2023 Connecticut General Statutes › Title 10 - Education and Culture › Chapter 164 - Educational Opportunities › Section 10-16p. - Definitions. Lead agency for school readiness; standards. State financial assistance; eligibility. Unexpended funds. Salaries increase.

(a) As used in sections 10-16o to 10-16r, inclusive, 10-16u, 17b-749a and 17b-749c:
(1) “School readiness program” means a nonsectarian program that (A) meets the standards set by the Office of Early Childhood pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and the requirements of section 10-16q, and (B) provides a developmentally appropriate learning experience of not less than four hundred fifty hours and one hundred eighty days for eligible children, except as provided in subsection (d) of section 10-16q;
(2) “Eligible children” means children three and four years of age and children five years of age who are not eligible to enroll in school pursuant to section 10-15c, or who are eligible to enroll in school and will attend a school readiness program pursuant to section 10-16t;
(3) “Priority school” means a school in which forty per cent or more of the lunches served are served to students who are eligible for free or reduced price lunches pursuant to federal law and regulations, excluding such a school located in a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p or in a former priority school district receiving a grant pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and, on and after July 1, 2001, excluding such a school in a transitional school district receiving a grant pursuant to section 10-16u;
(4) “Severe need school” means a school in a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p or in a former priority school district in which forty per cent or more of the lunches served are served to students who are eligible for free or reduced price lunches;
(5) “Accredited” means accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Association for Family Child Care, a Head Start on-site program review instrument or a successor instrument pursuant to federal regulations, or otherwise meeting such criteria as may be established by the commissioner, unless the context otherwise requires;
(6) “Year-round” means fifty weeks per year, except as provided in subsection (d) of section 10-16q;
(7) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Early Childhood;
(8) “Office” means the Office of Early Childhood;
(9) “Seeking accreditation” means a school readiness program seeking accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Association for Family Child Care or a Head Start on-site program review instrument or successor instrument pursuant to federal regulations, or attempting to meet criteria as may be established by the commissioner; and
(10) “Concentration in early childhood education” means a program of study in early childhood education, including, but not limited to, early childhood education, child study, child development or human growth and development.
(b) (1) The office shall be the lead agency for school readiness. For purposes of this section and section 10-16u, school readiness program providers eligible for funding from the office shall include local and regional boards of education, regional educational service centers, family resource centers and providers of child care centers, group child care homes and family child care homes, as described in section 19a-77, Head Start programs, preschool programs and other programs that meet any standards established by the commissioner. The office shall establish standards for school readiness programs. The standards may include, but need not be limited to, guidelines for staff-child interactions, curriculum content, including preliteracy development, lesson plans, parental involvement, staff qualifications and training, transition to school and administration. The office shall develop age-appropriate developmental skills and goals for children attending such programs. The commissioner, in consultation with the president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, the Commissioners of Education and Social Services and other appropriate entities, shall develop a professional development program for the staff of school readiness programs.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(A) Prior to July 1, 2022, “staff qualifications” means that for each early childhood education program accepting state funds for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such program's child care program or school readiness program, there is in each classroom an individual who has at least the following: (i) A childhood development associate credential or an equivalent credential issued by an organization approved by the commissioner and twelve credits or more in early childhood education or child development, as determined by the commissioner or the president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, after consultation with the commissioner, from an institution of higher education (I) accredited by the Board of Regents for Higher Education or Office of Higher Education, and (II) regionally accredited; (ii) an associate degree with twelve credits or more in early childhood education or child development, as determined by the commissioner or the president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, after consultation with the commissioner, from such an institution; (iii) a four-year degree with twelve credits or more in early childhood education or child development, as determined by the commissioner or the president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, after consultation with the commissioner, from such an institution; (iv) certification pursuant to section 10-145b with an endorsement in early childhood education or special education; (v) an associate degree with a concentration in early childhood education from an institution of higher education that is regionally accredited; or (vi) a bachelor's degree with a concentration in early childhood education from an institution of higher education that is regionally accredited;
(B) From July 1, 2022, until June 30, 2025, “staff qualifications” means that for each early childhood education program accepting state funds for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such program's child care program or school readiness program, (i) at least fifty per cent of those individuals with the primary responsibility for a classroom of children (I) hold certification pursuant to section 10-145b with an endorsement in early childhood education or early childhood special education, (II) have been issued an early childhood teacher credential, pursuant to section 10-520b, (III) hold at least an associate degree with a concentration in early childhood education from an institution of higher education that is regionally accredited, or (IV) satisfy the requirements of subdivision (3), (4) or (5) of this subsection, and (ii) such remaining individuals with the primary responsibility for a classroom of children hold a childhood development associate credential or an equivalent credential issued by an organization approved by the commissioner and twelve credits or more in early childhood education or child development, as determined by the commissioner or the president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, after consultation with the commissioner, from an institution of higher education (I) accredited by the Board of Regents for Higher Education or Office of Higher Education, and (II) regionally accredited;
(C) From July 1, 2025, until June 30, 2029, “staff qualifications” means that for each early childhood education program accepting state funds for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such program's child care program or school readiness program, (i) at least fifty per cent of those individuals with the primary responsibility for a classroom of children (I) hold certification pursuant to section 10-145b with an endorsement in early childhood education or early childhood special education, (II) have been issued an early childhood teacher credential, pursuant to subdivision (2) of section 10-520b, (III) hold at least a bachelor's degree with a concentration in early childhood education from an institution of higher education that is regionally accredited, or (IV) satisfy the requirements of subdivision (3), (4) or (5) of this subsection, and (ii) such remaining individuals with the primary responsibility for a classroom of children (I) hold an associate degree with a concentration in early childhood education from an institution of higher education that is regionally accredited, or (II) have been issued an early childhood teacher credential, pursuant to subdivision (1) of section 10-520b; and
(D) On and after July 1, 2029, “staff qualifications” means that for each early childhood education program accepting state funds for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such program's child care program or school readiness program, one hundred per cent of those individuals with the primary responsibility for a classroom of children (i) hold certification pursuant to section 10-145b with an endorsement in early childhood education or early childhood special education, (ii) have been issued an early childhood teacher credential, pursuant to subdivision (2) of section 10-520b, (iii) hold at least a bachelor's degree with a concentration in early childhood education from an institution of higher education that is regionally accredited, or (iv) satisfy the requirements of subdivision (3), (4) or (5) of this subsection.
(3) Any individual with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or child development or a bachelor's degree and twelve credits or more in early childhood education or child development, who, on or before June 30, 2015, is employed by an early childhood education program that accepts state funds for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such program's child care program or school readiness program shall be considered to meet the staff qualifications required under subparagraphs (B) to (D), inclusive, of subdivision (2) of this subsection. No such early childhood education program shall terminate any such individual from employment for purposes of meeting the staff qualification requirements set forth in subparagraph (B), (C) or (D) of subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(4) Any individual with an associate degree or a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or child development or an associate degree or a bachelor's degree and twelve credits or more in early childhood education or child development from an institution of higher education that is regionally accredited, other than an associate degree or a bachelor's degree with a concentration in early childhood education, may submit documentation concerning such degree for review and assessment by the office as to whether such degree has a sufficient concentration in early childhood education so as to satisfy the requirements set forth in subparagraphs (B) to (D), inclusive, of subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(5) Any individual with an associate degree with twelve credits or more in early childhood education or child development, as determined by the commissioner or the president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, after consultation with the commissioner, from an institution of higher education (A) accredited by the Board of Regents for Higher Education or Office of Higher Education, and (B) regionally accredited, who has been employed in the same early childhood education program that accepts state funds for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such program's child care program or school readiness program since 1995 shall be considered to meet the staff qualifications required under subparagraphs (B) to (D), inclusive, of subdivision (2) of this subsection until June 30, 2025. On and after July 1, 2025, such individual shall hold a childhood development associate credential or an equivalent credential, described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (2) of this subsection, or otherwise meet the staff qualifications required under subparagraphs (C) and (D) of subdivision (2) of this subsection. Any such individual who terminates his or her employment with such early childhood education program on or before June 30, 2025, and accepts a position at another early childhood education program accepting state funds for spaces associated with such program's child care program or school readiness program shall submit documentation of such individual's progress toward meeting the staff qualification requirements set forth in subparagraph (B) to (D), inclusive, of subdivision (2) of this subsection in a manner determined by the office.
(c) The commissioner shall establish a grant program to provide spaces in accredited school readiness programs located in priority school districts, as described in section 10-266p, or in former priority school districts for eligible children. The state, acting by and in the discretion of the Commissioner of Early Childhood, in consultation with a town or regional school readiness council, may enter into a contract with a municipality, local or regional board of education, regional educational service center, family resource center, provider of a child care center, group child care home or family child care home, as described in section 19a-77, Head Start program, preschool program or other program that meets such standards established by the commissioner, to provide, within available appropriations, state financial assistance. Eligibility shall be determined for a five-year period based on an applicant's designation as a priority school district for the initial year of application, except that if a school district that receives a grant pursuant to this subsection is no longer designated as a priority school district at the end of such five-year period, such former priority school district shall continue to be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to this subsection. Grant awards shall be made annually contingent upon available funding and a satisfactory annual evaluation. The chief elected official of such town and the superintendent of schools for such priority school district or former priority school district shall submit a plan for the expenditure of grant funds and responses to the local request for proposal process to the commissioner. The commissioner shall review and approve such plans. The plan shall: (1) Be developed in consultation with the local or regional school readiness council established pursuant to section 10-16r; (2) be based on a needs and resource assessment; (3) provide for the issuance of requests for proposals for providers of accredited school readiness programs, provided, after the initial requests for proposals, facilities that have been approved to operate a child care program financed through the Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority and have received a commitment for debt service from the Department of Social Services, pursuant to section 17b-749i, on or before June 30, 2014, and on or after July 1, 2014, from the office, are exempt from the requirement for issuance of annual requests for proposals; and (4) identify the need for funding pursuant to section 17b-749a in order to extend the hours and days of operation of school readiness programs in order to provide child care services for children attending such programs.
(d) (1) The commissioner shall establish a competitive grant program to provide spaces in accredited school readiness programs or school readiness programs seeking accreditation located in (A) an area served by a priority school or a former priority school, (B) a town ranked one to fifty when all towns are ranked in ascending order according to town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f, whose school district is not a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p, (C) a town formerly a town described in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, as provided for in subdivision (2) of this subsection, or (D) a town designated as an alliance district, as defined in section 10-262u, whose school district is not a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p. A town in which a priority school is located, a regional school readiness council, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-16r, for a region in which such a school is located or a town described in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision may apply for such a grant in an amount equal to the number of spaces in an accredited school readiness program or a school readiness program seeking accreditation multiplied by the per child cost set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 10-16q. Eligibility shall be determined for a three-year period based on an applicant's designation as having a priority school or being a town described in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision for the initial year of application. The state, acting by and in the discretion of the Commissioner of Early Childhood, in consultation with a town or regional school readiness council, may enter into a contract with a municipality, local or regional board of education, regional educational service center, family resource center, provider of a child care center, group child care home or family child care home, as described in section 19a-77, Head Start program, preschool program or other program that meets such standards established by the commissioner, to provide, within available appropriations, state financial assistance. The chief elected official of such town and the superintendent of schools of the school district or the regional school readiness council shall submit a plan, as described in subsection (c) of this section, for the expenditure of such grant funds to the commissioner. In awarding grants pursuant to this subsection, the commissioner shall give preference to applications submitted by regional school readiness councils and may, within available appropriations, provide a grant to such town or regional school readiness council that increases the number of spaces for eligible children who reside in an area or town described in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, of this subdivision, in an accredited school readiness program or a school readiness program seeking accreditation.
(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (C) of this subdivision, commencing with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, if a town received a grant pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection and is no longer eligible to receive such a grant, the town may receive a phase-out grant for each of the three fiscal years following the fiscal year such town received its final grant pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(B) The amount of such phase-out grants shall be determined as follows: (i) For the first fiscal year following the fiscal year such town received its final grant pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, in an amount that does not exceed seventy-five per cent of the grant amount such town received for the town or school's final year of eligibility pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection; (ii) for the second fiscal year following the fiscal year such town received its final grant pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, in an amount that does not exceed fifty per cent of the grant amount such town received for the town's or school's final year of eligibility pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection; and (iii) for the third fiscal year following the fiscal year such town received its final grant pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, in an amount that does not exceed twenty-five per cent of the grant amount such town received for the town's or school's final year of eligibility pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(C) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, and each fiscal year thereafter, any town that received a grant pursuant to subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, shall continue to receive a grant under this subsection even if the town no longer meets the criteria for such grant pursuant to subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(e) (1) If funds appropriated for the purposes of subsection (c) of this section are not expended, the commissioner may deposit such unexpended funds in the account established under section 10-16aa and use such unexpended funds in accordance with the provisions of section 10-16aa.
(2) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, and each fiscal year thereafter, if funds appropriated for the purposes of subsection (c) of this section are not expended, an amount up to one million dollars of such unexpended funds may be available for the provision of professional development for early childhood care and education program providers, and staff employed in such programs, provided such programs accept state funds for infant, toddler and preschool slots. Such unexpended funds may be available for use in accordance with the provisions of this subparagraph for the subsequent fiscal year. The commissioner may use such unexpended funds on and after July 1, 2015, to support early childhood education programs accepting state funds in satisfying the staff qualifications requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section. The commissioner shall use any such funds to provide assistance to individual staff members, giving priority to those staff members (A) attending an institution of higher education accredited by the Board of Regents for Higher Education or the Office of Higher Education, and approved by the Office of Early Childhood, and regionally accredited, at a maximum of ten thousand dollars per staff member per year for the cost of higher education courses leading to a bachelor's degree or, not later than December 31, 2015, an associate degree, as such degrees are described in said subparagraphs (B) and (C), or (B) receiving noncredit competency-based training approved by the office, at a maximum of one thousand dollars per staff member per year, provided such staff members have applied for all available federal and state scholarships and grants, and such assistance does not exceed such staff members' financial need. Individual staff members shall apply for such unexpended funds in a manner determined by the commissioner. The commissioner shall determine how such unexpended funds shall be distributed.
(3) If funds appropriated for the purposes of subsection (c) of this section are not expended pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, deposited pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, or used pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, the commissioner may use such unexpended funds to support local school readiness programs. The commissioner may use such funds for purposes including, but not limited to, (A) assisting local school readiness programs in meeting and maintaining accreditation requirements, (B) providing training in implementing the preschool assessment and curriculum frameworks, including training to enhance literacy teaching skills, (C) developing a state-wide preschool curriculum, (D) developing student assessments for students in grades kindergarten to two, inclusive, (E) developing and implementing best practices for parents in supporting preschool and kindergarten student learning, (F) developing and implementing strategies for children to successfully transition to preschool and from preschool to kindergarten, including through parental engagement and whole-family supports that may be utilized through the two-generational initiative, established pursuant to section 17b-112
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, or through other available resources, (G) providing for professional development, including assisting in career ladder advancement, for school readiness staff, (H) providing supplemental grants to other towns that are eligible for grants pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, and (I) developing a plan to provide spaces in an accredited school readiness program or a school readiness program seeking accreditation to all eligible children who reside in an area or town described in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, of subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of this section.
(f) Any school readiness program that receives funds pursuant to this section or section 10-16u shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion or disability. For purposes of this section, a nonsectarian program means any public or private school readiness program that is not violative of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut or the Establishment Clause of the Constitution of the United States of America.
(g) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, no funds received by a town pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) of this section or section 10-16u shall be used to supplant federal, state or local funding received by such town for early childhood education, provided a town may use an amount determined in accordance with this subsection for coordination, program evaluation and administration. Such amount shall be at least five per cent of the total grant allocation, but not more than seventy-five thousand dollars and shall be determined by the commissioner based on the school readiness grant award allocated to the town pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) of this section or section 10-16u and the number of operating sites for coordination, program evaluation and administration. Such amount shall be increased by an amount equal to local funding provided for early childhood education coordination, program evaluation and administration, not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars. Each town that receives a grant pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) of this section or section 10-16u shall designate a person to be responsible for such coordination, program evaluation and administration and to act as a liaison between the town and the commissioner. Each school readiness program that receives funds pursuant to this section or section 10-16u shall provide information to the commissioner or the school readiness council, as requested, that is necessary for purposes of any school readiness program evaluation.
(h) Any town receiving a grant pursuant to this section may use such grant, with the approval of the commissioner, to prepare a facility or staff for operating a school readiness program and shall be adjusted based on the number of days of operation of a school readiness program if a shorter term of operation is approved by the commissioner.
(i) A town may use grant funds to purchase spaces for eligible children who reside in such town at an accredited school readiness program located in another town. A regional school readiness council may use grant funds to purchase spaces for eligible children who reside in the region covered by the council at an accredited school readiness program located outside such region.
(j) Children enrolled in school readiness programs funded pursuant to this section shall not be counted (1) as resident students for purposes of subdivision (22) of section 10-262f, or (2) in the determination of average daily membership pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 10-261.
(k) (1) Up to two per cent of the amount of the appropriation for this section may be allocated to the competitive grant program pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. The determination of the amount of such allocation shall be made on or before August first.
(2) Up to two per cent of the amount of the appropriation for this section may be used by the commissioner in a manner consistent with the provisions of section 10-509.
(l) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, and each fiscal year thereafter, any school readiness program that (1) is licensed by the Office of Early Childhood pursuant to chapter 368a, (2) provides full-day and year-round child care and education programs for children, and (3) receives funds pursuant to this section or section 10-16u, shall use any amount of the per child cost as described in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 10-16q that is over the amount of eight thousand nine hundred twenty-seven dollars, exclusively to increase the salaries of those individuals with direct responsibility for teaching or caring for children in a classroom at such school readiness program.
(P.A. 97-259, S. 2, 41; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-11, S. 25, 65; P.A. 98-239, S. 30, 35; 98-252, S. 32, 80; P.A. 99-230, S. 1, 10; P.A. 00-187, S. 4, 75; P.A. 01-173, S. 48, 67; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 11–13, 54; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 10; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 15, 30, 32; P.A. 04-15, S. 1; 04-26, S. 1; 04-215, S. 2; 04-254, S. 3; P.A. 05-13, S. 5; 05-245, S. 1, 10, 28; P.A. 06-13, S. 1, 2; 06-135, S. 1, 23; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3, S. 17; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 44, 50; P.A. 08-85, S. 1; 08-170, S. 4, 35; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6, S. 31, 32; P.A. 10-151, S. 4; P.A. 11-48, S. 194, 285; 11-54, S. 1; P.A. 12-50, S. 1; 12-116, S. 41; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 286; P.A. 13-118, S. 7; 13-261, S. 2, 3; P.A. 14-39, S. 13; P.A. 15-134, S. 8; 15-227, S. 1–4, 25; P.A. 16-15, S. 3; P.A. 17-41, S. 1; 17-56, S. 7; P.A. 18-123, S. 1; 18-139, S. 1; 18-172, S. 5; 18-184, S. 4, 9; P.A. 19-34, S. 1; 19-117, S. 259; 19-121, S. 9; P.A. 21-172, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 97-259 effective July 1, 1997; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-11 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(3), added new Subdiv. (4) defining “severe need school” and redesignated former Subdivs. (4) to (7) as Subdivs. (5) to (8), effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-239 amended Subsec. (c)(3) to provide that, after the initial requests for proposals, facilities approved to operate a child care program financed through CHEFA and which have received a commitment for debt service pursuant to Sec. 17b-749i are exempt from the requirement for issuance of annual requests for proposals, effective June 8, 1998, and applicable to all grants submitted on and after July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-252 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to allow the commissioner to approve programs for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1998, and June 30, 1999, that are for less hours and days, amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (e)(3) to remove cap of $120,000 per fiscal year, amended Subsec. (g) to allow a town to use up to 5% but no more than $50,000 for coordination, program evaluation and administration, and added new Subsec. (h) re use of grants in certain years to prepare a facility or staff for operating a program, effective June 8, 1998; P.A. 99-230 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to add children attending pursuant to Sec. 10-16t, to renumber existing Subsec. (a)(7) and (8) as Subsec. (a)(8) and (9) and to add new Subsec. (a)(7) defining “year-round”, amended Subsec. (e) to change the percentages in Subdivs. (1) to (3), inclusive, and to add Subdiv. (4) re use of a percentage of grant funds not earmarked by town for expenditure, and added Subsec. (g)(2) re authorization to use increased amount of grant funds for coordination, program evaluation and administration for towns that provide $25,000 in local funding for such purposes, to require towns that receive grants to designate a person to be responsible for coordination, program evaluation and administration and to act as a liaison between the town and the departments, and to require programs to provide information for evaluation purposes, and added Subsecs. (i) re purchase of spaces in program in another town or region and (j) re children not counted as resident students for purposes of Sec. 10-262f, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-187 added provisions re transitional school districts and former priority school districts, amended Subsec. (b) to specify the standards for staff qualifications on and after July 1, 2003, amended Subsec. (d) to allow the awarding of grants in excess of $100,000 to towns with one or more priority schools, amended Subsec. (e) to base grants on the “average” number of enrolled kindergarten students in a priority school district for the “three years” prior to the year the grant is to be paid rather than on the number of such students for the prior year and to provide that no such district receives a grant that is less than the grant it received for the prior fiscal year, and amended Subsec. (h) to extend the provision to the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, and add requirement for the commissioner's approval, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (j) to designate portion of existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and add Subdiv. (2) re determination of average daily membership, effective July 1, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 amended Subsec. (b) to require curriculum content to include preliteracy development, amended Subsec. (c)(1) to add reference to the “regional” school readiness council, amended Subsec. (e)(1) to establish a threshold for grants of at least $150,000 and (e)(4) to increase the percentage of funds that are not earmarked that the department is able to use from 10% to 50%, amended Subsec. (g)(1) to allow a town to use the greater of the amounts pursuant to Subparas. (A) or (B), to designate the existing limit as Subpara. (B) and to add Subpara. (A) re $25,000, and amended Subsec. (h) to remove limitation on the provision for specific fiscal years and to substitute limitation for the first three years a town receives grants, effective July 1, 2001; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 added Subsec. (k) re appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, effective August 15, 2002 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (k) the numeric dollar amounts “$2,576,580” and “$198,199” were replaced editorially by the Revisors with “two million five hundred seventy-six thousand five hundred eighty dollars” and “one hundred ninety-eight thousand one hundred ninety-nine dollars” for consistency with customary statutory usage); June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (b) to make definition of “staff qualifications” applicable beginning July 1, 2004, rather than July 1, 2003, amended Subsec. (d) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1), adding reference to former priority schools therein and adding Subdiv. (2) re grants for former priority schools and amended Subsec. (k) by adding provisions re appropriations for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 04-15 amended Subsec. (b) to change staff qualifications on and after July 1, 2005, in Subdivs. (1), (2) and (3), and to add Subdiv. (4) re endorsement in early childhood education or special education, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-26 made technical changes in Subsec. (d)(2), effective April 28, 2004; P.A. 04-215 deleted definition of “approved” in Subsec. (a), made technical changes throughout, deleted “or approved” re school readiness program throughout, amended Subsec. (d) to increase maximum grant amount from $100,000 to $107,000 and deleted Subsec. (e)(1) provision re per cent amount of appropriation for noncompetitive grant and former Subsec. (e)(2) re per cent amount of appropriation for competitive grant, and amending redesignated Subdiv. (3) by changing plan submission deadline from January first, to October first, by increasing amount of funds not earmarked for expenditure that department may use from 50% to 70%, and by adding provision re amounts that may be used for school readiness professional development, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-254 amended Subsec. (d)(1) by adding provision re towns ranked according to wealth and deleted former Subsec. (k) re appropriations for fiscal years ending June 30, 2003, June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 05-13 amended Subsec. (d) by extending competitive grant program and phase-out to certain towns and making conforming changes, effective May 4, 2005; P.A. 05-245 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(1), amended Subsec. (b) to extend the current definition of “staff qualifications” to July 1, 2015, and to introduce new standards for staff qualifications on and after July 1, 2015, amended Subsec. (d)(1) by extending grant eligibility from the towns ranked one to twenty-eight, to the towns ranked one to fifty when all towns are ranked in ascending order according to town wealth, and amended Subsec. (e)(1) by adding language re supplemental grants received in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-13 made technical changes in Subsecs. (d) and (e)(3), effective May 2, 2006; P.A. 06-135 amended Subsec. (e)(3) to delete percentage requirements and provide that Department of Education may determine the distribution of funds not earmarked for expenditure for the purposes of professional development and preschool and kindergarten assessments and added Subsec. (k) re funding for programs in certain towns, effective July 1, 2006; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3 amended Subsec. (e)(3) to replace former provisions re use of funds not earmarked for expenditure by a town by October first for supplemental grants to other eligible towns, school readiness professional development and activities related to preschool and kindergarten student development evaluations or assessments with new provisions re use of unexpended funds to support local school readiness programs, effective July 1, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 amended Subsec. (e)(3) to add Subpara. (H) re supplemental grants to other eligible towns, and amended Sec. 48 of P.A. 05-245, added editorially by the Revisors as Subsec. (e)(4) of this section, to extend the administrative set-aside for department to the fiscal years ending June 30, 2008, and June 30, 2009, effective October 6, 2007; P.A. 08-85 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(5), effective July 1, 2008; P.A. 08-170 amended Subsec. (e) to replace former formula in Subdiv. (1) re distribution of funds with Subparas. (A) and (B) re formula for fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, based on district's program capacity, to delete former Subdiv. (2) re administrative set-aside and to redesignate existing Subdivs. (3) and (4) as Subdivs. (2) and (3), and amended Subsec. (k) to replace former provisions with provisions re allocation of up to 2% of appropriation for section to competitive grant program, effective July 1, 2008; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6 amended Subsec. (e)(1) by adding “and each fiscal year thereafter,” by replacing reference re March 30, 2008, with reference re March “thirtieth of the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which the grant is to be paid” in Subpara. (A), and by adding “or decreased” and replacing “ending June 30, 2009” with “in which the grant is to be paid” in Subpara. (B), amended Subsec. (e)(3) by replacing “and June 30, 2009” with “to June 30, 2011, inclusive”, and amended Subsec. (g) by deleting Subdiv. (1) designator, by replacing “the greater of (A) twenty-five thousand dollars, or (B) up to five per cent but no more than fifty thousand dollars of the amount received” with “an amount determined in accordance with this subsection for coordination, program evaluation and administration. Such amount shall be at least twenty-five thousand dollars but not more than seventy-five thousand dollars and shall be determined by the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Social Services, based on the school readiness grant award allocated to the town”, by replacing “for coordination, program evaluation and administration, and (2) if a town provides twenty-five thousand dollars in” with “and the number of operating sites for coordination, program evaluation and administration. Such amount shall be increased by an amount equal to”, by adding “provided” re local funding and by replacing “such town may use up to ten per cent but no more than seventy-five thousand dollars of such amount for coordination, program evaluation and administration” with “not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars”, effective October 5, 2009; P.A. 10-151 amended Subsec. (d)(2) by inserting exception re Subpara. (C) in Subpara. (A) and adding Subpara. (C) re continued receipt of grant despite ineligibility and amended Subsec. (e) by adding new Subdiv. (2)(A) re deposit of unexpended funds into account established under Sec. 10-16aa, redesignating existing Subdiv. (2) as new Subdiv. (2)(B) and amending same to add “pursuant to said subsection (c) or deposited pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision” and redesignate existing Subparas. (A) to (H) as clauses (i) to (viii), effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (e)(3) by replacing “2011” with “2013”, effective June 13, 2011; pursuant to P.A. 11-48, “Board of Governors of Higher Education” and “Department of Higher Education” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Board of Regents for Higher Education”, and “Commissioner of Higher Education” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education”, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-54 amended Subsec. (b) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and Subdiv. (2)(A) and (B) and, in Subdiv. (2)(A), to add requirement re childhood development associate or equivalent credential and provisions re determination by Commissioner of Higher Education after consultation with Commissioners of Education and Social Services and, in Subdiv. (2)(B), to make provisions applicable from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2020, and replace former Subparas. (A) and (B) re degree and certification requirements with provisions re certification and degree requirements applicable to each early childhood education program accepting state funds, by adding Subdiv. (2)(C) re staff qualifications on and after July 1, 2020, by adding Subdiv. (3) re individuals considered to meet staff requirements who may not be terminated from employment, and by adding Subdiv. (4) re submission of bachelor's degree documentation, amended Subsec. (e)(2) by adding new Subpara. (B) re unexpended funds appropriated for purposes of Subsec. (c) and by redesignating existing Subpara. (B) as Subpara. (C) and making conforming changes therein, and made technical changes in Subsecs. (b), (d), (e) and (g), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-50 amended Subsec. (b) by adding reference to “State Board of Education” in Subdiv. (2)(A), by deleting reference to “school readiness or childcare services funds and funds from the Department of Social Services” and adding references to “infant, toddler and preschool spaces”, “State Board of Education”, “regionally accredited” and “primary responsibility for a classroom of children” in Subdiv. (2)(B), by deleting reference to “school readiness or childcare services funds and funds from the Department of Social Services” and adding reference to “infant, toddler and preschool spaces”, “State Board of Education” and “regionally accredited” in Subdiv. (2)(C), and by deleting reference to “school readiness or childcare services funds and funds from the Department of Social Services”, adding reference to “infant, toddler and preschool spaces” and adding requirement that individuals terminating employment with early childhood education program and accepting teaching position at another early childhood education program accepting state funds for spaces associated with child day care or school readiness program submit documentation of progress toward meeting staff qualification requirements in Subdiv. (3), amended Subsec. (e)(2)(B) by permitting Department of Education, rather than local school readiness programs, to use unexpended funds, requiring department to give priority to staff members attending institution of higher education accredited by Board of Regents for Higher Education or State Board of Education and regionally accredited, requiring individual staff members, rather than local school readiness programs, to apply for unexpended funds and requiring application to be in a manner determined by department, rather than as part of school readiness program's application for a grant, and made technical changes, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 12-116 amended Subsec. (b)(1) by replacing “continuing education training” with “professional development”, effective July 1, 2012; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 amended Subsec. (e)(2)(B) by adding provision re professional development for early childhood education program providers offered by a professional development and program improvement system within the Connecticut State University System, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-118 amended Subsec. (b)(2)(B) to replace “State Board of Education” with “Office of Higher Education”, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 13-261 amended Subsecs. (b) and (e)(2)(B) to make technical changes, effective July 11, 2013; P.A. 14-39 replaced references to Commissioner and Department of Education with references to Commissioner and Office of Early Childhood, amended Subsec. (a) by deleting “in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services,” in Subdiv. (5), redefining “commissioner” as Commissioner of Early Childhood in Subdiv. (7), deleting former Subdiv. (8) defining “department”, adding new Subdiv. (8) defining “office” and adding Subdiv. (9) defining “seeking accreditation”, amended Subsec. (b) by adding “Commissioners of Education and” in Subdiv. (1), adding “the commissioner or”, replacing “Commissioners of Education and Social Services” with “commissioner” and replacing “State Board of Education” with “Office of Higher Education” in Subdiv. (2)(A), replacing “to” with “until” and adding “or the Office of Higher Education” in Subdiv. (2)(B), replacing “State Board of Education” with “the Office of Higher Education” in Subdiv. (2)(C), adding provision re bachelor's degree in early childhood education or child development or bachelor's degree and 12 credits or more in early childhood education or child development, deleting “as a teacher”, deleting “and meets the staff qualifications required under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (2) of this subsection” and deleting provision re individual terminating employment with an early childhood education program in Subdiv. (3), and adding provision re bachelor's degree in early childhood education or child development or bachelor's degree and 12 credits or more in early childhood education or child development, deleting “(A) and” and adding “and (C)” in Subdiv. (4), amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services,” with “commissioner”, deleting provision re Departments of Education and Social Services jointly reviewing and approving plans, adding provision re commissioner review and approval of plans, and adding “on or before June 30, 2014, and on or after July 1, 2014, from the office,”, amended Subsec. (d)(1) by replacing “Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services,” with “commissioner”, adding “or school readiness programs seeking accreditation”, deleting “as provided for in subdivision (2) of this subsection,”, adding Subpara. (D) re town designated as an alliance district whose school district is not a priority school district, replacing “to exceed” with “less than”, deleting “in excess of one hundred seven thousand dollars to towns with two or more priority schools in such district” and adding provision re grant for increase in spaces for eligible children, amended Subsec. (e)(2) by replacing “2012” with “2015”, adding “care and”, deleting “offered by a professional development and program improvement system within the Connecticut State University System”, adding provision re staff employed in programs accepting state funds for infant, toddler and preschool slots, replacing “July 1, 2012, in consultation with the president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education” with “July 1, 2015”, deleting former clause (i) and (ii) designators, designating existing provision re accreditation by Board of Regents for Higher Education as new clause (i) and amending same to delete “State Board of Education” and add “the Office of Higher Education, and approved by the Office of Early Childhood”, replacing “2013” with “2015” and deleting provision re in-state public, for-profit or non-profit institution of higher education, adding new clause (ii) re noncredit competency-based training in Subpara. (B) and adding clause (ix) re plan to provide spaces to eligible children in Subpara. (C), amended Subsec. (e)(3) by replacing “2008” with “2015” and “2013” with “2016”, amended Subsec. (g) by replacing “Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Social Services,” with “commissioner” and “Departments of Education and Social Services” with “commissioner”, amended Subsec. (h) by replacing “For the first three years a town receives grants” with “Any town receiving a grant”, and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2014 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (a), a reference to repealed Sec. 10-16s was replaced editorially by the Revisors with a reference to Sec. 10-16r for accuracy); P.A. 15-134 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “2015” with “2017” in Subdiv. (2)(A) and (B) and adding Subdiv. (5) re individuals who have been employed in same program since 1995 considered to meet staff qualifications requirement, effective June 24, 2015; P.A. 15-227 amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision re programs located in priority school districts or former priority school districts, deleting provision re residency requirement for eligible children, and replacing “child day care services” with “child care services”, amended Subsec. (d)(1) by deleting provision re residency requirement for eligible children, making provisions applicable to a program's location, replacing “not less than one hundred seven thousand dollars per priority school or town” with “equal to the number of spaces in an accredited school readiness program or a school readiness program seeking accreditation multiplied by the per child cost set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 10-16q”, and making conforming changes, amended Subsec. (e)(2)(B) by replacing “five hundred thousand” with “one million” and, in clause (i), replacing “five” with “ten”, and made a technical change in Subsec. (e)(2)(C), effective July 1, 2015; pursuant to P.A. 15-227, “child day care centers” and “child day care program” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “child care centers” and “child care program”, respectively, in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 16-15 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education” with “president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities” and replacing “associate's degree” with “associate degree” and amended Subsec. (e)(2)(B) by replacing “associate's degree” with “associate degree”, effective May 6, 2016; P.A. 17-41 amended Subsec. (a) by adding Subdiv. (10) defining “concentration in early childhood education”, amended Subsec. (b)(2)(A) by replacing “2017” with “2018” and adding clauses (v) and (vi) re associate degree with concentration in early childhood education and bachelor's degree with concentration in early childhood education, respectively, amended Subsec. (b)(2)(B) by replacing “July 1, 2017, until June 30, 2020” with “July 1, 2018, until June 30, 2021”, replacing provisions re bachelor's degree with concentration in early childhood education with provision re early childhood teacher credential in clause (i)(II), adding subclauses (III) and (IV) re bachelor's degree with concentration in early childhood education and satisfying requirements of subsection, respectively, in clause (i), deleting subclause (I) re accreditation, deleting subclause (II) designator and deleting provision re associate degree program approval in clause (ii), amended Subsec. (b)(2)(C) by replacing “2020” with “2021”, replacing provisions re bachelor's degree with concentration in early childhood education with provision re early childhood teacher credential in clause (ii), adding clauses (iii) and (iv) re bachelor's degree with concentration in early childhood education and satisfying requirements of subsection, respectively, amended Subsec. (b)(4) by adding references to associate degree, and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 17-56 amended Subsec. (b)(5) by making a technical change, effective June 20, 2017; P.A. 18-123 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by replacing “2018” with “2020” in Subpara. (A), replacing “July 1, 2018, until June 30, 2021” with July 1, 2020, until June 30, 2023” in Subpara. (B), and replacing “2021” with “2023” in Subpara. (C), effective July 1, 2018; P.A. 18-139 made a technical change in Subsec. (b)(4), effective June 11, 2018; P.A. 18-172 amended Subsec. (g) by replacing “twenty-five thousand dollars” with “five per cent of the total grant allocation”, effective July 1, 2018; P.A. 18-184 amended Subsec. (e)(2)(C)(vi) by adding “successfully” and “to preschool and” re strategies for children to transition, and adding provision re parental engagement and whole-family supports utilized through two-generational initiative or other available resources, and amended Subsec. (k) by designating existing provision re allocation of up to 2 per cent of appropriation for section to competitive grant program as Subdiv. (1) and adding Subdiv. (2) re commissioner may expend amount not to exceed 2 per cent of amount appropriated in manner consistent with Sec. 10-509, effective July 1, 2018; P.A. 19-34 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by replacing “2020” with “2022” and adding “that for each early childhood education program accepting state funds for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such program's child care program or school readiness program,” in Subpara. (A), replacing “2020” with “2022”, replacing “2023” with “2025” and replacing “a bachelor's” with “an associate”, deleting provision re associate degree with concentration in early childhood education from institution of higher education that is regionally accredited and adding provision re childhood development associate credential or equivalent credential and 12 credits or more in early childhood education or child development in Subpara. (B), adding new Subpara. (C) re staff qualifications for period July 1, 2025, until June 30, 2029, redesignating existing Subpara. (C) as Subpara. (D) and amending same to replace “2023” with “2029”, and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2019; P.A. 19-117 added Subsec. (l) re increasing salaries of individuals with direct responsibility for teaching or caring for children in a classroom at a school readiness program, effective July 1, 2019; P.A. 19-121 amended Subsec. (d)(1) by replacing “five-year period” with “three-year period”, effective July 1, 2019; P.A. 21-172 amended Subsec. (a) by adding references to National Association for Family Child Care in Subdivs. (5) and (9), amended Subsec. (b)(1) by adding “, group child care homes and family child care homes”, amended Subsec. (c) by deleting provision re grant to be provided to town in which priority school district or former priority school district is located, and adding provision re state may enter into contract with certain entities to provide state financial assistance, amended Subsec. (d)(1) by deleting provision re grant awards to be made annually contingent upon available funding and satisfactory evaluation and provision re grant to be used to purchase spaces from providers of school readiness programs, and adding provision re state may enter into contract with certain entities to provide state financial assistance, and amended Subsec. (e) by deleting former Subdiv. (1) re grants for priority school districts and former priority school districts, redesignating existing Subdivs. (2)(A) to (2)(C) as Subdivs. (1) to (3), respectively, deleting former Subdiv. (3) re office may retain up to $198,200 for coordination, program evaluation and administration and making conforming changes, effective July 1, 2021.