83R20809 KSD-F
By: Strama, N. Gonzalez of El Paso H.B. No. 660
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 660:
By: Rodriguez of Travis C.S.H.B. No. 660
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of scholarships, bonuses, and wage
supplementation to certain child-care workers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 302.006, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 302.006. PROFESSIONAL CHILD-CARE TRAINING
SCHOLARSHIPS, BONUSES, AND WAGE SUPPLEMENTATION. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Child-care facility" has the meaning assigned by
Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
(a-1) The commission shall [may] develop and administer a
program under which the commission awards scholarships to eligible
child-care workers [in the amount of $1,000 each for professional
child-care training to eligible recipients].
(b) A recipient may use [a] scholarship funds awarded under
this section only to pay expenses associated with obtaining:
(1) Child Development Associate (CDA) national
credentials administered by the Council for Professional
Recognition or a comparable nationally recognized entity that
credentials professionals in the early childhood education or child
development field;
(2) an [Certified Child-Care Professional (CCP)
credentials; or
[(3) a level one certificate or] associate's degree in
the field [area] of child development or early childhood education
awarded by an [from a public or private] institution of higher
education; or
(3) a bachelor's degree in the field of child
development, early childhood education, or family and child studies
awarded by an institution of higher education.
(c) To be eligible to receive a scholarship [awarded] under
this section, a child-care worker [person] must:
(1) be employed by [in] a child-care facility that has
agreed to sponsor the child-care worker in accordance with
Subsection (d):
(A) for at least 30 hours each week; and
(B) at a pay rate that is less than $15 per hour
[, as defined by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code];
(2) intend to obtain a credential[, certificate,] or
degree specified in Subsection (b);
(3) agree to work for the sponsoring [at least 18
additional months in a] child-care facility for at least the length
of time prescribed by commission rule for purposes of this
subdivision; [, as defined by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code,
that accepts federal Child Care Development Fund subsidies and
that, at the time the person begins to fulfill the work requirement
imposed by this subdivision, is located:
[(A) within the attendance zone of a public
school campus considered low-performing under Subchapter E,
Chapter 39, Education Code; or
[(B) in an economically disadvantaged community,
as determined by the commission; and]
(4) agree to pay the percentage of the applicable
costs of books, credentialing fees, or tuition and fees associated
with obtaining a credential or degree specified in Subsection (b)
prescribed by commission rule for purposes of this subdivision; and
(5) satisfy any other requirements adopted by the
commission.
(d) A child-care facility that agrees to sponsor a
child-care worker under this section must:
(1) provide the child-care worker with:
(A) paid time off as prescribed by commission
rule; and
(B) any bonus or wage supplementation to which
the child-care worker is entitled under Subsection (e); and
(2) pay the percentage of the applicable costs of
books, credentialing fees, or tuition and fees associated with
obtaining a credential or degree specified in Subsection (b)
prescribed by commission rule for purposes of this subdivision. [A
person may not receive more than one scholarship awarded under this
section.]
(e) A scholarship recipient who successfully obtains a
credential or degree specified in Subsection (b) and satisfies any
other program requirement prescribed by this section or a rule
adopted under this section is entitled to the [In addition, the
commission may provide for] payment of a bonus or wage
supplementation [to a scholarship recipient who for 18 months after
the date of receiving the scholarship provides care for children
younger than six years of age while remaining in the employment of
the child-care facility that employed the person when the
scholarship was awarded and that meets the requirements of
Subsection (c)(3)]. Any bonus or wage supplementation provided
under this subsection shall be paid by both the recipient's
sponsoring child-care facility [in equal shares by the scholarship
recipient's employer] and the commission in shares prescribed by
commission rule. The commission shall determine the amount of any
bonus and the amount and duration of any wage supplementation
provided under this subsection.
(f) The commission shall fund scholarships and any bonuses
or wage supplementation provided under this section through federal
Child Care Development funds or other funding sources available to
the commission. Total funding may not exceed $1 [$2] million per
state biennium.
(g) The commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement
this section. The rules must include provisions that:
(1) address the computation of the length-of-service
[18-month service] requirement prescribed under [by] Subsection
(c)(3) [(c)]; [and]
(2) establish criteria for the award of scholarships
under this section under which priority is given to child-care
workers employed:
(A) in child-care care programs serving children
whose care is subsidized through money received under the Child
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Section 9858
et seq.); or
(B) by child-care facilities that:
(i) are working toward Texas Rising Star
certification; or
(ii) are Texas Rising Star certified
providers working toward a higher certification level; and
(3) ensure that the commission has procedures for
recovering [may recover] scholarship money from a recipient who
fails to comply with that length-of-service [service] requirement
or any other requirement imposed by the commission.
SECTION 2. The Texas Workforce Commission shall adopt rules
for the administration of Section 302.006, Labor Code, as amended
by this Act, as soon as practicable following the effective date of
this Act, but not later than January 1, 2014.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.