Early Edge California’s 2021 Sponsored Bills:
Help us to make quality Early Learning a reality for all California children. Contact your state representative today.
AB 22 (Asm. McCarty) – Universal Transitional Kindergarten
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California, Kidango, California School Employees Association (CSEA), and San Diego Unified School District
AB 1363 (Asm. Rivas) – Identifying & Supporting Dual Language Learners (DLLs) in California’s Early Learning System
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California, Advancement Project California, California Association of Bilingual Educators (CABE), Californians Together
AB 1363 aims to systematize the identification of DLLs in California State Preschool Program (CSPP) by:
- (1) developing a standard process for CSPP providers to identify the DLLs they enroll and serve, and
- (2) requiring providers, through contract requirements, to report key information to the state about DLLs to inform future policy and program decisions.
SB 50 (Sen. Limón) – California’s Early Learning and Care System
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California, Kidango, EveryChild California
SB 50 aims to make California’s Early Learning and care system more efficient by removing burdensome barriers for child care providers across the mix-delivery system, ultimately allowing more children to be served in high-quality centers and family child care homes, giving our youngest learners a strong start.
2021 Bills We Support:
AB 92 (Asm. Eloise Gómez Reyes)
AB 92 alleviates the burdens that families face in paying for child care by creating an equitable sliding scale for family fees. AB 92 will ensure the revised family fees do not exceed 1% of a family’s monthly income and that no family earning below 75% of the state median income (SMI) pays family fees. The bill will temporarily waive family fees for all families until October 31, 2022 to reduce the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, AB 92 protects child care providers by ensuring they do not absorb the cost of a reduction in family fees and that the number of child care spaces are not reduced.
By increasing the affordability of child care to working families, AB 92 will benefit the economic recovery of the state by helping parents remain in the workforce and achieve economic stability.
AB 393 (Asm. Eloise Gómez Reyes)
AB 393 will support the ongoing transition of child care and development programs from the California Department of Education to the California Department of Social Services, as funded by the 2020-21 Budget, and ensure the voices of families and providers are heard as the transfer moves forward. This bill will also help prepare California’s child care system for future crises by requiring CDSS to report on the emergency supports provided to families and providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide recommendations for ongoing and future emergency supports.
AB 1361 (Asm. Blanca Rubio)
The Child Care and Developmental Services Act prohibits a contracting agency, as part of the state preschool program, from expelling or unenrolling a child because of a child’s behavior, except as provided. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to consider, in determining whether to issue a citation or impose a civil penalty to a state preschool program, whether the program is in the process of complying with the above law relating to expulsion or unenrollment. This bill would revise and recast the above provisions relating to the expulsion or unenrollment of a child from the state preschool program, and would include a general child care and development program and family child care home education network program as part of those provisions, as provided. The bill would also establish requirements for the use of suspensions in the programs described above. The bill would require these programs to maintain records on expulsion and suspension, as provided. The bill would require the State Department of Education to collect and annually publish a report with this information, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
SB 70 (Sen. Rubio) – Elementary education: kindergarten.
SB 70 will ensure all children in the state receive critical instruction during their earliest years of learning by requiring students to attend kindergarten prior to entering the first grade. Early education is essential for the physical, intellectual, and socio-emotional development of children and provides students with the fundamental skills and tools needed for academic success. SB 70 will ensure all students receive critical early instruction to prevent students from falling behind.
SB 246 (Sen. Leyva) – Early childhood education: reimbursement rates.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to implement a reimbursement system plan that establishes reasonable standards and assigned reimbursement rates that would vary with additional factors, including a quality adjustment factor to address the cost of staffing ratios. The bill would require that plan to include a formula for annually adjusting reimbursement rates. By July 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the bill would require the department to establish a reimbursement rate target for each contracting agency that meets specific quality standards based on specified elements, including quality adjustment factors for the age range of children proposed to be served by the contracting agency. The bill would also require all providers meeting quality standards, as specified, to be paid the quality adjustment factor, as specified. The bill would require the department, by January 1, 2024, to develop (or hire a contractor to develop) a modernized reimbursement formula based on the components outlined in the state’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care, as specified. The bill would make these provisions subject to an appropriation by the Legislature. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Early Edge California’s 2020 Sponsored Bills:
AB 123 (Asm. McCarty)
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California and Kidango
On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, Early Edge California’s co-sponsored bill AB 123 (McCarty) passed out of the Senate Education Committee with unanimous bipartisan support. During the Committee hearing, Early Edge California Executive Director Patricia Lozano and bill co-sponsor Kidango’s CEO Scott Moore provided key witness statements in support of the bill. As amended on July 7, 2020, AB 123 will help reduce paperwork and administrative burdens on families and providers, allow providers to maximize their contractual resources, and waive family fees for those receiving distance learning rather than in-person care.
Current Status: Senate Appropriations Committee
AB 2581 (Asm. Reyes, Mullin)
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California and Kidango
As amended on June 4, AB 2581 will improve the integration and coordination of early childhood programs that serve young children and their families by requiring the establishment of an interagency workgroup to ensure services to children, families, and providers remain uninterrupted during the transition while working to improve administrative processes. The group will be composed of the existing agencies that currently administer child development programs.
Current Status: Senate Education Committee – bill is not moving forward this year.
AB 2516 (Asm. Reyes)
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California, Children Now, Californians Together, CABE, and MomsRising
Makes critical investments in bilingual education and teacher preparation, beginning in early childhood and continuing through high school graduation.
It is anticipated that AB 2516 (Reyes) will be amended to address distance learning of dual language learners and their families which will allow for it to be heard in policy committees and to continue through the legislative process.
Current Status: Assembly Education Committee – bill is not moving forward this year.
SB 959 (Sen. Hurtado)
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California and The Children’s Partnership
Would ensure that early childhood programs have “safe space” policies in order to protect the safety, privacy, and wellbeing of young children and their families.
Current Status: Senate Education Committee – bill is not moving forward this year.
AB 2500 (Asms. McCarty, Reyes, Ting and Sens. Dodd, Gonzalez, Rubio)
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California, California School Employees Association (CSEA), and Kidango
Complements and builds upon the existing TK law and the California State Preschool program to provide universal access to Early Learning by offering TK to all four-year-olds.
Current Status: Assembly Education Committee – bill is not moving forward this year.
Our 2019 Sponsored and Supported Bills
The following are bills we co-sponsored:
AB 123 (Asm. McCarty) – Pre-K For All
Early Childhood Education: State Preschool Program: Transitional Kindergarten: Access: Standards
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California and Kidango
AB 123 expands access to preschool for all 4-year-olds living in low-income neighborhoods and all 3-year-olds in poverty, and raises preschool quality and funding to help close the school readiness gap.
- Expands access to full-day, full-year preschool for all 4-year-olds who live in a neighborhood where more than 70% of students are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals. AB 123 also ensures that all 3-year-olds in poverty receive two years of high-quality preschool.
- Increases salaries and qualifications of preschool teachers to support children’s learning with adequate financial supports.
- Raises preschool quality to what is proven to work and increases funding.
- Provides scholarships for teachers to pursue higher education in Early Learning fields.
Current Status: Two Year Bill
AB 1012 (Asm. Reyes) – Bilingualism For All Act of 2020
Co-sponsored by Early Edge California, CABE, Californians Together and Advancement Project
AB 1012 makes critical investments in bilingual education, beginning in early childhood and continuing through high school graduation.This bill builds on previous state investments by providing multi-year support to build the capacity of teachers to help students become bilingual and biliterate, beginning in early childhood and throughout their educational journey.
Current Status: Held in Committee
The following are bills we support:
AB 6 (Asms. Reyes, McCarty)
This bill would establish in the California Department of Education, on or before January 1, 2021, the Early Childhood Education Branch, in order to ensure a holistic implementation of early childhood education programs and universal preschool. The bill would require the office to have specified responsibilities, including the responsibility of coordinating services with the California Department of Social Services and the California Health and Human Services Agency to ensure that social and health services are provided to children in early childhood education programs and to identify families eligible for early childhood education financial assistance.
Current Status: Two Year Bill
AB 124 (Asm. McCarty) – Preschool Facilities Bond Act of 2020
Enacts the Preschool Facilities Bond Act of 2020. Authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $500,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a preschool facility grant program.
Current Status: Held in Committee
AB 125 (Asm. McCarty) – Early Childhood Education: Reimbursement Rates
Expresses Legislative intent to establish a single regionalized state reimbursement rate system for child care, preschool and early learning services that would achieve specified objectives.
Current Status: Two Year Bill
AB 167 (Asm. Rubio)
This bill would create the California Partnership for Infants and Toddlers, and would provide that a state grant to support the partnership shall be made available and distributed, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to qualifying childcare and development programs and family childcare home education networks that serve infants and toddlers from birth to three years of age at a base grant amount of $4,000 annually per child, adjusted
as specified. The bill would require the Superintendent to determine which childcare and development programs and family childcare home education networks qualify for that funding and to establish standards for grantees to ensure high-quality infant and toddler childcare.
Current Status: Held in Committee
AB 194 (Asm. Reyes) – Childcare and Development Services
Enacts legislation to appropriate $1 billion to immediately improve access to alternative payment programs and general childcare and development programs that subsidize services for low-income families.
Current Status: Held in Committee
AB 378 (Asm. Limon)
Authorizes family child care (FCC) providers (licensed and license exempt) to form, join, and participate in the activities of provider organizations and to seek the certification of a provider organization to act as the representative for FCC providers on matters related to child care subsidy programs.
Current Status: Signed by Governor
AB 452 (Asm. Mullin)
Would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that appropriates between $25 million and $35 million to create a grant program to develop child care facilities that serve children from birth to three years of age, of which no less than $10 million to be provided to Early Head Start program facilities to serve children.
Current Status: Held in Committee
SB 174 (Sen. Leyva)
Enacts legislation that would establish a single regionalized state reimbursement rate system for subsidized early care and education services; requires the CDE to create a plan by January 1, 2021 for the reimbursement rate system and ensure that the plan’s methodology includes items such as competitive compensation for early childhood teachers and providers.
Current Status: Two Year Bill
SB 443 (Sen. Rubio)
Deletes the provision that prohibits a pupil admitted to TK who has their birthday after December 2 from generating average daily attendance or being included in the enrollment or unduplicated pupil count.
Current Status: Held in Committee
(We support this bill with amendments)