(1) Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, prekindergarten slots provided by eligible private providers shall account for at least 30% of the total prekindergarten slots provided by eligible prekindergarten providers in each county;

(2) The proportion of eligible private provider prekindergarten slots in each county increases by 5 percentage points every school year, until, in the 2026-2027 school year, eligible private provider prekindergarten slots account for at least 50% of eligible prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county; and

(3) In each year after the 2026-2027 school year, the proportion of eligible private provider prekindergarten slots in each county shall continue to constitute at least 50% of eligible prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county.

(b) (1) The Department shall issue a waiver from the requirements of this section to a county board if:

(i) All families in the county who desire to enroll their eligible children with eligible prekindergarten providers are able to do so; or

(ii) After reasonable cross-jurisdictional or regional efforts, there are too few eligible private providers to meet the minimum requirements of this section.

(2) The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 3 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 2029-2030 school year.

(3) The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 4 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 2026-2027 school year.

(4) The Department shall establish waiver application procedures to carry out the provisions of this subsection.