§ 53A-1b-106. High Quality School Readiness Grant Program. (Effective 5/13/2014)

(1) The High Quality School Readiness Grant Program is created to provide grants to the following, in order to upgrade an existing preschool or home-based technology program to a high quality school readiness program:

(a) an eligible private provider;

(b) an eligible LEA; or

(c) an eligible home-based educational technology provider.

(2) The State Board of Education shall:

(a) solicit proposals from eligible LEAs; and

(b) make recommendations to the board to award grants to respondents based on criteria described in Subsection (5).

(3) The Department of Workforce Services shall:

(a) solicit proposals from eligible private providers and eligible home-based educational technology providers; and

(b) make recommendations to the board to award grants to respondents based on criteria described in Subsection (5).

(4) Subject to legislative appropriations, the board shall award grants to respondents based on:

(a) the recommendations of the State Board of Education;

(b) the recommendations of the Department of Workforce Services; and

(c) the criteria described in Subsection (5).

(5)

(a) In awarding a grant under Subsection (4), the State Board of Education, Department of Workforce Services, and the board shall consider:

(i) a respondent's capacity to effectively implement the components described in Section 53A-1b-105;

(ii) the percentage of a respondent's students who are economically disadvantaged; and

(iii) the level of administrative support and leadership at a respondent's program to effectively implement, monitor, and evaluate the program.

(b) The board may not award a grant to an LEA without obtaining approval from the State Board of Education to award the grant to the LEA.

(6) To receive a grant under this section, a respondent that is an eligible LEA shall submit a proposal to the State Board of Education detailing:

(a) the respondent's strategy to implement the high quality components described in Subsection 53A-1b-105(1);

(b) the number of students the respondent plans to serve, categorized by age and economically disadvantaged status;

(c) the number of high quality preschool classrooms the respondent plans to operate; and

(d) the estimated cost per student.

(7) To receive a grant under this section, a respondent that is an eligible private provider or an eligible home-based educational technology provider shall submit a proposal to the Department of Workforce Services detailing:

(a) the respondent's strategy to implement the high quality components described in Section 53A-1b-105;

(b) the number of students the respondent plans to serve, categorized by age and economically disadvantaged status;

(c) for a respondent that is an eligible private provider, the number of high quality preschool classrooms the respondent plans to operate; and

(d) the estimated cost per student.

(8) All recipients of grants under this section shall establish a preschool or home-based educational technology program with the components described in Section 53A-1b-105.

(9)

(a) A grant recipient shall allow classroom or other visits by an independent evaluator chosen by the board in accordance with Section 53A-1b-110.

(b) The independent evaluator shall:

(i) determine whether a grant recipient has effectively implemented the components described in Section 53A-1b-105; and

(ii) report the independent evaluator's findings to the board.

(10)

(a) A grant recipient that is an eligible LEA shall assign a statewide unique student identifier to each eligible student funded pursuant to a grant received under this section.

(b) A grant recipient that is an eligible private provider or an eligible home-based educational technology provider shall work in conjunction with the State Board of Education to assign a statewide unique student identifier to each eligible student funded pursuant to a grant received under this section.

(11) A grant recipient that is an LEA shall report annually to the board and the State Board of Education the following:

(a) number of students served by the preschool, reported by economically disadvantaged status;

(b) attendance;

(c) cost per student; and

(d) assessment results.

(12) A grant recipient that is an eligible private provider or an eligible home-based educational technology provider shall report annually to the board and the Department of Workforce Services the following:

(a) number of students served by the preschool or program, reported by economically disadvantaged status;

(b) attendance;

(c) cost per student; and

(d) assessment results.

(13) The State Board of Education and the Department of Workforce Services shall make rules to effectively administer and monitor the High Quality School Readiness Grant Program, including:

(a) requiring grant recipients to use the pre- and post-assessment selected by the board in accordance with Section 53A-1b-110; and

(b) establishing reporting requirements for grant recipients.

(14) At the request of the board, the State Board of Education and the Department of Workforce Services shall annually share the information received from grant recipients described in Subsections (11) and (12) with the board.

Enacted by Chapter 304, 2014 General Session