(1) From the state school aid fund money appropriated in section 11, there is allocated for 2025-2026 only an amount not to exceed $25,000,000.00 to Clinton County RESA (CCRESA) for phase 2 of a preschool pilot program to provide services to 3-year-old children. Eligible children are those whose age is less than 4 years on September 1 and greater than or equal to 3 years on December 1 of the current school year and whose family income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level, with priority given to families with lower incomes. Additional factors such as developmental delay, language barriers, or challenging behaviors may also be considered for eligibility. These services must be designed for children who are age 3 and must be similar to the services provided through the great start readiness program. The program described in this section must be administered by CCRESA Strong Beginnings Implementation Team under the direction of the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential, with assessment, data, and collection analysis for the program being provided by Michigan State University.

    (2) The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential must pay the funding under this section to Clinton County RESA in installments over 2 years. The department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall determine the amount to be used in each year.

    (3) This section is intended to provide planning for and implement phase 2 of the pilot preschool program for 3-year-old children. The second phase of the pilot will examine variations of the current program, such as part-day, 5-day-per-week, multiage grouping with the great start readiness program, and inclusion.

    (4) In order to evaluate the outcomes and impact of strong beginnings, Clinton County RESA and Michigan State University shall compare outcomes for children who attend strong beginnings and the great start readiness program with:

    (a) Outcomes for children who attend the great start readiness program only.

    (b) Outcomes for children who did not attend either program.

    (5) Data used for the purpose of comparisons under subsection (4) must include, at a minimum, strong beginnings waitlist data, strong beginnings child assessment data, the great start readiness program child assessment data, kindergarten attendance data, and elementary standardized testing data.

    (6) At the end of phase 2, Clinton County RESA shall provide a report to the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential detailing all of the following:

    (a) How the phase 2 pilot was conducted.

    (b) Demographics of the children served.

    (c) Outcomes achieved.

    (d) Scope of expansion, including successes and challenges the pilot faced and how the implementation team responded.

    (e) An updated model, including phase 2 variations, this state could use to scale the program statewide, if funding were available.

    (7) The funds allocated under this section for 2025-2026 are a work project appropriation, and any unexpended funds for 2025-2026 are carried forward into 2026-2027. The purpose of the work project is to expand phase 1 of the pilot to additional classrooms and initiate phase 2 of the pilot. The estimated completion date of the work project is September 30, 2029.

    (8) Notwithstanding section 17b, the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential shall make payments under this section on a schedule determined by the department of lifelong education, advancement, and potential.