88R13641 ANG-F
By: Talarico H.B. No. 4469
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to prekindergarten programs provided by public schools,
including through partnerships with certain community-based
child-care providers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 29.1531(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A district that offers a prekindergarten program on a
tuition basis:
(1) may not adopt a tuition rate for the program that
is higher than necessary to cover the added costs of providing the
program, including any costs associated with collecting,
reporting, and analyzing data under Section 29.1532(c); [and]
(2) must submit the proposed tuition rate to the
commissioner for approval; and
(3) must demonstrate that the capacity of
prekindergarten classes provided by existing Head Start or other
community-based child-care programs located in the district is
insufficient to meet the needs of the district.
SECTION 2. Section 29.1532(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) A school district that offers prekindergarten classes
shall include the following information in the district's Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) report:
(1) demographic information, as determined by the
commissioner, on students enrolled in district and campus
prekindergarten classes, including:
(A) the number of students who are eligible for
classes under Section 29.153;
(B) the number of students enrolled in classes
provided by Head Start or another community-based child-care
provider through a partnership with the district; and
(C) the number of students enrolled in
prekindergarten classes who are not eligible for prekindergarten
classes under Section 29.153;
(2) the numbers of half-day and full-day
prekindergarten classes offered by the district and campus;
(3) the number of half-day prekindergarten classes for
which the district has received an exemption from full-day
operation under Section 29.153(d);
(4) the sources of funding for the prekindergarten
classes;
(5) the class size and ratio of instructional staff to
students for each prekindergarten program class offered by the
district and campus;
(6) if the district elects to administer an assessment
instrument under Section 29.169 to students enrolled in district
and campus prekindergarten program classes, a description and the
results of each type of assessment instrument; and
(7) curricula used in the district's prekindergarten
program classes.
SECTION 3. Section 29.1533, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.1533. ESTABLISHMENT AND EXPANSION OF [NEW]
PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM. Before establishing a new
prekindergarten program or expanding an existing prekindergarten
program, a school district shall solicit and consider proposals for
partnerships to provide [consider the possibility of sharing use
of an existing Head Start or other child-care program site as a]
prekindergarten classes with community-based child-care providers
who meet the requirements of Section 29.153(g) in a manner that
allows the child to enroll in both the school district and the
program provided by the community-based child-care provider
[site].
SECTION 4. Section 29.154, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.154. EVALUATION OF PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS. The
commissioner of education, in consultation with the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission and the
commissioners of the Texas Workforce Commission [human services],
shall monitor and annually evaluate prekindergarten programs as to
their developmental appropriateness. The commissioners shall also
evaluate the potential for coordination on a statewide basis of
prekindergarten programs with community-based [government-funded]
early childhood care and education programs such as child care
administered under Chapter 44, Human Resources Code, and federal
Head Start programs. [That evaluation shall use recommendations
contained in the report to the 71st Legislature required by Chapter
717, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular Session, 1987.] For the
purpose of providing cost-effective care for children during the
full workday with developmentally appropriate curriculum, the
commissioners shall investigate the use of existing child-care
program sites as prekindergarten sites. Following the evaluation
required by this section, the commissioners, in cooperation with
school districts and other program administrators, shall integrate
programs, staff, and program sites for prekindergarten,
child-care, and federal Head Start programs to the greatest extent
possible.
SECTION 5. Section 29.168(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The agency shall collaborate with other state agencies,
including the Health and Human Services Commission, that provide
services for children from birth through five years of age to
establish prioritized family engagement strategies to be included
in a school district's family engagement plan. A parent-teacher
organization, community group, or faith-based institution may
submit to the agency recommendations regarding the establishment of
family engagement strategies, and the agency, in establishing the
family engagement strategies, shall consider any received
recommendations. The engagement strategies must:
(1) be based on empirical research;
(2) be proven to demonstrate significant positive
short-term and long-term outcomes for early childhood education;
[and]
(3) include programs and interventions that engage a
family in supporting a student's learning at home; and
(4) include strategies for collaborating with Head
Start and other community-based child-care programs.
SECTION 6. Section 29.169(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A school district shall:
(1) select and implement appropriate methods for
evaluating the district's program classes by measuring student
progress; [and]
(2) make data from the results of program evaluations
available to parents; and
(3) include in evaluating the district's program:
(A) an analysis of Head Start and other
community-based child-care programs in the community with which the
district could establish partnerships; and
(B) strategies identified for collaborating and
partnering with Head Start and other community-based child-care
programs to provide more options for early learning and improve
kindergarten readiness.
SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 8. 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.