Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1123 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: West S.B. No. 1123
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 resources 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 model contract for school districts to
28	28	use in forming partnerships with child-care centers and federal
29	29	Head Start programs to provide prekindergarten programs;
30	30	(4) determine the type of data needed from school
31	31	districts to assess prekindergarten programs;
32	32	(5) publish approved, age-appropriate assessment
33	33	instruments that may be administered to students in prekindergarten
34	34	programs;
35	35	(6) create a communication and outreach plan to
36	36	increase collaboration on prekindergarten programs throughout the
37	37	state;
38	38	(7) develop resources for school districts operating
39	39	prekindergarten programs to establish prekindergarten programs on
40	40	a tuition basis; and
41	41	(8) conduct outreach to school districts to encourage
42	42	the use of the resources developed under Subdivision (7) to
43	43	establish tuition-based prekindergarten programs.
44	44	(c) The office of early learning shall ensure that an
45	45	assessment instrument administered in a prekindergarten program:
46	46	(1) includes observation-based assessment;
47	47	(2) measures the effectiveness of the prekindergarten
48	48	program; and
49	49	(3) is not used as a basis for teacher evaluation or
50	50	student promotion or retention.
51	51	Sec. 29.15302. TEXAS EARLY LEARNING COUNCIL ADVISORY ROLE.
52	52	(a) The governor's Texas Early Learning Council shall act in an
53	53	advisory role to the office of early learning and provide
54	54	assistance when requested by the office.
55	55	(b) The council shall hold public meetings to discuss
56	56	requests received from the office of early learning under
57	57	Subsection (a) at least four times each year. The council may
58	58	address issues relating to the office of early learning during any
59	59	other scheduled meeting of the council.
60	60	(c) The council shall establish a process for receiving
61	61	public input related to the office of early learning.
62	62	SECTION 2. Section 29.1534, Education Code, is amended by
63	63	amending Subsections (b), (c), and (e), and adding Subsection (f)
64	64	to read as follows:
65	65	(b) The office of early learning [agency] shall develop
66	66	joint strategies with other state agencies regarding methods to
67	67	increase community awareness of prekindergarten programs through
68	68	programs that provide information relating to public assistance
69	69	programs.
70	70	(c) The office of early learning [agency] may develop
71	71	outreach materials for use by school districts to increase
72	72	community awareness of prekindergarten programs.
73	73	(e) The office of early learning [agency] shall provide
74	74	information to school districts regarding effective methods to
75	75	communicate to the parent of an eligible child the availability of
76	76	prekindergarten programs, including information regarding
77	77	prekindergarten programs through public, private, and nonprofit
78	78	institutions that provide assistance and support to families with
79	79	children eligible for prekindergarten programs.
80	80	(f) On an annual basis each school district shall submit to
81	81	the office of early learning a report that details the district's
82	82	plan for promoting and increasing community awareness of
83	83	prekindergarten programs in the district.
84	84	SECTION 3. Section 29.154, Education Code, is amended to
85	85	read as follows:
86	86	Sec. 29.154. EVALUATION OF PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS.
87	87	(a) The commissioner of education, in consultation with the office
88	88	of early learning [commissioner of human services], shall monitor
89	89	and evaluate prekindergarten programs as to their developmental
90	90	appropriateness. The commissioner and the office [commissioners]
91	91	shall also evaluate the potential for coordination on a statewide
92	92	basis of prekindergarten programs with government-funded early
93	93	childhood care and education programs such as child care
94	94	administered under Chapter 44, Human Resources Code, and federal
95	95	Head Start programs. That evaluation shall use recommendations
96	96	formulated by the office of early learning under Subsection (b)
97	97	[contained in the report to the 71st Legislature required by
98	98	Chapter 717, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular Session, 1987].
99	99	For the purpose of providing cost-effective care for children
100	100	during the full workday with developmentally appropriate
101	101	curriculum, the commissioner and the office [commissioners] shall
102	102	investigate the use of existing child-care program sites as
103	103	prekindergarten sites. Following the evaluation required by this
104	104	section, the commissioner and the office [commissioners], in
105	105	cooperation with school districts and other program
106	106	administrators, shall integrate programs, staff, and program sites
107	107	for prekindergarten, child-care, and federal Head Start programs to
108	108	the greatest extent possible.
109	109	(b) The office of early learning shall formulate
110	110	recommendations based on national best practices for increasing the
111	111	quality of the state's prekindergarten programs.
112	112	SECTION 4. Sections 29.158(a) and (d), Education Code, are
113	113	amended to read as follows:
114	114	(a) In a manner consistent with federal law and regulations,
115	115	each prekindergarten program provider, Head Start and Early Head
116	116	Start program provider, and provider of an after-school child-care
117	117	program provided at a school shall coordinate with the office of
118	118	early learning [agency], the Texas Workforce Commission, and local
119	119	workforce development boards regarding subsidized child-care
120	120	services.
121	121	(d) In coordinating child-care services under this section
122	122	and in making any related decision to contract with another
123	123	provider for child-care services, the office of early learning
124	124	[agency], Texas Workforce Commission, local workforce development
125	125	boards, and each prekindergarten program provider, Head Start and
126	126	Early Head Start program provider, and provider of an after-school
127	127	child-care program provided at a school shall consider the quality
128	128	of the services involved in the proposed coordination or
129	129	contracting decision and shall give preference to services of the
130	130	highest quality. Any appropriate indicator of quality services may
131	131	be considered under this subsection, including whether the provider
132	132	of the services:
133	133	(1) meets Texas Rising Star Program certification
134	134	criteria;
135	135	(2) is accredited by a nationally recognized
136	136	accrediting organization approved by the Texas Workforce
137	137	Commission and the Department of Family and Protective Services;
138	138	(3) meets standards developed by the State Center for
139	139	Early Childhood Development; or
140	140	(4) has achieved any other measurable target relevant
141	141	to improving the quality of child care in this state.
142	142	SECTION 5. Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
143	143	amended by adding Section 29.162 to read as follows:
144	144	Sec. 29.162. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON
145	145	PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM COORDINATION. (a) The office of early
146	146	learning, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Head Start
147	147	State Collaboration Office, the Department of Assistive and
148	148	Rehabilitative Services, the Health and Human Services Commission,
149	149	and the Department of Family and Protective Services shall enter
150	150	into a memorandum of understanding regarding the coordination of
151	151	early childhood learning programs, including prekindergarten
152	152	programs. The memorandum of understanding must:
153	153	(1) identify opportunities for and barriers to
154	154	collaboration and coordination among federally funded and
155	155	state-funded child development, child-care, and early childhood
156	156	learning programs and services that are administered by the
157	157	agencies that are party to the memorandum; and
158	158	(2) require the parties to the memorandum to implement
159	159	steps to take advantage of the opportunities and eliminate the
160	160	barriers identified under Subdivision (1) in an effort to establish
161	161	a comprehensive, statewide system of early childhood care and
162	162	education.
163	163	(b) Not later than August of each year, the office of early
164	164	learning and the other agencies and organizations shall review and
165	165	update the memorandum.
166	166	(c) The rulemaking body for each agency by rule shall adopt
167	167	the memorandum of understanding and all revisions to the
168	168	memorandum.
169	169	SECTION 6. Not later than January 1, 2016, the Texas
170	170	Education Agency, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Head
171	171	Start State Collaboration Office, the Department of Assistive and
172	172	Rehabilitative Services, the Health and Human Services Commission,
173	173	and the Department of Family and Protective Services shall enter
174	174	into the memorandum of understanding required under Section 29.162,
175	175	Education Code, as added by this Act.
176	176	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
177	177	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
178	178	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
179	179	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
180	180	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.