§ 18A:44-11 — Preschool education aid recipients, requirements.

7. a. A school district that receives preschool education aid pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54) shall: (1) demonstrate due diligence to partner with all ready, willing, and able licensed child care providers and Head Start programs in the immediate and neighboring communities; and (2) submit to the Department of Education an annual program plan detailing the status of the district's preschool program implementation. The plan shall include information specified by the commissioner, including, but not limited to: (a) the district's comprehensive curriculum; (b) protocol for how students' families can access community services, including services offered by licensed child care providers and Head Start programs; (c) a description of how the district conducts outreach to families to determine individual family needs, advocate on their behalf, and obtain appropriate community services; and (d) a description of how the district identifies and recruits families of at-risk pupils and other hard-to-reach populations and subsequently ensures these children receive priority placement in the preschool program. b. A school district that receives preschool education aid pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54) shall participate in a system of self-assessment for continuous quality improvement approved by the Department of Education to inform the school district of the status of its preschool program implementation. The system shall identify program areas in need of improvement based on a self-assessment and shall include a validation visit by a State team at least once every three years. The department may, based on the results of a district's self-assessment and the validation visit, require the district to complete an improvement plan. The improvement plan shall include a detailed explanation and timeline of the steps the district will take to improve areas identified for improvement. L.2025, c.100, s.7.