What's Happening in Michigan?

Governor Granholm has signed into law PA 268 of 2008 (State School Aid Act).

Important features include:
DISTRICT/PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY GRANTEES:
Section 32d
• A change in program name from the Michigan School Readiness Program (MSRP) to the Great Start School Readiness Program (GSRP).
• The term “Half-Day” is changed to Part-Day.
• An increase in funds appropriated for the School District/PSA GSRP; from $85.6M to $88.1M.
• Provision for parenting education option (PIE) is retained. A district may not exceed the lowest amount spent on PIE during FY07 or FY08.
• Comprehensive programming must include developmental screening as described in the Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Prekindergarten (ECSQ-PK).

AGENCY (COMPETITIVE) GRANTEES:
Section 32l:
• An increase in funds appropriated for the Agency MSRP; from $12.65M to $15,150,000. The number of children that could be served part-day is 4,455 at $3,400 per-child. Two slots may be combined to make a Full-Day program.
• Comprehensive programming must include developmental screening as described in the Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Prekindergarten (ECSQ-PK).
• Collaborative recruitment and enrollment process between early childhood partners is required; referral process is detailed for families that are income-eligible for Head Start.
• Low income is expanded from 250% to 300% of the federal poverty level.

Section 37
• Collaborative recruitment and enrollment process between early childhood partners is required; referral process is detailed for families that are income-eligible for Head Start.
• “Schools-of-choice” restriction is waived for consortiums where each consortium member agrees to serve children based on the allocation to the entire consortium.
• Low income is expanded from 250% to 300% of the federal poverty level.

Section 39
• A grantee may collaborate with Head Start to create a Full-Day program by blending Part-Day GSRP allocation and Head Start funds. This provides for one child to pull down both state and federal funding streams within the same program year. All Head Start and GSRP policies and regulations apply to the blended program.
• Second-Round funding is altered to reflect “hold harmless” language, ensuring that if funds are available after the initial allocation, a grantee will receive the requested number of slots or an allocation based on the number of children served in the prior year, whichever is less.
• The per-slot allocation remains constant at $3,400. The number of children that could be served Part-Day is 25,911.
• Initial grantees are capped at 32 Part-Day slots.
• Part-Day is defined as a program that operates at least four days per week, thirty weeks per year, with at least 300 hours of teacher-child contact.

You can read the Fiscal Year 2009 State School Aid Bill in its entirety by clicking here.