SECTIONS 8970-8974 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 8970-8974

8970. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction convened a Task Force
on School Readiness that prepared a report which included the
following findings and recommendations:
(1) Preschool and kindergarten programs have become more
academically oriented with an emphasis on paper and pencil "seat work"
and a decreased emphasis on other essential age-appropriate
curricular elements such as language development; familiarity with
stories, music, and oral language experiences; artistic exploration;
social interaction; and large muscle development.
(2) Assessment tests of questionable validity and reliability are
being used to delay children's entrance to kindergarten or to place
them in a two-year kindergarten.
(3) An appropriate, integrated experiential curriculum should be
provided for children in preschool, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 3,
inclusive.
(4) Programs should meet the special needs of our culturally and
linguistically diverse pupils as well as the needs of exceptional
children.
(5) Classroom organization and teaching methods should reflect the
heterogeneous skills and abilities of children in early primary
programs.
(6) School districts should be encouraged to develop communication
about linkages between programs for four-year-olds, early primary
programs, and the primary and intermediate grades of elementary
schools.
(7) The staff of early primary programs should receive appropriate
education, training, and remuneration.
(8) Programs should be offered full-day and also should provide
before- and after-school care.
(9) Assessment methods of children in early primary programs
should be drastically altered.
(10) Parental involvement should be encouraged.
(11) A public awareness campaign should be launched describing
appropriate learning practices for children in preschool,
kindergarten, and grades 1 to 3, inclusive.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction issued a Triennial
Report on Publicly Funded Child Development Programs that documents
the increasing numbers of low-income families eligible but unserved
by limited preschool and child care funds, and that presents policy
implications for staffing and funding issues.
(c) National studies show future benefits of early intervention
programs to society and immediate advantages to California employers
in the form of reduced absenteeism, improved worker morale, and
increased productivity.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that activities initiated
as a result of this chapter shall continue without regard to fiscal
year depending, when necessary, on continued funding.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that school districts that
establish an early primary program coordinate that program, whenever
possible, with the Demonstration in Restructuring of Public
Education program, established pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 58900) of Part 31 and, where applicable, with the county
interagency children's services coordinating council, established
pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 18986.10) of Chapter
12.8 of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

8971. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(a) "Child development program" means a full-day or part-day
comprehensive developmental program for children ages 0 to 14 years
that is administered by the State Department of Education.
(b) "Early primary program" means an integrated, experiential, and
developmentally appropriate educational program for children in
preschool, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, that
incorporates various instructional strategies and authentic
assessment practices, including educationally appropriate curricula,
heterogeneous groupings, active learning activities, oral language
development, small group instruction, peer interaction, use of
concrete manipulative materials in the classroom, planned
articulation among preschool, kindergarten, and primary grades, and
parent involvement and education.
(c) "Integrated, experiential, and developmentally appropriate
educational program" means a program that is designed around the
abilities and interests of the children in the program and one in
which children learn about the various subjects simultaneously, as
opposed to segmented courses, and through "hands-on" or "active
learning" teaching methods that are more appropriate for young
children than the academic "textbook" approach.
(d) "Preschool program" means a comprehensive developmental
program for children who are too young to enroll in kindergarten.
(e) "Portfolio material" means a selection of representative
samples of the child's performance within the program setting that
may include, but not be limited to, teacher observations, work
samples, developmental profiles, photographs, and audio or video
recordings that present a picture of the child's progress over time.
(f) "School district" includes county offices of education.
(g) "State preschool program" means a part-day comprehensive
developmental program for children three to five years of age from
low-income families, administered by the State Department of
Education.

8972. (a) The governing board of any school district may establish
an early primary program consisting of same-age pupils or any
combination of state preschool or child development program,
kindergarten, first, second, or third grade pupils, based on an
integrated, experiential, and developmentally appropriate educational
program. Parent education and parent involvement shall be an
integral part of the program.
(b) Observation of a child over time and the use of portfolio
material shall be the primary sources of assessment information for
making curricular decisions in early primary programs.
(c) Standardized assessment tests may be used for diagnostic
purposes only, provided those tests have been demonstrated to be
nonbiased, valid, and reliable. These tests shall not be used to deny
admission.

8973. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the kindergarten
schoolday in an early primary program conducted pursuant to Section
8972 may exceed four hours, exclusive of recesses, provided that both
of the following conditions are met:
(a) The governing board of a school district declares that the
extended-day kindergarten program does not exceed the length of the
primary schoolday.
(b) The extended-day kindergarten program takes into account ample
opportunity for both active and quiet activities within an
integrated, experiential, and developmentally appropriate educational
program.

8974. School districts with early primary programs shall provide
educational continuity from preschool through kindergarten and grades
1 to 3, inclusive, by accomplishing the following:
(a) Establish connections with public preschool programs,
including state preschool, state child development, and federal Head
Start programs, to establish a more effective transition of children
from preschool to kindergarten.
(b) Promote connections among early primary programs that provide
before- and after-school services.
(c) Promote joint activities for teachers and administrators of
public preschool programs, including state preschool, state child
development, and federal Head Start, and kindergarten and grades 1 to
3, inclusive, in areas such as program planning and staff
development training related to developmentally appropriate
curriculum and assessment practices for young children.