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