§ 16-99-4. Eligible school districts; funding.
(a) A school district shall be eligible to request funding pursuant to §â€‚16-99-4(b), if:
(1) The school district is a public school district; and
(2) The school district operates a half-day kindergarten program as of September 1, 2012,
but not a full-day kindergarten, as defined herein, serving more than one-half of
the kindergarten students in the district as determined on a headcount basis.
(b) Subject to appropriation, beginning with school year 2013-2014 and through school
year 2014-2015, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall rank
and approve eligible public school districts that voluntarily implement a full-day
kindergarten program as defined herein. The aforementioned school district shall receive
funding to offset a portion of the reasonable, one-time start-up costs including,
but not limited to, desks, books, facility upgrades, ancillary costs associated with
relocation of students, costs associated with the development and implementation of
new curriculum, and any other necessary expenses associated with each school's implementation
of a full-day kindergarten program. Ranking shall be based upon criteria established
by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education to ensure the quality and
sustainability of the full-day kindergarten programs implemented.
In ranking the school districts' proposals, the commissioner shall consider the quality
and sustainability of the program and the average number of children eligible for
USDA reimbursable school meals served by the respective district's elementary schools
with priority given to school districts with enrollment greater than eight thousand
(8,000).
If no school district has enrollment greater than eight thousand (8,000), then priority
shall be given to school districts with enrollment greater than four thousand (4,000).
(c) The commissioner shall fully fund all eligible expenditures of each district in rank
order. If a district's proposal cannot be fully funded, the district may either accept
the available funding for the project or refuse funding. If funding is refused, the
commissioner shall fund the next eligible school district's request based on the aforementioned
ranking.
(d) School districts receiving funds pursuant to this chapter must operate only a full-day
program, no half-day programs. The full-day kindergarten program must continue to
operate for five (5) years.
(e) All funding provided under this section is subject to appropriation.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d), school districts that request funding
pursuant to this chapter may be allowed to phase-in the implementation of a full-day
kindergarten program, provided that the district provides the department of elementary
and secondary education with a schedule and plan as to the implementation of such
program.