Sec. 10-16r. Local school readiness councils; duties. Regional school readiness councils. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 10-16r. Local school readiness councils; duties. Regional school readiness councils. (a) A town seeking to apply for a grant pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-16p or section 10-16u shall convene a local school readiness council or shall establish a regional school readiness council pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. Any other town may convene such a council. The chief elected official of the town or, in the case of a regional school district, the chief elected officials of the towns in the school district and the superintendent of schools for the school district shall jointly appoint and convene such council. Each school readiness council shall be composed of: (1) The chief elected official, or the official's designee; (2) the superintendent of schools, or a management level staff person as the superintendent's designee; (3) parents; (4) representatives from local programs such as Head Start, family resource centers, nonprofit and for-profit child day care centers, group day care homes, prekindergarten and nursery schools, and family day care home providers; (5) a representative from a health care provider in the community; and (6) other representatives from the community who provide services to children. The chief elected official shall designate the chairperson of the school readiness council.

      (b) The local school readiness council shall: (1) Make recommendations to the chief elected official and the superintendent of schools on issues relating to school readiness, including any applications for grants pursuant to sections 10-16p, 10-16u, 17b-749a and 17b-749c; (2) foster partnerships among providers of school readiness programs; (3) assist in the identification of (A) the need for school readiness programs and the number of children not being served by such a program, and (B) for priority school districts pursuant to section 10-266p, the number of children not being served by such a program and the estimated operating cost of providing universal school readiness to eligible children in such districts who are not being served; (4) submit biannual reports to the Department of Education on the number and location of school readiness spaces, estimates of future needs, and the factors identified pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection; (5) cooperate with the department in any program evaluation and, on and after July 1, 2000, use measures developed pursuant to section 10-16s for purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of school readiness programs; (6) identify existing and prospective resources and services available to children and families; (7) facilitate the coordination of the delivery of services to children and families, including (A) referral procedures, and (B) before and after-school child care for children attending kindergarten programs; (8) exchange information with other councils, the community and organizations serving the needs of children and families; (9) make recommendations to school officials concerning transition from school readiness programs to kindergarten; and (10) encourage public participation.

      (c) Two or more towns or school districts and appropriate representatives of groups or entities interested in early childhood education in a region may establish a regional school readiness council. If a priority school is located in at least one of such school districts, the regional school readiness council may apply for a grant pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-16p. The regional school readiness council may perform the duties outlined in subdivisions (2) to (10), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section.

      (P.A. 97-259, S. 4, 41; P.A. 98-243, S. 10, 25; P.A. 99-230, S. 3, 10; P.A. 00-187, S. 11, 75; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 15, 54; P.A. 04-215, S. 5; P.A. 05-245, S. 2.)

      History: P.A. 97-259 effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-243 added Subdiv. (5) of Subsec. (b)(5)(B) re before and after-school child care, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 99-230 added Subsec. (b)(4) and (5) re biannual reports and re evaluations, and renumbered the existing Subdivs. (4) to (8), inclusive, as Subdivs. (6) to (10), inclusive, and amended Subsec. (c) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-187 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to add references to Sec. 10-16u and to make technical changes, effective July 1, 2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 amended Subsec. (a) to allow a town to establish a regional school readiness council, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 04-215 amended Subsec. (b)(3) by adding provision re universal school readiness in priority school districts and by including factors identified pursuant to Subdiv. (3) as part of reporting requirements in Subdiv. (4), effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 05-245 added Subsec. (a)(5) re a representative from a health care provider, redesignating existing Subdiv. (5) as Subdiv. (6), effective July 1, 2005.