Relating to the statewide preschool program by modifying provisions relating to eligibility, funding, and compulsory attendance and including applicability provisions

The statewide preschool program for four-year-old children under Code chapter 256C provides that a child who is a resident of Iowa and is four years of age on or before September of a school year shall be eligible to enroll in the preschool program. Additionally, to be included as an eligible student in the enrollment count of the preschool programming for state funding purposes, a child must be four years of age by September in the base year and attending the school district’s approved local program. For school budget years beginning July 1, 2023, July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, this bill expands the eligibility and state funding provisions of the statewide preschool program for four-year-old children under Code chapter 256C to also include five-year-old children who reach the age of five on or after March but on or before September of the calendar year during which the school year begins if the school district elects to enroll such children. For school districts that elect to enroll children who are five years of age during such three-year period, a child who enrolled as a four-year-old may enroll again as a five-year-old. However, if insufficient space is available in a preschool program for all eligible children, priority for enrollment shall be given to children who are four years of age on or before September of a school year.1A relating to compulsory education is also modified to reflect changes made in the bill. The bill also requires each approved local program to provide consultation services for parents or guardians of children enrolled in the approved local program and parents or guardians of children eligible to enroll in the approved local program to assist parents or guardians in assessing the child’s readiness for enrollment in kindergarten or in a preschool program, as applicable. The bill modifies provisions relating to school district participation in data collection and performance measurement processes under the statewide preschool program. The bill applies to school budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2023.