88R2880 BDP-F
By: Harris of Anderson H.B. No. 2729
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to staff member requirements for high quality
prekindergarten programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 29.167, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 29.167. HIGH QUALITY CURRICULUM AND STAFF [TEACHER]
REQUIREMENTS.
SECTION 2. Sections 29.167(b) and (d), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) Each prekindergarten program staff member [teacher for
a prekindergarten program class] must meet the following
requirements, as applicable:
(1) for a prekindergarten program supervisor, be
certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21; and
(2) for a prekindergarten teacher, have one of the
following [additional] qualifications:
(A) a Child Development Associate (CDA)
credential or another early childhood education credential
approved by the agency;
(B) certification offered through a training
center accredited by Association Montessori Internationale or
through the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher
Education;
(C) at least eight years' experience of teaching
in a nationally accredited child care program;
(D) be employed as a prekindergarten teacher in a
school district that has received approval from the commissioner
for the district's prekindergarten-specific instructional training
plan that the teacher uses in the teacher's prekindergarten
classroom; or
(E) an equivalent qualification.
(d) A school district or an entity with which the district
contracts to provide a prekindergarten program must attempt to
maintain an average ratio in any prekindergarten program class of
not less than one certified teacher or teacher's aide for each 11
students.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.