MN HF4329

Makes funding for voluntary prekindergarten permanent and establishes school readiness plus as a separate program codified under Minnesota Statutes section 124D.152, combining two previously temporary programs

Requires voluntary prekindergarten programs to provide at least 350 hours of instruction per school year with play-based learning, staff-to-child ratios of 1:10, and teacher salaries comparable to K-12 instructional staff

Establishes application process with priority given to high-poverty schools based on free/reduced-price lunch eligibility, with applications due January 30 for the fiscal year prior to implementation

Limits total participation to 6,160 participants for fiscal year 2018 and 7,160 for fiscal year 2019, then allows growth of up to 105 percent annually for fiscal year 2020 and later

Modifies pupil unit calculations to count voluntary prekindergarten pupils as 0.6 pupil units maximum and excludes these pupils from declining enrollment revenue calculations for fiscal years 2017-2019