State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Connecticut > Title10 > Chap164 > Sec10-16sSec. 10-16s. Interagency agreement on school readiness. Early Childhood Education Cabinet assessment measures. Accountability. Quality standards. Workforce development plan. (a) The Commissioners of Education and Social Services shall develop an agreement to define the duties and responsibilities of their departments concerning school readiness programs. The commissioners shall consult with other affected state agencies and with the Early Childhood Education Cabinet. The agreement shall include, but not be limited to, a multiyear interagency agreement to establish and implement an integrated school readiness plan. Functions to be described and responsibilities to be undertaken by the two departments shall be delineated in the agreement.
(b) (1) There shall be an Early Childhood Education Cabinet. The cochairpersons of the cabinet shall be the Governor, or the Governor's designee, and the Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee. The cabinet shall consist of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management or the secretary's designee, the Commissioners of Social Services, Higher Education, Public Health, Children and Families and Developmental Services or the commissioners' designees, the cochairpersons of each of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education and human services or the cochairpersons' designees, the executive director of the Commission on Children, or the director's designee, and one person representing a local or regional school readiness council appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, and a representative of the Connecticut Head Start Association appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives. The Department of Education shall provide administrative services to the Early Childhood Education Cabinet and the Governor's Early Childhood Research and Policy Council established pursuant to Executive Order No. 13, issued by Governor M. Jodi Rell, on February 7, 2006.
(2) Within available appropriations, the Early Childhood Education Cabinet shall (A) advise the Commissioner of Education on policies and initiatives to meet the goals established in section 10-16o, (B) no later than July 1, 2008, begin a state-wide longitudinal evaluation of the school readiness program, in consultation with the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education, that examines the educational progress of children from prekindergarten programs to grade three, inclusive, (C) develop budget requests for the early childhood program, and (D) promote consistency of quality and comprehensiveness of early childhood services.
(c) On or before January 1, 2008, the commissioners shall adopt assessment measures of school readiness programs for use by such programs in conducting their annual evaluations pursuant to section 10-16q. The commissioners may adopt the assessment measures used for Head Start programs.
(d) (1) Not later than December 1, 2008, and annually thereafter, the Early Childhood Education Cabinet shall develop and implement an accountability plan for early child education services. The plan shall identify and define appropriate population indicators and program and system measures of the readiness of children to enter kindergarten. Not later than December 31, 2008, and annually thereafter, the cabinet shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on the measures implemented in accordance with this subdivision to the Office of Policy and Management and to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, education, human services and higher education and employment advancement.
(2) As part of the plan implemented pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, the Early Childhood Education Cabinet, in consultation with the Department of Education and the Office of Policy and Management, shall consider the development of data sharing agreements between state agencies and shall analyze whether the data can be combined to assess the progress of children toward school readiness.
(3) Providers of early childhood education that receive state funding shall employ the program measures developed pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection to evaluate the effectiveness of their services. Not later than June 30, 2009, and annually thereafter, each such provider shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, the results of such evaluation to the Early Childhood Education Cabinet.
(e) The Early Childhood Education Cabinet established under this section shall develop minimum standards and a range of higher standards of quality for all early care and education programs receiving state funding. Not later than December 31, 2008, and annually thereafter, the cabinet shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on the plan developed in accordance with this subsection to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, education, human services and higher education and employment advancement.
(f) The Early Childhood Education Cabinet established under this section shall, in consultation with the Office of Workforce Competitiveness, develop a quality workforce development plan for school readiness. Such plan shall explicitly address how to meet the requirements of subsection (b) of section 10-16p through a dual approach of: (1) Supporting the workforce in obtaining required degrees and credentials; and (2) encouraging students in institutions of higher education to pursue degrees in early childhood education. Not later than December 31, 2008, and annually thereafter, the cabinet shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on the plan developed in accordance with this subsection to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, education, human services and higher education and employment advancement.
(P.A. 97-259, S. 6, 41; P.A. 99-230, S. 4, 10; P.A. 05-245, S. 3; P.A. 07-73, S. 2(b); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3, S. 19-21.)
History: P.A. 97-259 effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 99-230 designated existing Sec. as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re assessment measures, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 05-245 amended Subsec. (a) by adding reference to the Early Childhood Education Cabinet, added new Subsec. (b) re the Early Childhood Education Cabinet and redesignated existing Subsec. (b) as new Subsec. (c), effective July 1, 2005; pursuant to P.A. 07-73 "Commissioner of Mental Retardation" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "Commissioner of Developmental Services", effective October 1, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that Department of Education shall provide administrative services to cabinet in Subdiv. (1) and to provide that longitudinal evaluation of program begin no later than July 1, 2008, and that such evaluation examine education progress of children from prekindergarten to grade three in Subdiv. (2), amended Subsec. (c) to make technical changes and to provide that on or before January 1, 2008, commissioners shall adopt measures of the school readiness programs and added Subsec. (d) re accountability plan, effective July 1, 2007, and in section 20 provided for the development of standards of quality for early care and education programs, codified editorially by the Revisors as Subsec. (e), and in section 21 for the development of a quality workforce development plan, codified editorially by the Revisors as Subsec. (f), effective June 26, 2007.
