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_ 219 Item Details($) Appropriations($) ITEM 125.10. First Year Second Year First Year Second Year FY2025 FY2026 FY2025 FY2026 4. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation and subject to review by the Early Childhood Care and Education Commission, shall revise attendance requirements for the Mixed-Delivery initiative to ensure participating children fully benefit and maximization of available resources. The Department shall report proposed changes to the General Assembly by December 1, 2025. D. Virginia Preschool Initiative 1.a. Funds shall be disbursed by the Department of Education to schools and community- based organizations to provide quality preschool programs for at-risk four-year-olds who are residents of Virginia and unserved by Head Start program funding and for at-risk five- year-olds who are not eligible to attend kindergarten, or who did not have access to a sufficient preschool experience and whose families request preschool as the most appropriate placement. Final Virginia Preschool Initiative placement decisions for eligible children shall be based on family and program leader input. b. These state funds and required local matching funds shall be used to provide programs for at-risk four-year-old children, which include quality preschool education, health services, social services, parental involvement and transportation. It shall be the policy of the Commonwealth that state funds and required local matching funds for the Virginia Preschool Initiative not be used for capital outlay, not be used to supplant any Head Start federal funds provided for local early education programs, and not be used until the local Head Start grantee certifies that all local Head Start slots are filled. Programs must provide full-day or half-day and, at least, school-year services. c. The Department of Education shall establish academic standards that are in accordance with appropriate preparation for students to be ready to successfully enter kindergarten. These standards shall be established in such a manner as to be measurable for student achievement and success. Students shall be required to be evaluated in the fall and in the spring by each participating school division and the school divisions must certify that the Virginia Preschool Initiative program follows the established standards in order to receive the funding for quality preschool education and criteria for the service components. Such standards shall align with the Virginia Standards of Learning for Kindergarten. d. The Department of Education shall revise attendance requirements for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, subject to review by the Early Childhood Care and Education Commission, to ensure participating children fully benefit and maximization of available resources. The Department shall report proposed changes to the General Assembly by December 1, 2025. de.(i) Grants shall be distributed based on an allocation formula providing the state share of a $9,968 per pupil grant in the first year and a $9,968 per pupil grant in the second year for 100 percent of the unserved at-risk four-year-olds in each locality for a full-day program. Grants to half-day programs shall be funded based on the state share of $4,984 in the first year and $4,984 in the second year per unserved at-risk four-year-old in each locality. For Planning District Eight localities, grants shall be distributed based on an allocation formula providing the state share of a $10,701 per pupil grant in the first year and a $10,701 per pupil grant in the second year for 100 percent of the unserved at-risk four- year-olds in each locality for a full-day program; grants to half-day programs for these localities shall be funded based on the state share of $5,351 in the first year and $5,351 in the second year per unserved at-risk four-year-old in each locality. For the counties of Stafford, Fauquier, Spotsylvania, Clarke, Warren, Frederick, and Culpeper and the Cities of Fredericksburg and Winchester, grants shall be distributed based on an allocation formula providing the state share of a $10,151 per pupil grant in the first year and a $10,151 per pupil grant in the second year for 100 percent of the unserved at-risk four-year-olds in each locality for a full-day program; grants to half-day programs for these localities shall be funded based on the state share of $5,076 in the first year and $5,076 in the second year per unserved at-risk four-year-old in each locality. The number of unserved at-risk four-year-olds in each locality shall be based on the projected number of kindergarten students, updated once each biennium for the