HB18-1134 (Pettersen & Wilson/Merrifield & Martinez Humenik) Use of Colorado Preschool Program Positions
Summary
With limited resources to support access to full-day kindergarten, this bill ensures that slots allocated to school districts are focused on children with demonstrated challenges that put them at risk of not being school-ready. This bill requires that children who receive funding through the Early Childhood At-Risk Enhancement (ECARE) program so that they can access a full day of kindergarten must meet the Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) eligibility requirements, which is current policy for children who receive ECARE funding to support access to preschool.
Position
The Children’s Campaign strongly supports this bill. CPP uses eligibility criteria to help ensure that the program provides early learning opportunities for the students who may benefit the most from a high-quality early learning experience, and who may also face the most barriers to accessing one. These criteria currently apply in cases where ECARE slots are used to provide access to preschool, and this bill would ensure that the same criteria apply when an ECARE slot is used to provide access to a full day of kindergarten.
Current Status
Passed the Senate Education Committee on a vote of 4-3 and now heads to the Senate floor
Previous Statuses
January 26, 2018
Assigned to the House Education Committee
February 9, 2018
Scheduled to be heard in the House Education Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 1:30pm in Room 0112
March 9, 2018
The bill passed the House this week with strong bipartisan support and now heads to the Senate.
