§ 483-g. Early childhood advisory council. 1. There is hereby
established within the council an early childhood advisory council to
promote a comprehensive and high quality early childhood system. Members
of the early childhood advisory council shall be appointed by the
governor and shall include, but not be limited to, to the maximum extent
possible:

(a) a representative of the office of children and family services;

(b) a representative of the state education department;

(c) a representative of local educational agencies;

(d) a representative of institutions of higher education in the state;

(e) a representative of local providers of early childhood education
and development services;

(f) a representative of head start agencies, including migrant and
seasonal head start programs and Indian head start programs;

(g) the director of the head start collaboration office;

(h) a representative from the department of health;

(i) a representative of the office of temporary and disability
assistance;

(j) a representative of the office of mental health;

(k) a representative of the office for people with developmental
disabilities;

(l) a representative of the empire state development corporation;

(m) a representative of the division of the budget;

(n) at least five representatives of the business community; and

(o) representatives of other entities determined to be relevant by the
governor.

2. The governor shall also designate the two chairpersons to the early
childhood advisory council.

3. The early childhood advisory council shall, in addition to any
responsibilities assigned by the governor:

(a) conduct a periodic statewide needs assessment concerning the
quality and availability of early childhood education and development
programs and services for children from birth to school entry, including
an assessment of the availability of high-quality pre-kindergarten
services for low-income children in the state;

(b) identify opportunities for, and barriers to, collaboration and
coordination among federally funded and state funded child development,
child care, and early childhood education programs and services,
including collaboration and coordination among state agencies
responsible for administering such programs;

(c) develop recommendations for increasing the overall participation
of children in existing federal, state, and local child care and early
childhood education programs, including outreach to underrepresented and
special populations;

(d) develop recommendations regarding the establishment of a unified
data collection system for public early childhood education and
development programs and services throughout the state;

(e) develop recommendations regarding statewide professional
development and career advancement plans for early childhood educators
in the state;

(f) assess the capacity and effectiveness of two-year and four-year
public and private institutions of higher education in the state toward
supporting the development of early childhood educators, including the
extent to which such institutions have in place articulation agreements,
professional development and career advancement plans, and practice or
internships for students to spend time in a head start or
pre-kindergarten program;

(g) develop and implement strategies to engage business and civic
leaders and organizations in early learning planning and advocacy at the
state and local level;

(h) increase business, civic and public awareness of the importance of
early childhood education, including, but not limited to, the
distribution of literature through mail or online, organizing of
meetings and events to promote the cost benefit of investments in
learning and the hosting of an annual economic summit on early childhood
investment;

(i) develop recommendations for increasing public-private investments
in early childhood and strategies for maximizing resources; and

(j) make recommendations for improvements in state early learning
standards and undertake efforts to develop high-quality comprehensive
early learning standards, as appropriate.

4. Members of the early childhood advisory council shall serve on
workgroups tasked with implementing the duties required pursuant to
subdivision three of this section. Such workgroups may be established as
needed, provided however that there shall be a permanent early learning
investment workgroup focused on implementation of, at a minimum, the
duties described in paragraphs (g), (h) and (i) of subdivision three of
this section. Membership of the early learning investment workgroup
shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of the business
community appointed to the council in accordance with paragraph (n) of
subdivision one of this section.

5. The early childhood advisory council shall hold public hearings and
provide an opportunity for public comment on the activities described in
subdivision three of this section.

6. The early childhood advisory council shall submit a statewide
strategic report addressing the activities described in subdivision
three of this section to the director of the head start collaboration
office, the governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary
president of the senate. After submission of a statewide strategic
report, the early childhood advisory council shall meet periodically to
review any implementation of the recommendations in such report and any
changes in state and local needs.