Great start readiness reserve fund; use of funds; eligibility; competitive grant; longitudinal evaluation; comprehensive part-day programs, school-day programs, GSRP extended programs, GSRP/Head Start school-day blended programs, or GSRP/Head Start extended blended programs; designation of early childhood coordinator; retention of funds for administrative services; outreach, recruiting, and public awareness; contract process; contract with community-based providers for percentage of total allocation; submission of satisfactory evidence; classroom level quality assessments; supplemental curriculum; professional development and training materials for educators; use of AmeriCorps Pre-K Reading Corps members; classroom start up grants.

Sec. 32d. (1) From the state school aid fund money appropriated in section 11, there is allocated to eligible intermediate districts and consortia of intermediate districts for great start readiness programs and other purposes described in this section an amount not to exceed $712,356,100.00 for 2026-2027, and from the great start readiness reserve fund money appropriated in section 11, there is allocated $18,000,000.00 for 2026-2027 for the purposes of this section. An intermediate district or consortium shall use funds allocated under this section for eligible great start readiness program options. For a child to be eligible to participate in a program under this section, the child must be at least 4, but less than 5, years of age as of September 1 of the school year in which the program is offered and must meet those eligibility and prioritization guidelines. After eligible children who will be 4 years of age as of September 1 are enrolled, a child who is not 4 years of age as of September 1, but who will be 4 years of age by not later than December 1, is eligible to participate if both of the following are met: (a) The child's parent or legal guardian seeks a waiver from the September 1 eligibility date by submitting a request for enrollment in a program to the responsible intermediate district. (b) The child meets eligibility and prioritization guidelines. (2) From the state school aid fund money allocated under subsection (1), an amount not to exceed $700,356,100.00 for 2026-2027 is allocated to intermediate districts or consortia of intermediate districts based on the formula in section 39. An intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts receiving funding under this section shall act as the fiduciary for the great start readiness programs. An intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts receiving funding under this section may collaborate with local governments to identify children eligible for programs funded under this section and may contract with local governments to provide services. To be eligible to receive funds allocated under this subsection from an intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts, a district, a consortium of districts, a local government, or a public or private for-profit or nonprofit legal entity or agency must comply with this section and section 39. If the amount allocated in this subsection is insufficient to fully fund allocations calculated under section 39, there is appropriated from the great start readiness program reserve fund the amount necessary and available to fully fund those allocations. (3) From the state school aid fund money allocated under subsection (2), the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall award a competitive grant to a state public university to continue a longitudinal evaluation of children who have participated in great start readiness programs. (4) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (5), to be eligible for funding under this section, a program must prepare children for success in school through comprehensive part-day programs, school-day programs, GSRP extended programs, GSRP/Head Start school-day blended programs, GSRP/Head Start extended blended programs, or other eligible great start readiness program options that contain all of the following program components, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential: (a) Participation in a collaborative recruitment and enrollment process to ensure that each child is enrolled in the program most appropriate to the child's needs and to maximize the use of federal, state, and local funds. Programs receiving funding under this section must provide current enrollment data, including slots open for enrollment and slots filled, to the intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts from which funding is received for that program. The enrollment process must ensure that children in families with lower income and children with other risk factors, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential, are enrolled before children with lesser needs. (b) An age-appropriate educational curriculum that is in compliance with the early childhood standards of quality for birth to kindergarten children adopted by the state board, including, at least, the Connect4Learning curriculum. (c) Nutritional services for all program participants supported by federal, state, and local resources as applicable. (d) Physical and dental health and developmental screening services for all program participants. (e) Referral services for families of program participants to community social service agencies, including mental health services, as appropriate. (f) Active and continuous involvement of the parents or guardians of the program participants. (g) A plan to conduct and report annual great start readiness program evaluations and continuous improvement plans using criteria approved by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (h) Participation in a school readiness advisory committee convened as a workgroup of the great start collaborative that provides for the involvement of classroom teachers, parents or guardians of program participants, and community, volunteer, and social service agencies and organizations, as appropriate. The advisory committee shall annually review and make recommendations regarding the program components listed in this subsection. The advisory committee also shall make recommendations to the great start collaborative regarding other community services designed to improve all children's school readiness. (i) The ongoing articulation of the kindergarten and first grade programs offered by the program provider. (j) Participation in this state's great start to quality process with a level of at least enhancing quality level. (5) To help expand access to great start readiness programs, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential may waive the requirements under subsection (4) and a program may be eligible for funding under this section for new or expanding programs if the program demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential that the program meets all of the following: (a) Is a licensed group or child care center or is a licensed program. (b) Provides the minimum instructional time as required by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (c) Participates in this state's quality improvement system at a level determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (d) Implements a professional educator preparation plan, as defined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential, for educators not meeting teacher credentialing standards described in subsection (8). (e) Uses a developmentally appropriate curriculum, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (f) Conducts a developmental screening and referral process, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (g) Commits to participating in program financial review and monitoring, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (h) Provides a plan to implement an approved great start readiness program curriculum and meet additional great start readiness program standards, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (6) A waiver under subsection (5) may be granted for up to 3 years for requirements related to program credentialing and may be granted for up to 2 years for all other requirements, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (7) The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall provide a report to the house and senate appropriations subcommittees on school aid, the state budget director, and the house and senate fiscal agencies that summarizes the number and types of exemptions granted under subsection (5) and progress made by programs granted waivers under subsection (5) by September 30 of each fiscal year. It is the intent of the legislature to review the waiver allowability under subsection (5) before the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027. (8) Applications for funding under this section must be submitted to the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential in a form and manner determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. The application must demonstrate, at a minimum, compliance with program requirements described in subsection (4) or (5) and must ensure that recipients will only utilize qualified personnel, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential, for eligible great start readiness program options. (9) For a grant recipient that enrolls pupils in an eligible great start readiness program option that blends GSRP and Head Start programming, the grant recipient shall ensure that all Head Start and GSRP policies and regulations are applied to the blended slots, with adherence to the highest standard from either program, to the extent allowable under federal law. A grant recipient may request a waiver from the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential to align GSRP policies and regulations with Head Start national standards for quality, including ratios, and the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential may approve the waiver. Not later than March 1 of each year, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential will report to the legislature and post on a publicly available website a list by intermediate district or consortium with the number and type of each waiver requested and approved. (10) To help expand access to great start readiness programs, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential may allow great start readiness programs to implement Head Start national performance standards for quality as an alternative to great start readiness program policies and regulations if the great start readiness program demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential that the great start readiness program is meeting the requirements of the Head Start national performance standards. (11) An intermediate district or consortia of intermediate districts receiving funding under this section must publish, on an easily accessible website, a data dashboard containing the number of allocations requested from the state, a list of programs offering great start readiness programs in their boundaries, and current enrollment data for each subrecipient, including total slots open for enrollment, slots filled, and waitlist information, if applicable. A link to this website must be provided to families on waitlists for any great start readiness program in their boundaries. (12) An intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts receiving a grant under this section shall designate an early childhood coordinator, and may provide services directly or may contract with 1 or more districts or public or private for-profit or nonprofit providers that meet all requirements of subsection (4) or (8), as applicable. (13) An intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts may retain for administrative services provided by the intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts an amount not to exceed 4% of the grant amount. Expenses incurred by subrecipients engaged by the intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts for directly running portions of the program are considered program costs or a contracted program fee for service. Subrecipients operating early childhood programs may include indirect costs, not to exceed the federal de minimis. (14) An intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts may expend not more than 2% of the total grant amount for outreach, recruiting, and public awareness of the program, if the intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts also participates in related statewide marketing and outreach efforts. (15) An intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts receiving a grant under this section shall allow parents of eligible children who are residents of the intermediate district or within the consortium to choose a program operated by or contracted with another intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts and shall enter into a written agreement regarding payment, in a manner prescribed by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (16) An intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts receiving a grant under this section shall conduct a local process to contract with interested and eligible public and private for-profit and nonprofit community-based providers that meet all requirements of subsection (4) for at least 30% of its total allocation. Children served in a program funded through only Head Start are not counted toward this 30% allocation. The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall provide guidance to intermediate districts and consortia of intermediate districts on counting children served by Head Start programming for the purposes of this 30% allocation. An intermediate district or consortium shall report to the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential, in a manner prescribed by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential, information necessary for the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential to determine the intermediate district's or consortium of intermediate districts' compliance with this subsection. If the intermediate district or consortium is not able to contract for at least 30% of its total allocation, the intermediate district or consortium shall notify the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential and, if the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential verifies that the intermediate district or consortium attempted to contract for at least 30% of its total allocation and was not able to do so, the intermediate district or consortium may retain and use all of its allocation as provided under this section. To be able to use this exemption, the intermediate district or consortium shall demonstrate to the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential that the intermediate district or consortium increased the percentage of its total allocation for which it contracts with a community-based provider and the intermediate district or consortium shall submit evidence satisfactory to the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential, and the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential must be able to verify this evidence, demonstrating that the intermediate district or consortium took measures to contract for at least 30% of its total allocation as required under this subsection, including, but not limited to, at least all of the following measures: (a) The intermediate district or consortium notified each nonparticipating licensed child care center located in the service area of the intermediate district or consortium regarding the center's eligibility to participate, in a manner prescribed by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (b) The intermediate district or consortium provided to each nonparticipating licensed child care center located in the service area of the intermediate district or consortium information regarding great start readiness program requirements and a description of the application and selection process for community-based providers. (c) The intermediate district or consortium provided to the public and to participating families a list of community-based great start readiness program subrecipients with a great start to quality level of at least enhancing quality level. (17) If an intermediate district or consortium of intermediate districts receiving a grant under this section fails to submit satisfactory evidence to demonstrate its effort to contract for at least 30% of its total allocation, as required under subsection (16), the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential may reduce the allocation to the intermediate district or consortium by a percentage equal to the difference between the percentage of an intermediate district's or consortium's total allocation awarded to community-based providers and 30% of its total allocation. By not later than September 30, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall submit a report on any intermediate districts impacted by this subsection to the senate and house appropriations subcommittees on school aid, the senate and house appropriations committees, the senate and house fiscal agencies, the senate and house policy offices, and the state budget office. (18) To assist intermediate districts and consortia in complying with the requirement to contract with community-based providers, for at least 30% of their total allocation, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall do all of the following: (a) Ensure that a great start resource center or the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential provides each intermediate district or consortium receiving a grant under this section with the contact information for each licensed child care center located in the service area of the intermediate district or consortium by March 1 of each year. (b) Ensure that all intermediate district, district, community college or university, Head Start grantee or delegate, private for-profit, and private nonprofit providers are subject to a single great start to quality continuous quality improvement system. The continuous quality improvement system must ensure that regulators process all prospective providers at the same pace on a first-come, first-served basis and must not allow 1 type of provider to receive a great start to quality level ahead of any other type of provider. (c) By not later than March 1 of each year, compile the results of the information reported by each intermediate district or consortium under subsection (16) and report to the legislature and post on a publicly available website a list by intermediate district or consortium with the number and percentage of each intermediate district's or consortium's total allocation allocated to community-based providers by provider type, including private for-profit, private nonprofit, community college or university, Head Start grantee or delegate, and district or intermediate district. (d) Allow intermediate districts and consortia and eligible community-based providers to utilize materials and supplies purchased for great start readiness programs within their facilities for other early care and education activities, in the following order of priority: (i) Early care and education activities under a federal award. (ii) Early care and education activities under other state awards. (iii) Early care and education activities under local or regional awards. (19) A recipient of funds under this section shall report to the center in a form and manner prescribed by the center the information necessary to derive the number of children participating in the program, the number of eligible children not participating in the program and on a waitlist, and the total number of children participating in the program by various demographic groups and eligibility factors necessary to analyze equitable and priority access to services for the purposes of subsection (3). (20) As used in this section: (a) "Child care center" means that term as defined in section 1 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111. (b) "Eligible great start readiness program options" means a program option that operates on a school-day, part-day, or extended schedule length, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential must maintain and publish on its website requirements for each eligible schedule length, including the minimum day length, the minimum number of days per week, and the minimum number of weeks per year. These programs may be blended with Head Start programs, if allowable by federal rules and regulations. (c) "Federal poverty guidelines" means the guidelines published annually in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under its authority to revise the poverty line under 42 USC 9902. (d) "GSRP extended program" means a program that operates for at least the same length of day as a district's first grade program for a minimum of 5 days per week, 36 weeks per year. (e) "GSRP/Head Start extended blended program" means a program funded under this section and a Head Start program that are combined for an extended program. (f) "GSRP/Head Start school-day blended program" means a part-day program funded under this section and a Head Start program, which are combined for a school-day program. (g) "Licensed child care center" means a child care center that has been issued a license under 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111 to 722.128, to operate a child care center. (h) "Part-day program" means a program that operates at least 4 days per week, 30 weeks per year, for at least 3 hours of teacher-child contact time per day but for fewer hours of teacher-child contact time per day than a school-day program. (i) "School-day program" means a program that operates for at least the same length of day as a district's first grade program for a minimum of 4 days per week, 30 weeks per year. A classroom that offers a school-day program must enroll all children for the school day to be considered a school-day program. (21) From the state school aid fund money allocated in subsection (1), there is allocated for 2026-2027 an amount not to exceed $10,000,000.00 and, from the great start readiness program reserve fund money allocated in subsection (1), there is allocated for 2026-2027 an amount not to exceed $18,000,000.00 for reimbursement of transportation costs for children attending great start readiness programs funded under this section. To receive reimbursement under this subsection, by not later than November 1 of each year, a program funded under this section that provides transportation shall submit to the intermediate district that is the fiscal agent for the program a projected transportation budget. The amount of the reimbursement for transportation under this subsection is no more than the projected transportation budget or $500.00 multiplied by the number of children funded for the program under this section. If the amount allocated under this subsection is insufficient to fully reimburse the transportation costs for all programs that provide transportation and submit the required information, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall prorate the reimbursement in an equal amount per child funded. The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall make payments to the intermediate district that is the fiscal agent for each program, and the intermediate district shall then reimburse the program provider for transportation costs as prescribed under this subsection. (22) Subject to, and from the funds allocated under, subsection (21), the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall allow programs to utilize those funds for costs related to parent- or guardian-provided transportation and for costs related to parent- or guardian-accompanied transportation provided by transportation service companies, buses, or other public transportation services. For payments related to parent- or guardian-provided transportation, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall develop parameters to ensure dollars are utilized in a way that improves access to eligible great start readiness program options for low-income and geographically isolated families. To be eligible to utilize funding under this subsection, a program must submit to the intermediate district or consortia of intermediate districts all of the following: (a) The names of families provided with transportation support along with a documented reason for the need for transportation support and the type of transportation provided. (b) Financial documentation of actual transportation costs incurred by the program, including, but not limited to, receipts and mileage reports, as determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (c) Any other documentation or information determined necessary by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (23) The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall implement a process to review and approve age-appropriate comprehensive classroom level quality assessments for GSRP grantees that support the early childhood standards of quality for birth to kindergarten children adopted by the state board. The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall make available to intermediate districts at least 2 classroom level quality assessments that have been approved by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (24) An intermediate district that is a GSRP grantee may approve the use of a supplemental curriculum that aligns with and enhances the age-appropriate educational curriculum in the classroom. If the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential objects to the use of a supplemental curriculum approved by an intermediate district, the director of the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall establish a review committee independent of the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. The review committee shall meet within 60 days of the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential registering its objection in writing and provide a final determination on the validity of the objection within 60 days of the review committee's first meeting. (25) The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall implement a process to evaluate and approve age-appropriate educational curricula that are in compliance with the early childhood standards of quality for birth to kindergarten children adopted by the state board. (26) From the state school aid fund money allocated under subsection (1), there is allocated for 2026-2027 an amount not to exceed $2,000,000.00 for payments to intermediate districts or consortia of intermediate districts for professional development and training materials for educators in programs implementing new curricula or child assessment tools approved for use in the great start readiness program. Curricula and child assessment tools purchased with funds received under this subsection must be in compliance with early childhood standards of quality for birth to kindergarten children, including the science of reading, as that term is defined in section 1280f of the revised school code, MCL 380.1280f. (27) A great start readiness program, a GSRP extended program, a GSRP/Head Start school-day blended program, a GSRP/Head Start extended blended program, or other eligible great start readiness programs funded under this section are permitted to utilize AmeriCorps Pre-K Reading Corps members in classrooms implementing research-based literacy intervention strategies. (28) In addition to the allocation under subsection (1), from the state school aid fund money appropriated under section 11, there is allocated an amount not to exceed $3,600,000.00 for 2026-2027 only for classroom start up grants to intermediate districts and consortia of intermediate districts for new or expanding great start readiness classrooms. All of the following apply to funding allocated under this subsection: (a) To receive funding under this subsection, intermediate districts and consortia of intermediate districts must apply for the funding in a form and manner prescribed by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (b) The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall pay an amount not to exceed $50,000.00 for each new or expanded classroom. If funding is insufficient to fully fund all eligible applicants, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential must prorate the per-classroom amount on an equal basis. (c) Funds received under this subsection by intermediate districts and consortia of intermediate districts must be paid in full to the entity operating the classroom and may be used for 1 or more of the following purposes: (i) Costs associated with attracting, recruiting, retaining, and licensing required classroom education personnel to staff new or expanded classrooms. (ii) Supporting facility improvements or purchasing facility space or modular classroom units necessary to provide a safe, high-quality learning environment for children in each new or expanded classroom, and for costs to become a licensed facility such as architectural drawings, permits, and other prelicensure inspection fees. (iii) Outreach material necessary for public awareness that the great start readiness program has openings in the area and for costs associated with enrolling eligible children in new or expanded classrooms. (iv) Supporting costs in each new or expanded classroom associated with improving a provider's great start to quality level. (d) Recipients of funds under this subsection must demonstrate that instructional staff have completed, or are in the process of completing, professional learning in the science of reading. Grant funds may be used to support this professional learning and are intended to ensure new classrooms are well equipped to implement evidence-based literacy strategies. (e) The funds allocated under this subsection for 2025-2026 are a work project appropriation, and any unexpended funds for 2025-2026 do not lapse to the state school aid fund and are carried forward into 2026-2027. The purpose of the work project is to continue support for new or expanded great start readiness classrooms. The estimated completion date of the work project is September 30, 2027. (f) Notwithstanding section 17b, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall make payments under this subsection on a schedule determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential. (29) In addition to the funds allocated in subsection (1), there is allocated from the general fund money appropriated under section 11 for 2024-2025 only an amount not to exceed $1,950,000.00 for an intermediate district or a consortium of intermediate districts to partner with the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential and community-based organizations to continue implementing statewide outreach and enrollment campaign activities to raise awareness about the availability of services through the great start readiness program, and to promote enrollment. (30) The funds allocated under subsection (29) for 2024-2025 are a work project appropriation, and any unexpended funds for 2024-2025 are carried forward into 2025-2026. The purpose of the work project is to raise awareness of and participation in great start readiness programming. The estimated completion date of the work project is September 30, 2027. (31) Notwithstanding section 17b, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall make payments under subsection (29) on a schedule determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential.