Act No. 337

Public Acts of 2004

Approved by the Governor

September 22, 2004

Filed with the Secretary of State

September 23, 2004

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 23, 2004

STATE OF MICHIGAN

92ND LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2004

Introduced by Senators Brown, Gilbert and Prusi

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 885

AN ACT to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled "An act to make appropriations to aid in the support of the public schools and the intermediate school districts of the state; to make appropriations for certain other purposes relating to education; to provide for the disbursement of the appropriations; to supplement the school aid fund by the levy and collection of certain taxes; to authorize the issuance of certain bonds and provide for the security of those bonds; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and officials; to create certain funds and provide for their expenditure; to prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending section 32j (MCL 388.1632j), as added by 2003 PA 158.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 32j. (1) From the appropriation in section 11, there is allocated an amount not to exceed $3,326,000.00 for
2003-2004 for grants to intermediate districts to provide programs for parents with preschool children. The purpose of these programs is to improve school readiness and foster the maintenance of stable families by encouraging positive parenting skills.

(2) To qualify for funding under this section, a program shall provide services to all families with children age 5 or younger residing within the intermediate district who choose to participate, including at least all of the following services:

(a) Providing parents with information on child development from birth to age 5.

(b) Providing parents with methods to enhance parent-child interaction; including, but not limited to, encouraging parents to read to their preschool children at least 1/2 hour per day.

(c) Providing parents with examples of learning opportunities to promote intellectual, physical, and social growth of preschoolers.

(d) Promoting access to needed community services through a community-school-home partnership.

(3) To compete for a grant under this section, an intermediate district shall apply to the department not later than October 1, 2003 in the form and manner prescribed by the department. To be considered for a grant under this section, a grant application shall do all of the following in a manner prescribed by the department:

(a) Provide a plan for the delivery of the program components described in subsection (2).

(b) Demonstrate an adequate collaboration of local entities involved in providing programs and services for preschool children and their parents.

(c) Provide a projected budget for the program to be funded. The intermediate district shall provide at least a 20% local match from local public or private resources for the funds received under this section. Not more than 1/2 of this matching requirement, up to a total of 10% of the total project budget, may be satisfied through in-kind services provided by participating providers of programs or services. In addition, not more than 10% of the grant may be used for program administration.

(4) Each successful grant recipient of a grant under this section shall agree to include a data collection system approved by the department. The data collection system shall provide a report by October 15 of each year on the number of children in families with income below 200% of the federal poverty level that received services under this program and the total number of children who received services under this program.

(5) The department or superintendent, as applicable, shall do all of the following:

(a) The department shall make applications available for the purposes of this section not later than August 15, 2003.

(b) The superintendent shall approve or disapprove applications and notify the applying intermediate district of that decision not later than November 15, 2003. The amount of each approved grant shall not exceed 3.5% of the intermediate district's 2002-2003 payment under section 81.

(c) The department shall ensure that all programs funded under this section utilize the most current validated research-based methods and curriculum for providing the program components described in subsection (2).

(d) The department shall submit a report to the state budget director and the senate and house fiscal agencies summarizing the data collection reports described in subsection (4) by December 1 of each year.

(6) An intermediate district receiving funds under this section shall use the funds only for the program funded under this section. An intermediate district receiving funds under this section may carry over any unexpended funds received under this section to subsequent fiscal years and may expend those unused funds in subsequent fiscal years.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Approved

Governor