82R4526 KKA-F
By: Hartnett H.B. No. 1831
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school child care.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.902, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to
read as follows:
(a) In this section, "eligible school-age students" means
children enrolled as students in prekindergarten through grade 7
who are educationally disadvantaged.
(b) Each school district that on September 1 of a school
year has a student membership of more than 5,000 [and that does not
provide directly or by contract child care services before and
after the school day and during school holidays and vacations for
the district's school-age students] shall annually:
(1) conduct a survey of private child care providers
operating in the community to determine the degree to which those
providers are meeting the needs of the district's eligible
school-age students for child care before and after the school day
and during school holidays and vacations; and
(2) consider, during at least two public hearings, the
need for and availability of the child care described by
Subdivision (1) [before, after, or both before and after the school
day and during school holidays and vacations] for the district's
eligible school-age students.
(d) If child care services provided by private providers are
insufficient to meet the needs of the district's eligible
school-age students, the [The] Work and Family Policies
Clearinghouse may distribute money appropriated by the legislature
to any school district for the purpose of implementing [school-age]
child care before and after the school day and during school
holidays and vacations for the [a school] district's eligible
school-age students. Eligible use of funds shall include
planning, development, establishment, expansion, or improvement of
child care services and reasonable start-up costs. The
clearinghouse may distribute money to pay fees charged for
providing services to students who are considered to be at risk of
dropping out of school under Section 29.081. The Texas Workforce
Commission shall by rule establish procedures and eligibility
requirements for distributing this money to school districts.
(e) A child care program implemented by a school district
must comply with the applicable child care licensing requirements
and standards imposed under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code.
SECTION 2. Section 33.903, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (e), (g), (h), and (k) and adding
Subsection (n) to read as follows:
(b) The legislature may make appropriations to the agency
for the purpose of supporting before- and after-school child care
programs for eligible school-age students in a school district that
is operating a community education development project.
(e) The agency may not consider a school district's
application for child care funding unless the application:
(1) contains a resolution by the district's board of
trustees or governing body adopting a particular child care plan;
(2) states that the district has determined that child
care services provided by private providers are insufficient to
meet the needs of the district's eligible school-age students;
(3) states that the district will obtain appropriate
licensing for the district's child care program under Chapter 42,
Human Resources Code, and comply with applicable standards adopted
under that chapter;
(4) states the anticipated funding requirements for
the district's child care program and provides the agency with the
data and any analysis used to prepare the funding estimate;
(5) [(3)] includes or is accompanied by a statement
outlining how the proposed project effectuates the goals of this
section and complies with the guidelines and objectives established
under Subsection (d);
(6) [(4)] provides that the district will provide
before- and after-school care between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
for any eligible school-age student in prekindergarten
[kindergarten] through grade seven [eight] whose parents or legal
guardians work, attend school, or participate in a job-training
program during those hours;
(7) [(5)] specifies that the district's child care
program outlined in the application will maintain a ratio of not
less than one caregiver per 20 students in prekindergarten
[kindergarten] through grade three and a ratio of not less than one
caregiver per 25 students in grades four through seven, unless a
lower ratio is imposed under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
[eight] and will provide age-appropriate educational and
recreational activities and homework assistance; and
(8) [(6)] states that the district has appointed a
child care administrator.
(g) Each school district may provide full-day care for
eligible school-age students on school holidays and teacher
preparation days and during periods school is in recess, including
summer vacation.
(h) A school district may supplement any funds received
under this section with funds received through other government
assistance programs, program tuition, or private donations. Any
tuition charge may reflect only the actual cost of care provided to
the student, and the agency or other appropriate governmental
agency approved by the commissioner may audit a program to ensure
compliance with this subsection. [A school district shall use
state funds awarded under this section to benefit educationally
disadvantaged children before using those funds for the care of
other children.]
(k) Each school district receiving funds under this section
shall adopt minimum training and skills requirements that each
individual providing child care or staff assistance for a district
program under this section must satisfy. The minimum standards
must be at least as stringent as any standards applicable under
Chapter 42, Human Resources Code. The agency shall determine
whether those minimum requirements fulfill the aims and policies of
this section and shall suspend the payment of funds to any district
whose minimum requirements fail to fulfill the aims and policies of
this section. The State Board of Education by rule shall adopt
criteria by which the agency shall evaluate district minimum
training and skills requirements. Any suspension order is subject
to Chapter 2001, Government Code. A district may seek review of a
suspension order under the review process adopted under Subsection
(m).
(n) In this section, "eligible school-age students" has the
meaning assigned by Section 33.902.
SECTION 3. Section 42.041(b), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) a state-operated facility;
(2) an agency foster home or agency foster group home;
(3) a facility that is operated in connection with a
shopping center, business, religious organization, or
establishment where children are cared for during short periods
while parents or persons responsible for the children are attending
religious services, shopping, or engaging in other activities,
including retreats or classes for religious instruction, on or near
the premises, that does not advertise as a child-care facility or
day-care center, and that informs parents that it is not licensed by
the state;
(4) a school or class for religious instruction that
does not last longer than two weeks and is conducted by a religious
organization during the summer months;
(5) a youth camp licensed by the Department of State
Health Services;
(6) a facility licensed, operated, certified, or
registered by another state agency;
(7) an educational facility that is accredited by the
Texas Education Agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools, or an accreditation body that is a member of the Texas
Private School Accreditation Commission and that operates
primarily for educational purposes for prekindergarten and above, a
before-school or after-school program operated directly by an
accredited educational facility other than a public school
district, or a before-school or after-school program operated by
another entity under contract with the educational facility, if the
[Texas Education Agency, the] Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools[,] or the other accreditation body, as applicable, has
approved the curriculum content of the before-school or
after-school program operated under the contract;
(8) an educational facility that operates solely for
educational purposes for prekindergarten through at least grade
two, that does not provide custodial care for more than one hour
during the hours before or after the customary school day, and that
is a member of an organization that promulgates, publishes, and
requires compliance with health, safety, fire, and sanitation
standards equal to standards required by state, municipal, and
county codes;
(9) a kindergarten or preschool educational program
that is operated as part of a public school or a private school
accredited by the Texas Education Agency, that offers educational
programs through grade six, and that does not provide custodial
care during the hours before or after the customary school day;
(10) a family home, whether registered or listed;
(11) an educational facility that is integral to and
inseparable from its sponsoring religious organization or an
educational facility both of which do not provide custodial care
for more than two hours maximum per day, and that offers an
educational program in one or more of the following:
prekindergarten through at least grade three, elementary grades, or
secondary grades;
(12) an emergency shelter facility providing shelter
to minor mothers who are the sole support of their natural children
under Section 32.201, Family Code, unless the facility would
otherwise require a license as a child-care facility under this
section;
(13) a juvenile detention facility certified under
Section 51.12, Family Code, a juvenile correctional facility
certified under Section 51.125, Family Code, a juvenile facility
providing services solely for the Texas Youth Commission, or any
other correctional facility for children operated or regulated by
another state agency or by a political subdivision of the state;
(14) an elementary-age (ages 5-13) recreation program
operated by a municipality provided the governing body of the
municipality annually adopts standards of care by ordinance after a
public hearing for such programs, that such standards are provided
to the parents of each program participant, and that the ordinances
shall include, at a minimum, staffing ratios, minimum staff
qualifications, minimum facility, health, and safety standards,
and mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing the adopted local
standards; and further provided that parents be informed that the
program is not licensed by the state and the program may not be
advertised as a child-care facility;
(15) an annual youth camp held in a municipality with a
population of more than 1.5 million that operates for not more than
three months and that has been operated for at least 10 years by a
nonprofit organization that provides care for the homeless;
(16) a food distribution program that:
(A) serves an evening meal to children two years
of age or older; and
(B) is operated by a nonprofit food bank in a
nonprofit, religious, or educational facility for not more than two
hours a day on regular business days;
(17) a child-care facility that operates for less than
three consecutive weeks and less than 40 days in a period of 12
months;
(18) a program:
(A) in which a child receives direct instruction
in a single skill, talent, ability, expertise, or proficiency;
(B) that does not provide services or offerings
that are not directly related to the single talent, ability,
expertise, or proficiency;
(C) that does not advertise or otherwise
represent that the program is a child-care facility, day-care
center, or licensed before-school or after-school program or that
the program offers child-care services;
(D) that informs the parent or guardian:
(i) that the program is not licensed by the
state; and
(ii) about the physical risks a child may
face while participating in the program; and
(E) that conducts background checks for all
program employees and volunteers who work with children in the
program using information that is obtained from the Department of
Public Safety;
(19) an elementary-age (ages 5-13) recreation program
that:
(A) adopts standards of care, including
standards relating to staff ratios, staff training, health, and
safety;
(B) provides a mechanism for monitoring and
enforcing the standards and receiving complaints from parents of
enrolled children;
(C) does not advertise as or otherwise represent
the program as a child-care facility, day-care center, or licensed
before-school or after-school program or that the program offers
child-care services;
(D) informs parents that the program is not
licensed by the state;
(E) is organized as a nonprofit organization or
is located on the premises of a participant's residence;
(F) does not accept any remuneration other than a
nominal annual membership fee;
(G) does not solicit donations as compensation or
payment for any good or service provided as part of the program; and
(H) conducts background checks for all program
employees and volunteers who work with children in the program
using information that is obtained from the Department of Public
Safety;
(20) a living arrangement in a caretaker's home
involving one or more children or a sibling group, excluding
children who are related to the caretaker, in which the caretaker:
(A) had a prior relationship with the child or
sibling group or other family members of the child or sibling group;
(B) does not care for more than one unrelated
child or sibling group;
(C) does not receive compensation or solicit
donations for the care of the child or sibling group; and
(D) has a written agreement with the parent to
care for the child or sibling group;
(21) a living arrangement in a caretaker's home
involving one or more children or a sibling group, excluding
children who are related to the caretaker, in which:
(A) the department is the managing conservator of
the child or sibling group;
(B) the department placed the child or sibling
group in the caretaker's home; and
(C) the caretaker had a long-standing and
significant relationship with the child or sibling group before the
child or sibling group was placed with the caretaker; or
(22) a living arrangement in a caretaker's home
involving one or more children or a sibling group, excluding
children who are related to the caretaker, in which the child is in
the United States on a time-limited visa under the sponsorship of
the caretaker or of a sponsoring organization.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.