SLS 17RS-3083 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 209
BY SENATOR MORRELL
BESE. Requests the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to take action
relative to School Readiness Tax Credits with respect to the repeal of the Education Tax
Credit.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt
3 emergency rules to revise qualifications for the School Readiness Tax Credits for
4 eligible child care staff to capture a portion of the proceeds resulting from the repeal
5 of the Education Tax Credit.
6 WHEREAS, in R.S. 47:6101, the legislature recognizes that the benefits of quality
7 child care are indisputable and that a striking connection exists between children's learning
8 experiences well before kindergarten and their later school success; and
9 WHEREAS, eighty percent of brain development takes place from birth through age
10 three, and ninety percent by age four; and
11 WHEREAS, children who start school behind generally stay behind, and more than
12 forty percent of Louisiana's children enter kindergarten already behind; and
13 WHEREAS, in 2007, the Louisiana Legislature passed a package of tax credits, the
14 School Readiness Tax Credits, to encourage, support, and promote access to high quality
15 early childhood care and education in the state; and
16 WHEREAS, the School Readiness Tax Credits have been extremely effective in
17 achieving their purpose and have received national recognition; and
18 WHEREAS, under current Louisiana licensing regulations, a teacher in a child care
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1 center is not required to have a high school degree and often earns close to minimum wage
2 with no benefits; and
3 WHEREAS, the School Readiness Tax Credits for child care staff has provided a
4 financial incentive for child care center teachers to pursue the training and education needed
5 to increase their credentials; and
6 WHEREAS, between 2008 and 2015, child care teachers attaining a Teacher Level
7 1 credential more than tripled, increasing from nine hundred sixty-three to three thousand
8 five hundred ninety-eight; and
9 WHEREAS, between 2008 and 2015, the number of child care staff who attained
10 higher credentials at Teacher Levels 2, 3, and 4, increased almost eight-fold, from two
11 hundred eighty-four to two thousand one hundred fifty-six; and
12 WHEREAS, the legislature is repealing the Education Tax Credit established by R.S.
13 47:297(D)(2) as amended by Section 5 of Act No. 125 of the 2015 Regular Session of the
14 Louisiana Legislature; and
15 WHEREAS, according to the 2016-2017 State of Louisiana Tax Exemption Budget,
16 the projected cost of the Education Tax Credit for Fiscal Year 2017 is $11,024,000; and
17 WHEREAS, the legislature supports the idea that a portion of the proceeds resulting
18 from the repeal of the Education Tax Credit should go to the School Readiness Tax Credits,
19 and specifically to the Child Care Staff Credit established in R.S. 47:6106.
20 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
21 does hereby urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to
22 adopt emergency rules, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure
23 Act and R.S. 47:6103(A)(2) and (B), to revise qualifications for the School Readiness Tax
24 Credits for eligible child care staff, pursuant to R.S. 47:6106, to capture a portion of the
25 proceeds resulting from the repeal of the Education Tax Credit to be used for child care
26 teachers beginning with the 2018 calendar year.
27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
28 president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
29 superintendent of education.
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The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Cheryl Serrett.
DIGEST
SR 209 Original 2017 Regular Session Morrell
Requests the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt emergency rules
to revise qualifications for the School Readiness Tax Credits for eligible child care staff to
capture a portion of the proceeds resulting from the repeal of the Education Tax Credit.
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