HB 6686 Summary

• Expands eligible children for school readiness programs from ages 3-5 to birth through age 5, allowing five-year-olds in kindergarten to defer enrollment with parent, provider, and school district agreement.

• Modifies grant programs for school readiness services: establishes biennial (instead of annual) grant awards for priority and former priority school districts, and creates three-year eligibility periods for competitive grants to lower-wealth towns and alliance districts.

• Requires school readiness programs receiving over $8,927 per child to use additional funds exclusively for increasing salaries of classroom teaching and care staff.

• Establishes parent cabinet within Office of Early Childhood to advise on family engagement, service gaps, and program improvements; changes "early childhood councils" to "early childhood collaboratives" throughout statutes.

• Allows state and federal law enforcement officers, including military law enforcement under U.S. Department of Defense, to access child care investigation records without redaction upon written request; requires Office of Early Childhood to develop medical examination best practices by February 1, 2024.