READ FIRST TIME 02/12/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to the creation of the Washington head start program; and adding new sections to chapter 43.215 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that:
     (1) It is in the best interest of the state to provide early learning services to economically disadvantaged families;
     (2) Research has demonstrated that comprehensive services, including family support services designed to meet the early education needs of low-income and at-risk children, are successful in improving school readiness, reducing the risk of juvenile delinquency and incarceration, and reducing reliance on public assistance among these children later in life;
     (3) The state's early childhood education and assistance program was originally established to serve as the state counterpart to the federal head start program. When it was created, it aligned with the federal program in both standards and funding levels;
     (4) The state early childhood education and assistance program has served an important role in providing comprehensive services to low-income children. However, since it was first created, per-child funding levels for the state program have not kept pace with funding levels for the federal program. This has resulted in fewer service hours for children and less intensive services for families;
     (5) Aligning performance standards and funding levels for the state early childhood education and assistance program with federal head start will improve the quality of state-supported early learning programs. Additionally, it will improve school readiness through measures, such as a forty percent increase in class time, and it will achieve administrative efficiencies and make state-supported services more easily recognizable and accessible to parents and families eligible for these programs; and
     (6) Providing quality early learning services for children from birth to age three is the most cost-effective investment society can make. Additionally, the state can use the demonstrated results from the federal early head start program as an example to expand its reach of services already provided to three and four-year old children to children in the critical birth to three years age category.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) Within existing funds, the department shall develop a proposal for implementing a statewide Washington head start program. To the extent possible while maintaining quality standards, the proposal should align the state early childhood education and assistance program with federal head start program eligibility criteria, guidelines, performance standards, and methods/processes for ensuring continuous improvement in program quality. In this proposal, the department shall make recommendations that:
     (a) Identify federal head start program guidelines, performance measures and standards, or other requirements for which state flexibility would be recommended. This shall include an analysis of how state flexibility may impact outcomes for children and how that flexibility might deviate from outcomes associated with the federal standards. Areas to be examined must include, but are not limited to, transportation requirements, service hour configurations, delivery methods, and impact on rural programs;
     (b) Provide comparative data regarding child performance, readiness, and educational outcomes for Washington's existing head start and early childhood education and assistance programs;
     (c) Determine the alignment between head start standards and the recommendations of Washington learns;
     (d) Identify any change in the state early childhood education and assistance program laws that would be required to implement the Washington head start proposal;
     (e) Identify additional resources needed to meet federal guidelines and standards. Areas to be examined must include, but are not limited to: Per-child funding levels, professional development and training needs, facilities needs, and technical assistance;
     (f) Identify state early childhood education and assistance programs that do and do not offer full-day, full-year services to children, and what transition steps would be needed for these programs to operate in the same manner as federal head start programs;
     (g) Provide steps for phasing-in the Washington head start proposal;
     (h) Include a timeline, strategy, and funding needs to implement a statewide, state-supported early head start program as a component of the Washington head start proposal; and
     (i) Detail the process the department would take with the regional office of federal head start in identifying any exceptions or waivers needed to provide flexibility and maintain high quality standards.
     (2) In developing its recommendations for this proposal, the department shall seek, where appropriate and available, training or technical assistance from the appropriate regional office of federal head start in order to maximize nonstate resources that might be available for the consultative work and research involved with developing this proposal. The department also shall consult with and solicit input from:
     (a) State early childhood education and assistance program providers on Indian reservations and across the state, including providers who operate solely state-supported programs;
     (b) Tribal governments operating head start programs and early head start programs in the state to ensure that the needs of Indian and Alaskan native children and their families are incorporated into the recommendations of the proposal, especially as they pertain to standards or guidelines around language acquisition, school readiness, availability and need for services among Indian and Alaskan native children and their families, and curriculum development; and
     (c) Providers operating migrant and seasonal head start programs in the state in order to address the needs of the children of migrant and seasonal farmworker families.
     (3) The department shall make recommendations on how it would periodically review the standards and guidelines within the Washington head start program, including incorporation of the latest research and information on early childhood development as well as any new innovations that may further improve outcomes to low-income children and their families.
     (4) The department's recommendations on a Washington head start proposal shall include how the proposal aligns with the department's current statutory duties. The recommendations shall also include any other options that may improve the quality of state-supported early learning programs.
     (5) The department shall deliver its report to the governor and legislature by December 1, 2009.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   Sections 1 and 2 of this act are each added to chapter 43.215 RCW.