W. Va. Code R. § 126-28-4

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 126-28-4 - County Collaborative Early Childhood Team

4.1. Each county must establish a county collaborative early childhood team which includes a core team with, at a minimum, representation from the county school system preschool program, the county school system preschool special needs program, a licensed community child care program in that county not operated by the county school system, and the Head Start program in that county. A representative from the local department of health and human resources and/or child care resource and referral agency shall be included in the core team when there is no licensed community child care representative. The licensed child care programs in the county will elect a representative to serve on the county collaborative early childhood core team.

4.2. The county collaborative early childhood core team shall annually assess the composition of the full county collaborative early childhood team, which should include a parent/guardian of a preschool child, representative(s) from the West Virginia Birth to Three System Regional Administrative Unit, local department of health and human resources, child care resource and referral agency, school health representative, classroom teachers, Family Resource Networks, Parent Education Resource Center, Starting Points, faith-based early childhood program providers, and/or other community organizations and persons interested in, knowledgeable of, or who provide support or education to young children and their families. Due to the nature of child care, every licensed child care program in the county must be extended an invitation to participate on the collaborative team. The county must keep on file a list of invitees.

4.3. Each county early childhood collaborative team shall meet regularly throughout the year to ensure that the following outcomes are met:

4.3.a. Joint decisions are made about the location of WV Pre-K classrooms including Preschool Special Education classes;

4.3.b. Joint decisions are made about responsibilities for sharing resources and information for each classroom, including but not limited to staffing, facilities, food service, and transportation;

4.3.c. Joint decisions are made concerning program availability, including hours of instruction per day, days of operation, and a WV Pre-K school calendar, which must be approved by the county board of education annually.

4.3.d. Joint decisions are made to maintain a county-wide universal enrollment process and attendance guidelines;

4.3.e. Services for children with identified special needs are provided in a least restrictive environment according to the requirements of that child's Individualized Education Program (IEP);

4.3.f. Joint decisions are made concerning adoption and implementation of a WV Pre-K Approved Curricular Framework and, if applicable, selection and use of supplemental materials/curricula enhancement;

4.3.g. Joint decisions are made to design and implement a continuous quality improvement process that includes annual plans for data collection to assist in developing school readiness goals;

4.3.h. Joint decisions are made to design and implement school readiness goals and transition plans;

4.3.i. Joint decisions are made to establish and maintain a dispute resolution process to ensure a mechanism for resolving disputes in order to support WV Pre-K program outcomes.

4.4. All programs participating in universal pre-k who provide services to eligible children must follow all rules and regulations as outlined in this policy.

4.4.a. Each pre-k classroom, including preschool special needs classrooms, must provide at least fifteen hundred minutes of instruction per week and forty-eight thousand minutes of instruction annually. The pre-k instructional day is inclusive of all required elements of the daily schedule. Programs must operate no fewer than four days per week to meet annual and weekly operational requirements. Programs must ensure that federal regulations addressing classroom operations are met in collaborative classrooms. The pre-k school calendar must be approved by the county boards of education annually.

4.4.b. A collaborative contract must be completed and signed annually by the county board of education and each collaborative partner to illustrate agreement of terms for pre-k program implementation. The collaborative contract between agencies must address how the collaborative partner will assure compliance with all applicable regulations and standards. Each collaborative contract must include provisions for impasse resolution among partners. It is the responsibility of the collaborative partners to ensure that the staff and administrators receive professional development related to the policies and regulations of all the collaborative partners.

4.4.c. A budget and cost allocation worksheet must be completed for each collaborative pre-k classroom as part of the collaborative contract to illustrate specific costs and allocations of contracts.

4.4.d. In collaborative classrooms where community partners have regulations such as the Head Start Performance Standards or West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR) Child Care Centers Licensing, these regulations shall apply in addition to Policy 2525.

4.4.e. Community programs that are exempt from child care center licensing under W. Va. Code § 49-2-113 must be licensed in order to participate in WV Pre-K unless they are located in an approved county board of education site.

4.5. Counties must maximize early childhood resources by collaborating with existing programs within the county before opening new classrooms operated solely by the county board of education as required by W. Va. Code § 18-5-44. No less than 50% of the classrooms for eligible children must be provided through contractual agreements with community programs, including but not limited to Head Start and child care, unless the county collaborative early childhood team can document that those programs do not exist in that county, cannot meet the mandates of this policy, or choose not to participate.

4.5.a. In an instance when the county board of education is the Head Start grantee, those settings are considered part of the mandate for collaboration; however, the collaboration does not fulfill these requirements for collaboration with community partners if those partners are available.

4.5.b. Each county board of education must have on file at the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) verified universal pre-k program data, which has been approved by the Secretary of WVDHHR and WVBE that reflects meaningful involvement of the county collaborative early childhood team.

4.5.c. All changes of substance to the verified universal pre-k program data must be submitted as an addendum to the WVDE with signatures of all the required county collaborative early childhood core team members for review and approval 30 days prior to the implementation of the changes. Changes of substance refer to program changes including, but not limited to, classroom locations, operation, curriculum, staffing, and resources. Failure to submit an addendum may result in the non-approval of the change.

4.5.d. The WVDE, in collaboration with the WVDHHR, has the responsibility of convening a committee to review the quality and content of the changes. This committee, designated as the WV Pre-K Steering Team, is comprised of representatives from the WVDE, WVDHHR, and the Head Start State Collaboration Office. State collaborative participation on the committee will ensure the maximization of resources as related to (1) federal and other available funds, and (2) Head Start programs and other public and private programs approved by the State Superintendent of Schools.

W. Va. Code R. § 126-28-4