MN SF3119

Adds two House members (one from speaker, one from minority leader), two Senate members (including one minority member), and the health commissioner (or designee) to the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care membership.

Requires the council to fulfill federal duties under the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 and make recommendations on leveraging state and federal funding streams and coordinating early childhood programs into one state Office of Early Learning.

Directs the council to make recommendations on screening and assessing children for school readiness with goals of 50 percent of three-year-olds and five-year-olds screened/assessed by 2015, increasing to 100 percent by 2020.

Requires council recommendations on screening tools, assessment methods, parental incentives, data collection and access, and costs to meet benchmarks, with interim reports due February 15, 2011 and February 15, 2012, and final report by January 15, 2013.

Authorizes use of up to $12,500 in federal child care development funds and $12,500 in prekindergarten exploratory project funds for fiscal year 2009, with council able to pursue additional state, federal, and private funding.