(a) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Department” means the Department of Education.

(2) “Preschool-age child” means a child who is not yet attending kindergarten or a higher grade.

(b) The Department is authorized to provide early childhood educational services to eligible children, as defined by the Department, using funds appropriated by the General Assembly for that purpose.

(c) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Department shall provide free early childhood educational services for preschool-age children who satisfy the eligibility requirements developed by the Department.

(d) The early childhood educational services under subsection (c) of this section must be high quality and align with the quality standards developed under paragraph (g)(1) of this section in all the following categories:

(1) Learning environment and curriculum.

(2) Qualifications and professional development.

(3) Family and community partnerships.

(4) Management and administration.

(e) (1) The Department shall provide the early childhood educational services by contracting with public and private providers, including providers administering federal Head Start programs within this State.

(2) The Department may identify priorities when awarding contracts, including programs offering at least 6 hours per day of early childhood educational services.

(3) State funds paid to the contracting providers may not be used to supplant Delaware state- or federally funded programs or to make a federal Head Start provider ineligible for a Head Start expansion grant.

(4) A contract under this paragraph may be in place for up to 5 years, including renewals, if there is sufficient funding contained within the annual appropriations act and the contractor adheres to program standards, as defined by the Department.

(5) A contract under this paragraph must comply with State procurement requirements under Chapter 69 of Title 29.

(f) Each contracting provider shall establish written agreements within the provider’s respective service area with the provider’s local Head Start, other Early Childhood Initiative contracting provider, or both, as well as the local school district, to address issues including service areas, recruitment, transition of children and families, and sharing resources and information.

(g) The Department shall establish a quality improvement system. The quality improvement system must measure the level of quality of service provided by an early care and education program to safeguard and ensure the growth, development, and learning of the children. The quality improvement system must do all of the following:

(1) Establish quality standards that build upon the child care licensing regulations and include quality standards in the categories of learning environment and curriculum, qualifications and professional development, family and community partnerships, and management and administration. The Department shall ensure that the quality improvement system standards are consistent with the regulations of the Office of Child Care Licensing.

(2) Ensure that the standards are based on research on best practice related to early care and education and that support children in being physically and emotionally healthy and eager to learn.

(3) Inform families and other purchasers of early care and education about the level of quality in a simple and easy-to-understand manner.

(4) Develop a quality improvement plan that informs participating early care and education programs of their strengths, weaknesses and strategies to improve the quality of their programs.

(5) Target resources to support and recognize programs as they work on implementing improvement plans and increasing the quality of services to children and families.

(6) Provide professional development and technical assistance to assist programs in accomplishing targeted improvements.

(7) Establish public-private partnerships to implement and sustain the quality improvement system including state agencies, higher education, adult education programs, early childhood organizations, and community-based agencies.

(8) Evaluate the quality improvement system to ensure continuous improvement of the system.

(h) The Interagency Resource Management Committee (IRMC) has administrative responsibility for all appropriations made to the Department under this section. This administrative responsibility includes all of the following:

(1) Determining unserved and underserved areas within the State, to be addressed in any given year. These identified areas will be specified within the Request for Proposal (RFP) issued to prospective providers.

(2) Reviewing, recommending and disbursing grant awards for contracts to qualifying providers to deliver early childhood educational services to preschool-age children who live in poverty.

(3) Reallocating unobligated or unspent appropriations made to the Department under this section.

(4) Verifying that the contracting providers use Delaware state funds paid to them for the purposes specified in their contracts.

(i) All public and private providers contracting with the Department under this section shall ensure that every employee receives a minimum of 1 hour of training every year in the detection and reporting of child abuse. The Division of Family Services shall prepare this training, and all materials used in the training.

69 Del. Laws, c. 351, §  1;  71 Del. Laws, c. 132, §  336;  71 Del. Laws, c. 180, §  144;  72 Del. Laws, c. 94, §  355;  72 Del. Laws, c. 173, §  3;  73 Del. Laws, c. 321, §§  9, 10;  76 Del. Laws, c. 313, §§  1, 2;  82 Del. Laws, c. 184, § 1;  83 Del. Laws, c. 500, § 1;  84 Del. Laws, c. 464, § 1; 

(a) The Delaware Early Childhood Council (ECC) shall be the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood for children from birth to 8 years of age, and carry out all such functions designated in the federal Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 [P.L. 110-134] et seq., and those functions designated herein and those assigned by the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Interagency Resource Management Committee (IRMC), provided sufficient moneys are available from the annual State appropriations act, federal funding, private funding, or a combination thereof.

(b) The ECC shall be comprised primarily of private sector members but shall include all representatives as designated in the above-referenced federal legislation and shall advise the Governor and General Assembly on a continuing basis, working with the IRMC, concerning the status and improvement of services of the early childhood sector and the implementation of the State’s early childhood strategic plan. In addition to any responsibilities assigned by the Governor through the IRMC, the Delaware Early Childhood Council shall make recommendations to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the IRMC that promote the appropriate coordination and effectiveness of state services and policies. The ECC shall be responsible for maintaining and expanding a statewide network of early care and education institutions that includes providers, advocates, state program officers, private and nonprofit community institutions, and others who support the development and delivery of high quality early childhood services.

(c) In addition to the ECC’s other functions, the ECC shall do all of the following:

(1) Advise and consult with Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) regarding the development, adoption, promulgation, and amendment of the rules, regulations, and policies required to carry out Chapter 30A of this title with respect to early care and education, family and large family child care homes, and school-age centers.

(2) Encourage OCCL to communicate with individuals and entities licensed under Chapter 30A of this title and to facilitate the communication.

(3) Encourage OCCL to enforce Chapter 30A of this title in a manner that recognizes that most child care providers are private businesses that need stable and reasonable regulations.

69 Del. Laws, c. 351, §  1;  71 Del. Laws, c. 180, §  144;  76 Del. Laws, c. 53, §  1;  77 Del. Laws, c. 363, §  2;  83 Del. Laws, c. 500, § 1;  84 Del. Laws, c. 90, § 1; 

(a) The Governor shall appoint the members of the Delaware Early Childhood Council (ECC) based upon recommendation from the Interagency Resource Management Committee. The members of the ECC must meet the following criteria:

(1) Represent the racial, economic, and geographic diversity of the State.

(2) Serve for staggered, renewable terms of 3 years, except in the case of public employees continuing in the same designated position.

(3) Consist of the following members:

a. Two center-based early care and education providers.

b. One family-home-based early care and education provider.

c. One parent whose child participates in early childhood services.

d. One Delaware Head Start/Early Childhood Assistance Program Association representative.

e. One representative of a statewide early care and education resource and referral agency.

f. Two representatives from advocacy organizations focused on children’s health and well-being.

g. One representative of the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children.

h. One public school district superintendent.

i. One higher education representative who also serves on the P-20 Council.

j. One business community representative.

k. Two community members.

l. One representative of the General Assembly.

m. The State Director of Head Start Collaboration.

n. A representative of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, representing children’s health and child care.

o. A representative of the Delaware Department of Services to Children, Youth and Their Families, representing child mental health and family services.

p. A representative of the Delaware Department of Education, representing child care licensing early childhood professional development, § 619 of the IDEA (20 U.S.C. § 1419), child care licensing, and state early learning guidelines.

q. The chair of the Interagency Coordinating Council, representing Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. § 1431 et seq.).

r. Nonvoting members must include the director of the Office of Early Learning, the chair of the Family Support Coordinating Council, and the director of the State’s Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. The ECC may appoint nonvoting members and advisors to assist them in meeting their responsibilities.

(b) The Governor shall appoint a Chairperson from the nongovernmental members of the ECC, and who shall serve as a member of the State’s P-20 Council. The Chairperson shall coordinate the activities of the ECC. The Governor shall also appoint a Vice-Chairperson from the nongovernmental members of the ECC.

76 Del. Laws, c. 53, §  2;  77 Del. Laws, c. 363, §  3;  83 Del. Laws, c. 213, § 4;  83 Del. Laws, c. 280, § 6;  83 Del. Laws, c. 500, § 1; 

The Delaware Early Childhood Council (ECC) shall convene regularly-scheduled meetings at least 6 times annually. The ECC may form an executive committee from its members and other subcommittees. The ECC may form standing subcommittees including professional development, quality improvement system, data, and higher education. The ECC shall fulfill all the responsibilities designated under the federal Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-134) et seq., for the State’s Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care.

76 Del. Laws, c. 53, §  3;  77 Del. Laws, c. 363, §  4;  83 Del. Laws, c. 500, § 1;  84 Del. Laws, c. 464, § 2; 

The Department of Education shall staff the Delaware Early Childhood Council (ECC) with support from the Interagency Resource Management Committee (IRMC) as needed. The ECC will report annually to the IRMC, the Governor, President Pro Tempore, Speaker of the House, and the General Assembly’s committees on Education, Health and Social Services, and Health and Human Development regarding the status of its work and the progress of Council plans and proposals. A summary of the Council’s work shall be included in the IRMC’s annual report.

77 Del. Laws, c. 363, §  5;  83 Del. Laws, c. 500, § 1;