Administration of pre-k

(a) The OSSE shall oversee CBO pre-k education services, including: (1) All programs, including curricula; (2) All related state and federal early childhood programs; (3) Any licensure requirements; (4) Fiscal matters; (5) Funding to: (A) Maximize the use of federal funds and other resources; (B) Minimize inefficiencies and programmatic barriers; (C) Ensure that children are placed on the appropriate funding streams; and (D) Ensure that funds authorized by this chapter are used to supplement, not supplant, other funding sources that finance education programs for children of pre-k age; (6) The alignment and monitoring of standards and teaching practices between pre-k and grades kindergarten through 3rd grade; and (7) The implementation of an external evaluation of all pre-k programs, including the measurement of progress toward school-readiness benchmarks. (b) The OSSE shall: (1) Coordinate with the Interagency Collaboration and Services Integration Commission, established by § 2-1594, to ensure that eligible families can access coordinated support services for their children of pre-k age; (2) In regard to pre-k programs in public schools and public charter schools, consult with local education agencies and the Public Charter School Board, established by § 38-1802.14, to ensure that the goals of this chapter are met; (3) Establish facilities requirements for classroom expansion and quality improvement, to be utilized by the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, established by § 38-451 [repealed], to complete the capital improvements and renovation of facilities; (4) Develop high-quality content standards for all pre-k programs, which have been approved by the State Board of Education; (5) Develop and oversee a monitoring, assessment, and accountability process for all programs within the pre-k-education system; (6) Promulgate a process for pre-k programs that fail to attain the required high-quality standards by September 1, 2014, which may include: (A) A reduction or elimination of local funding; (B) Denial of licensure; or (C) Revocation of licensure; (7) Promulgate a quality-improvement process for pre-k programs that, after 2014, fail to maintain for a period of time, as determined by OSSE, the required high-quality standards, which may include: (A) Adherence to a quality-improvement plan; (B) A reduction or an elimination of local funding; (C) Denial of licensure; or (D) Revocation of licensure; (8) Develop and administer the technical assistance program across all pre-k education services. (9) Collect and disseminate to the public on an ongoing basis child and program data; and (10) Consider developing a sliding-fee scale for enrollment in pre-k of children whose family income is above 250% of the federal poverty guideline. (c) The OSSE shall not issue a license for a child-occupied facility located within 200 feet of a dry cleaning facility that uses perchloroethylene or n-propyl bromide as a cleaning agent for clothes or other fabrics. The 200-foot restriction shall not apply at a location where a child- occupied facility is applying for renewal of an existing license.