Office of Federal Programs
Preschool for All
U.S. Department of Education Preschool for All
Serving Preschool Through Title I
Mississippi Early Learning Collaboration Act of 2013
Senate Bill 2395
Agenda
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Introduction
Training Goal
Preschool for All
Serving Preschool Through Title I
Mississippi Bill 2395
Questions /Comments
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Training Goal
Participants will be informed of the 2013 State and Federal
Preschool initiatives that will increase access to high quality early childhood
education in Mississippi.
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Preschool for All
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Preschool for All
Play Video
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Preschool for All
How would the new program work?
• The Obama administration has proposed the creation of a new program
that would provide universal access for all 4-year olds whose families are
at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) to full-day, highquality preschool.
• Funds for the program would be allocated to states and then distributed to
local school districts and other early learning providers in partnership with
school districts – including child care centers, community-based
organizations, and private and faith-based providers – to implement highquality preschool.
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Preschool for All
How would the new program work?
• As part of the program, there would be significant cost sharing with states.
• The federal government would assume a higher share of the program
costs in the initial years with states gradually assuming more
responsibility over time.
• States also would receive an infusion of resources to bring their existing
programs up to high-quality standards.
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Preschool for All
The President's fiscal year 2014 budget requests the following new funding:
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$75 billion in mandatory funding over 10 years for Preschool for All
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$750 million for competitively awarded Preschool Development Grants to help
build state capacity to implement and expand access to high-quality preschool for
children from low- and moderate-income families and to support the
implementation of local model preschool programs
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$462.7 million for the Grants for Infants and Families program under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, an increase of $20 million
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$372.6 million for IDEA Preschool Grants
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Preschool for All
Funding
• Under the President’s proposal, Mississippi is
estimated to receive $21,400,000 in the first year it
participates in the Preschool for All program.
• This funding, combined with an initial estimated state
match of $2,100,000.
• Would serve about 2,608 children from low- and
moderate-income families in the first year of the
program alone.
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
A Title I preschool program is a preschool program for which an LEA or school uses
Title I funds, in whole or in part, to improve cognitive, health, and social-emotional
outcomes for eligible children below the grade at which an LEA provides a free public
elementary education.
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/preschoolguidance2012.pdf
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
Use of Funds
There are several ways in which an LEA may use its Title I funds to support a
preschool program:
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School-operated Title I preschool program: A Title I school may use all or a portion of its Title I
funds to operate a preschool program for eligible children.
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District-operated Title I preschool program: An LEA may reserve a portion of funds off the top
of its Title I allocation to operate a preschool program for eligible children in the district as a
whole or in a portion of the district.
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Coordinating with other preschool programs: An LEA may use Title I funds to coordinate with
and support eligible children enrolled in other preschool programs, such as Head Start.
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
Use of Funds
An LEA or a Title I targeted assistance school may use Title I funds in a preschool program if
only some of the children are eligible for Title I services. However, Title I funds may only be
used to pay for the costs for allowable Title I activities that are associated with the participation
of preschool children who are eligible for Title I services.
An LEA may operate a Title I preschool program at any location that other Title I services may be
provided, including public school buildings, public libraries, community centers, privately owned
facilities (including facilities owned by faith-based organizations (FBOs)), a child’s home, and
other appropriate settings.
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
Eligibility
Often, the amount of Title I funds available may not permit an LEA or school to serve all
eligible preschool children. In that case, consistent with ESEA section 1115, from the
universe of eligible children, the LEA or school selects those children who have the
greatest need for special assistance to participate in a Title I preschool program.
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg2.html#sec1115
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
Eligibility
Certain children are automatically eligible to participate in a Title I preschool program
including:
• children who participate in Head Start or a Title I preschool program at any time in the prior
two years;
• children who received services under Part C of Title I (migrant education) in the prior two
years;
• homeless preschool-age children; and
• children who are in a local institution for neglected or delinquent children and youth or
attending a community-day program for these children.
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children who reside in a participating Title I school attendance area and attend a private
elementary school in which school-age children are entitled to equitable services may receive
Title I services if after meaningful consultation.
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
Parental Involvement and Family Engagement
An LEA or school operating a Title I preschool program must, to the extent feasible and
appropriate, coordinate and integrate Title I parent involvement and family engagement
strategies and activities with parent involvement strategies under other programs such as
Head Start, State preschool programs, programs funded under the Child Care and
Development Fund (CCDF or Child Care), and IDEA programs (ESEA section 1118(a)(2)(D)
and (e)(4)). http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg2.html#sec1118
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
Professional Development
Title I funds may be used to support ongoing training and professional development to assist teachers
and paraprofessionals in satisfying the requirements of Title I even if his or her salary is not paid for with
Title I funds, so long as the training is related to the Title I preschool program and is designed to meet
the educational needs of Title I eligible children.
1) Title I funds may be used for professional development for Head Start teachers working in a
preschool program jointly funded by Title I and Head Start if the training is designed to help the
Head Start teachers meet the educational needs of Title I-eligible children.
2) Title I funds may be used for professional development if the children served in a non-Title I
preschool are likely to be attending a Title I elementary school when they enter kindergarten, and if
the purpose of the professional development is to improve coordination between the non-Title I
preschool and the Title I elementary school or to facilitate children’s transition from preschool into
a Title I elementary school.
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
Qualifications of Early Childhood Educators Working in a Title I Program
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Preschool teachers should meet the highest professional standards for teaching young
children, which ideally include having earned a baccalaureate degree and received
comprehensive education about child development.
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Preschool teachers must also meet the specific standards required by the programs in
which they are teaching (i.e., requirements per the state-funded preschool program).
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Only teachers working in a Title I preschool program in a State that considers preschool to
be part of public elementary education must meet the Title I requirements for “highly
qualified teachers” for k-12.
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Serving Preschool Through Title I
Qualifications of Early Childhood Educators Working in a Title I Program
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Paraprofessionals working in Title I Programs are individuals who provide instructional
support under the direct supervision of a teacher. They are required to have earned a
secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent and:
1) must have completed at least two years of study at an institution of higher
education; or
2) obtained an associate’s or higher degree; or
3) met a rigorous standard of quality and have demonstrated — through a formal
State or local academic assessment — knowledge of, and the ability to assist in
instructing, reading readiness, writing readiness, and mathematics readiness.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Early Learning Collaboration Act of 2013
http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2013/pdf/SB/2300-2399/SB2395SG.pdf
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Play Video
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Mississippi Department of Education
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Prescribes responsibilities of the State Early Childhood Advisory Council (SECAC) to
assist the MDE in implementing statute.
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Establish a voluntary prekindergarten program, which shall be a collaboration
among entities providing prekindergarten programs.
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Establish a rigorous and transparent application process for the awarding of funds
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Establish monitoring policies and procedures that, at a minimum, will include at
least one site visit a year
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
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Provide technical assistance to collaboratives and their providers to improve the
quality of prekindergarten programs.
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Evaluate the effectiveness of each early childhood collaborative and each
prekindergarten provider.
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Adopt a minimum rate of readiness that each prekindergarten provider must meet
in order to remain eligible for prekindergarten funds.
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Reserve no more than five percent of the appropriation in any year for
administrative costs.
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Provides qualifications for state or federally funded early childhood education
personnel.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Terms (Cont.)
Early Learning Collaborative
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District or county-wide council that writes and submits an application to
participate in a voluntary pre-kindergarten program
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Comprised at a minimum, of a public school district and/or a local Head Start
affiliate (if available), private or parochial schools, or one or more licensed child
care centers
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May also include agencies or organizations working with young children and their
families to provide resources and coordination.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Terms
Preschool or Pre-kindergarten
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Children who have not entered Kindergarten but will have obtained 4 years of age
on or before September 1st of a school year.
Pre-kindergarten provider
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Licensed child care center, Head Start center, public, private, or parochial school,
that serves pre-kindergarten children and participates in the voluntary prekindergarten program.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Terms (Cont.)
Lead Partner
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Public school district or other non-profit entity with the instructional expertise to
manage the Collaborative’s pre-kindergarten program as outline in the impending
RFP application.
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Serves as the fiscal agent and disburses awarded amounts according to the
Collaborative’s application for the pre-kindergarten program in the geographic
area.
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Facilitates professional learning communities for teachers in the pre-kindergarten
program
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Ensures that the Collaborative implements Early Learning Standards approved by
the State Board of Education
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Guarantees curriculum materials and assessments are aligned with the Early
Learning Standards.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Implementation by MDE
Effective SY 2013-2014 , MDE will:
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Administer the implementation of the voluntary pre-kindergarten program
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Establish a rigorous transparent application process for awarding the funds
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Provide technical assistance to improve the quality of approved Collaborative pre-kindergarten
programs
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Evaluate the effectiveness of each collaborative
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Adopt a minimum rate of readiness that each pre-kindergarten provider must meet to remain
eligible for funding
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Establish monitoring policies and procedures, including at least one site visit per year.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Tentative Timeline
June 14, 2013
• Webinar with childcare providers, school districts, and other stakeholders
September 3, 2013
• Release RFP for Collaboratives
September 18, 2013
• Conduct technical assistance meeting via webinar for potential applicants
October 22, 2013
• Proposals due by 3:30 p.m. Central Time to Procurement
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
October 23-25, 2013
• Evaluate Collaborative proposals
November 4-8, 2013
• Interview finalists
November 14 & 15, 2013
• Submit Collaboratives to SBE for approval
November 15, 2013
• Announce awards
December 2013 - June 2015
• Grant award period
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Pre-K
Collaborative Criteria
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Required Criteria for Participation
• Provide no less than 540 hours per school year for half-day programs and 1,080
instructional hours per school year for full-day programs
• Meet state child care facility licensure requirements
• Collaboratives will select a nationally recognized assessment tool from an
approved MDE list.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Funding
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The first phase shall be based on an annual state appropriation of not more than
$3,000,000 and shall serve approximately 1,325 children through 5 to 10 early
learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers.
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The second phase shall be based on an annual state appropriation of not more than
$16,000,000 and shall serve approximately 7,000 children through 10 to 15 early
learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers.
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The third phase shall be based on an annual state appropriation of not more than
$33,950,000 and shall serve approximately 15,000 children through 20 to 25 early
learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Funding
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Future phases shall be based on interest in the program and the effectiveness of the
program as determined by the school readiness of participants.
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Each phase shall last for at least 3 years but no more than 5 years.
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Funding shall be provided to early learning collaboratives on the basis of $2,150 per
student in a full day program and $1,075 per student in a half day program.
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Early Learning Collaboratives shall match state funds on a 1:1 basis.
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Local matching funds may include local tax dollars, federal dollars as allowed, parent
tuition, philanthropic contributions , equipment and services required as part of the
program.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2395
Allowable Expenses
Eligible applicants may use funds to:
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Defray the cost of additional and/or more qualified teaching staff or educational
materials and equipment to improve the quality of educational experiences for
four-year-old children
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Extend developmentally appropriate education services with programs currently
serving four-year-old-children to include practices of high quality instruction
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Monitor and evaluate the programs
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Defray the cost of professional development and age appropriate child assessments
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Listserv
• MDE has established a listserv for early childhood to provide
consistent communication to early childhood education stakeholders.
• Anyone may join the listserv by visiting MDE’s website at
www.mde.k12.ms.us/ec. Look under “What’s New” to subscribe to
listserv.
• Email Robin Lemonis at rlemonis@mde.k12.ms.us to post information
to the listserv.
• Email Kelsey Blumenberg at keblumenberg@mde.k12.ms.us to post
information to the listserv.
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Dedicated Email
Questions regarding the Early Learning Collaborative Act should be
sent to MDE’s dedicated email address at
earlychildhood@mde.k12.ms.us
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Questions/Comments
Contact Information:
Mr. Kelsey Blumenberg
keblumenberg@mde.k12.ms.us
Mr. Marcus Cheeks
mcheeks@mde.k12.ms.us
Office Of Federal Programs
Phone: 601-359-3499
Fax: 601-359-2587
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