Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4515 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R10049 TSS-F
2	2	By: Allen H.B. No. 4515
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to an alternative qualified early learning grant program
8	8	administered by the commissioner of education and funding for
9	9	prekindergarten and kindergarten programs under the Foundation
10	10	School Program.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 29.1534(a), Education Code, is amended
13	13	to read as follows:
14	14	(a) In this section, "prekindergarten program" includes
15	15	prekindergarten programs provided by a private entity through a
16	16	partnership with the school district or by an early learning
17	17	provider qualified under Section 29.1535(d).
18	18	SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
19	19	amended by adding Section 29.1535 to read as follows:
20	20	Sec. 29.1535. ALTERNATIVE QUALIFIED EARLY LEARNING GRANT
21	21	PROGRAM. (a) In this section:
22	22	(1) "Eligible student" means a child who resides in
23	23	this state and who either:
24	24	(A) is eligible for prekindergarten classes
25	25	under Section 29.153(b); or
26	26	(B) is five years of age or older and otherwise
27	27	eligible for enrollment in kindergarten.
28	28	(2) "Parent" includes a person standing in parental
29	29	relation to a student, including a stepparent.
30	30	(3) "Qualified early learning provider" means a
31	31	child-care provider that qualifies under Subsection (d) to receive
32	32	a grant under this section.
33	33	(b) A parent of an eligible student may enroll the student
34	34	in prekindergarten or kindergarten classes offered by a qualified
35	35	early learning provider as an alternative to a public school
36	36	kindergarten or prekindergarten program.
37	37	(c) A qualified early learning provider is entitled to
38	38	receive a grant in the amount equal to the amount of funding per
39	39	eligible student in weighted average daily attendance, calculated
40	40	on the basis of full-day attendance, to which the school district in
41	41	which the student resides would be entitled.
42	42	(d) To qualify for a grant under this section, an early
43	43	learning provider must:
44	44	(1) offer, at no cost to the student, prekindergarten
45	45	or kindergarten classes to each student for which the provider
46	46	receives a grant under this section;
47	47	(2) meet the qualifications of Section 29.153(g);
48	48	(3) only employ teachers in a prekindergarten or
49	49	kindergarten program:
50	50	(A) who meet the qualifications of Section
51	51	29.167(b); or
52	52	(B) for whom the provider has received a waiver
53	53	under Subsection (f);
54	54	(4) if offering prekindergarten classes, implement a
55	55	curriculum consistent with Section 29.167(a);
56	56	(5) if offering kindergarten classes, only offer
57	57	curriculum from a list of approved curricula developed by the
58	58	agency under Subsection (l)(4); and
59	59	(6) select and implement appropriate methods for
60	60	evaluating the provider's prekindergarten and kindergarten
61	61	programs in accordance with Section 29.169.
62	62	(e) Money from the available school fund or federal funds
63	63	may not be used for awarding a grant under this section.
64	64	(f) A qualified early learning provider may apply to the
65	65	commissioner for a waiver of the requirement that a teacher be
66	66	certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, in the same manner as
67	67	provided by Sections 7.056(b) and (c) as a school campus or district
68	68	seeking a waiver. A teacher for whom the provider has been granted a
69	69	waiver must be employed under a probationary contract or a contract
70	70	that establishes an at-will employment relationship between the
71	71	provider and the teacher.
72	72	(g) A waiver granted under Subsection (f) is effective for
73	73	the period stated in the application for a waiver, which may not
74	74	exceed three years. A qualified early learning provider that has
75	75	been granted a waiver for a certain teacher may not apply again for
76	76	a waiver for that teacher.
77	77	(h) The commissioner shall develop a system to notify the
78	78	population in each school district with children who are eligible
79	79	for enrollment in a prekindergarten or kindergarten program under
80	80	this section of the availability of prekindergarten or kindergarten
81	81	classes at a qualified early learning provider. The notification
82	82	must:
83	83	(1) include each qualified early learning provider
84	84	located within the district; and
85	85	(2) be provided in English and Spanish.
86	86	(i) This section does not restrict or prohibit a qualified
87	87	early learning provider from advertising the availability of
88	88	prekindergarten and kindergarten classes offered by the provider.
89	89	(j) The commissioner may not reduce the amount of funds to
90	90	which a qualified early learning provider is entitled under this
91	91	section based on an eligible student's simultaneous enrollment in
92	92	the provider's program and a public school's prekindergarten or
93	93	kindergarten program.
94	94	(k) The commissioner shall administer the program and award
95	95	grants to qualified early learning providers.
96	96	(l) The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this
97	97	section, including rules for:
98	98	(1) establishing a process by which a qualified early
99	99	learning provider may apply for a grant under Subsection (c);
100	100	(2) providing a timeline for making payments to grant
101	101	recipients under this section;
102	102	(3) ensuring that a qualified early learning provider
103	103	awarded a grant under this section is, to the greatest extent
104	104	possible and except as provided by this section, funded in a manner
105	105	identical to a prekindergarten or kindergarten program offered at a
106	106	public school;
107	107	(4) developing criteria for and a list of approved
108	108	kindergarten curricula; and
109	109	(5) developing and publishing a list of qualified
110	110	early learning providers.
111	111	SECTION 3. Section 48.005, Education Code, is amended by
112	112	amending Subsections (a) and (i) and adding Subsection (i-1) to
113	113	read as follows:
114	114	(a) In this chapter, average daily attendance is:
115	115	(1) the quotient of the sum of attendance for each day
116	116	of the minimum number of days of instruction as described under
117	117	Section 25.081(a) divided by the minimum number of days of
118	118	instruction;
119	119	(2) for a district that operates under a flexible year
120	120	program under Section 29.0821, the quotient of the sum of
121	121	attendance for each actual day of instruction as permitted by
122	122	Section 29.0821(b)(1) divided by the number of actual days of
123	123	instruction as permitted by Section 29.0821(b)(1);
124	124	(3) for a district that operates under a flexible
125	125	school day program under Section 29.0822, the average daily
126	126	attendance as calculated by the commissioner in accordance with
127	127	Sections 29.0822(d) and (d-1); or
128	128	(4) unless otherwise provided by Subsection
129	129	(i-1), for a district that operates a half-day program [or a
130	130	full-day program] under Section 29.153(c), one-half of the average
131	131	daily attendance calculated under Subdivision (1).
132	132	(i) Unless otherwise provided by Subsection (i-1), a [A]
133	133	district or a charter school operating under Chapter 12 that
134	134	operates a prekindergarten program is eligible to receive
135	135	three-quarters [one-half] of average daily attendance under
136	136	Subsection (a) if the district's or charter school's
137	137	prekindergarten program provides at least 50,400 [32,400] minutes
138	138	of instructional time to students.
139	139	(i-1) A district or a charter school operating under Chapter
140	140	12 that operates a prekindergarten program is eligible to receive
141	141	full-day average daily attendance under Subsection (a) for each
142	142	student enrolled in a prekindergarten program at a campus that
143	143	offers only prekindergarten or prekindergarten and kindergarten.
144	144	SECTION 4. Section 48.108, Education Code, is amended by
145	145	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
146	146	(e) A school district is entitled to receive funding for a
147	147	student who satisfies the requirements of this section regardless
148	148	of whether the eligible student is simultaneously enrolled in a
149	149	prekindergarten or kindergarten program provided by an early
150	150	learning provider qualified under Section 29.1535(d) and is a
151	151	student for whom the early learning provider receives a grant under
152	152	that section.
153	153	SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date
154	154	of this Act, the commissioner of education shall adopt rules to
155	155	implement the alternative qualified early learning grant program
156	156	established by Section 29.1535, Education Code, as added by this
157	157	Act.
158	158	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.