Early learning collaboratives; transfer State Invested Pre-K (SIP) Program monies and participants to.

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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Wiggins

SENATE BILL NO. 2482

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-21-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO PROVIDE THAT, ON JULY 1, 2026, THE STATE-INVESTED PRE-K (SIP) 2
PROGRAM SHALL BE TERMINATED, ALL MONIES ALLOCATED THERETO SHALL BE 3
REALLOCATED TO THE EARLY LEARNING COLLABORATIVE PROGRAM, AND ALL 4
SIP PARTICIPANTS SHALL BE ENROLLED AUTOMATICALLY IN THE EARLY 5
LEARNING COLLABORATIVE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. Section 37-21-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 8
amended as follows: 9
37-21-51. (1) As used in this section: 10
(a) "Preschool or prekindergarten children" means any 11
children who have not entered kindergarten but will have obtained 12
four (4) years of age on or before September 1 of a school year. 13
(b) An "early learning collaborative" is a district or 14
countywide council that writes and submits an application to 15
participate in the voluntary prekindergarten program. An early 16
learning collaborative is comprised, at a minimum, of a public 17
school district and/or a local Head Start affiliate if in 18
existence, private or parochial schools, or one or more licensed 19
child care centers. Agencies or other organizations that work 20
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with young children and their families may also participate in the 21
collaborative to provide resources and coordination even if those 22
agencies or organizations are not prekindergarten providers. 23
(c) A "prekindergarten provider" is a public, private 24
or parochial school, licensed child care center or Head Start 25
center that serves prekindergarten children and participates in 26
the voluntary prekindergarten program. 27
(d) A "lead partner" is a public school district or 28
other nonprofit entity with the instructional expertise and 29
operational capacity to manage the early learning collaborative's 30
prekindergarten program as described in the collaborative's 31
approved application for funds. The lead partner serves as the 32
fiscal agent for the collaborative and shall disburse awarded 33
funds in accordance with the collaborative's approved application. 34
The lead partner must facilitate a professional learning community 35
for the teachers in the prekindergarten program and lead the 36
collaborative. The lead partner ensures that the collaborative 37
adopts and implements curriculum and assessments that align with 38
the comprehensive early learning standards. The public school 39
district shall be the lead partner if no other qualifying lead 40
partner is selected. 41
(e) "Comprehensive early learning standards" are 42
standards adopted by the State Board of Education that address the 43
highest level of fundamental domains of early learning to include, 44
but not be limited to, physical well-being and motor development, 45
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social/emotional development, approaches toward learning, language 46
development and cognition and general knowledge. The 47
comprehensive early learning standards shall also include 48
standards for emergent literacy skills, including oral 49
communication, knowledge of print and letters, phonological and 50
phonemic awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension development. 51
(f) An "evidence-based curriculum" is an 52
age-appropriate curriculum that demonstrates a statistically 53
significant effect on improving student outcomes or other relevant 54
outcomes based on: 55
(i) Strong evidence from at least one (1) 56
well-designed and well-implemented experimental study; 57
(ii) Moderate evidence from at least one (1) 58
well-designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental study; or 59
(iii) Promising evidence from at least one (1) 60
well-designed and well-implemented correlational study with 61
statistical controls for selection bias. 62
(2) To ensure that all children have access to quality early 63
childhood education and development services, the Legislature 64
finds and declares the following: 65
(a) Parents have the primary duty to educate their 66
young preschool children; 67
(b) The State of Mississippi can assist and educate 68
parents in their role as the primary caregivers and educators of 69
young preschool children; 70
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(c) There is a need to explore innovative approaches 71
and strategies for aiding parents and families in the education 72
and development of young preschool children; and 73
(d) There exists a patchwork of prekindergarten 74
entities but no coordination of services and there needs to be a 75
coordination of these services. 76
(3) (a) This subsection shall be known and may be cited as 77
the "Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013." 78
(b) Effective with the 2013-2014 school year, the 79
Mississippi State Department of Education shall establish a 80
voluntary prekindergarten program, which shall be a collaboration 81
among the entities providing prekindergarten programs including 82
Head Start, licensed child care facilities and licensed public, 83
parochial and private school prekindergarten programs. This 84
program shall be implemented no later than the 2014-2015 school 85
year. Enrollment in the prekindergarten program shall be 86
coordinated with the Head Start agencies in the local areas and 87
shall not be permitted to cause a reduction in children served by 88
the Head Start program. Under this program, eligible entities may 89
submit an application for funds to (i) defray the cost of 90
additional and/or more qualified teaching staff, appropriate 91
educational materials and equipment and to improve the quality of 92
educational experiences offered to four-year-old children in early 93
care and education programs, and/or to (ii) extend developmentally 94
appropriate education services at such programs currently serving 95
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four-year-old children to include practices of high quality 96
instruction, and to (iii) administer, implement, monitor and 97
evaluate the programs, and to (iv) defray the cost of professional 98
development and age-appropriate child assessment. 99
(c) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated 100
therefor, the State Department of Education shall administer the 101
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the voluntary 102
prekindergarten program, including awards and the application 103
process. 104
(i) The department shall establish a rigorous and 105
transparent application process for the awarding of funds. Lead 106
partners shall submit the applications on behalf of their early 107
learning collaborative. 108
(ii) The department will establish monitoring 109
policies and procedures that, at a minimum, will include at least 110
one (1) site visit a year. 111
(iii) The department will provide technical 112
assistance to collaboratives and their providers to improve the 113
quality of prekindergarten programs. Technical assistance may 114
include classroom-embedded support for teachers and assistant 115
teachers. 116
(iv) The department will evaluate the 117
effectiveness of each early childhood collaborative and each 118
prekindergarten provider. If the State Department of Education 119
adopts a statewide kindergarten screening that assesses the 120
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readiness of each student for kindergarten, the State Department 121
of Education shall adopt a minimum rate of readiness that each 122
prekindergarten provider must meet in order to remain eligible for 123
prekindergarten program funds. Each parent who enrolls his or her 124
child in the prekindergarten program must submit the child for the 125
statewide kindergarten screening, regardless of whether the child 126
is admitted to kindergarten in a public school. 127
(d) Prekindergarten program funds shall be awarded to 128
early childhood collaboratives whose proposed programs meet the 129
program criteria. The criteria shall include: 130
(i) Voluntary enrollment of children; 131
(ii) Collaboration among prekindergarten providers 132
and other early childhood programs through the establishment of an 133
early learning collaborative; 134
(iii) Qualifications of master teachers, teachers 135
and assistants, which must conform to guidelines in Section 136
37-21-3; 137
(iv) At least fifteen (15) hours of annual 138
professional development for program instructional staff, 139
including professional development in early literacy, and 140
individualized professional development plans for all teachers and 141
teaching assistants supplemented by classroom-embedded support on 142
an as-needed basis; 143
(v) The use of state-adopted comprehensive early 144
learning standards; 145
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(vi) The use of a curriculum based on strong 146
evidence as defined in subsection (1)(f)(i) of this section and 147
aligned with the comprehensive early learning standards; 148
(vii) The use of a curriculum based on moderate 149
evidence as defined in subsection (1)(f)(ii) of this section and 150
aligned with the comprehensive early learning standards if no 151
strong-evidence curriculum is available; 152
(viii) The use of a curriculum based on promising 153
evidence as defined in subsection (1)(f)(iii) of this section and 154
aligned with the comprehensive early learning standards if no 155
strong-evidence curriculum or moderate-evidence curriculum is 156
available; 157
(ix) The use of age-appropriate assessments 158
aligned to the comprehensive early learning standards; 159
(x) Teacher/child ratios of one (1) adult for 160
every ten (10) children with a maximum of twenty (20) children per 161
classroom and a minimum of five (5) children per classroom; 162
(xi) The provision of at least one (1) meal 163
meeting state and federal nutrition guidelines for young children; 164
(xii) Plans to screen and/or refer children for 165
vision, hearing and other health issues; 166
(xiii) Family engagement opportunities; 167
(xiv) Plans to serve children with disabilities as 168
indicated under IDEA; 169
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(xv) The number of instructional hours to be 170
provided, which shall equal no less than five hundred forty (540) 171
instructional hours per school year for half-day programs and one 172
thousand eighty (1,080) instructional hours per school year for 173
full-day programs; and 174
(xvi) A budget detailing the use of funds for 175
allowed expenses. 176
Participating child care centers shall: (a) meet state child 177
care facility licensure requirements unless exempted under Section 178
43-20-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, and (b) select and utilize a 179
nationally recognized assessment tool, approved by the State 180
Department of Education, designed to document classroom quality, 181
which must be in place not later than July 1, 2016, as certified 182
by the State Department of Education. 183
Within the prekindergarten program, a prekindergarten 184
provider must comply with the antidiscrimination requirements 185
applicable to public schools. A prekindergarten provider may not 186
discriminate against a parent or child, including the refusal to 187
admit a child for enrollment in the prekindergarten program, in 188
violation of these antidiscrimination requirements. However, a 189
prekindergarten provider may refuse to admit a child based on the 190
provider's standard eligibility guidelines, provided that these 191
guidelines do not violate the antidiscrimination requirements. 192
Consistent with the Legislature's recognition of the primacy of a 193
parent's role in the education of a preschool-age child and the 194
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related recognition of the state in assisting and educating 195
parents in that role, if the State Department of Education adopts 196
a statewide kindergarten screening that assesses the readiness of 197
each student for kindergarten, the State Department of Education 198
shall recognize each child's unique pattern of development when 199
adopting a minimum rate of readiness that prekindergarten 200
providers must meet in order to remain eligible for 201
prekindergarten program funds. Each parent who enrolls his or her 202
child in the prekindergarten program may submit the child for the 203
statewide kindergarten screening, regardless of whether the child 204
is admitted to kindergarten in a public school. 205
The State Department of Education may add program criteria 206
not inconsistent with these requirements and shall develop 207
policies and procedures to implement and enforce these criteria. 208
(e) The State Department of Education shall ensure that 209
early learning collaboratives provide each parent enrolling a 210
child in the voluntary prekindergarten program with a profile of 211
every prekindergarten provider participating in the 212
collaborative's geographic catchment area. The State Department 213
of Education shall prescribe the information to be included in 214
each profile as well as the format of the profiles. At a minimum, 215
the profiles must include the prekindergarten provider's services, 216
curriculum, instructor credentials and instructor-to-student 217
ratio. 218
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(f) A teacher, assistant teacher or other employee 219
whose salary and fringe benefits are paid from state funds under 220
this act shall only be classified as a state or local school 221
district employee eligible for state health insurance benefits or 222
membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System, if the 223
person's employer is already an agency or instrumentality of the 224
state, such as a school district, and the employee would be 225
eligible for such benefits in the normal course of business. 226
(g) Funding shall be provided for this program 227
beginning with the 2014 fiscal year subject to appropriation by 228
the Legislature as provided in paragraph (h) of this subsection. 229
The department shall make an annual report to the Legislature and 230
the Governor regarding program operations and outcomes. Every 231
three (3) years, with the first report due July 1, 2023, the 232
department shall provide to the Legislature and the Governor a 233
rigorous evaluation of program effectiveness using longitudinal 234
data to measure short-term and long-term effects, including both 235
achievement and nonachievement effects. After each three-year 236
report, the PEER Committee shall review the three-year report and 237
the intervening annual reports and submit an independent summary 238
of its findings prior to the next legislative session. The 239
short-term and long-term effects shall include, at a minimum, the 240
following: 241
(i) Kindergarten readiness; 242
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(ii) English Language arts proficiency in grades 3 243
through 8; 244
(iii) Math proficiency in grades 3 through 8; 245
(iv) Science proficiency in grades 5 and 8; 246
(v) Disciplinary incidents; 247
(vi) Chronic absenteeism; 248
(vii) On-time graduation rate; 249
(viii) College enrollment; 250
(ix) Grade retention; and 251
(x) Special education services/exits. 252
(h) (i) The Legislature shall appropriate funds to 253
implement the Early Education Collaborative Act of 2013 on a 254
phased-in basis as follows: 255
1. The first phase shall be based on an 256
annual state appropriation of not more than Eight Million Dollars 257
($8,000,000.00) and shall serve approximately three thousand five 258
hundred (3,500) children through five (5) to eight (8) early 259
learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers; 260
2. The second phase shall be based on an 261
annual state appropriation of not more than Sixteen Million 262
Dollars ($16,000,000.00) and shall serve approximately seven 263
thousand (7,000) children through ten (10) to fifteen (15) early 264
learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers; 265
3. The third phase shall be based on an 266
annual state appropriation of not more than Thirty-three Million 267
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Nine Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($33,950,000.00) and shall 268
serve approximately fifteen thousand (15,000) children through 269
twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) early learning collaboratives and 270
their prekindergarten providers. 271
(ii) Future phases shall be based on interest in 272
the program and the effectiveness of the program as determined by 273
the school readiness of participants. Each phase shall last for 274
at least three (3) years, but no more than five (5) years. The 275
State Department of Education shall determine when to move to a 276
new phase of the program, within the timeline provided herein. 277
(iii) Funding shall be provided to early learning 278
collaboratives on the basis of a minimum of Two Thousand Five 279
Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) per student in a full-day program and 280
a minimum of One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($1,250.00) 281
per student in a half-day program proposed in the collaborative's 282
approved application. Once an early learning collaborative's plan 283
is approved and funded, the collaborative and/or its 284
prekindergarten providers shall receive funds on an ongoing basis 285
unless the collaborative and/or its prekindergarten providers no 286
longer meet the criteria to participate in the program. 287
(iv) Early learning collaboratives shall match 288
state funds on a 1:1 basis. Local matching funds may include 289
local tax dollars, federal dollars as allowed, parent tuition, 290
philanthropic contributions, or in-kind donations of facilities, 291
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equipment and services required as part of the program such as 292
food service or health screenings. 293
(v) The State Department of Education shall 294
reserve no more than five percent (5%) of the appropriation in any 295
year for administrative costs. 296
(vi) In the initial phase of implementation, the 297
State Department of Education shall award state funds under the 298
Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013 based on a community's 299
capacity, commitment and need. To determine capacity, commitment 300
and need, the State Department of Education shall require evidence 301
of existing strong local collaborations of early education 302
stakeholders. Such evidence shall include, but not be limited to, 303
collaborations resulting from any of the following: 304
1. Participation in Excel By 5; 305
2. Participation in Supporting Partnerships 306
to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK); 307
3. Participation in the Gilmore Early 308
Learning Initiative (GELI); or 309
4. Participation in the Mississippi Building 310
Blocks. 311
In determining community need, the department shall consider 312
low academic achievement within the public school districts 313
participating in an applicant early learning collaborative and the 314
number and percentage of children without quality prekindergarten 315
options. 316
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ST: Early learning collaboratives; transfer
State Invested Pre-K (SIP) Program monies and
participants to.
(vii) On July 1, 2026, the State-Invested Pre-K 317
(SIP) Program shall be terminated, all monies allocated thereto 318
shall be reallocated to the early learning collaborative program, 319
and all SIP participants shall be enrolled automatically in the 320
early learning collaborative program. 321
( * * *viii) All authority granted to the State 322
Department of Education to establish program rules is subject to 323
the public processes established in the provisions of the 324
Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, including, but not 325
limited to, filing notice of the proposed rules, public hearings 326
and any economic impact statement with the Office of the Secretary 327
of State before presenting such information to the State Board of 328
Education for final approval. 329
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 330
and after July 1, 2026. 331