MN HF3658

School readiness programs for ages 3 to kindergarten entrance must coordinate with voluntary prekindergarten programs and include biennial plans describing program alignment with other early learning initiatives.

Voluntary prekindergarten programs must provide at least 350 hours of instruction per school year with play-based learning, staff-to-child ratios of 1:10, maximum group size of 20, and instructional staff salaries comparable to kindergarten through grade 12 staff.

Participation limits increase to 6,160 participants for fiscal year 2018 and 7,160 for fiscal year 2019, with no limit on participation beginning in fiscal year 2020, eliminating the previous 3,160 participant cap.

Applications prioritize high-poverty schools using a sliding scale based on concentration of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, presence of quality rated programs in the area, and implementation of mixed-delivery systems.

Early learning scholarship recipients must include children whose parents are under age 21 pursuing high school diplomas, children in foster care, and children who experienced homelessness in the last 24 months as highest priority groups.