House Bill 307 Summary

• Establishes a voluntary three-year kindergarten preparedness pilot program aligned with common core standards, with no child required to participate, effective July 1, 2015 through July 1, 2019.

• Authorizes five grants to school districts and private providers to operate kindergarten preparedness programs with maximum class sizes of 20 students and 2 teaching aides, supervised by certified personnel.

• Requires students' information to be entered into the Idaho System for Educational Excellence (ISEE) state data system to evaluate program effectiveness and track student outcomes through grade 12.

• Allows the State Department of Education to enter results-based contracts with private entities, with repayment conditioned on achieving specific performance outcome measures (cost savings in remediation and special education use) verified by an independent evaluator.

• Establishes the Kindergarten Preparedness Pilot Program Fund supported by private donations (at least 55% of funding), state match (at least 45%), federal grants, and legislative appropriations, with mandatory reporting to education committees on program outcomes and contract terms.