Report Title:

Early Childhood and Care System

Description:

Creates temporary working committee in DOE to fulfill the task of developing policy recommendations for a coordinated early childhood education and care system in Hawaii. Appropriates $50,000 in FY 2005-2006 to the working group. Requires report by 12/01/05.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1102

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to early childhood education and care system.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that educators, early childhood experts, and policymakers in Hawaii are committed to ensuring that children succeed in kindergarten and subsequent school experiences and that all Hawaii residents must accept the responsibility for collective action. Hawaii kindergarten teachers suggest that almost half of their students enter their classrooms unprepared and that we must close this achievement gap before it is further perpetuated. Early education plays an important role in encouraging positive outcomes for children, and during the past decade, educators and policymakers have turned an ever-increasing focus upon whether young children are prepared for success as they enter the formal education system. This notion of school readiness is now firmly entrenched as a key concept throughout education reform. There must be a clear public leadership structure in place, funded to support an early childhood comprehensive system that oversees school readiness strategies and that partners with the private sector. The legislature previously noted that, by 2000:

(1) A coordinated system of early childhood education and care will be operating in Hawaii that will provide comprehensive and coordinated services that support appropriate cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development in a consistent, healthy, and safe environment provided by competent and nurturing adults from birth throughout the early years, in a variety of settings;

(2) All children and parents in Hawaii will have equal access to quality early childhood education and care resources that are appropriate to families' life circumstances and preferences;

(3) All of Hawaii's citizens will be knowledgeable and informed about the development and needs of young children and have access to information that supports informed decision-making about resources and services;

(4) Hawaii early childhood education and care programs will reflect common standards of high quality that support the optimal development of young children;

(5) Universally accessible appropriate training will be available for those working in Hawaii's early childhood education and care system; and

(6) A financial system will be in place that includes all partners in the provision of financial support for the optimal system.

The Good Beginnings Alliance, established in response to Act 77, Session Laws of Hawaii 1997, is a public-private partnership charged with the responsibility for improving early childhood outcomes through the development of quality early childhood education and care and related family support services. Specifically, the Good Beginnings Alliance must develop policy recommendations concerning all aspects of a coordinated early childhood education and care system, including coordination strategies, resource development, and advocacy. The Good Beginnings Alliance is the organization operating under this state mandate to perform duties as specified in Act 77, Session Laws of Hawaii 1977, but without authority or designated funding.

Through Act 77, Session Laws of Hawaii 1997, the Good Beginnings Alliance is charged with ensuring forward and strategic movement with partners -- families, communities, early childhood providers, and policymakers -- who share a similar commitment.

Act 77, Session Laws of Hawaii 1997, established an interdepartmental council that, in turn, established the school readiness task force in 2001, co-chaired by the department of education superintendent and the chief executive officer of Kamehameha Schools. The task force, facilitated by the Good Beginnings Alliance, convened representatives from across state departments, elected officials, and the early childhood community to develop strategies to ensure young children enter school ready to succeed.

In 2002, the legislature provided an essential foundation by enacting a definition of school readiness, stating that responsibility is shared among families, schools, and communities. The task force has subsequently concentrated upon a comprehensive strategy to ensure that children are prepared for school and has developed a partnership between the agencies and stakeholders on the task force. The task force has made great strides and has developed a foundation to increase preschool quality, expand the parental role in school readiness, ease transitions to elementary school, and assess the efficacy of these efforts through the following products:

(1) Hawaii state preschool content standards:  developed to align with the department of education's K-2 content and performance standards;

(2) Family/community guidelines:  companion pieces to the standards that translate the formal language into user-friendly strategies to help families prepare their children for school;

(3) Statewide approach to transitions:  a framework of materials and protocols to assist early education programs and elementary schools to implement transition programs; and

(4) School readiness assessment:  developed to assess whether children enter school ready to learn and whether schools are ready for those children, providing a valuable baseline of information for strategic planning and accountability purposes at the state, county, and school complex levels.

The early childhood comprehensive systems planning currently being conducted by the department of health continues the focus on the coordination of safety, health, and early education services for young children and their families.

Over the past seven years, progress has been made at the state and county levels and within each of these components by the good beginnings alliance, the school readiness task force, and by the many partners within the good beginnings initiative including the departments of education, health, and human services. However, the State still does not have an early education and care system that ensures access to early education and helps families make sense of the array of options that are available to them. There is no commitment to systematically train, hire, and retain qualified teachers or to assess and improve the quality of early education services. The work accomplished to date includes materials to be used and protocols to be implemented, but represents work around the margins, informally coordinated with a patchwork of funding. There remains no one locus of public responsibility for what happens to children up to age five.

The legislature proposes that the next step is to articulate the scope of work, strategies, and infrastructure required to move the early childhood education and care system forward so that the system can be fully actualized. This next step builds on the recommendation of the school readiness task force in its report to the legislature during the regular session of 2003 to designate a body to "oversee the operational planning needed to improve school readiness through increased access to early learning opportunities and enhanced infrastructure." This also includes the recommendations of the planning facilitated by the department of health early childhood comprehensive system effort.

SECTION 2. (a) To fulfill the task of developing policy recommendations for a coordinated early childhood system, there is created a temporary working committee, to be placed within the department of education for administrative purposes, composed of members of:

(1) The Good Beginnings Alliance board of directors;

(2) The interdepartmental council established under Act 77, Session Laws of Hawaii 1997;

(3) The school readiness task force;

(4) The early childhood comprehensive system planning strategic management team;

(5) Representatives of the state and county public and private sectors who coordinate and deliver early childhood education and care services;

(6) A representative from the governor's office;

(7) The superintendent of education, and the directors of health and human services or their designees;

(8) Regional representatives; and

(9) Key leaders from the private sector who are stakeholders in the early childhood education and care system.

(b) The working committee shall develop a plan that articulates the scope of work, strategies, and infrastructure required to move the early childhood education and care system forward. At a minimum, this infrastructure shall set standards of quality, implement quality enhancement for programs, track outcomes, connect state departments and the governor's office, and bring coherence to all pieces of the system.

(c) The components of this infrastructure and the report shall address:

(1) Needs assessment and planning;

(2) Multi-sector coordination (public and private);

(3) Fund development and management;

(4) Coordinated data system;

(5) Public awareness and advocacy;

(6) Public policy development;

(7) Consumer information;

(8) Research and evaluation;

(9) Quality assurance;

(10) Early childhood workforce development; and

(11) Financial aid system.

(d) The working group shall submit its final report to the governor and the legislature no later than December 1, 2005, including any necessary proposed legislation for consideration during the regular session of 2006.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $50,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005-2006, to support the work of the working group pursuant to section 2, including required data collection, conduct of meetings, and report preparation.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval, except that Section 3 shall take effect on July 1, 2005.

INTRODUCED BY:

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