"Mississippi Universal Prekindergarten Program Act of 2026"; create.

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To: Education;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Scott

HOUSE BILL NO. 156

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSAL PREKINDERGARTEN 1
PROGRAM ACT OF 2026"; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE 2
PUBLIC FUNDING OF THE PROGRAM, WHICH SHALL BE AVAILABLE TO PARENTS 3
AND FAMILIES ON A VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION BASIS; TO PRESCRIBE THE 4
MINIMUM STANDARDS OF EDUCATION REQUIRED TO BE OFFERED TO CHILDREN 5
ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM; TO PRESCRIBE THE MANNER BY WHICH PAYMENTS 6
WILL BE MADE TO PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS, WHETHER SUCH PROGRAMS 7
ARE OFFERED THROUGH THE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT OF RESIDENCE, AN 8
OUTSIDE DISTRICT OR THROUGH A PREQUALIFIED PRIVATE PROVIDER; TO 9
ESTABLISH THE MINIMUM STANDARDS REQUIRED FOR THE PREQUALIFICATION 10
OF PRIVATE PROVIDERS; TO PRESCRIBE THE MANNER BY WHICH LOCAL 11
SCHOOL DISTRICTS MUST ACCOUNT FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN 12
PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING AVERAGE DAILY 13
ATTENDANCE; TO REQUIRE THE PROGRAM TO BE JOINTLY ADMINISTERED BY 14
THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE DIVISION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD 15
CARE AND DEVELOPMENT; TO PROVIDE FOR THE EXPANSION OF SCHOOL-BASED 16
PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD AND THE DIVISION TO 17
ESTABLISH A PROCESS TO CALCULATE THE ANNUAL STATEWIDE TUITION RATE 18
FOR PREKINDERGARTEN EDUCATION; TO PROVIDE FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE 19
PROCEDURES PROCESS FOR ENTITIES AGGRIEVED BY ACTIONS OF THE BOARD 20
AND DIVISION; TO REQUIRE ANNUAL REPORTS ON THE PROGRAM AND ANY 21
RECOMMENDATION FOR IMPROVEMENT OR DISCONTINUATION TO THE 22
LEGISLATURE; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 37-21-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE 23
OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED 24
PURPOSES. 25
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 26
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 27
"Mississippi Universal Prekindergarten Program Act of 2026." 28
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SECTION 2. (1) As used in this act, the following words and 29
phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the 30
context clearly indicates otherwise: 31
(a) "Prekindergarten child" means any child who has not 32
entered kindergarten but has attained four (4) years of age on or 33
before September 1 of a school year. 34
(b) "Prekindergarten education" means services designed 35
to provide prekindergarten children with developmentally 36
appropriate early development and learning experiences based on 37
Mississippi's Early Learning Standards. 38
(c) "Prequalified private provider" has the same 39
meaning as prescribed in Section 37-21-51. The term also means a 40
private provider of prekindergarten education that is qualified 41
pursuant to subsection (3) of this section. 42
(2) (a) No fewer than ten (10) hours per week of publicly 43
funded prekindergarten education must be available for thirty-five 44
(35) weeks annually to each prekindergarten child whom a parent or 45
guardian wishes to enroll in an available, prequalified program 46
operated by a public school district or a private provider. 47
(b) If a parent or guardian chooses to enroll a 48
prekindergarten child in an available, prequalified program, then, 49
pursuant to the parent or guardian's choice, the school district 50
of residence shall: 51
(i) Pay tuition pursuant to subsections (4) and 52
(7) of this section upon the request of the parent or guardian to: 53
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1. A prequalified private provider; or 54
2. A public school located outside the school 55
district which operates a prekindergarten program that has been 56
prequalified pursuant to subsection (3) of this section; or 57
(ii) Enroll the child in the prekindergarten 58
education program that it operates. 59
(c) If requested by the parent or guardian of a 60
prekindergarten child, the school district of residence must pay 61
tuition to a prequalified program operated by a private provider 62
or a public school in another district, even if the school 63
district of residence operates a prekindergarten education 64
program. 65
(d) This section may not be construed to require a 66
school district to begin or expand a program if the supply of 67
prequalified private and public providers is insufficient to meet 68
the demand for publicly funded prekindergarten education in any 69
region of the state. However, in collaboration with the State 70
Department of Education and the Mississippi Department of Human 71
Services, the State Early Childhood Advisory Council shall meet 72
with school districts and private providers in the region to 73
develop a regional plan to expand capacity. 74
(3) Pursuant to rules jointly developed and administered by 75
the State Board of Education and the Mississippi Department of 76
Human Services, the State Department of Education and the Division 77
of Early Childhood Care and Development jointly shall determine if 78
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a private or public provider of prekindergarten education is 79
qualified for purposes of this section and shall maintain in a 80
publicly accessible database, a list of prequalified providers. 81
At a minimum, the rules must define the process by which a 82
provider applies for and maintains prequalification status, 83
identify the minimum quality standards for prequalification, and 84
include the following requirements: 85
(a) Accreditation by the National Association for the 86
Education of Young Children (NAEYC); 87
(b) Approval of a plan submitted by a provider which 88
addresses, at a minimum, the following: 89
(i) Voluntary enrollment of children; 90
(ii) Collaboration among prekindergarten providers 91
and other early childhood programs through the establishment of an 92
early learning collaborative; 93
(iii) Qualifications of master teachers, teachers 94
and assistants, which must conform to guidelines in Section 95
37-21-3; 96
(iv) At least fifteen (15) hours of annual 97
professional development for program instructional staff, 98
including professional development in early literacy; 99
(v) The use of state-adopted comprehensive early 100
learning standards; 101
(vi) The use of a research-based curriculum that 102
is designed to prepare students to be ready for kindergarten, with 103
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emphasis in early literacy, and is aligned with the comprehensive 104
early learning standards; 105
(vii) The use of age-appropriate assessments 106
aligned to the comprehensive early learning standards; 107
(viii) Teacher:child ratios of one (1) adult for 108
every ten (10) children with a maximum of twenty (20) children per 109
classroom and a minimum of five (5) children per classroom; 110
(ix) The provision of at least one (1) meal 111
meeting state and federal nutrition guidelines for young children; 112
(x) Plans to screen or refer children for vision, 113
hearing and other health issues; 114
(xi) Parent involvement opportunities; 115
(xii) Plans to serve children with disabilities as 116
indicated under IDEA; 117
(xiii) The number of instructional hours to be 118
provided, which must equal no less than five hundred forty (540) 119
instructional hours per school year for half-day programs and one 120
thousand eighty (1,080) instructional hours per school year for 121
full-day programs; and 122
(xiv) A budget detailing the use of funds for 123
allowed expenses; and 124
(c) For a registered home provider that is not licensed 125
and endorsed in early childhood education or early childhood 126
special education, the provision of regular, active supervision 127
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and training from a teacher who is licensed and endorsed in early 128
childhood education or in early childhood special education. 129
(4) (a) On behalf of a resident prekindergarten child, a 130
school district shall pay tuition for prekindergarten education 131
for ten (10) hours per week for thirty-five (35) weeks annually to 132
a prequalified private provider or to a public school outside the 133
school district that is prequalified pursuant to subsection (3) of 134
this section. The school district shall pay tuition for weeks 135
that are within the school district's academic year. Tuition paid 136
under this section must be at a statewide rate, which may be 137
adjusted regionally, established annually through a process 138
jointly developed and implemented by the State Department of 139
Education and the Mississippi Department of Human Services. A 140
school district shall pay tuition through a request for remission 141
of payment to the Division of Early Childhood Care and Development 142
upon: 143
(i) Receiving notice from the child's parent or 144
guardian that the child is or will be admitted to the 145
prekindergarten education program operated by the prequalified 146
private provider or the other district; and 147
(ii) Concurrent enrollment of the prekindergarten 148
child in the school district of residence for purposes of 149
budgeting and determining average daily attendance. 150
(b) In addition to any direct costs of operating a 151
prekindergarten education program, a school district of residence 152
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shall include anticipated tuition payments and any administrative, 153
quality assurance, quality improvement, transition planning, or 154
other prekindergarten-related costs in its annual budget. 155
(c) The school district of residence may include within 156
its average daily attendance any prekindergarten child for whom it 157
has provided prekindergarten education or on whose behalf it has 158
paid tuition pursuant to this section. 159
(d) A prequalified private provider may receive 160
additional payment directly from the parent or guardian only for 161
prekindergarten education in excess of the hours paid for by the 162
school district pursuant to this section or for child care 163
services, or both. The provider is not bound by the statewide 164
rate established in this subsection when determining the rates it 165
will charge the parent or guardian. 166
(5) The State Superintendent of Public Education and the 167
Executive Director of the Division of Early Childhood Care and 168
Development jointly shall develop and agree to rules, and present 169
them to the State Board of Education for adoption, as follows: 170
(a) To permit private providers that are not 171
prequalified pursuant to subsection (3) of this section to create 172
new or continue existing partnerships with school districts 173
through which the school district provides supports that enable 174
the provider to fulfill the requirements of subsection (3)(b) or 175
(c), and through which the school district may or may not make 176
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in-kind payments as a component of the statewide tuition 177
established under this section. 178
(b) To authorize a school district to begin or expand a 179
school-based prekindergarten education program only upon prior 180
approval obtained through a process jointly overseen by the State 181
Board of Education and the Division of Early Childhood Care and 182
Development, which must be based upon analysis of the number of 183
prekindergarten children residing in the school district and the 184
availability of enrollment opportunities with prequalified private 185
providers in the region. Where the data is not clear or there are 186
other complex considerations, the local superintendent of schools 187
may choose to conduct a community needs assessment. 188
(c) To require the school district to provide 189
opportunities for effective parental participation in the 190
prekindergarten education program. 191
(d) To establish a process by which: 192
(i) A parent or guardian notifies the school 193
district that the prekindergarten child is or will be admitted to 194
a prekindergarten education program not operated by the school 195
district and concurrently enrolls the child in the school district 196
pursuant to subsection (4)(a) of this section; 197
(ii) A school district: 198
1. Pays tuition pursuant to a schedule that 199
does not inhibit the ability of a parent or guardian to enroll a 200
prekindergarten child in a prekindergarten education program or 201
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the ability of a prequalified private provider to maintain 202
financial stability; 203
2. Enters into an agreement with any provider 204
to which it will pay tuition regarding quality assurance, 205
transition and any other matters; and 206
(iii) A provider that has received tuition 207
payments under this section on behalf of a prekindergarten child 208
notifies a school district that the child is no longer enrolled. 209
(e) To establish a process to calculate an annual 210
statewide tuition rate that is based upon the actual cost of 211
delivering ten (10) hours per week of prekindergarten education 212
that meets all established quality standards and to allow for 213
regional adjustments to the rate. 214
(f) To require a school district to include 215
identifiable costs for prekindergarten programs and essential 216
early education services in its annual budgets and reports to the 217
local governing authority. 218
(g) To require a school district to report to the State 219
Department of Education annual expenditures made in support of 220
prekindergarten and education, with distinct figures provided for 221
expenditures made from the State General Fund, from the 222
Mississippi Adequate Education Program Fund and from all other 223
sources, which must be specified. 224
(h) To provide an administrative process for: 225
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(i) A parent, guardian or provider to challenge an 226
action of a school district or the state when the complainant 227
believes that the school district or state is in violation of 228
state statute or rules regarding prekindergarten education; and 229
(ii) A school district to challenge an action of a 230
provider or the state when the school district believes that the 231
provider or the state is in violation of state statute or rules 232
regarding prekindergarten education. 233
(i) To establish a system by which the State Department 234
of Education and Division of Early Childhood Care and Development 235
jointly shall monitor and evaluate prekindergarten education 236
programs to promote optimal outcomes for children and to collect 237
data that will inform future decisions. The department and the 238
division shall report annually to the Legislature in January. At 239
a minimum, the system shall monitor and evaluate: 240
(i) Programmatic details, including the number of 241
children served, the number of private and public programs 242
operated, and the public financial investment made to ensure 243
access to quality prekindergarten education; 244
(ii) The quality of public and private 245
prekindergarten education programs and efforts to ensure 246
continuous quality improvements through mentoring, training and 247
technical assistance; and 248
(iii) The outcomes for children, including school 249
readiness and proficiency in numeracy and literacy. 250
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(j) To establish a process for documenting the progress 251
of children enrolled in prekindergarten education programs and to 252
require public and private providers to use the process to: 253
(i) Help individualize instruction and improve 254
program practice; and 255
(ii) Collect and report child progress data to the 256
State Superintendent of Public Education on an annual basis. 257
(6) This section may not be construed to permit or require 258
payment of public funds to a private provider of prekindergarten 259
education in violation of Section 208 of the Mississippi 260
Constitution of 1890 or in violation of the Establishment Clause 261
of the United States Constitution. 262
(7) (a) Notwithstanding the requirement that a school 263
district pay tuition to any prequalified public or private 264
provider in the state, a school board may choose to limit the 265
geographic boundaries within which the school district shall pay 266
tuition by paying tuition solely to those prequalified providers 267
in which parents and guardians choose to enroll resident 268
prekindergarten children that are located within the school 269
district's "prekindergarten region," as determined in paragraph 270
(b) of this subsection. 271
(b) For purposes of this subsection, upon application 272
from the school board, a school district's prekindergarten region 273
must be determined jointly by the State Department of Education 274
and the Division of Early Childhood Care and Development in 275
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consultation with the school board, private providers of 276
prekindergarten education, parents and guardians of 277
prekindergarten children, and other interested parties pursuant to 278
a process adopted by rule under subsection (5) of this section. A 279
prekindergarten region: 280
(i) May not be smaller than the geographic 281
boundaries of the school district; 282
(ii) Must be based in part upon the estimated 283
number of prekindergarten children residing in the school district 284
and in surrounding districts, the availability of prequalified 285
private and public providers of prekindergarten education, 286
commuting patterns and other region-specific criteria; and 287
(iii) Must be designed to support existing 288
partnerships between the school district and private providers of 289
prekindergarten education. 290
(c) If a school board chooses to pay tuition to 291
providers solely within its prekindergarten region, and if a 292
resident prekindergarten child is unable to access publicly funded 293
prekindergarten education within that region, then the child's 294
parent or guardian may request, and in its discretion, the school 295
district may pay tuition at the statewide rate for a 296
prekindergarten education program operated by a prequalified 297
provider located outside the prekindergarten region. 298
(d) Except for the narrow exception permitting a school 299
board to limit geographic boundaries under paragraph (a) of this 300
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subsection, all other provisions of this section and related rules 301
are applicable. 302
SECTION 3. (1) For purposes of determining the average 303
daily attendance for the fiscal year 2027 budget, the long-term 304
membership of prekindergarten children is the number of 305
prekindergarten children for whom the school district anticipates 306
it will provide prekindergarten education or pay tuition, or both, 307
in fiscal year 2027; and 308
(2) For purposes of determining the average daily attendance 309
for the fiscal year 2028 budget, the long-term membership of 310
prekindergarten children is the total number of prekindergarten 311
children for whom the school district provided prekindergarten 312
education or paid tuition, or both, in fiscal year 2027, adjusted 313
to reflect the difference between the estimated and actual count 314
for that fiscal year. 315
SECTION 4. (1) The State Department of Education and the 316
Division of Early Childhood Care and Development shall review 317
existing quality standards for prekindergarten education programs 318
and may revise established rules and regulations governing 319
prekindergarten education to require higher standards of quality. 320
However, no new standards may take effect earlier than July 1, 321
2028. Changes to the quality standards must be designed to ensure 322
that programs are based on intentional, evidence-based practices 323
that create a developmentally appropriate environment and support 324
the delivery of an engaging program that supports the social, 325
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emotional, intellectual, language, literacy and physical 326
development of prekindergarten children. 327
(2) In January of the 2027, 2028, and 2029 legislative 328
sessions, the State Department of Education and the Division of 329
Early Childhood Care and Development shall report to the House and 330
Senate Committees on Education, the House and Senate Committees on 331
Appropriations, the House Committee on Youth and Family Affairs 332
and the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare regarding the 333
quality of prekindergarten education in the state. 334
(3) The State Department of Education, the Division of Early 335
Childhood Care and Development and the State Early Childhood 336
Advisory Council shall monitor and evaluate access to and 337
enrollment in prekindergarten education programs under Section 2 338
of this act. On or before January 1, 2028, they shall report to 339
the House and Senate Committees on Education, the House and Senate 340
Committees on Appropriations, the House Committee on Ways and 341
Means, and the Senate Committee on Finance regarding their 342
evaluation, conclusions, and any recommendations for amendments to 343
statute or related rule. 344
(4) The State Department of Education and the Division of 345
Early Childhood Care and Development, in consultation with the 346
Mississippi Association of School Superintendents, the Mississippi 347
School Boards Association, the Mississippi Association of 348
Educators and the State Early Childhood Advisory Council, shall 349
develop a detailed proposal outlining the process and criteria by 350
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which the State Department of Education and the Division of Early 351
Childhood Care and Development will determine the prekindergarten 352
region of a school district if requested to do so pursuant to 353
Section 2(7)(b) of this act. The State Department of Education 354
and the Division of Early Childhood Care and Development shall 355
present the proposal to the House and Senate Committees on 356
Education on or before January 1, 2027. The State Department of 357
Education and the Division of Early Childhood Care and Development 358
also shall present any recommendations for amendments to statute, 359
including repeal of or amendments to Section 2(7). 360
SECTION 5. On or before July 1, 2027, the State 361
Superintendent of Public Education shall identify the private 362
prekindergarten education programs to which school districts are 363
paying tuition on behalf of resident prekindergarten children, 364
determine the extent to which any program provides religious 365
prekindergarten education, and establish the steps the agency will 366
take to ensure that public funds are not expended in violation of 367
Section 208 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 or in 368
violation of the Establishment Clause of the United States 369
Constitution. 370
SECTION 6. Section 37-21-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 371
brought forward as follows: 372
37-21-51. (1) As used in this section: 373
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(a) "Preschool or prekindergarten children" means any 374
children who have not entered kindergarten but will have obtained 375
four (4) years of age on or before September 1 of a school year. 376
(b) An "early learning collaborative" is a district or 377
countywide council that writes and submits an application to 378
participate in the voluntary prekindergarten program. An early 379
learning collaborative is comprised, at a minimum, of a public 380
school district and/or a local Head Start affiliate if in 381
existence, private or parochial schools, or one or more licensed 382
child care centers. Agencies or other organizations that work 383
with young children and their families may also participate in the 384
collaborative to provide resources and coordination even if those 385
agencies or organizations are not prekindergarten providers. 386
(c) A "prekindergarten provider" is a public, private 387
or parochial school, licensed child care center or Head Start 388
center that serves prekindergarten children and participates in 389
the voluntary prekindergarten program. 390
(d) A "lead partner" is a public school district or 391
other nonprofit entity with the instructional expertise and 392
operational capacity to manage the early learning collaborative's 393
prekindergarten program as described in the collaborative's 394
approved application for funds. The lead partner serves as the 395
fiscal agent for the collaborative and shall disburse awarded 396
funds in accordance with the collaborative's approved application. 397
The lead partner must facilitate a professional learning community 398
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for the teachers in the prekindergarten program and lead the 399
collaborative. The lead partner ensures that the collaborative 400
adopts and implements curriculum and assessments that align with 401
the comprehensive early learning standards. The public school 402
district shall be the lead partner if no other qualifying lead 403
partner is selected. 404
(e) "Comprehensive early learning standards" are 405
standards adopted by the State Board of Education that address the 406
highest level of fundamental domains of early learning to include, 407
but not be limited to, physical well-being and motor development, 408
social/emotional development, approaches toward learning, language 409
development and cognition and general knowledge. The 410
comprehensive early learning standards shall also include 411
standards for emergent literacy skills, including oral 412
communication, knowledge of print and letters, phonological and 413
phonemic awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension development. 414
(f) An "evidence-based curriculum" is an 415
age-appropriate curriculum that demonstrates a statistically 416
significant effect on improving student outcomes or other relevant 417
outcomes based on: 418
(i) Strong evidence from at least one (1) 419
well-designed and well-implemented experimental study; 420
(ii) Moderate evidence from at least one (1) 421
well-designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental study; or 422
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(iii) Promising evidence from at least one (1) 423
well-designed and well-implemented correlational study with 424
statistical controls for selection bias. 425
(2) To ensure that all children have access to quality early 426
childhood education and development services, the Legislature 427
finds and declares the following: 428
(a) Parents have the primary duty to educate their 429
young preschool children; 430
(b) The State of Mississippi can assist and educate 431
parents in their role as the primary caregivers and educators of 432
young preschool children; 433
(c) There is a need to explore innovative approaches 434
and strategies for aiding parents and families in the education 435
and development of young preschool children; and 436
(d) There exists a patchwork of prekindergarten 437
entities but no coordination of services and there needs to be a 438
coordination of these services. 439
(3) (a) This subsection shall be known and may be cited as 440
the "Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013." 441
(b) Effective with the 2013-2014 school year, the 442
Mississippi State Department of Education shall establish a 443
voluntary prekindergarten program, which shall be a collaboration 444
among the entities providing prekindergarten programs including 445
Head Start, licensed child care facilities and licensed public, 446
parochial and private school prekindergarten programs. This 447
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program shall be implemented no later than the 2014-2015 school 448
year. Enrollment in the prekindergarten program shall be 449
coordinated with the Head Start agencies in the local areas and 450
shall not be permitted to cause a reduction in children served by 451
the Head Start program. Under this program, eligible entities may 452
submit an application for funds to (i) defray the cost of 453
additional and/or more qualified teaching staff, appropriate 454
educational materials and equipment and to improve the quality of 455
educational experiences offered to four-year-old children in early 456
care and education programs, and/or to (ii) extend developmentally 457
appropriate education services at such programs currently serving 458
four-year-old children to include practices of high quality 459
instruction, and to (iii) administer, implement, monitor and 460
evaluate the programs, and to (iv) defray the cost of professional 461
development and age-appropriate child assessment. 462
(c) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated 463
therefor, the State Department of Education shall administer the 464
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the voluntary 465
prekindergarten program, including awards and the application 466
process. 467
(i) The department shall establish a rigorous and 468
transparent application process for the awarding of funds. Lead 469
partners shall submit the applications on behalf of their early 470
learning collaborative. 471
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(ii) The department will establish monitoring 472
policies and procedures that, at a minimum, will include at least 473
one (1) site visit a year. 474
(iii) The department will provide technical 475
assistance to collaboratives and their providers to improve the 476
quality of prekindergarten programs. Technical assistance may 477
include classroom-embedded support for teachers and assistant 478
teachers. 479
(iv) The department will evaluate the 480
effectiveness of each early childhood collaborative and each 481
prekindergarten provider. If the State Department of Education 482
adopts a statewide kindergarten screening that assesses the 483
readiness of each student for kindergarten, the State Department 484
of Education shall adopt a minimum rate of readiness that each 485
prekindergarten provider must meet in order to remain eligible for 486
prekindergarten program funds. Each parent who enrolls his or her 487
child in the prekindergarten program must submit the child for the 488
statewide kindergarten screening, regardless of whether the child 489
is admitted to kindergarten in a public school. 490
(d) Prekindergarten program funds shall be awarded to 491
early childhood collaboratives whose proposed programs meet the 492
program criteria. The criteria shall include: 493
(i) Voluntary enrollment of children; 494
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(ii) Collaboration among prekindergarten providers 495
and other early childhood programs through the establishment of an 496
early learning collaborative; 497
(iii) Qualifications of master teachers, teachers 498
and assistants, which must conform to guidelines in Section 499
37-21-3; 500
(iv) At least fifteen (15) hours of annual 501
professional development for program instructional staff, 502
including professional development in early literacy, and 503
individualized professional development plans for all teachers and 504
teaching assistants supplemented by classroom-embedded support on 505
an as-needed basis; 506
(v) The use of state-adopted comprehensive early 507
learning standards; 508
(vi) The use of a curriculum based on strong 509
evidence as defined in subsection (1)(f)(i) of this section and 510
aligned with the comprehensive early learning standards; 511
(vii) The use of a curriculum based on moderate 512
evidence as defined in subsection (1)(f)(ii) of this section and 513
aligned with the comprehensive early learning standards if no 514
strong-evidence curriculum is available; 515
(viii) The use of a curriculum based on promising 516
evidence as defined in subsection (1)(f)(iii) of this section and 517
aligned with the comprehensive early learning standards if no 518
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strong-evidence curriculum or moderate-evidence curriculum is 519
available; 520
(ix) The use of age-appropriate assessments 521
aligned to the comprehensive early learning standards; 522
(x) Teacher/child ratios of one (1) adult for 523
every ten (10) children with a maximum of twenty (20) children per 524
classroom and a minimum of five (5) children per classroom; 525
(xi) The provision of at least one (1) meal 526
meeting state and federal nutrition guidelines for young children; 527
(xii) Plans to screen and/or refer children for 528
vision, hearing and other health issues; 529
(xiii) Family engagement opportunities; 530
(xiv) Plans to serve children with disabilities as 531
indicated under IDEA; 532
(xv) The number of instructional hours to be 533
provided, which shall equal no less than five hundred forty (540) 534
instructional hours per school year for half-day programs and one 535
thousand eighty (1,080) instructional hours per school year for 536
full-day programs; and 537
(xvi) A budget detailing the use of funds for 538
allowed expenses. 539
Participating child care centers shall: (a) meet state child 540
care facility licensure requirements unless exempted under Section 541
43-20-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, and (b) select and utilize a 542
nationally recognized assessment tool, approved by the State 543
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Department of Education, designed to document classroom quality, 544
which must be in place not later than July 1, 2016, as certified 545
by the State Department of Education. 546
Within the prekindergarten program, a prekindergarten 547
provider must comply with the antidiscrimination requirements 548
applicable to public schools. A prekindergarten provider may not 549
discriminate against a parent or child, including the refusal to 550
admit a child for enrollment in the prekindergarten program, in 551
violation of these antidiscrimination requirements. However, a 552
prekindergarten provider may refuse to admit a child based on the 553
provider's standard eligibility guidelines, provided that these 554
guidelines do not violate the antidiscrimination requirements. 555
Consistent with the Legislature's recognition of the primacy of a 556
parent's role in the education of a preschool-age child and the 557
related recognition of the state in assisting and educating 558
parents in that role, if the State Department of Education adopts 559
a statewide kindergarten screening that assesses the readiness of 560
each student for kindergarten, the State Department of Education 561
shall recognize each child's unique pattern of development when 562
adopting a minimum rate of readiness that prekindergarten 563
providers must meet in order to remain eligible for 564
prekindergarten program funds. Each parent who enrolls his or her 565
child in the prekindergarten program may submit the child for the 566
statewide kindergarten screening, regardless of whether the child 567
is admitted to kindergarten in a public school. 568
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The State Department of Education may add program criteria 569
not inconsistent with these requirements and shall develop 570
policies and procedures to implement and enforce these criteria. 571
(e) The State Department of Education shall ensure that 572
early learning collaboratives provide each parent enrolling a 573
child in the voluntary prekindergarten program with a profile of 574
every prekindergarten provider participating in the 575
collaborative's geographic catchment area. The State Department 576
of Education shall prescribe the information to be included in 577
each profile as well as the format of the profiles. At a minimum, 578
the profiles must include the prekindergarten provider's services, 579
curriculum, instructor credentials and instructor-to-student 580
ratio. 581
(f) A teacher, assistant teacher or other employee 582
whose salary and fringe benefits are paid from state funds under 583
this act shall only be classified as a state or local school 584
district employee eligible for state health insurance benefits or 585
membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System, if the 586
person's employer is already an agency or instrumentality of the 587
state, such as a school district, and the employee would be 588
eligible for such benefits in the normal course of business. 589
(g) Funding shall be provided for this program 590
beginning with the 2014 fiscal year subject to appropriation by 591
the Legislature as provided in paragraph (h) of this subsection. 592
The department shall make an annual report to the Legislature and 593
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the Governor regarding program operations and outcomes. Every 594
three (3) years, with the first report due July 1, 2023, the 595
department shall provide to the Legislature and the Governor a 596
rigorous evaluation of program effectiveness using longitudinal 597
data to measure short-term and long-term effects, including both 598
achievement and nonachievement effects. After each three-year 599
report, the PEER Committee shall review the three-year report and 600
the intervening annual reports and submit an independent summary 601
of its findings prior to the next legislative session. The 602
short-term and long-term effects shall include, at a minimum, the 603
following: 604
(i) Kindergarten readiness; 605
(ii) English Language arts proficiency in grades 3 606
through 8; 607
(iii) Math proficiency in grades 3 through 8; 608
(iv) Science proficiency in grades 5 and 8; 609
(v) Disciplinary incidents; 610
(vi) Chronic absenteeism; 611
(vii) On-time graduation rate; 612
(viii) College enrollment; 613
(ix) Grade retention; and 614
(x) Special education services/exits. 615
(h) (i) The Legislature shall appropriate funds to 616
implement the Early Education Collaborative Act of 2013 on a 617
phased-in basis as follows: 618
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1. The first phase shall be based on an 619
annual state appropriation of not more than Eight Million Dollars 620
($8,000,000.00) and shall serve approximately three thousand five 621
hundred (3,500) children through five (5) to eight (8) early 622
learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers; 623
2. The second phase shall be based on an 624
annual state appropriation of not more than Sixteen Million 625
Dollars ($16,000,000.00) and shall serve approximately seven 626
thousand (7,000) children through ten (10) to fifteen (15) early 627
learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers; 628
3. The third phase shall be based on an 629
annual state appropriation of not more than Thirty-three Million 630
Nine Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($33,950,000.00) and shall 631
serve approximately fifteen thousand (15,000) children through 632
twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) early learning collaboratives and 633
their prekindergarten providers. 634
(ii) Future phases shall be based on interest in 635
the program and the effectiveness of the program as determined by 636
the school readiness of participants. Each phase shall last for 637
at least three (3) years, but no more than five (5) years. The 638
State Department of Education shall determine when to move to a 639
new phase of the program, within the timeline provided herein. 640
(iii) Funding shall be provided to early learning 641
collaboratives on the basis of a minimum of Two Thousand Five 642
Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) per student in a full-day program and 643
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a minimum of One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($1,250.00) 644
per student in a half-day program proposed in the collaborative's 645
approved application. Once an early learning collaborative's plan 646
is approved and funded, the collaborative and/or its 647
prekindergarten providers shall receive funds on an ongoing basis 648
unless the collaborative and/or its prekindergarten providers no 649
longer meet the criteria to participate in the program. 650
(iv) Early learning collaboratives shall match 651
state funds on a 1:1 basis. Local matching funds may include 652
local tax dollars, federal dollars as allowed, parent tuition, 653
philanthropic contributions, or in-kind donations of facilities, 654
equipment and services required as part of the program such as 655
food service or health screenings. 656
(v) The State Department of Education shall 657
reserve no more than five percent (5%) of the appropriation in any 658
year for administrative costs. 659
(vi) In the initial phase of implementation, the 660
State Department of Education shall award state funds under the 661
Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013 based on a community's 662
capacity, commitment and need. To determine capacity, commitment 663
and need, the State Department of Education shall require evidence 664
of existing strong local collaborations of early education 665
stakeholders. Such evidence shall include, but not be limited to, 666
collaborations resulting from any of the following: 667
1. Participation in Excel By 5; 668
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2. Participation in Supporting Partnerships 669
to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK); 670
3. Participation in the Gilmore Early 671
Learning Initiative (GELI); or 672
4. Participation in the Mississippi Building 673
Blocks. 674
In determining community need, the department shall consider 675
low academic achievement within the public school districts 676
participating in an applicant early learning collaborative and the 677
number and percentage of children without quality prekindergarten 678
options. 679
(vii) All authority granted to the State 680
Department of Education to establish program rules is subject to 681
the public processes established in the provisions of the 682
Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, including, but not 683
limited to, filing notice of the proposed rules, public hearings 684
and any economic impact statement with the Office of the Secretary 685
of State before presenting such information to the State Board of 686
Education for final approval. 687
SECTION 7. If any provision of Sections 1 through 5 of this 688
act, or the application of a provision to any person or 689
circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder of this act, and the 690
application of the provision to persons or circumstances other 691
than those to which it is held invalid, are not affected. 692
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ST: "Mississippi Universal Prekindergarten
Program Act of 2026"; create.
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from 693
and after July 1, 2026. 694