Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3887 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R8917 JSL-D
2	2	By: Dutton H.B. No. 3887
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of the office of early learning
8	8	within the Texas Education Agency.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Sections 29.15301 and 29.15302 to read as
12	12	follows:
13	13	Sec. 29.15301. OFFICE OF EARLY LEARNING. (a) The
14	14	commissioner by rule shall establish the office of early learning
15	15	as a division within the agency to:
16	16	(1) provide oversight of prekindergarten programs and
17	17	prekindergarten funding;
18	18	(2) provide resources to school districts to ensure
19	19	prekindergarten programs meet quality standards and best
20	20	practices; and
21	21	(3) assist school districts in developing local
22	22	solutions and improving prekindergarten programs.
23	23	(b) The office of early learning shall:
24	24	(1) monitor state funding of prekindergarten
25	25	programs;
26	26	(2) adopt accountability standards for the use of
27	27	public funds for prekindergarten programs;
28	28	(3) create a model contract for school districts to
29	29	use in forming partnerships with child-care centers and federal
30	30	Head Start programs to provide prekindergarten programs;
31	31	(4) determine the type of data needed from school
32	32	districts to assess prekindergarten programs;
33	33	(5) publish approved, age-appropriate assessment
34	34	instruments that may be administered to students in prekindergarten
35	35	programs;
36	36	(6) create a communication and outreach plan to
37	37	increase collaboration on prekindergarten programs throughout the
38	38	state;
39	39	(7) develop a process for school districts operating a
40	40	prekindergarten program to establish additional prekindergarten
41	41	programs on a tuition basis; and
42	42	(8) promote and conduct outreach to school districts
43	43	to encourage the use of the process developed under Subdivision (7)
44	44	to establish tuition-based prekindergarten programs.
45	45	(c) The office of early learning shall ensure that an
46	46	assessment instrument administered in a prekindergarten program:
47	47	(1) includes observation-based assessment;
48	48	(2) measures the effectiveness of the prekindergarten
49	49	program; and
50	50	(3) is not used as a basis for teacher evaluation or
51	51	student promotion or retention.
52	52	Sec. 29.15302. TEXAS EARLY LEARNING COUNCIL ADVISORY ROLE.
53	53	(a) The governor's Texas Early Learning Council shall act in an
54	54	advisory role to the office of early learning and provide
55	55	assistance when requested by the office.
56	56	(b) The council shall hold public meetings to discuss
57	57	requests received from the office of early learning under
58	58	Subsection (a) at least four times each year. The council may
59	59	address issues relating to the office of early learning during any
60	60	other scheduled meeting of the council.
61	61	(c) The council shall establish a process for receiving
62	62	public input related to the office of early learning.
63	63	SECTION 2. Section 29.1534, Education Code, is amended by
64	64	amending Subsections (b), (c), and (e), and adding Subsection (f)
65	65	to read as follows:
66	66	(b) The office of early learning [agency] shall develop
67	67	joint strategies with other state agencies regarding methods to
68	68	increase community awareness of prekindergarten programs through
69	69	programs that provide information relating to public assistance
70	70	programs.
71	71	(c) The office of early learning [agency] may develop
72	72	outreach materials for use by school districts to increase
73	73	community awareness of prekindergarten programs.
74	74	(e) The office of early learning [agency] shall provide
75	75	information to school districts regarding effective methods to
76	76	communicate to the parent of an eligible child the availability of
77	77	prekindergarten programs, including information regarding
78	78	prekindergarten programs through public, private, and nonprofit
79	79	institutions that provide assistance and support to families with
80	80	children eligible for prekindergarten programs.
81	81	(f) On an annual basis each school district shall submit to
82	82	the office of early learning a report that details the district's
83	83	plan for promoting and increasing community awareness of
84	84	prekindergarten programs in the district.
85	85	SECTION 3. Section 29.154, Education Code, is amended to
86	86	read as follows:
87	87	Sec. 29.154. EVALUATION OF PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS. (a)
88	88	The commissioner of education, in consultation with the office of
89	89	early learning [commissioner of human services], shall monitor and
90	90	evaluate prekindergarten programs as to their developmental
91	91	appropriateness. The commissioner and the office [commissioners]
92	92	shall also evaluate the potential for coordination on a statewide
93	93	basis of prekindergarten programs with government-funded early
94	94	childhood care and education programs such as child care
95	95	administered under Chapter 44, Human Resources Code, and federal
96	96	Head Start programs. That evaluation shall use recommendations
97	97	formulated by the office of early learning under Subsection (b)
98	98	[contained in the report to the 71st Legislature required by
99	99	Chapter 717, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular Session, 1987].
100	100	For the purpose of providing cost-effective care for children
101	101	during the full workday with developmentally appropriate
102	102	curriculum, the commissioner and the office [commissioners] shall
103	103	investigate the use of existing child-care program sites as
104	104	prekindergarten sites. Following the evaluation required by this
105	105	section, the commissioner and the office [commissioners], in
106	106	cooperation with school districts and other program
107	107	administrators, shall integrate programs, staff, and program sites
108	108	for prekindergarten, child-care, and federal Head Start programs to
109	109	the greatest extent possible.
110	110	(b) The office of early learning shall formulate
111	111	recommendations based on national best practices for increasing the
112	112	quality of the state's prekindergarten programs.
113	113	SECTION 4. Sections 29.158(a) and (d), Education Code, are
114	114	amended to read as follows:
115	115	(a) In a manner consistent with federal law and regulations,
116	116	each prekindergarten program provider, Head Start and Early Head
117	117	Start program provider, and provider of an after-school child-care
118	118	program provided at a school shall coordinate with the office of
119	119	early learning [agency], the Texas Workforce Commission, and local
120	120	workforce development boards regarding subsidized child-care
121	121	services.
122	122	(d) In coordinating child-care services under this section
123	123	and in making any related decision to contract with another
124	124	provider for child-care services, the office of early learning
125	125	[agency], Texas Workforce Commission, local workforce development
126	126	boards, and each prekindergarten program provider, Head Start and
127	127	Early Head Start program provider, and provider of an after-school
128	128	child-care program provided at a school shall consider the quality
129	129	of the services involved in the proposed coordination or
130	130	contracting decision and shall give preference to services of the
131	131	highest quality. Any appropriate indicator of quality services may
132	132	be considered under this subsection, including whether the provider
133	133	of the services:
134	134	(1) meets Texas Rising Star Program certification
135	135	criteria;
136	136	(2) is accredited by a nationally recognized
137	137	accrediting organization approved by the Texas Workforce
138	138	Commission and the Department of Family and Protective Services;
139	139	(3) meets standards developed by the State Center for
140	140	Early Childhood Development; or
141	141	(4) has achieved any other measurable target relevant
142	142	to improving the quality of child care in this state.
143	143	SECTION 5. Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
144	144	amended by adding Section 29.162 to read as follows:
145	145	Sec. 29.162. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON
146	146	PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM COORDINATION. (a) The office of early
147	147	learning, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Head Start
148	148	State Collaboration Office, the Department of Assistive and
149	149	Rehabilitative Services, the Health and Human Services Commission,
150	150	and the Department of Family and Protective Services shall enter
151	151	into a memorandum of understanding regarding the coordination of
152	152	early childhood learning programs, including prekindergarten
153	153	programs. The memorandum of understanding must:
154	154	(1) identify opportunities for and barriers to
155	155	collaboration and coordination among federally funded and
156	156	state-funded child development, child-care, and early childhood
157	157	learning programs and services that are administered by the
158	158	agencies that are party to the memorandum; and
159	159	(2) require the parties to the memorandum to implement
160	160	steps to take advantage of the opportunities and eliminate the
161	161	barriers identified under Subdivision (1) in an effort to establish
162	162	a comprehensive, statewide system of early childhood care and
163	163	education.
164	164	(b) Not later than August of each year, the office of early
165	165	learning and the other agencies and organizations shall review and
166	166	update the memorandum.
167	167	(c) The rulemaking body for each agency by rule shall adopt
168	168	the memorandum of understanding and all revisions to the
169	169	memorandum.
170	170	SECTION 6. Not later than January 1, 2016, the Texas
171	171	Education Agency, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Head
172	172	Start State Collaboration Office, the Department of Assistive and
173	173	Rehabilitative Services, the Health and Human Services Commission,
174	174	and the Department of Family and Protective Services shall enter
175	175	into the memorandum of understanding required under Section 29.162,
176	176	Education Code, as added by this Act.
177	177	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
178	178	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
179	179	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
180	180	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
181	181	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.