(a) The Legislature finds that there is at present a need in Alabama to coordinate, at the state and local level, the efforts of existing providers of services supporting early childhood development and family involvement in education.
(b) There is hereby established the Alabama Council on Family and Children to be composed of the Governor, who shall be chairperson; the State Superintendent of Education; the Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources; the State Health Officer; the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation; the Chairman of the Children's Trust Fund; and the Director of the Department of Youth Services, or their designated representatives, and one additional member from each congressional district to be appointed by the Governor. Said council shall exist for the purpose of coordinating existing services, at the state and local level, supporting early childhood development and family involvement in education and assessing existing programs.
(c) On or before June 30, 1992, the Alabama Council on Family and Children shall submit to the Governor and the Legislature a plan which shall include, but not be limited to, recommendations concerning the following:
(1) Federally sponsored "Head Start" programs for children in Alabama qualified thereunder;
(2) State-sponsored "Head Start" type programs for other four-year-old children who do not qualify for federally sponsored Head Start. Such recommendations may include the establishment and implementation of pilot programs in at least ten city or county school systems by the 1993-94 school year; and
(3) The establishment of criteria for recognizing pre-school students in need of readiness skills and the development of summer programs to aid such students.
(d) The Alabama Council on Family and Children shall recommend to the State Department of Education and the Advisory Council on Teacher-Training created by Section 16-23-15, programs of instruction in professional development for public school instructors, teachers and administrators involved in early childhood development.
Last modified: May 3, 2021