Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB617 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Deshotel H.B. No. 617
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of the office of early learning
7	7	within the Texas Education Agency.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Sections 29.15301 and 29.15302 to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	Sec. 29.15301. OFFICE OF EARLY LEARNING. (a) The
13	13	commissioner by rule shall establish the office of early learning
14	14	as a division within the agency to:
15	15	(1) provide oversight of prekindergarten programs and
16	16	prekindergarten funding;
17	17	(2) provide guidance to school districts to ensure
18	18	prekindergarten programs meet quality standards and best
19	19	practices; and
20	20	(3) assist school districts in developing local
21	21	solutions and improving prekindergarten programs.
22	22	(b) The office of early learning shall:
23	23	(1) monitor state funding of prekindergarten
24	24	programs;
25	25	(2) adopt accountability standards for the use of
26	26	public funds for prekindergarten programs;
27	27	(3) create a process for school districts to form
28	28	partnerships with child-care centers to provide prekindergarten
29	29	programs;
30	30	(4) assist school districts in developing local
31	31	strategies to promote early childhood development; and
32	32	(5) seek the assistance of the Children's Learning
33	33	Institute of The University of Texas Health Science Center at
34	34	Houston and regional education service centers to:
35	35	(A) determine the type of data needed from school
36	36	districts to assess prekindergarten programs; and
37	37	(B) publish approved assessment instruments that
38	38	may be administered to students in prekindergarten programs.
39	39	Sec. 29.15302. TEXAS EARLY LEARNING COUNCIL ADVISORY ROLE.
40	40	(a) The governor's Texas Early Learning Council shall act in an
41	41	advisory role to the office of early learning and provide
42	42	assistance when requested by the office.
43	43	(b) The governor's Texas Early Learning Council shall meet
44	44	to discuss requests received from the office of early learning
45	45	under Subsection (a) at least four times each year. The council may
46	46	address issues relating to the office of early learning during any
47	47	other scheduled meeting of the council.
48	48	SECTION 2. Section 29.1534, Education Code, is amended by
49	49	amending Subsections (b), (c), and (e), and adding Subsection (f)
50	50	to read as follows:
51	51	(b) The office of early learning [agency] shall develop
52	52	joint strategies with other state agencies regarding methods to
53	53	increase community awareness of prekindergarten programs through
54	54	programs that provide information relating to public assistance
55	55	programs.
56	56	(c) The office of early learning [agency] may develop
57	57	outreach materials for use by school districts to increase
58	58	community awareness of prekindergarten programs.
59	59	(e) The office of early learning [agency] shall provide
60	60	information to school districts regarding effective methods to
61	61	communicate to the parent of an eligible child the availability of
62	62	prekindergarten programs, including information regarding
63	63	prekindergarten programs through public, private, and nonprofit
64	64	institutions that provide assistance and support to families with
65	65	children eligible for prekindergarten programs.
66	66	(f) On an annual basis each school district shall submit to
67	67	the office of early learning a report that details the district's
68	68	plan for promoting and increasing community awareness of
69	69	prekindergarten programs in the district.
70	70	SECTION 3. Section 29.154, Education Code, is amended to
71	71	read as follows:
72	72	Sec. 29.154. EVALUATION OF PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS. (a)
73	73	The commissioner of education, in consultation with the executive
74	74	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission and the
75	75	office of early learning [human services], shall monitor and
76	76	evaluate prekindergarten programs as to their developmental
77	77	appropriateness. The commissioner, executive commissioner, and
78	78	the office [commissioners] shall also evaluate the potential for
79	79	coordination on a statewide basis of prekindergarten programs with
80	80	government-funded early childhood care and education programs such
81	81	as child care administered under Chapter 44, Human Resources Code,
82	82	and federal Head Start programs. That evaluation shall use
83	83	recommendations formulated by the office of early learning under
84	84	Subsection (b) [contained in the report to the 71st Legislature
85	85	required by Chapter 717, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular
86	86	Session, 1987]. For the purpose of providing cost-effective care
87	87	for children during the full workday with developmentally
88	88	appropriate curriculum, the commissioner, executive commissioner,
89	89	and the office [commissioners] shall investigate the use of
90	90	existing child-care program sites as prekindergarten sites.
91	91	Following the evaluation required by this section, the
92	92	commissioner, executive commissioner, and the office
93	93	[commissioners], in cooperation with school districts and other
94	94	program administrators, shall integrate programs, staff, and
95	95	program sites for prekindergarten, child-care, and federal Head
96	96	Start programs to the greatest extent possible.
97	97	(b) The office of early learning shall formulate
98	98	recommendations based on national best practices for increasing the
99	99	quality of the state's prekindergarten programs.
100	100	SECTION 4. Sections 29.158(a) and (d), Education Code, are
101	101	amended to read as follows:
102	102	(a) In a manner consistent with federal law and regulations,
103	103	each prekindergarten program provider, Head Start and Early Head
104	104	Start program provider, and provider of an after-school child-care
105	105	program provided at a school shall coordinate with the office of
106	106	early learning [agency], the Texas Workforce Commission, and local
107	107	workforce development boards regarding subsidized child-care
108	108	services.
109	109	(d) In coordinating child-care services under this section
110	110	and in making any related decision to contract with another
111	111	provider for child-care services, the office of early learning
112	112	[agency], Texas Workforce Commission, local workforce development
113	113	boards, and each prekindergarten program provider, Head Start and
114	114	Early Head Start program provider, and provider of an after-school
115	115	child-care program provided at a school shall consider the quality
116	116	of the services involved in the proposed coordination or
117	117	contracting decision and shall give preference to services of the
118	118	highest quality. Any appropriate indicator of quality services may
119	119	be considered under this subsection, including whether the provider
120	120	of the services:
121	121	(1) meets Texas Rising Star Program certification
122	122	criteria;
123	123	(2) is accredited by a nationally recognized
124	124	accrediting organization approved by the Texas Workforce
125	125	Commission and the Department of Family and Protective Services;
126	126	(3) meets standards developed by the State Center for
127	127	Early Childhood Development; or
128	128	(4) has achieved any other measurable target relevant
129	129	to improving the quality of child care in this state.
130	130	SECTION 5. Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
131	131	amended by adding Section 29.162 to read as follows:
132	132	Sec. 29.162. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON
133	133	PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM COORDINATION. (a) The office of early
134	134	learning, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Children's Learning
135	135	Institute of The University of Texas Health Science Center at
136	136	Houston, the Texas Head Start State Collaboration Office, the
137	137	Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, the Health and
138	138	Human Services Commission, and the Department of Family and
139	139	Protective Services shall enter into a memorandum of understanding
140	140	regarding the coordination of early childhood learning programs,
141	141	including prekindergarten programs. The memorandum of
142	142	understanding must:
143	143	(1) identify opportunities for and barriers to
144	144	collaboration and coordination among federally funded and
145	145	state-funded child development, child-care, and early childhood
146	146	learning programs and services that are administered by the
147	147	agencies that are party to the memorandum; and
148	148	(2) require the parties to the memorandum to implement
149	149	steps to take advantage of the opportunities and eliminate the
150	150	barriers identified under Subdivision (1) in an effort to establish
151	151	a comprehensive, statewide system of early childhood care and
152	152	education.
153	153	(b) Not later than August of each year, the office of early
154	154	learning and the other agencies and organizations shall review and
155	155	update the memorandum.
156	156	(c) The rulemaking body for each agency by rule shall adopt
157	157	the memorandum of understanding and all revisions to the
158	158	memorandum.
159	159	SECTION 6. Not later than January 1, 2016, the Texas
160	160	Education Agency, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Children's
161	161	Learning Institute of The University of Texas Health Science Center
162	162	at Houston, the Texas Head Start State Collaboration Office, the
163	163	Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, the Health and
164	164	Human Services Commission, and the Department of Family and
165	165	Protective Services shall enter into the memorandum of
166	166	understanding required under Section 29.162, Education Code, as
167	167	added by this Act.
168	168	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
169	169	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
170	170	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
171	171	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
172	172	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.