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Legislation Document
SPONSOR:
Rep. S. Moore & Rep. K. Williams & Rep. Heffernan & Sen. Townsend
Reps. Morrison, Ortega, Phillips, Snyder-Hall, Bush, Chukwuocha, Hilovsky, Ross Levin, Shupe, Kamela Smith, Michael Smith; Sens. Hoffner, Walsh
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 15
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PLAY-BASED LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend Part I, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
Chapter 48. Delaware Play to Learn Program.
§ 4801. Purpose.
Child-centered, play-based learning is the most rigorous and most developmentally appropriate way for children in the early childhood grade levels to learn literacy, science, technology, engineering, art, and math academic concepts. Therefore, it is the intent of the General Assembly to encourage local education agencies and the Department of Education to include play-based learning in all curricula domains from preschool through third grade and to provide professional development in play-based learning for all public school early childhood educators in preschool through third grade.
§ 4802. Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter:
(1) “Child-directed” means interaction in which the child is helped to direct and lead play in any way the child wishes unless there is harmful or destructive activity.
(2) “Domain” means a specified sphere of activity or knowledge.
(3) “Early childhood education” means prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first through third grade in all public schools.
(4) “Early childhood educators” means administrators, teachers, and other educators of children in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first through third grade in all public schools.
(5) “Guided play” means learning experiences that combine the child-directed free play with a focus on learning outcomes and adult guidance.
(6) “Play” means the spontaneous activity of children.
(7) “Play-based learning” means any learning activities that are performed by a child for self-amusement that have behavioral, social, and psychomotor rewards. Play-based learning also means learning activities that are child-directed, joyful, and spontaneous whereby the rewards come from the individual child.
(8) “Professional development” means any of a wide variety of specialized training, formal education, or advanced professional learning intended to help administrators, teachers, and other educators improve their professional knowledge, competence, skill, and effectiveness.
(9) “Reading for pleasure” means reading that is freely chosen or that readers freely and enthusiastically continue after it is assigned.
§ 4803. Program.
(a) Early childhood educators may create a learning environment that facilitates play-based learning as follows:
(1) Create a learning environment that facilitates child-directed experiences based upon developmentally appropriate early childhood practices and intentional, sustained, play-based learning opportunities, including movement, creative expression, exploration, socialization, reading for pleasure, art, music, and dramatic play.
(2) Develop physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and academic learning opportunities in all curricular domains which may include unstructured time for the discovery of each child’s individual needs, abilities, and talents.
(3) Incorporate and integrate play-based learning into daily practice.
(4) Allow the needs of students to be met through free play or through guided play and games.
(b) Local education agencies may provide ongoing early childhood professional development in play-based learning for early childhood educators, which may include existing early childhood professional development programs developed by the Department.
Section 2. This Department may promulgate regulations to implement this Act.
Section 3. This Act may be cited as the Delaware Play to Learn Act.
SYNOPSIS
This Act permits early childhood educators in the public schools to use and encourage play-based learning in preschool, kindergarten, and grades 1 through 3 in their classrooms and in their curriculum. Play-based learning is defined as any learning activity that is performed by a child for self-amusement that has behavioral, social, and psychomotor rewards. Play-based learning also means activities that are child-directed, joyful, and spontaneous whereby the rewards come from the individual child.
This Act permits local education agencies to provide early childhood professional development in play-based learning, which may include professional development programs developed by the Department of Education.
This Act also permits the Department to promulgate regulations for purposes of implementing this Act.