                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION SYSTEM; ESTABLISHMENT; NEED-BASED AND
DEMAND-BASED FUNDING (§ 22.1-289.03)

A. The Board shall establish a statewide unified public-private system for early
childhood care and education in the Commonwealth to ensure that every child has
the opportunity to enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn. Such system
shall be administered by the Board, the Superintendent, and the Department and
shall be formed, implemented, and sustained through a structure that engages and
leverages both state-level authority and regional-level public-private
partnership assets.

B. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the system established pursuant
to subsection A shall (i) provide families with coordinated access for referral
to early childhood education programs, (ii) provide families with
easy-to-understand information about the quality of publicly funded early
childhood care and education programs, (iii) establish expectations for the
continuous improvement of early childhood care and education programs, and (iv)
establish shared expectations for early childhood care and education programs
among the Department of Education, the Department of Social Services, local
school divisions, and state and regional stakeholders.

C. The system established pursuant to subsection A shall consist of a
combination of programs offered through (i) the Virginia Preschool Initiative,
pursuant to &#xA7; 22.1-289.09, or any other school-based early childhood care
and education program; (ii) licensed programs, pursuant to Article 3 (&#xA7;
22.1-289.010 et seq.); and (iii) unlicensed programs, pursuant to Article 4
(&#xA7; 22.1-289.030 et seq.).

D. To address family demand and preferences for affordable, high-quality early
childhood care and education services, state general funds that support the
provision of services to families for early childhood care and education shall
be provided as specified in the general appropriation act. Each year, no later
than November 15, the Department shall report to the Governor and the Chairs of
the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the
Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance
and Appropriations the projected general funds needed for the upcoming two
fiscal years based on cost of quality rate per child in order to (i) maintain
the current number of slots, (ii) increase the number of slots using a projected
growth rate, and (iii) increase the number of slots to fully accommodate parent
demand and eliminate waitlists. Such projected general funds to meet such needs
shall be based on:

   1. An annual per-child cost determined through re-benchmarking for the
   Virginia Preschool Initiative;

   2. An annual per-child cost based on the Department&#8217;s federally approved
   alternative cost methodology for the Mixed Delivery Program identified in the
   general appropriation act;

   3. An annual per-child cost based on the Department&#8217;s federally approved
   alternative cost methodology for the Child Care Subsidy Program, which program
   shall be open to each child who is under the age of 13 in each family for as
   long as:
   				a. The family&#8217;s income does not exceed 85 percent of the state
   median income;
   				b. The family includes at least one child who is five years of age or
   younger and has not started kindergarten; and
   				c. The family meets all other eligibility requirements;

   4. Current program eligibility criteria; and

   5. Maximization of regularly recurring federal funding including federal
   funding provided for the Child Care Subsidy Program, Early Head Start, or Head
   Start, or pursuant to Part B of the federal Individuals with Disabilities
   Education Act, 20 U.S.C. &#xA7; 1411 et seq.
   				No later than May 15 before each upcoming year, each regional entity
   established by the Board pursuant to subsection D of &#xA7; 22.1-289.05 shall
   indicate the number of slots needed in the region for the Mixed Delivery
   Program, each local school division shall indicate the number of slots needed
   in the local school division for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, and each
   locality shall indicate the number of slots needed in the locality for the
   Child Care Subsidy Program. The Department shall reallocate slots with
   available funding from the Child Care Subsidy Program and Mixed Delivery
   Program as determined pursuant to this subsection no later than July 1.
   Following fall enrollment periods, the Department shall make adjustments based
   on family preferences. In providing funding for slots pursuant to this
   subsection, all current-year state general funds shall be expended first.

HISTORY: 2020, cc. 860, 861; 2024, cc. 722, 757.