S4284

An Act concerning preschool education, amending P.L.1995, c.235 and P.L.2025, c.100, and supplementing chapter 44 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a school district, which is in receipt of a preschool expansion grant pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2025, c.100 (C. ) in the first full school year following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) or any school year thereafter, shall, in any school year in which the district is in receipt of the preschool expansion grant and any school year thereafter in which the district is in receipt of preschool education aid pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54), provide free preschool education services through partnerships with licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in the school district’s community, in addition to any preschool programs operated by the district. Any licensed child care provider or Head Start program that enters into a partnership with a district to provide preschool education services shall meet the standards for high quality preschool set forth by the Department of Education.

b. A school district in receipt of a preschool expansion grant pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2025, c.100 (C. ) in the first full school year following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) or any school year thereafter may not, in any school year in which the district is in receipt of the preschool expansion grant and any school year thereafter in which the district is in receipt of preschool education aid pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54), use State funds to operate more than two preschool classrooms in a school building of the district in any school year. All preschool classrooms in excess of that amount shall be provided through licensed child care providers and Head Start programs located in the district’s immediate and neighboring communities. School districts that received a preschool expansion grant or were receiving preschool education aid prior to the first full school year following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) may not expand the number of preschool classrooms in a school building of the district above the amount in operation at the time of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

c. A school district may apply to the department for a waiver of the capacity restriction established pursuant to subsection b. of this section on the basis that the district is able to demonstrate a lack of available licensed child care providers and Head Start programs to meet the needs of the district. A waiver granted by the department shall be valid for one school year.

d. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a school district that is in receipt of a preschool expansion grant pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2025, c.100 (C. ) shall, in fulfilling the requirements of subsection a. of this section, utilize competitive contracting in the procurement of preschool education services provided by a licensed childcare provider or Head Start program. The competitive contracting process for the procurement of preschool education services required pursuant to this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable provisions of sections 45 through 49 of P.L.1999, c.440 (C.18A:18A-4.1 through C.18A:18A-4.5). Each licensed child care provider and Head Start program that is interested in partnering with the district shall submit a proposal to the district, which shall include, at a minimum, a discussion of how the licensed child care provider or Head Start program meets the required standards for high quality preschool. The district shall make public a list of licensed child care providers and Head Start programs that submitted a proposal and the decision made as it regards a partnership with each provider.

e. The Department of Education shall make available technical assistance and training to assist licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in meeting the required standards for high quality preschool and partnering with school districts to provide free preschool education services. Assistance shall be prioritized for licensed child care providers and Head Start programs that are located in underserved or high-need communities, as determined by the Commissioner of Education.

f. The Department of Education shall establish a grant program for the purpose of assisting licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in meeting the standards for high quality preschool and establishing effective partnerships with school districts to provide free preschool education services. In selecting grant recipients, the commissioner may prioritize applicants that are located in underserved or high-need communities, as determined by the commissioner.

2. Section 3 of P.L.1995, c.235 (C.18A:7E-3) is amended to read as follows:

3. Report cards issued pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1995, c.235 (C.18A:7E-2) shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for:

a. the school district and for each school within the district, as appropriate:

(1) results of the elementary assessment programs;

(2) results of the Early Warning Test;

(3) results of the High School Proficiency Test;

(4) daily attendance records for students and professional staff;

(5) student graduation and dropout rates;

(6) annual student scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test;

(7) total student enrollment, percentage of limited English proficient students, percentage of students in advanced placement courses, and any other school characteristics which the commissioner deems appropriate;

(8) instructional resources including teacher/student ratio, average class size and amount of instructional time per day, as calculated by formulas specified by the commissioner;

(9) a written narrative by the school principal or a designee which describes any special achievements, events, problems or initiatives of the school or district;

(10) data identifying the number and nature of all reports of harassment, intimidation, or bullying;

(11) indicators of student career readiness;

(12) the number and percentage of students who were chronically absent, as defined in rules and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Education within 90 days of the effective date of P.L.2018, c.23 (C.18A:38-25.1 et al.), including the number and percentage of students who were chronically absent disaggregated by multiple student subgroups to be determined by the commissioner;

(13) the number, percentage, and demographics, including race, gender, disability, grade level, and eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch Program, of students who received one or more suspensions or expulsions or who were reported to or arrested by law enforcement, by category of offense, pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform State Memorandum of Agreement Between Education and Law Enforcement Officials; and

(14) the number of school psychologists, school counselors, social workers, student assistance coordinators, and other mental health professionals employed by, or under contract with, the school district to provide mental health services to students, and the ratio of students to the total number of mental health professionals providing services in the school and the district; [and]

(15) the number of school safety specialists; and

(16) the number of students enrolled in district-operated preschool programs, licensed child care providers, and Head Start programs, preschool capacity trends in the district, and information about the licensed child care providers and Head Start programs partnering with the district to provide free preschool opportunities; and

b. the school district, as appropriate:

(1) per pupil expenditures and State aid ratio;

(2) percent of budget allocated for salaries and benefits of administrative personnel;

(3) percent of budget allocated for salaries and benefits of teachers;

(4) percentage increase over the previous year for salaries and benefits of administrative and instructional personnel;

(5) the number of administrative personnel and the ratio of administrative personnel to instructional personnel;

(6) a profile of the most recent graduating class concerning their educational or employment plans following graduation; and

(7) any other information which the commissioner deems appropriate.

For the purposes of this section, the Commissioner of Education shall establish a uniform methodology for the reporting of the data concerning administrative personnel on a full-time equivalent basis.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.387, s.1)

3. Section 6 of P.L.2025, c.100 (C.18A:7F-54.1) is amended to read as follows:

6. a. The Department of Education shall, within the limit of funds appropriated, annually provide at least one opportunity to award preschool expansion grants in accordance with the provisions of P.L.2025, c.100 (C.18A:44-7 et al.). A school district shall be eligible to apply for and receive a preschool expansion grant if the district provides full-day kindergarten at the time of application and meets any other criteria the Commissioner of Education deems appropriate. An eligible school district shall submit an application to the commissioner, in a manner and form determined by the commissioner, which application shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) a general overview of the district’s proposed preschool program operational plan;

(2) enrollment projections for preschool students, other than preschool students with disabilities, for the next five years;

(3) a description of the district’s proposed preschool curriculum;

(4) a description of intended strategies to ensure the inclusion of preschool children with disabilities in general education settings to the maximum extent possible;

(5) a description of intended strategies to annually identify and recruit families of at-risk pupils and other hard-to-reach populations, and subsequently ensure these children receive priority placement in the preschool program;

(6) in the case of a school district applying for a preschool expansion grant that will be distributed to the district prior to the first full school year following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a demonstration of due diligence to partner with all ready, willing, and able licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in the district’s immediate and neighboring communities, which shall be made in a manner determined by the commissioner and shall include, but not be limited to, documenting all efforts the applicant made to engage with all licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in the applicant’s immediate and neighboring communities . In the case of a school district applying for a preschool expansion grant that will be distributed to the district in the first full school year following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and any school year thereafter, the application shall include a discussion of all licensed child care providers and Head Start programs with which the district intends to partner in order to fulfill the requirements of subsection a. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and the capacity of each licensed child care provider and Head Start program to provide preschool services;

(7) an analysis of community need [and the potential impact of a mixed delivery model of preschool education] for a preschool program, in a format determined by the commissioner [or, if the applicant does not propose a mixed delivery model, justification for the decision not to do so, which justification shall include evidence that the district has adequate facility and staffing resources to implement high-quality preschool education without a mixed delivery model or that extenuating circumstances in the eligible school district’s community limit accessibility to, or feasibility of partnership with, licensed childcare centers and Head Start programs]; and

(8) a description of the strategies the district has in place for serving eligible preschool students, with a five-year plan to serve 90 percent of the district’s universe of three- and four-year olds.

b. In determining preschool expansion grant amounts and recipients, the commissioner shall give preference to districts in accordance with the concentration of at-risk pupils, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-45). Preference given pursuant to this subsection shall ensure that, all other application criteria being equal, applicants with higher concentrations of at-risk students receive funding priority. The commissioner may prioritize applicants representing a consortium of school districts agreeing to make a high-quality preschool program available in all member districts.

c. The Department of Education, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Human Services shall maintain on the departments’ Internet websites a page that includes:

(1) a list of all districts offering State-funded preschool for the school year;

(2) a list of all districts eligible to apply for preschool expansion grants for the school year;

(3) a list of all licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in each district’s community, as well as in neighboring communities; and

(4) the contact information for all district-operated preschool programs, licensed child care providers, and Head Start programs.

d. The Department of Education, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Human Services shall annually update the information required pursuant to subsection c. of this section no later than July 14 of each year. The Department of Education, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Human Services shall update the information required pursuant to subsection c. of this section in a timely manner after any preschool expansion grants are awarded.

(cf: P.L.2025, c.100, s.6)

4. Section 7 of P.L.2025, c.100 (C.18A:44-11) is amended to read as follows:

7. a. A school district that receives preschool education aid pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54) shall:

(1) demonstrate due diligence to partner with all ready, willing, and able licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in the immediate and neighboring communities , except that a school district that is required to establish partnerships with licensed child care providers and Head Start programs to provide free preschool services pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall provide documentation of these partnerships in a form to be determined by the Commissioner of Education; and

(2) submit to the Department of Education an annual program plan detailing the status of the district’s preschool program implementation. The plan shall include information specified by the commissioner, including but not limited to:

(a) the district’s comprehensive curriculum;

(b) protocol for how students’ families can access community services, including services offered by licensed child care providers and Head Start programs;

(c) a description of how the district conducts outreach to families to determine individual family needs, advocate on their behalf, and obtain appropriate community services; and

(d) a description of how the district identifies and recruits families of at-risk pupils and other hard-to-reach populations, and subsequently ensures these children receive priority placement in the preschool program.

b. A school district that receives preschool education aid pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54) shall participate in a system of self-assessment for continuous quality improvement approved by the Department of Education to inform the school district of the status of its preschool program implementation. The system shall identify program areas in need of improvement based on a self-assessment, and shall include a validation visit by a State team at least once every three years. The department may, based on the results of a district’s self-assessment and the validation visit, require the district to complete an improvement plan. The improvement plan shall include a detailed explanation and timeline of the steps the district will take to improve areas identified for improvement.

(cf: P.L.2025, c.100, s.7)

5. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires school districts in receipt of preschool expansion grants to establish partnerships with licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in the community. The requirement would apply to school districts receiving a preschool expansion grant in the first full school year following the bill’s enactment or in any school year thereafter.

The bill prohibits a school district, which receives a preschool expansion grant in the first full school year following the bill’s enactment or in any school year thereafter, from using State funds to operate more than two preschool classrooms in a school building. All preschool opportunities in excess of that amount are to be provided through licensed child care providers and Head Start programs located within the school district or in the surrounding area. The school district is to engage in competitive contracting to procure partnerships with licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in the community and make public a list of licensed child care providers and Head Start programs that submitted a proposal and the decision made as it regards a partnership with each provider.

A school district may apply to the department for a waiver of the capacity restriction on the basis that the district is able to demonstrate a lack of available licensed child care providers and Head Start programs to meet the needs of the district. A waiver granted by the department is to be valid for one school year.

The Department of Education is to establish a grant program and make available technical assistance and training to assist licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in meeting the required standards for high quality preschool and transitioning to partner with districts for the provision of free preschool opportunities.

According to the sponsor, this bill recognizes the foundational role community-based childcare providers play in early childhood development and workforce support. By requiring partnerships in preschool education delivery, it is the sponsor’s intent that this bill will help to avoid displacement of providers, preserve access to child care services for infants and toddlers, maintain parental choice, and create a mixed delivery system that equitably expands access to high quality preschool.