SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) High-quality, early learning experiences have been shown to produce substantial short-term gains in children’s early language, literacy, mathematics, and social skills as well as long-term effects on a wide range of school, health, and behavioral outcomes that persist into adulthood, as has been demonstrated in studies produced by numerous scholars.
(2) The Desired Results Developmental Profile was implemented in 2000 and is a formative assessment instrument developed by the State Department of Education for young children and their families to be used to inform instruction and program development. It is also a requirement for compliance with state preschool contracts. The Desired Results Developmental Profile for preschool children currently contains 54 areas of inquiry within eight domains. Beginning in the 2016–17 fiscal year, the State Department of Education will require contractors to cover the five “fundamental” domains the department indicates are research-based predictors of school readiness and success and that are consistent with the National Education Goals Panel and the federal Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge. The remaining domains may be used by a contractor voluntarily. This “preschool fundamental view” will reduce the number of assessment measures from 54 to 29. The
State Department of Education has responded to concerns from the field that the Desired Results Developmental Profile is time consuming and has revised the assessment to ensure that it is a more effective formative assessment for children.
(2)
(3) California’s investments in early learning should focus on gains in school and behavioral outcomes that support low-income California children, English learners, and children of color advancing with their peers.
(3)
(4) One feature of high-quality early learning programs is alignment with the K–3rd grade education that preschoolers will soon enter. Preschool to 3rd grade alignment is critical in the areas of standards, curriculum, instructional practice, professional development, family engagement, and assessments.
(4)For public K–12 education, in determining what pupils should learn and how they should learn it, the role of the state is to set standards, curriculum frameworks, and standardized assessments for select grade levels. Local educational agencies (LEAs) select curriculum, instructional materials and methods, provide professional development, and monitor
pupil progress through formative assessments.
(5)For California’s early learning programs, the role of the state extends far beyond its role in K–12 education, and it falls short in one key area. In addition to early learning standards and curriculum frameworks, the State Department of Education develops, adopts, and mandates specific
formative assessments to be used on pupils, specific assessments for classroom environments, specific professional development for instructional staff, and specific parent satisfaction surveys. While these are important components of a high-quality early learning program, LEAs and other local preschool providers cannot tailor these to meet the unique needs of their pupils nor to align with K–3rd grade education. Nor do these compliance-focused regulations support an outcome of school readiness for low-income children in California. The state-mandated assessments and professional development are often done for compliance purposes only, do not improve the
quality of early learning programs, and are an undue administrative burden on LEAs and preschool providers.
(6)Where the state falls short: California
(5) California does not have a clear definition for what pupils need to know to be ready for kindergarten. Without this definition, the impact of California’s early learning programs on school readiness is unknown. California invests over $1.6 billion in state preschool and transitional kindergarten, and there is no
information on what percentage of pupils start school ready for success.
(c)
(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to accomplish both of the following:
(1)Empower LEAs and their nonprofit partners or subcontractors to decide how best to prepare their preschool pupils for success in school and align their preschool programs with K–3rd
grade education.
(2)Begin begin to shift the role of the state from a compliance-based early learning system to one that focuses on child outcomes. The first step in this process is to mandate the State Department of Education to conduct a study for establishing a kindergarten readiness definition to be considered for adoption by the State Board of Education by July 1, 2018.