The department shall establish the Louisiana Early Childhood Opportunity Program to assist in the development and funding of appropriate early childhood programs for children ages three to five years who are economically disadvantaged as defined by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, referred to in this Section as the “state board”. The department, with the approval of the state board, shall award grants or contracts to qualified early childhood programs, including but not limited to Head Start, HIPPY, Parents as Teachers, and programs for children with developmental disabilities or who are economically disadvantaged, selected by the department in accordance with specified programmatic standards and guidelines to be established by the department with the approval of the state board.

            Acts 1992, No. 970, §1, eff. July 9, 1992; Acts 2014, No. 811, §8, eff. June 23, 2014; Acts 2015, No. 297, §1; Acts 2018, No. 307, §1.