SENATE BILL No. 885

 

 

December 10, 2003, Introduced by Senators BROWN, GILBERT and PRUSI and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

 

 

        

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                 A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled                                              

                                                                                

    "The state school aid act of 1979,"                                         

                                                                                

    by amending section 32j (MCL 388.1632j), as added by 2003 PA                

                                                                                

    158.                                                                        

                                                                                

                THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:                      

                                                                                

1       Sec. 32j.  (1) From the appropriation in section 11, there                  

                                                                                

2   is allocated an amount not to exceed $3,326,000.00 for 2003-2004            

                                                                                

3   for grants to intermediate districts to provide programs for                

                                                                                

4   parents with preschool children.  The purpose of these programs             

                                                                                

5   is to improve school readiness and foster the maintenance of                

                                                                                

6   stable families by encouraging positive parenting skills.                   

                                                                                

7       (2) To qualify for funding under this section, a program                    

                                                                                

8   shall provide services to all families with children age 5 or               

                                                                                

9   younger residing within the intermediate district who choose to             

                                                                                

10  participate, including at least all of the following services:              

                                                                                


                                                                                

1       (a) Providing parents with information on child development                 

                                                                                

2   from birth to age 5.                                                        

                                                                                

3       (b) Providing parents with methods to enhance parent-child                  

                                                                                

4   interaction; including, but not limited to, encouraging parents             

                                                                                

5   to read to their preschool children at least 1/2 hour per day.              

                                                                                

6       (c) Providing parents with examples of learning opportunities               

                                                                                

7   to promote intellectual, physical, and social growth of                     

                                                                                

8   preschoolers.                                                               

                                                                                

9       (d) Promoting access to needed community services through a                 

                                                                                

10  community-school-home partnership.                                          

                                                                                

11      (3) To compete for a grant under this section, an                           

                                                                                

12  intermediate district shall apply to the department not later               

                                                                                

13  than October 1, 2003 in the form and manner prescribed by the               

                                                                                

14  department.  To be considered for a grant under this section, a             

                                                                                

15  grant application shall do all of the following in a manner                 

                                                                                

16  prescribed by the department:                                               

                                                                                

17      (a) Provide a plan for the delivery of the program components               

                                                                                

18  described in subsection (2).                                                

                                                                                

19      (b) Demonstrate an adequate collaboration of local entities                 

                                                                                

20  involved in providing programs and services for preschool                   

                                                                                

21  children and their parents.                                                 

                                                                                

22      (c) Provide a projected budget for the program to be funded.                

                                                                                

23  The intermediate district shall provide at least a 20% local                

                                                                                

24  match from local public or private resources for the funds                  

                                                                                

25  received under this section.  Not more than 1/2 of this matching            

                                                                                

26  requirement, up to a total of 10% of the total project budget,              

                                                                                

27  may be satisfied through in-kind services provided by                       


                                                                                

1   participating providers of programs or services.  In addition,              

                                                                                

2   not more than 10% of the grant may be used for program                      

                                                                                

3   administration.                                                             

                                                                                

4       (4) Each successful grant recipient of a grant under this                   

                                                                                

5   section shall agree to include a data collection system  and an             

                                                                                

6   evaluation tool  approved by the department.  to measure the                

                                                                                

7   impact of the program on improving school readiness and fostering           

                                                                                

8   the maintenance of stable families.  The data collection system             

                                                                                

9   shall provide a report by October 15 of each year on the number             

                                                                                

10  of children in families with income below 200% of the federal               

                                                                                

11  poverty level that received services under this program and the             

                                                                                

12  total number of children who received services under this                   

                                                                                

13  program.                                                                    

                                                                                

14      (5) The department or superintendent, as applicable, shall do               

                                                                                

15  all of the following:                                                       

                                                                                

16      (a) The department shall make applications available for the                

                                                                                

17  purposes of this section not later than August 15, 2003.                    

                                                                                

18      (b) The superintendent shall approve or disapprove                          

                                                                                

19  applications and notify the applying intermediate district of               

                                                                                

20  that decision not later than November 15, 2003.  The amount of              

                                                                                

21  each approved grant shall not exceed 3.5% of the intermediate               

                                                                                

22  district's 2002-2003 payment under section 81.                              

                                                                                

23      (c) The department shall ensure that all programs funded                    

                                                                                

24  under this section utilize the most current validated                       

                                                                                

25  research-based methods and curriculum for providing the program             

                                                                                

26  components described in subsection (2).                                     

                                                                                

27      (d) The department shall submit a report to the state budget                


                                                                                

1   director and the senate and house fiscal agencies  detailing the            

                                                                                

2   evaluations  summarizing the data collection reports described in           

                                                                                

3   subsection (4) by December 1 of each year.                                  

                                                                                

4       (6) An intermediate district receiving funds under this                     

                                                                                

5   section shall use the funds only for the program funded under               

                                                                                

6   this section.  An intermediate district receiving funds under               

                                                                                

7   this section may carry over any unexpended funds received under             

                                                                                

8   this section to subsequent fiscal years and may expend those                

                                                                                

9   unused funds in subsequent fiscal years.