2005-2006 Bill 4406: First Steps to School Readiness Act - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly

116th Session, 2005-2006

H. 4406

STATUS INFORMATION

Joint Resolution

Sponsors: Reps. Townsend, Anthony, Breeland, J.Brown, Whipper, Walker, Scott, Littlejohn, CobbHunter, Bales, Cotty, Anderson, McLeod, R.Brown, Frye, Harrell, Huggins, Battle, Rivers, Miller, Lucas, Clark, Altman, Agnew, Ballentine, Bowers, Brady, Branham, Ceips, Chellis, Clyburn, Coleman, Emory, Funderburk, Haley, Harrison, Hayes, J.Hines, Hiott, Hosey, Howard, Jefferson, Jennings, Kennedy, Kirsh, Mack, Martin, McCraw, MoodyLawrence, J.H.Neal, J.M.Neal, Neilson, Ott, Owens, Parks, Phillips, E.H.Pitts, Rhoad, Rice, Rutherford, Scarborough, F.N.Smith, G.R.Smith, J.E.Smith, Vick, Weeks, Whitmire, Hodges, Mitchell, Hagood, Taylor, Skelton, Hinson, Young, Cooper, Bailey, Loftis, Govan and Mahaffey

Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20663sd06.doc

Companion/Similar bill(s): 947

Introduced in the House on January 11, 2006

Introduced in the Senate on February 1, 2006

Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Education

Summary: First Steps to School Readiness Act

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

DateBodyAction Description with journal page number

1/11/2006HouseIntroduced and read first time HJ11

1/11/2006HouseReferred to Committee on Education and Public WorksHJ12

1/12/2006HouseMember(s) request name added as sponsor: Hagood, Taylor, Skelton

1/17/2006HouseMember(s) request name added as sponsor: Hinson, Young

1/18/2006HouseMember(s) request name added as sponsor: Cooper, Bailey, Loftis, Govan

1/26/2006HouseCommittee report: Favorable Education and Public WorksHJ2

1/31/2006HouseMember(s) request name added as sponsor: Mahaffey

1/31/2006HouseRead second time HJ18

2/1/2006HouseRead third time and sent to Senate HJ27

2/1/2006SenateIntroduced and read first time SJ34

2/1/2006SenateReferred to Committee on EducationSJ34

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

1/11/2006

1/26/2006

COMMITTEE REPORT

January 26, 2006

H.4406

Introduced by Reps. Townsend, Anthony, Breeland, J.Brown, Whipper, Walker, Scott, Littlejohn, CobbHunter, Bales, Cotty, Anderson, McLeod, R.Brown, Frye, Harrell, Huggins, Battle, Rivers, Miller, Lucas, Clark, Altman, Agnew, Ballentine, Bowers, Brady, Branham, Ceips, Chellis, Clyburn, Coleman, Emory, Funderburk, Haley, Harrison, Hayes, J.Hines, Hiott, Hosey, Howard, Jefferson, Jennings, Kennedy, Kirsh, Mack, Martin, McCraw, MoodyLawrence, J.H.Neal, J.M.Neal, Neilson, Ott, Owens, Parks, Phillips, E.H.Pitts, Rhoad, Rice, Rutherford, Scarborough, F.N.Smith, G.R.Smith, J.E.Smith, Vick, Weeks, Whitmire, Hodges, Mitchell, Hagood, Taylor, Skelton, Hinson, Young, Cooper, Bailey, Loftis and Govan

S. Printed 1/26/06--H.

Read the first time January 11, 2006.

THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND PUBLIC WORKS

To whom was referred a Joint Resolution (H.4406) to provide that Act 99 of 1999, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized, etc., respectfully

REPORT:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass:

RONALD P. TOWNSEND for Committee.

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A JOINT RESOLUTION

TO PROVIDE THAT ACT 99 OF 1999, THE SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS ACT, IS REAUTHORIZED UNTIL JULY 1, 2013.

Whereas, South Carolina’s economic future depends upon a well educated workforce; and

Whereas, the General Assembly created in 1999 the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Initiative as a “comprehensive, resultsoriented initiative for improving early childhood development by providing, through county partnerships, public and private funds and support for high quality early childhood development and education services for children by providing support for their families’ efforts toward enabling their children to reach school ready to learn”; and

Whereas, school readiness will play a decisive role in South Carolina’s successful attainment of the “No Child Left Behind” requirement that all United States children attain a level of academic proficiency by the year 2013; and

Whereas, First Steps serves a unique role as the only entity solely focused on the determinants of school readiness at both state and local levels; and

Whereas, First Steps was created to ensure collaboration and coordination between all agencies serving children, and to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of all related federal, state, and local programs and funding streams; and

Whereas, the First Steps initiative is designed to empower individual communities to identify and fill countyspecific school readiness service gaps; and

Whereas, First Steps has successfully developed a statewide infrastructure to convene partners within the education, business, faith, government, and health communities in the interest of delivering high quality services to children up to age five and their families; and

Whereas, First Steps is a mechanism by which the coordination of early childhood systems and pooling of resources is routinely demonstrated to benefit South Carolina taxpayers; and

Whereas, First Steps partnerships have developed rapport with, and provided extensive support to private early education and care providers in an effort to leverage and expand upon their own substantial efforts to promote quality and ensure the optimal development of South Carolina’s children; and

Whereas, First Steps has implemented the “Blueprint for South Carolina’s Children”, its agency improvement plan, focusing the statewide initiative upon five lines of work with quality, accountability, collaboration, and leadership as its agencywide guiding principles and school readiness priorities; and

Whereas, the First Steps initiative has achieved substantial national attention for its innovative enabling legislation and its implementation of “Countdown to Kindergarten”, a school transition strategy designed with partners to connect highrisk families with the elementary schools that their children will attend; and

Whereas, local First Steps partnerships serve as “laboratories for change”, funding researchbased strategies that provide models of best practices for use across the State and nation; and

Whereas, First Steps has brought attention and resources to the need for increased, integrated systems coordination and outcomes tracking among childserving agencies; and

Whereas, First Steps has contributed to the increased school readiness of almost three hundred forty thousand children up to age five years with an average annual investment of less than onethird of one percent of the state’s annual budget; and

Whereas, First Steps was the first state agency to assist in extending state funded prekindergarten from halfday to fullday experiences for children, and has overseen the state’s first publicprivate 4k partnerships; and

Whereas, First Steps has leveraged more than thirty million dollars in resources for other childserving agencies and has leveraged its own state allocated resources by approximately thirty percent annually; and

Whereas, First Steps operates with the highest standards of fiscal accountability and programbased fund tracking; and

Whereas, First Steps provides parents with tools they can use to help their children prepare for school success through a myriad of choices; and

Whereas, First Steps plays a statewide role in the dissemination of public information to communities about school readiness and early learning. Now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION1.Act 99 of 1999, South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized until July 1, 2013.

SECTION2.This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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