Transition to kindergarten

AN ACT Relating to transition to kindergarten programs; amending 1
RCW 28A.225.160, 43.216.085, and 43.216.655; adding new sections to 2
chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.216 RCW; 3
creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that high 6
quality early learning is the best way to ensure children have the 7
social-emotional skills and other skills they need to enter 8
kindergarten ready to learn. Unfortunately, too many children across 9
the state do not have access to high quality early learning. 10
(2) The legislature recognizes that the early childhood education 11
and assistance program, the state's preschool program, is expanding 12
and will become an entitlement for eligible children in the year 13
2026. The fair start for kids act, enacted in 2021, is helping to 14
expand access to more affordable, high quality child care; and early 15
learning and federal early learning programs serve thousands of 16
families across the state. 17
(3) However, the legislature finds that these early learning 18
programs do not yet reach all families in need. As a result, there 19
are children about to enter kindergarten who need an opportunity for 20
high quality preschool in order to be successful kindergarten 21
H-0571.1
HOUSE BILL 1450
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Santos, Rude, Schmidt, Wylie, Parshley, Ortiz-
Self, Nance, Pollet, and Tharinger
Read first time 01/21/25. Referred to Committee on Education.
p. 1 HB 1450
students in the following school year. The legislature recognizes 1
that school districts, especially those in communities with early 2
learning deserts, can and do reach children who need these 3
opportunities. Some school districts and charter schools have 4
attempted to address this gap by creating programs referred to as 5
transitional kindergarten using allocations appropriated for the 6
state's program of basic education. These extrastatutory programs are 7
established by school districts and charter schools on an ad hoc 8
basis and not all of the programs referred to as transitional 9
kindergarten meet the high quality age-appropriate early learning 10
standards that other state-funded early learning programs are 11
required to meet. 12
(4) Therefore, the legislature intends to establish a transition 13
to kindergarten program that meets early learning standards in lieu 14
of transitional kindergarten programs and to help fill in gaps in 15
access to high quality early learning for eligible children, 16
especially in early learning deserts. School district transitional 17
kindergarten programs in operation in 2025 will be converted to 18
school district transition to kindergarten programs for eligible 19
students by August 31, 2026, provided that the standards set forth in 20
this act are met. The legislature intends to provide state funding, 21
which is separate from and in addition to the state basic education 22
allocation, for the transition to kindergarten program so that it can 23
be offered at no charge to eligible students, and to prohibit the use 24
of state basic education allocations for this program. The 25
legislature further intends to clarify that these transition to 26
kindergarten programs, which are offered at the school district's 27
option, are not part of the state's required minimum instructional 28
program of basic education and do not constitute enrollments for 29
purposes of generating state basic education funding allocations. The 30
legislature also intends to: Require that the early learning 31
ecosystem work together; promote coordinated systems of comprehensive 32
early learning services; maximize efficient use of state, federal, 33
and local resources; and ensure that children and families get the 34
early learning services they need in the most appropriate setting.35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 36
RCW to read as follows: 37
(1) Establishment. 38
p. 2 HB 1450
(a) The transition to kindergarten program is established to 1
assist eligible children in need of additional preparation to be 2
successful kindergarten students in the following school year. The 3
transition to kindergarten program is not part of the state's 4
instructional program of basic education under RCW 28A.150.220.5
(b) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 6
administer the transition to kindergarten program as required by this 7
section. 8
(2) Authorizations and approvals . The office of the 9
superintendent of public instruction may authorize school districts 10
to offer a transition to kindergarten program, approve transition to 11
kindergarten program sites at one or more of an authorized school 12
district's schools, and cap eligible child enrollment for each 13
authorized school district as required by this subsection (2). The 14
office of the superintendent of public instruction must authorize any 15
school district offering a program referred to as transitional 16
kindergarten during the 2025-26 school year that is converting to a 17
transition to kindergarten program under the conversion plan adopted 18
by the office of the superintendent of public instruction under 19
section 3 of this act, provided the school district meets the 20
requirements of subsection (3) of this section by September 1, 2026, 21
or earlier if required by the office. 22
(a) By December 31, 2025, the office of the superintendent of 23
public instruction must develop and begin implementing a process for 24
school districts to apply to operate or expand a transition to 25
kindergarten program. At a minimum, the application must:26
(i) Specify the number of transition to kindergarten program 27
sites the school district is applying for and the intended number of 28
eligible children to be enrolled at each site; 29
(ii) Describe the screening process or other instruments that the 30
school district will use to individually determine whether an 31
eligible child has a developmental delay or otherwise needs 32
additional preparation to be successful in kindergarten in the 33
following school year. Eligible children who are on the waitlist for 34
early childhood education and assistance program sites are not 35
required to be screened; and 36
(iii) Outline the school district's plan for coordinated 37
recruitment and enrollment with other early learning program 38
providers, including its proposed memoranda of understanding.39
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(b)(i) In order to distribute high quality early learning 1
programs across communities in an equitable and effective manner, the 2
following activities must be coordinated with the department of 3
children, youth, and families, in consideration of the items listed 4
in (b)(ii) of this subsection (2): Authorization of school districts 5
to offer a transition to kindergarten program; approval of transition 6
to kindergarten program sites at one or more of an authorized school 7
district's schools; and capping eligible child enrollment. In 8
addition, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must 9
limit the number of authorized school districts, approved transition 10
to kindergarten program sites, and enrolled eligible children as 11
required by the omnibus operating appropriations act.12
(ii) The activities listed in (b)(i) of this subsection (2) must 13
be conducted in consideration of: The existing availability of the 14
early childhood education and assistance programs, head start 15
programs, and licensed child care providers; planned expansion of 16
early childhood education and assistance program sites and 17
eligibility criteria; and the state-funded early childhood education 18
and assistance program entitlement required in RCW 43.216.556.19
(3) Operations. Authorized school districts operating a 20
transition to kindergarten program must meet the requirements in this 21
subsection (3). 22
(a) Except for school districts offering a program referred to as 23
transitional kindergarten during the 2025-26 school year that are 24
converting to a transition to kindergarten program under the 25
conversion plan adopted by the office of the superintendent of public 26
instruction under section 3 of this act, authorized school districts 27
must engage in a planning year before operating a transition to 28
kindergarten program site, during which it must prepare for 29
compliance with applicable rules. 30
(b) Authorized school districts may not charge tuition or other 31
fees to state-funded eligible children for enrollment in a transition 32
to kindergarten program. 33
(c) Authorized school districts must avoid adversely impacting 34
enrollment in other high quality early learning programs by using a 35
coordinated recruitment and enrollment plan to prioritize eligible 36
children for enrollment in the transition to kindergarten program in 37
the following order: 38
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(i) Eligible children on the waitlist for, but not scheduled for 1
enrollment in, an early childhood education and assistance program 2
site; then 3
(ii) Eligible children who have been individually determined 4
through a screening process or other instruments to have a 5
developmental delay or otherwise need additional preparation to be 6
successful in kindergarten in the following school year with priority 7
to the eldest children and the children with the lowest household 8
incomes. 9
(d) Authorized school districts must participate in the early 10
achievers program established under RCW 43.216.085.11
(e) Authorized school districts must require that transition to 12
kindergarten program sites use developmentally appropriate curricula 13
and implement the following elements in alignment with early 14
childhood education and assistance program performance standards: 15
Classroom environment; pedagogical approach; and safety measures.16
(f) Each transition to kindergarten program classroom must be 17
staffed with a teacher who holds a valid Washington teacher 18
certificate and who either: 19
(i) Holds an early childhood education endorsement or an early 20
childhood special education endorsement; or 21
(ii) Holds an elementary education endorsement and, within five 22
years of initial assignment to the transition to kindergarten 23
program, completes at least 24 college credits, or 60 clock hours, 24
related to the state early childhood education core competencies 25
established by the department of children, youth, and families.26
(g) Authorized school districts are prohibited from establishing 27
a policy of excluding an eligible child due only to the presence of a 28
disability. 29
(h) Authorized school districts must work in collaboration with 30
early learning partners to promote coordinated systems of 31
comprehensive early childhood services. 32
(i) Nothing in this section prohibits authorized school districts 33
from blending or colocating early learning programs, such as the 34
transition to kindergarten program, the early childhood education and 35
assistance program, the federal head start program, or private pay 36
programs. 37
(4) Funding. 38
(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must 39
distribute to authorized school districts an amount per eligible 40
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child enrolled in a transition to kindergarten program that is 1
equivalent to the amount per child enrolled in a school day class of 2
an early childhood education and assistance program, divided by 3
1.091, and multiplied by the school district's regionalization factor 4
under RCW 28A.150.412 identified in the omnibus appropriations act, 5
excluding the experience factor. The distributed amount must be 6
prorated to account for enrollment in a transition to kindergarten 7
program that is less than a full school day or a full school year.8
(b) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must 9
submit to the legislature by each December 1st a report that includes 10
the following data: (i) The number of state-funded eligible children 11
enrolled in transition to kindergarten programs operated by 12
authorized school districts in the current school year; and (ii) the 13
estimated number of eligible children that authorized school 14
districts intend to enroll in the following school year.15
(5) Reapprovals and reauthorizations . The office of the 16
superintendent of public instruction must establish processes to 17
reapprove transition to kindergarten program sites and reauthorize 18
school districts, periodically and, at a minimum, as required in the 19
omnibus operating appropriations act. If an authorized school 20
district or approved transition to kindergarten program site will be 21
discontinued or otherwise not provided with state funding, the office 22
of the superintendent of public instruction must provide the 23
authorized school district with at least one year of notice. If an 24
authorized school district is required to complete remedial 25
activities under section 9 of this act, the initiation of the 26
remedial period serves as the one year of notice that the authorized 27
school district or approved transition to kindergarten program site 28
will be discontinued or otherwise not provided with state funding.29
(6) Resources. The office of the superintendent of public 30
instruction must collaborate with the department of children, youth, 31
and families to develop, and make publicly available, a model 32
memorandum of understanding between authorized school districts and 33
other early learning program providers. The model language must 34
include a process for resolving local concerns between early learning 35
program providers, including school districts. 36
(7) Rules. The office of the superintendent of public instruction 37
shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW for the authorization of, 38
the administration of, and the allocation of state funding for the 39
transition to kindergarten program. Where applicable, the office of 40
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the superintendent of public instruction shall collaborate with the 1
department of children, youth, and families in the development of the 2
rules. 3
(8) Definitions. The definitions in this subsection apply 4
throughout this section unless the context clearly requires 5
otherwise. 6
(a) "Approved school district" means a school district approved 7
by the office of the superintendent of public instruction to operate 8
a program under this section. 9
(b) "Common school" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.150.020.10
(c) "Eligible child" means a child who turns five years old 11
between September 1st of the year of admission to the transition to 12
kindergarten program and the following August 31st, who does not have 13
access to enroll in a federal or state program providing high quality 14
early learning services, who does not have access to, or has been 15
referred by, a licensed early learning program provider, and who 16
either: 17
(i) Is on the waitlist for, but not scheduled for enrollment in, 18
an early childhood education and assistance program; or19
(ii) Has been individually determined through a screening process 20
or other instruments to have a developmental delay or otherwise needs 21
additional preparation to be successful in kindergarten in the 22
following school year. 23
(d) "Program site" means a school in an authorized school 24
district that is approved by the office of the superintendent of 25
public instruction to operate a program. 26
(e) "Transitional kindergarten" has the same meaning as in 27
section 3 of this act. 28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 29
RCW to read as follows: 30
(1) By October 1, 2025, school districts and charter schools that 31
offered a program referred to as transitional kindergarten during the 32
2024-25 school year must submit a report to the office of the 33
superintendent of public instruction describing the screening process 34
or other instruments used to determine children's eligibility for the 35
program. 36
(2) By December 31, 2025, the office of the superintendent of 37
public instruction shall adopt and begin implementing a conversion 38
plan to assist school districts that offered a program referred to as 39
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transitional kindergarten during the 2024-25 school year to be 1
authorized, under section 2 of this act, to begin offering a 2
transition to kindergarten program no later than September 1, 2026. 3
The conversion plan must include a process for coordinating approval 4
of future sites and slots for the transition to kindergarten program 5
and the early childhood education and assistance program. The goal of 6
the process is to distribute future sites and slots across 7
communities in an equitable and effective manner. 8
(3) By August 31, 2026, school districts and charter schools must 9
cease operation of programs referred to as transitional kindergarten 10
and may no longer report transitional kindergarten students as 11
kindergarten students for purposes of receiving basic education 12
allocations under RCW 28A.150.250. 13
(4) As used in this section, "transitional kindergarten" means an 14
extrastatutory instructional program, based on kindergarten standards 15
rather than on developmentally appropriate early learning standards, 16
established on an ad hoc basis for children below the age of five who 17
do not have access to high quality early learning experiences prior 18
to kindergarten, and who have been deemed by a school district or 19
charter school, through a screening process or other instrument, to 20
be in need of additional preparation to be successful in kindergarten 21
the following year. 22
Sec. 4. RCW 28A.225.160 and 2023 c 420 s 2 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section and 25
otherwise provided by law, it is the general policy of the state that 26
the common schools shall be open to the admission of all persons who 27
are five years of age and less than 21 years residing in that school 28
district. Except as otherwise provided by law or rules adopted by the 29
superintendent of public instruction, districts may establish uniform 30
entry qualifications, including but not limited to birthdate 31
requirements, for admission to kindergarten and first grade programs 32
of the common schools. Such rules may provide for individualized 33
exceptions based upon the ability, or the need, or both, of an 34
individual student. Nothing in this section authorizes school 35
districts, public schools, or the superintendent of public 36
instruction to create state-funded programs based on entry 37
qualification exceptions except as otherwise expressly provided by 38
law. 39
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(2) For the purpose of complying with any rule adopted by the 1
superintendent of public instruction that authorizes a preadmission 2
screening process as a prerequisite to granting individualized 3
exceptions to the uniform entry qualifications, a school district may 4
collect fees to cover expenses incurred in the administration of any 5
preadmission screening process: PROVIDED, That in so establishing 6
such fee or fees, the district shall adopt rules for waiving and 7
reducing such fees in the cases of those persons whose families, by 8
reason of their low income, would have difficulty in paying the 9
entire amount of such fees. Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, 10
rules providing for exceptions to the uniform entry qualifications 11
for kindergarten must limit early kindergarten admission to children 12
deemed by the local educational service district, using multiple 13
objective criteria, to be "likely to be successful in kindergarten."14
(3) A student who meets the definition of a child of a military 15
family in transition under Article II of RCW 28A.705.010 shall be 16
permitted to continue enrollment at the grade level in the common 17
schools commensurate with the grade level of the student when 18
attending school in the sending state as defined in Article II of RCW 19
28A.705.010, regardless of age or birthdate requirements.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 43.216 21
RCW to read as follows: 22
(1) The department of children, youth, and families shall:23
(a) Partner with the office of the superintendent of public 24
instruction to coordinate distribution of high quality early learning 25
programs across communities as described in section 2 (2)(b) of this 26
act; 27
(b) Identify developmentally appropriate curricula for use in 28
transition to kindergarten programs and publish the list on the 29
department website; and 30
(c) Direct early learning providers to work in collaboration with 31
school districts authorized to offer a transition to kindergarten 32
program to promote coordinated systems of comprehensive early 33
childhood services. 34
(2) As used in this section, "transition to kindergarten program" 35
means the program established under section 2 of this act.36
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 43.216 37
RCW to read as follows: 38
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The department must implement, in partnership with the office of 1
the superintendent of public instruction, a data system that uses a 2
single student identifier across all state-funded early learning, 3
elementary, and secondary education programs. The state-funded early 4
learning programs must be required to collect and submit to the data 5
system race and ethnicity data as described in RCW 28A.300.042(1).6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 7
RCW to read as follows: 8
The office of the superintendent of public instruction must 9
partner with the department of children, youth, and families to 10
implement the data system as required under section 6 of this act.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) The department of children, youth, and 12
families must make administrative changes to better align early 13
childhood education and assistance program implementation with school 14
district offered state-funded early learning programs serving three 15
through five-year-old children and must submit a report, in 16
compliance with RCW 43.01.036, of the changes to the appropriate 17
committees of the legislature by July 1, 2026.18
(2) This section expires August 30, 2027. 19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 43.216 20
RCW to read as follows: 21
(1) A school district offering a transition to kindergarten 22
program under section 2 of this act must complete the following 23
activities to be eligible for state funding under section 2 of this 24
act: 25
(a) Enroll in the early achievers program within 30 days of being 26
authorized by the office of the superintendent of public instruction 27
to offer a transition to kindergarten program; 28
(b) Complete level 2 activities in the early achievers program 29
within 12 months of enrollment; and 30
(c) Rate or request to be rated at a level 3 or higher in the 31
early achievers program within 30 months of enrollment. If a school 32
district offering a transition to kindergarten program under section 33
2 of this act does not rate or request to be rated at a level 3 34
within 30 months from enrollment into the early achievers program, 35
the school district must complete remedial activities with the 36
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department, and rate or request to be rated at a level 3 or higher 1
within 12 months of beginning remedial activities. 2
(2) If a school district offering a transition to kindergarten 3
program under section 2 of this act does not rate or request to be 4
rated at a level 3 or higher following the remedial period, the 5
school district is no longer eligible for state funding under section 6
2 of this act. If a school district offering a transition to 7
kindergarten program under section 2 of this act does not rate at a 8
level 3 or higher when the rating is released following the remedial 9
period, the school district is no longer eligible for state funding 10
under section 2 of this act. The initiation of the remedial period 11
serves as the one year of notice required under section 2 of this act 12
that the school district authorization to operate a transition to 13
kindergarten program will be discontinued or otherwise not provided 14
with state funding. 15
(3) If a school district offering a transition to kindergarten 16
program under section 2 of this act and receiving state funding under 17
section 2 of this act has successfully completed all level 2 18
activities and is waiting to be rated by the deadline provided in 19
this section, the school district may continue to receive state 20
funding under section 2 of this act pending the successful completion 21
of the level 3 rating activity. 22
Sec. 10. RCW 43.216.085 and 2021 c 304 s 6 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
(1) The department, in collaboration with tribal governments and 25
community and statewide partners, shall implement a quality rating 26
and improvement system, called the early achievers program. The early 27
achievers program provides a foundation of quality for the early care 28
and education system. The early achievers program is applicable to 29
licensed or certified child care centers, family home child care, 30
outdoor nature-based child care, and early learning programs such as 31
working connections child care ((and)), early childhood education and 32
assistance programs , and transition to kindergarten programs 33
established under section 2 of this act. 34
(2) The objectives of the early achievers program are to:35
(a) Improve short-term and long-term educational outcomes for 36
children as measured by assessments including, but not limited to, 37
the Washington kindergarten inventory of developing skills in RCW 38
28A.655.080; 39
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(b) Give parents clear and easily accessible information about 1
the quality of child care and early education programs;2
(c) Support improvement in early learning and child care programs 3
throughout the state; 4
(d) Increase the readiness of children for school;5
(e) Close the disparities in access to quality care;6
(f) Provide professional development and coaching opportunities 7
to early child care and education providers; and 8
(g) Establish a common set of expectations and standards that 9
define, measure, and improve the quality of early learning and child 10
care settings. 11
(3)(a) Licensed or certified child care centers, family home 12
child care, and outdoor nature-based child care, serving nonschool-13
age children and receiving state subsidy payments, must participate 14
in the early achievers program by the required deadlines established 15
in RCW 43.216.135. 16
(b) Approved early childhood education and assistance program 17
providers receiving state-funded support must participate in the 18
early achievers program by the required deadlines established in RCW 19
43.216.515. 20
(c) School districts authorized to provide a transition to 21
kindergarten program under section 2 of this act must participate in 22
the early achievers program by the required deadlines established in 23
section 9 of this act.24
(d) Participation in the early achievers program is voluntary 25
for: 26
(i) Licensed or certified child care centers, family home child 27
care, and outdoor nature-based child care, not receiving state 28
subsidy payments; and 29
(ii) Early learning programs not receiving state funds.30
(((d))) (e) School-age child care providers are exempt from 31
participating in the early achievers program. By July 1, 2017, the 32
department and the office of the superintendent of public instruction 33
shall jointly design a plan to incorporate school-age child care 34
providers into the early achievers program or other appropriate 35
quality improvement system. To test implementation of the early 36
achievers system for school-age child care providers the department 37
and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 38
implement a pilot program. 39
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(4)(a) There are five primary levels in the early achievers 1
program. 2
(b) In addition to the primary levels, the department must 3
establish an intermediate level that is between level 3 and level 4 4
and serves to assist participants in transitioning to level 4.5
(c) Participants are expected to actively engage and continually 6
advance within the program. 7
(5) The department has the authority to determine the rating 8
cycle for the early achievers program. The department shall 9
streamline and eliminate duplication between early achievers 10
standards and state child care rules in order to reduce costs 11
associated with the early achievers rating cycle and child care 12
licensing. 13
(a) Early achievers program participants may request to be rated 14
at any time after the completion of all level 2 activities.15
(b) The department shall provide an early achievers program 16
participant an update on the participant's progress toward completing 17
level 2 activities after the participant has been enrolled in the 18
early achievers program for fifteen months. 19
(c) The first rating is free for early achievers program 20
participants. 21
(d) Each subsequent rating within the established rating cycle is 22
free for early achievers program participants. 23
(6)(a) Early achievers program participants may request to be 24
rerated outside the established rating cycle. A rerating shall reset 25
the rating cycle timeline for participants. 26
(b) The department may charge a fee for optional rerating 27
requests made by program participants that are outside the 28
established rating cycle. 29
(c) Fees charged are based on, but may not exceed, the cost to 30
the department for activities associated with the early achievers 31
program. 32
(7)(a) The department must create a single source of information 33
for parents and caregivers to access details on a provider's early 34
achievers program rating level, licensing history, and other 35
indicators of quality and safety that will help parents and 36
caregivers make informed choices. The licensing history that the 37
department must provide for parents and caregivers pursuant to this 38
subsection shall only include license suspension, surrender, 39
revocation, denial, stayed suspension, or reinstatement. No unfounded 40
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child abuse or neglect reports may be provided to parents and 1
caregivers pursuant to this subsection. 2
(b) The department shall publish to the department's website, or 3
offer a link on its website to, the following information:4
(i) Early achievers program rating levels 1 through 5 for all 5
child care programs that receive state subsidy, early childhood 6
education and assistance programs, transition to kindergarten 7
programs established under section 2 of this act, and federal head 8
start programs in Washington; and 9
(ii) New early achievers program ratings within thirty days after 10
a program becomes licensed or certified, or receives a rating.11
(c) The early achievers program rating levels shall be published 12
in a manner that is easily accessible to parents and caregivers and 13
takes into account the linguistic needs of parents and caregivers.14
(d) The department must publish early achievers program rating 15
levels for child care programs that do not receive state subsidy but 16
have voluntarily joined the early achievers program.17
(e) Early achievers program participants who have published 18
rating levels on the department's website or on a link on the 19
department's website may include a brief description of their 20
program, contingent upon the review and approval by the department, 21
as determined by established marketing standards. 22
(8)(a) The department shall create a professional development 23
pathway for early achievers program participants to obtain a high 24
school diploma or equivalency or higher education credential in early 25
childhood education, early childhood studies, child development, or 26
an academic field related to early care and education.27
(b) The professional development pathway must include 28
opportunities for scholarships and grants to assist early achievers 29
program participants with the costs associated with obtaining an 30
educational degree. 31
(c) The department shall address cultural and linguistic 32
diversity when developing the professional development pathway.33
(9) The early achievers quality improvement awards shall be 34
reserved for participants offering programs to an enrollment 35
population consisting of at least five percent of children receiving 36
a state subsidy. 37
(10) In collaboration with tribal governments, community and 38
statewide partners, and the early achievers review subcommittee 39
created in RCW 43.216.075, the department shall develop a protocol 40
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for granting early achievers program participants an extension in 1
meeting rating level requirement timelines outlined for the working 2
connections child care program and the early childhood education and 3
assistance program. 4
(a) The department may grant extensions only under exceptional 5
circumstances, such as when early achievers program participants 6
experience an unexpected life circumstance. 7
(b) Extensions shall not exceed six months, and early achievers 8
program participants are only eligible for one extension in meeting 9
rating level requirement timelines. 10
(c) Extensions may only be granted to early achievers program 11
participants who have demonstrated engagement in the early achievers 12
program. 13
(11)(a) The department shall accept national accreditation that 14
meets the requirements of this subsection (11) as a qualification for 15
the early achievers program ratings. 16
(b) Each national accreditation agency will be allowed to submit 17
its most current standards of accreditation to establish potential 18
credit earned in the early achievers program. The department shall 19
grant credit to accreditation bodies that can demonstrate that their 20
standards meet or exceed the current early achievers program 21
standards. By December 1, 2019, and subject to the availability of 22
amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department must 23
submit a detailed plan to the governor and the legislature to 24
implement a robust cross-accreditation process with multiple pathways 25
that allows a provider to earn equivalent early achievers credit 26
resulting from accreditation by high quality national organizations.27
(c) Licensed child care centers, child care home providers, and 28
outdoor nature-based child care must meet national accreditation 29
standards approved by the department for the early achievers program 30
in order to be granted credit for the early achievers program 31
standards. Eligibility for the early achievers program is not subject 32
to bargaining, mediation, or interest arbitration under RCW 33
41.56.028, consistent with the legislative reservation of rights 34
under RCW 41.56.028(4)(d). 35
(12) The department shall explore the use of alternative quality 36
assessment tools that meet the culturally specific needs of the 37
federally recognized tribes in the state of Washington.38
(13) A child care or early learning program that is operated by a 39
federally recognized tribe and receives state funds shall participate 40
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in the early achievers program. The tribe may choose to participate 1
through an interlocal agreement between the tribe and the department. 2
The interlocal agreement must reflect the government-to-government 3
relationship between the state and the tribe, including recognition 4
of tribal sovereignty. The interlocal agreement must provide that:5
(a) Tribal child care facilities and early learning programs may 6
volunteer, but are not required, to be licensed by the department;7
(b) Tribal child care facilities and early learning programs are 8
not required to have their early achievers program rating level 9
published to the department's website or through a link on the 10
department's website; and 11
(c) Tribal child care facilities and early learning programs must 12
provide notification to parents or guardians who apply for or have 13
been admitted into their program that early achievers program rating 14
level information is available and provide the parents or guardians 15
with the program's early achievers program rating level upon request.16
(14) The department shall consult with the early achievers review 17
subcommittee on all substantial policy changes to the early achievers 18
program. 19
(15) Nothing in this section changes the department's 20
responsibility to collectively bargain over mandatory subjects or 21
limits the legislature's authority to make programmatic modifications 22
to licensed child care and early learning programs under RCW 23
41.56.028(4)(d). 24
Sec. 11. RCW 43.216.655 and 2019 c 369 s 7 are each amended to 25
read as follows: 26
(1) The education data center established in RCW 43.41.400 must 27
collect longitudinal, student-level data on all children attending an 28
early childhood education and assistance program. Upon completion of 29
an electronic time and attendance record system, the education data 30
center must collect longitudinal, student-level data on all children 31
attending a working connections child care program. Beginning 32
September 1, 2026, the education data center must collect 33
longitudinal, student-level data on all children attending a 34
transition to kindergarten program under section 2 of this act. Data 35
collected should capture at a minimum the following characteristics:36
(a) Daily program attendance; 37
(b) Identification of classroom and teacher; 38
(c) Early achievers program quality level rating;39
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(d) Program hours; 1
(e) Program duration; 2
(f) Developmental results from the Washington kindergarten 3
inventory of developing skills in RCW 28A.655.080; and4
(g) To the extent data is available, the distinct ethnic 5
categories within racial subgroups of children and providers that 6
align with categories recognized by the education data center.7
(2) The department shall provide early learning providers 8
student-level data collected pursuant to this section that are 9
specific to the early learning provider's program. Upon completion of 10
an electronic time and attendance record system identified in 11
subsection (1) of this section, the department shall provide child 12
care providers student-level data that are specific to the child care 13
provider's program. 14
(3) The department shall review available research and best 15
practices literature on cultural competency in early learning 16
settings. The department shall review the K-12 components for 17
cultural competency developed by the professional educator standards 18
board and identify components appropriate for early learning 19
professional development. 20
(4)(a) The Washington state institute for public policy shall 21
conduct a longitudinal analysis examining relationships between the 22
early achievers program quality ratings levels and outcomes for 23
children participating in subsidized early care and education 24
programs. 25
(b) The institute shall submit the first report to the 26
appropriate committees of the legislature and the early learning 27
advisory council by December 31, 2019. The institute shall submit 28
subsequent reports annually to the appropriate committees of the 29
legislature and the early learning advisory council by December 31st, 30
with the final report due December 31, 2022. The final report shall 31
include a cost-benefit analysis. 32
(5) By December 31, 2021, and subject to the availability of 33
amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the Washington state 34
institute for public policy shall update the outcome evaluation of 35
the early childhood education and assistance program required by 36
chapter 16, Laws of 2013 and report to the governor and the 37
legislature on the outcomes of program participants. The evaluation 38
must include the demographics of program participants including race, 39
ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The evaluation must examine 40
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short and long-term impacts on program participants, including high 1
school graduation rates for up to two cohorts. When conducting the 2
evaluation, the institute must consider, to the extent that data is 3
available, the education levels and demographics, including race, 4
ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, of early childhood education and 5
assistance program staff and the effects of full-day programming and 6
half-day programming on outcomes. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. If specific funding for the purposes of 8
this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not 9
provided by June 30, 2025, in the omnibus appropriations act, this 10
act is null and void.11
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