1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; modifying early learning and child care provisions to require 
1.3 	a kindergarten readiness assessment and quality rating and improvement system 
1.4 	evaluation;amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, sections 124D.142; 124D.162.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 124D.142, is amended to read:
1.7 	124D.142 QUALITY RATING AND IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.System established. (a) There is established a quality rating and 
1.9 	improvement system (QRIS) framework, known as Parent Aware, to ensure that Minnesota's 
1.10 	children have access to high-quality early learning and child care programs in a range of 
1.11 	settings so that they are fully ready for kindergarten by 2020.
1.12 		Subd. 2.System components.  Creation of aThe standards-based voluntary quality 
1.13 	rating and improvement system includes:
1.14 	(1) quality opportunities in order to improve the educational outcomes of and prepare
1.15 	children so that they are ready for school. The;
1.16 	(2) a framework shall be based on the Minnesota quality rating system rating tool and 
1.17 	a common set of child outcome and program standards and informed by evaluation results;
1.18 	(2)(3) a tool to increase the number of publicly funded and regulated early learning and 
1.19 	child care services in both public and private market programs that are high quality.;
1.20 	(4) voluntary participation so that if a program or provider chooses to participate, the 
1.21 	program or provider will be rated and may receive public funding associated with the rating. 
2.1 	The state shall develop a plan to link future early learning and care state funding to the 
2.2 	framework in a manner that complies with federal requirements; and
2.3 	(3)(5) tracking progress toward statewide access to high-quality early learning and child 
2.4 	care programs, progress toward the number of low-income children whose parents can 
2.5 	access quality programs, and progress toward increasing the number of children who are 
2.6 	fully prepared to enter kindergarten.
2.7 	(b) In planning a statewide quality rating and improvement system framework in 
2.8 	paragraph (a), the state shall use evaluation results of the Minnesota quality rating system 
2.9 	rating tool in use in fiscal year 2008 to recommend:
2.10 	(1) a framework of a common set of child outcome and program standards for a voluntary 
2.11 	statewide quality rating and improvement system;
2.12 	(2) a plan to link future funding to the framework described in paragraph (a), clause (2); 
2.13 	and
2.14 	(3) a plan for how the state will realign existing state and federal administrative resources 
2.15 	to implement the voluntary quality rating and improvement system framework. The state 
2.16 	shall provide the recommendation in this paragraph to the early childhood education finance 
2.17 	committees of the legislature by March 15, 2011.
2.18 	(c) Prior to the creation of a statewide quality rating and improvement system in paragraph 
2.19 	(a), the state shall employ the Minnesota quality rating system rating tool in use in fiscal 
2.20 	year 2008 in the original Minnesota Early Learning Foundation pilot areas and additional 
2.21 	pilot areas supported by private or public funds with its modification as a result of the 
2.22 	evaluation results of the pilot project.
2.23 		Subd. 3.Evaluation. (a) By February 1, 2021, the commissioner of human services 
2.24 	must arrange an independent evaluation of the quality rating and improvement system's 
2.25 	effectiveness and impact on:
2.26 	(1) children's progress toward school readiness;
2.27 	(2) the quality of the early learning, child care, and education system supply and 
2.28 	workforce; and
2.29 	(3) parents' ability to access and use meaningful information about early learning, child 
2.30 	care, and education program quality.
3.1 	(b) The evaluation must be performed by a consultant or staff member from another 
3.2 	agency. An evaluator must have experience in program evaluation and must not be regularly 
3.3 	involved in implementation of the quality rating and improvement system.
3.4 	(c) The evaluation findings, along with the commissioner's recommendations for potential 
3.5 	future evaluations or plan for continuous improvement, must be reported to the chairs and 
3.6 	ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over education 
3.7 	and early childhood by February 15, 2022. The report must include draft legislation, if 
3.8 	needed, to implement the report recommendations.
3.9 	(d) At a minimum, each evaluation must:
3.10 	(1) analyze the effectiveness of the quality rating and improvement system, including 
3.11 	but not limited to review of:
3.12 	(i) whether quality indicators and measures used in the quality rating and improvement 
3.13 	system are consistent with evidence and research findings on early learning, child care, and 
3.14 	education program quality; and
3.15 	(ii) patterns or differences in observed quality of participating early learning, child care, 
3.16 	and education programs in comparison to programs at other quality rating and improvement 
3.17 	system star rating levels and accounting for other factors;
3.18 	(2) perform an evidence-based assessment of children's developmental gains in ways 
3.19 	that are appropriate for children's linguistic and cultural backgrounds;
3.20 	(3) analyze the extent to which differences in developmental gains among children 
3.21 	correspond to the star ratings of the early learning, child care, and education programs, 
3.22 	providing disaggregated findings by:
3.23 	(i) children's demographic factors, including geographic area, family income level, and 
3.24 	racial and ethnic groups;
3.25 	(ii) type of provider, including family child care provider, child care center, Head Start, 
3.26 	and school-based early childhood provider; and
3.27 	(iii) any other categories identified by the commissioner, in consultation with the 
3.28 	commissioners of health and education or the entity performing the evaluation;
3.29 	(4) analyze the accessibility for providers to participate in the quality rating and 
3.30 	improvement system, including ease of application and supports for a provider to receive 
3.31 	or improve a rating; and provide disaggregated findings by type of provider, including 
4.1 	family child care provider, child care center, Head Start, and school-based early childhood 
4.2 	provider; and by geographic area; and
4.3 	(5) analyze the availability of providers participating in the quality rating and 
4.4 	improvement system to families; and provide disaggregated findings by type of provider, 
4.5 	including family child care provider, child care center, Head Start, early Head Start, and 
4.6 	school-based early childhood provider; and by geographic area.

4.7 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 124D.162, is amended to read:
4.8 	124D.162 KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT.
4.9 		Subdivision 1.Implementation. (a) The commissioner of education maymust implement 
4.10 	a kindergarten readiness assessment representative of incoming kindergartners. Theto:
4.11 	(1) identify preparedness of a child for success in school;
4.12 	(2) inform instructional decision making;
4.13 	(3) improve understanding of connections between kindergarten readiness and later 
4.14 	academic achievement; and
4.15 	(4) produce data that can assist in evaluation of the effectiveness of early childhood 
4.16 	programs.
4.17 	(b) The commissioner must provide school districts with a process for measuring the 
4.18 	school readiness of incoming kindergartners on a comparable basis. A school district is 
4.19 	encouraged to use the commissioner-provided measurement process under this section.
4.20 		Subd. 2.Assessment development. Measurement tools used for a kindergarten readiness 
4.21 	assessment must be research-based, developmentally appropriate, valid and reliable, aligned 
4.22 	to the state early childhood indicators of progress and kindergarten academic standards, and 
4.23 	based on the Department of Education Kindergarten Readiness Assessment at kindergarten 
4.24 	entrance study.
4.25 		Subd. 3.Reporting. Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, a school district that uses 
4.26 	the commissioner-provided measurement process must annually report kindergarten readiness 
4.27 	results under this section to the department in the form and manner determined by the 
4.28 	commissioner concurrent with the district's world's best workforce report under section 
4.29 	120B.11. The commissioner must publicly report kindergarten readiness results as part of 
4.30 	the performance reports required under section 120B.36 and consistent with section 120B.35, 
4.31 	subdivision 3, paragraph (a), clause (2).
5.1 		Subd. 4.Longitudinal data system. Beginning with data reported on incoming 
5.2 	kindergartners in the 2021-2022 school year, the commissioner must integrate kindergarten 
5.3 	readiness data under this section into statewide longitudinal educational data systems.