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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
HOUSE BILL 3531 By: Ranson
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to children; creating the Early
Childhood Task Force; providing for task force
membership; providing for election of chai r and vice-
chair; permitting the selection of honorary chair;
directing task force to provide reports ; disallowing
certain members from receiving compensation or
reimbursement; permitting certain members to claim
certain expenses; requiring task force to be subject
to the Oklahoma Open Records Act and Oklahoma Open
Meeting Act; providing that task force documents and
recommendations shall only be considered advice ;
providing a vision statement; providing a mission;
providing principles the task force is to be guided
by; providing tasks for the task force ; providing for
codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF O KLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codifie d
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 390 of Title 10, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. There is hereby created the Early Childhood Task Force to
study and make recommendations to improve access to and increase the
quantity of high-quality early childhood services.
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B. The task force shall be comprised of nineteen (19) members
to be appointed as follows:
1. The Secretary of Human Services, or a designee;
2. The State Commissioner of Health, or a designee;
3. The Secretary of Commerce, or a designee ;
4. The Secretary of Education, or a designee ;
5. A representative of business selected by the State Chamber
of Oklahoma;
6. A representative of a philanthropic organization dedicated
to early childhood;
7. A representative selected by the Director of Oklahoma Head
Start;
8. A representative selected by the Oklahoma Child Care
Association;
9. The Executive Director of Oklahoma Partnership for School
Readiness;
10. A representative of the Child ren's Advocacy Centers of
Oklahoma;
11. A representative of the Oklahoma Institute for Child
Advocacy;
12. An Oklahoma State Senator selected by the Pro Tempore of
the Senate;
13. An Oklahoma State Representative selected by the Speaker of
the House of Representatives ;
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14. A representative of the Oklahoma Parent Teacher
Association;
15. A representative of parents with yo ung children selected by
the Oklahoma Early Childhood Program (OECP) ;
16. A representative respo nsible for programs under Part C of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( IDEA) selected by
the State Commissioner of Health ;
17. A representative from Oklahoma State University's
Department of Human Development and F amily Science selected by the
Director of the Department of Human D evelopment and Family Science;
18. A pediatric specialist selected by the Oklahoma Chapter of
the American Academy of Pediatrics ( OKAAP); and
19. A child development specialist selected by the Early
Childhood Education Institute.
C. The Early Childhood Task Force shall elect a chair and vice -
chair, or co-chairs, from the Task Force 's membership, and the chair
or co-chairs shall establish rules for the Task Force 's meetings and
the conducting of business. Upon the absence or vacancy of the
chair, the vice-chair shall serve as chair in an acting capacity.
D. An honorary chair may be selected to serve in a ceremonial
capacity. The honorary chair shall not serve as a voting member of
the Task Force but may engage with the work of the Task Force in an
advisory role or in a manner deemed appropriate by the chair or co -
chairs.
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E. The Task Force shall develop and submit an initial report to
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives by November 2024 and a final report by November
2025.
F. Members shall receive no compensation o r reimbursement for
expenses and shall serve voluntarily. Officers or employees of
state agencies who are appointed to the Task Force as part of their
duties shall be authorized to participate on the Task Force and may
claim subsistence, allowance, mil eage, or associated expenses from
their respective agency budgets as permitted by law.
G. The Task Force shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open Records
Act and the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.
H. Plans, reports, or recommendations of any nature adopted by
the Task Force shall be considered advice to the Legislature and
shall not be construed as official p olicies, positions, or
interpretations of laws, rule s, or regulations by any department or
agency of state government, nor shall any such department or agency
be bound in any manne r to consider such advice when conducting their
advisory and regulatory affa irs.
I. The Task Force shall be guided by the follo wing vision
statement: Oklahoma children, especially those between zero (0) and
five (5) years of age deserve healthy childhoods that are supported
by a robust early childhood system which improves outcomes and
effectively provides high-quality early care and education, adapts
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to the needs of famil ies and communities, and is equitably
accessible to all communities across the state.
J. The Task Force shall work towards the mission of creating a
framework for a single agency governance structure for early
childhood programming that consolidates initiatives and funding
under the leadership of a new cabinet- or department-level position.
K. The Task Force's work shall be guided by a commitment to the
following principles:
1. Children, family, and community w ell-being shall be centered
throughout the Early Childhood Task Force's work;
2. Efforts shall be focused on max imizing efficiencies to
reduce the administrative burdens on families and improve access to
early childhood services through the creation of a new executive
agency or department;
3. The consolidation of early childhood services shall be
informed by what families and communities say they want and need;
4. Access to programs and services shall be equitable and
available to all children and families regardless of socioeconomic
status or geographic location;
5. Intentional focus shall be placed on developing strategies
to reach families and young children in care deserts or furthest
from opportunity and existing resource s;
6. Access to affordable and quality healthcare, nutrition,
childcare, mental health, home visiting, early interv ention, support
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for families, early learning, and other services in the critical
prenatal to five (5) age period will decisively impact academic
success, economic oppor tunities, and the prosperity of Oklahoma;
7. Efforts shall be made to use data-informed approaches and
explore better ways to develop shared data systems;
8. Work shall focus on strengthening and expanding the
childcare delivery system already in use in Oklahoma;
9. Alignment across sectors and state ag encies will increase
capacity, maximize funding, and create a more streamlined delivery
of services;
10. The importance of growing a diverse and well -supported
early childhood workforce shall remain at the forefront and be
informed by the Task Force 's work;
11. While focusing on advancing the delivery system, work shall
highlight the importance of defining quality care and expanding
capacity and access to create a greater quantity of quality
services;
12. To incentivize innovation and respond to family n eeds,
communities must be empowered to develop local, community -based
solutions that take a whole -child and whole-family approach in
responding to needs;
13. To ensure holistic childhood well -being and improve health
outcomes, there must be alignment between state efforts to improve
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early learning and care and existing prenatal and maternal health
initiatives; and
14. Strengthening early childhood developmental health is vital
to ensuring that children are prepared to achieve academic success
and are setup for lifelong learning.
L. The Task Force's duties shall include :
1. Conducting an analysis of the curren t early childhood
delivery system in O klahoma and how it is financed with specific
focus on gaps, inefficiencies, and redundancies. This work should
focus on how creating a single -agency governance structure for early
childhood services could overcome thes e challenges and improve how
care is delivered, accessed, and funded. This analysis must
specifically include:
a. a review of current early childhood programs and
policies dispersed between the Department of Human
Services, State Department of Health, Oklahoma
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services, and the State Department of Education. The
review should pay special attention to where current
statutory authority over certain operations exists and
where possible areas of redundancy occur ,
b. a review of how current funding systems blend and
various funding opportunities, with special attention
as to how funding streams are currently utilized for
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early childhood programs that are housed acros s
departments. This fiscal review should map the routes
all private, public, federal, and state funding
streams take from funding authority t o program
application,
c. a review of how Oklahoma might integrate existing
programming into a consolidated deliver y system and
what needs might exist for new programming that the
state currently lacks,
d. recommendations on how cross -agency collaboration an d
partnerships can be fostered to develop a who le-of-
government approach to strengthening the delivery of
early childhood services in a single -agency model,
(1) specifically ensuring that data infrastructure is
integrated across agencies, account for both
qualitative and quantitative methods, and can be
widely utilized by multiple state agencies ,
e. recommendations on how a single executive agency or
department might maximize efficiencies for early
childhood providers and their workforce. This work
should determine how licensing, workforce development
and support, and facility review can be improved to
eliminate barriers to entry for providers and
professionals. This should also include a review of
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current regulatory structures that complicate the
process of entering the early childhood sector ,
f. recommendations on how a single executive agency or
department can strengthen the existing health care
workforce to better support the development of young
children and well-being of mothers through improved
access to comprehensive and preventive care. This
should also include a review of how to secure improved
health outcomes for children, financial sustainability
of delivery models, and cultivating workforce
pipelines,
g. an analysis of key lessons learned from states already
advancing consolidated systems of early childhood
governance to inform Oklahoma's own process;
2. Conducting a series of stakeholder engagement opportunities
to elicit feedback on the current early childhood governance
structure and better understand the needs of parents, families,
providers, and businesses;
a. Following the engagement of stakeholders, the Task
Force shall conduct a review that synthesizes feedback
received from families, providers, community leaders,
and the business sector . This review shall include
recommendations on how th e state delivery system and
governance model can be improved to respon d to family
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and community needs. It shall also include
recommendations for how the state c an better engage
with parents, families, and communities on a regular
basis to ensure family -voice is centered in the work
of state agencies;
3. Drafting a transition plan to ensure the continuous
operation of state services upon the creation of a new state agency
for early childhood. This plan shall:
a. include detailed recommendations for what pr ograms and
services should remain in their current place or
transition into a new agency. Each recommendation
shall consider the challenges and benefits of moving
programs from one agency to another ,
b. focus on movement between agencies and how
collaboration can be strengthened with non executive
agencies. It shall also include recommendations for
any necessary interagency agreements ,
c. include a review of what additional funding and
resources might be needed to transition to a single -
agency governance model effectively and efficiently ,
d. Provide recommended goals and metrics for the agency
to strive towards once operational , and
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4. Drafting proposed legislation that creates a new cabinet -
level, single state agency that oversees Oklahoma's early childhood
education and care programs.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
59-2-9560 CMA 01/16/24