SENATE BILL 1378
By Watson
HOUSE BILL 1238
By Haston
HB1238
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4 and
Title 49, relative to the division of early child care
and education in the department of education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 2, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) As used in this section, "department" means the department of education.
(b)
(1) There is created in the department a division to be known as the
division of early child care and education. The division must be created no later
than December 31, 2026.
(2) The commissioner shall appoint the director of the division. The
director of the division reports directly to the commissioner.
(3) The division has administrative responsibility for:
(A) All child care and early educational services as defined in part
11 of this chapter; chapter 6, of this title; and title 71, chapter 3, part 5 that
are funded through state or federal monies, including, but not limited to:
(i) The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (42
U.S.C. § 9858 et seq.) and Child Care and Development Fund (45
CFR Part 98);
(ii) The voluntary pre-kindergarten program;
(iii) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.) for children before kindergarten;
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(iv) Head Start programs in this state; and
(v) Programs that are funded through the preschool
development grant (§ 9212(c)(1) of the Every Student Succeeds
Act, Pub. L. No. 114-95); and
(B) A unified early child care and education system that includes,
but is not limited to:
(i) A uniform child care licensing and regulatory system
that:
(a) Protects child health and safety, but otherwise
prioritizes reducing regulatory burdens and simplifying
processes for early childhood care and education
providers;
(b) Aligns rules for all child care and early learning
programs operated in pre-kindergarten through grade
twelve (pre-K-12) schools by non-school entities with the
department's requirements for such programs run by the
schools themselves, so long as the alignment does not
prevent the programs from receiving federal child care
funds; and
(c) Incorporates a process for supporting safe and
healthy child care and education in programs that exist
outside of standard licensing requirements;
(ii) A uniform accountability and quality rating and
improvement system for publicly funded early child care and
education programs that includes, but is not limited to:
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(a) Quality ratings predictive of child learning;
(b) Measurement methods and instruments for
high-quality instruction that include, but are not limited to, a
tested and proven, evidence-based observational
instrument that assesses classroom quality, that includes
assessing multiple dimensions of teacher-child interactions
that are linked to positive child development, early
language and literacy skills, and later achievement;
(c) A definition of kindergarten-readiness aligned
with the state's early learning and development standards
and the standards for elementary and secondary schools;
and
(d) Quality improvement supports;
(iii) Mechanisms, such as community planning grants, to
engage local communities in creating solutions that best meet
their communities' unique early care and education needs;
(iv) An advisory council comprised of providers of early
childhood care and education programs to help ensure the early
child care and education system protects child health and safety
but otherwise prioritizes reducing regulatory burdens and
simplifying regulatory processes for early childhood care and
education providers; and
(v) Mechanisms, such as surveys, for regular feedback
from parents whose children participate in programs that are part
of the unified early childhood care and education system.
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(c)
(1) The department shall establish a two-part transition plan to establish
the division of early child education and the unified early care and education
system.
(2)
(A) To support the department in creating a transition plan
pursuant to subdivision (c)(1), a transition advisory council is established
to advise the department. The council must be staffed by persons within
the department. The council shall convene no later than July 15, 2025,
and meet at least monthly through December 2026. The council consists
of the following members:
(i) The state's chief operating officer or the chief operating
officer's designee;
(ii) One (1) nongovernment person with expertise in early
child care and education, appointed by the governor;
(iii) One (1) nongovernment person with expertise in early
child care and education, appointed by the speaker of the senate;
(iv) One (1) nongovernment person with expertise in early
child care and education, appointed by the speaker of the house
of representatives;
(v) The commissioner of education or the commissioner's
designee;
(vi) The commissioner of human services or the
commissioner's designee;
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(vii) The state's Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. §§ 1400–1485 Part B-619) coordinator; and
(viii) The director of the Tennessee Head Start
collaboration office.
(B) The members appointed under subdivisions (b)(2)(A)(v)-(vii)
serve as ex officio nonvoting members.
(3) The transition advisory council shall advise the department in
developing a two-part transition plan to:
(A) Develop and recommend a first phase of the transition plan to
the governor for his approval no later than January 1, 2026. The first
phase must include a plan to establish the division of early childhood care
and education within the department, with such plan to include specific
details regarding:
(i) Division staffing;
(ii) Timelines for completion;
(iii) Budgetary items;
(iv) Technology requirements;
(v) A cooperative endeavor agreement between the
department and the department of human services that specifies
the details and terms necessary for the transfer of lead agency
authority for the Child Care and Development Fund (42 U.S.C. §
618) and responsibility for relevant programs, services, and
contracts from the department of human services to the
department. The transfer must include a continuation of contracts
with existing partners, including, but not limited to, state child care
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resource and referral centers, the Tennessee Early Childhood
Training Alliance, the Association of Infant Mental Health in
Tennessee, and Community Foundation of Middle TN; and
(vi) Any interdepartmental memorandums of understanding
created to ensure there is no disruption to the programs and
services during the transition; and
(B) Develop and recommend a second phase of the transition
plan to the governor for his approval no later than October 1, 2026. The
second phase must include a plan to establish the unified early childhood
care and education system, with such plan to include processes and
timelines to be approved by the general assembly.
(4)
(A) The department shall employ a contractor by July 1, 2025, to:
(i) Lead the department and the transition advisory council
in the development of the two-part transition plan; and
(ii) Support the department's implementation of the
transition plan.
(B) The contractor must have extensive and recent experience
and expertise in guiding and overseeing the merging of state early care
and education governance into a state department of education.
(5) The department shall require the contractor to include a process for
input from stakeholders in transition planning for the unified early childhood care
and education system, with such input to include the creation of a working group
of fifteen (15) early childhood care and education providers selected by the
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department to advise on the creation of the system, and other processes for
stakeholder input.
(6)
(A) The department shall submit the first phase of the written
transition plan to the governor for approval no later than January 1, 2026,
and the second phase of the plan to the governor no later than October 1,
2026.
(B) The governor shall submit the approved plan to the following
no later than January 15, 2026:
(i) The speaker of the senate;
(ii) The speaker of the house of representatives;
(iii) The senate education committee; and
(iv) The committee of the house of representatives with
jurisdiction over subject matters pertaining to education.
(7) The department shall implement the first phase of the transition plan
no later than December 31, 2026, and the second phase of the plan no later than
July 1, 2027.
(d) Beginning January 1, 2027, the division of early childhood education shall:
(1) Create and publish a strategic plan for the unified early childhood
care and education system, with input from local communities, providers, and
parents in accordance with goals that include, but are not limited to:
(A) Affordable, accessible options and family choice;
(B) Positive early learning outcomes; and
(C) Efficient and user-friendly systems; and
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(2) Submit a report by October 30 of each year to the general assembly
on the progress made in creating and maintaining the strategic plan. The annual
report must include any challenges to achieving such goals and recommended
actions for how to address the challenges.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.