childhood educator incentive program to be knownas RecognizeB5 whereby a monetary incentive is provided to teacherswho work directly with children for at least 30 hours per week atearly childhood care and education sites that participate in theuniform measurement and improvement system known as VQB5, with theexception of teachers who are employed by local school boards; and(iii) administer and make distributions, for the purpose of providingcertain early childhood care and education services, from the EarlyChildhood Care and Education Fund established in the bill, to whichall balances of state general funds intended for the provision ofservices to families at early childhood care and education sitesthat are unspent at the end of each fiscal year are required to be credited instead of reverting to the general fund.