Sec. 7.3. The office shall require, for an eligible provider to enroll in the prekindergarten program, that the eligible provider agree to the following:

(1) Comply on a continuing basis with the requirements under this chapter and rules for participation established by the office.

Terms Used In Indiana Code 12-17.2-7.2-7.3

  • eligible provider: refers to a provider that satisfies the following conditions:

    Indiana Code 12-17.2-7.2-2

  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • limited eligibility child: refers to an individual who:

    Indiana Code 12-17.2-7.2-2.5

  • office: means the office of the secretary of family and social services. See Indiana Code 12-17.2-7.2-3
  • prekindergarten program: refers to the prekindergarten program established under section 7 of this chapter. See Indiana Code 12-17.2-7.2-5
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
(2) Maintain eligibility under this chapter throughout the prekindergarten program year.

(3) Report immediately any changes in eligibility status to the office, including the eligible provider’s loss of national or regional accreditation.

(4) Participate in any training and mandatory meetings required by the office.

(5) Participate in all onsite visits conducted by the office, including fiscal auditing activities with regard to the prekindergarten program and prekindergarten program activity monitoring.

(6) Allow families of eligible or limited eligibility children enrolled in the prekindergarten program of the eligible provider to visit at any time the prekindergarten program is in operation.

(7) Maintain accurate online attendance records through the attendance portal for eligible or limited eligibility children enrolled in the prekindergarten program and submit attendance records as required by the office.

(8) Offer parental engagement and involvement activities in the prekindergarten program of the eligible provider in alignment with the family engagement framework adopted by the early learning advisory committee established by IC 12-17.2-3.8-5.

(9) Complete, within the period established by the office, the Indiana early childhood family engagement toolkit, including the family engagement self-assessment, adopted by the early learning advisory committee.

(10) Share information on the family engagement self-assessment described in subdivision (9) as required by the office.

(11) Participate in research studies as required by the office.

(12) Enforce minimum attendance requirements of at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the days that the prekindergarten program of the eligible provider is offered to an eligible or limited eligibility child.

(13) Inform the office that an eligible or limited eligibility child has withdrawn from the prekindergarten program of the eligible provider not later than five (5) days after the eligible or limited eligibility child is withdrawn.

(14) That retroactive repayment to the state may be required or future payments may be adjusted as a result of the withdrawal of an eligible or limited eligibility child or changes in the law.

(15) Maintain records of participation by a family of an eligible or limited eligibility child in family engagement activities and submit records as required by the office.

(16) Promote an eligible or limited eligibility child’s social, emotional, and behavioral health and eliminate or severely limit the use of expulsion, suspension, and other exclusionary discipline practices.

(17) Use the exclusionary discipline practices described in subdivision (16) only as a last resort in extraordinary circumstances when there is a determination of a serious safety threat that cannot otherwise be reduced or eliminated by the provision of reasonable modifications.

(18) Inform and receive approval from the office before the eligible provider expels, suspends, or uses other exclusionary discipline practices.

(19) Assist a parent or guardian, upon request by the parent or guardian, in obtaining information from, referral to, or both information from and referral to, the public school that serves the attendance area in which the parent or guardian resides for an educational evaluation and determination of eligibility for special education services if developmental delays or reasons to suspect a disability are observed by the parent, guardian, or teacher of an eligible or limited eligibility child during the prekindergarten program year.

As added by P.L.184-2017, SEC.22. Amended by P.L.268-2019, SEC.10; P.L.246-2023, SEC.12.