Bill Text: TX HB2255 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to student eligibility for free high quality prekindergarten programs and state financial support for each school district that elects to provide a full-day prekindergarten program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-25 - Left pending in committee [HB2255 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB2255-Introduced.html

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85R11700 KKA-D
By: King of Hemphill H.B. No. 2255

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to student eligibility for free high quality
prekindergarten programs and state financial support for each
school district that elects to provide a full-day prekindergarten
program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense; and
(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
[or E-1], Chapter 29;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, E, F, G, and J, Chapter 39;
(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(N) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213; and
(O) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148.
SECTION 2. Section 25.001(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A person who, on the first day of September of any school
year, is at least five years of age and under 21 years of age, or is
at least 21 years of age and under 26 years of age and is admitted by
a school district to complete the requirements for a high school
diploma is entitled to the benefits of the available school fund for
that year. Any other person enrolled in a prekindergarten class
under Section 29.153 [or Subchapter E-1, Chapter 29,] is entitled
to the benefits of the available school fund.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 29.153, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 29.153. FREE PREKINDERGARTEN [FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN].
SECTION 4. Sections 29.153(a-1), (c), and (e), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a-1) A district shall offer prekindergarten classes to any
child [if the district identifies 15 or more children who are
eligible under Subsection (b) and are at least four years of age. A
school district may offer prekindergarten classes if the district
identifies 15 or more eligible children] who is [are] at least three
years of age. A district may not charge tuition for a
prekindergarten class offered under this section.
(c) A prekindergarten class under this section may [shall]
be operated on a half-day basis or a full-day basis at the option of
the board of trustees of the school district. A district that
operates a class on a full-day basis may, in determining the
district's average daily attendance under Section 42.005, include
full days of attendance for each prekindergarten student who
attends a full-day prekindergarten class. A district is not
required to provide transportation for a prekindergarten class, but
transportation, if provided, is included for funding purposes as
part of the regular transportation system.
(e) Each school district that is not exempt under Subsection
(d) shall develop a system to notify the population in the district
with children of prekindergarten age [who are eligible for
enrollment in a prekindergarten class under this section] of the
availability of prekindergarten classes [the class]. The system
must include public notices issued in English and Spanish.
SECTION 5. Section 29.1531(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A school district may offer on a tuition basis or use
district funds to provide[:
[(1) an additional half-day of prekindergarten
classes to children eligible for classes under Section 29.153; and
[(2)] half-day and full-day prekindergarten classes
to children who are younger than three years of age [not eligible
for classes under Section 29.153].
SECTION 6. Section 29.1532, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.1532. PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. (a) A
school district's prekindergarten program shall be designed to
develop skills necessary for success in the regular public school
curriculum, including language, mathematics, and social skills,
through instruction provided by highly qualified teachers using a
high quality curriculum.
(b) If a school district contracts with a private entity for
the operation of the district's prekindergarten program, the
program must at a minimum comply with the applicable child-care
licensing standards adopted by the Department of Family and
Protective [and Regulatory] Services under Section 42.042, Human
Resources Code. The private entity must also:
(1) be accredited by a research-based, nationally
recognized, and universally accessible accreditation system
approved by the commissioner;
(2) be a Texas Rising Star Program provider with a
three-star certification or higher;
(3) be a Texas School Ready! participant;
(4) have an existing partnership with a school
district to provide a prekindergarten program; or
(5) be accredited by an organization that is
recognized by the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission.
(c) A school district that offers prekindergarten classes[,
including a high quality prekindergarten program class under
Subchapter E-1,] 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 the number of students who are
at least three years of age [eligible for classes under Section
29.153];
(2) the numbers of half-day and full-day
prekindergarten classes offered by the district and campus;
(3) the sources of funding for the prekindergarten
classes;
(4) the class size and ratio of instructional staff to
students for each prekindergarten program class offered by the
district and campus;
(5) if the district elects to administer an assessment
instrument to students enrolled in district and campus
prekindergarten program classes, a description and the results of
each type of assessment instrument; and
(6) curricula used in the district's prekindergarten
program classes.
(d) Information required under this section to be included
in a school district's Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) report may not be used for purposes of determining a
district's accreditation or a campus or district performance rating
under Subchapter C, Chapter 39.
(e) A school district shall select and implement a
curriculum to be used for the district's prekindergarten classes
that:
(1) includes the prekindergarten guidelines
established by the agency;
(2) measures the progress of students in meeting the
recommended learning outcomes; and
(3) does not use national curriculum standards
developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
(f) Each teacher for a school district prekindergarten
class must:
(1) be certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21; and
(2) 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.
(g) A school district may allow a teacher employed by the
district to receive the training required to be awarded a Child
Development Associate (CDA) credential from a regional education
service center that offers the training in accordance with Section
8.058. Training may not include national curriculum standards
developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
(h) A school district must attempt to maintain an average
ratio in any prekindergarten class of not less than one certified
teacher or teacher's aide for each 11 students.
(i) A school district shall:
(1) select and implement appropriate methods for
evaluating the district's prekindergarten classes by measuring
student progress; and
(2) make data from the results of evaluations
available to parents.
(j) A school district may administer diagnostic assessments
to students in a prekindergarten class to evaluate student progress
as required by Subsection (i) but may not administer a state
standardized assessment instrument.
(k) An assessment instrument administered to a
prekindergarten class must be selected from a list of appropriate
prekindergarten assessment instruments identified by the
commissioner.
SECTION 7. Section 29.1561(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) Notwithstanding any restriction imposed by this title,
the commissioner may administer grants for early childhood care and
education programs under Section [29.155 or] 29.156, including Head
Start and Early Head Start programs, in a manner that provides the
greatest flexibility allowed under federal law.
SECTION 8. Section 29.160(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) A school district, regional education service center,
institution of higher education, local government, local workforce
development board, or community organization may develop one or
more coordination-of-resources demonstration projects under which
government-funded child-care and early education services,
including Head Start and Early Head Start, prekindergarten, and
after-school child-care program services, child-care services
provided by nonprofit or for-profit entities, and faith-based
child-care programs, are operated in a coordinated and integrated
manner. An entity that develops a proposed demonstration project
under this subsection must obtain approval of the project from the
state agency or agencies with regulatory jurisdiction over the
subject matter involved in the project. Approval of a project under
this subsection must be made contingent on development of a
memorandum of understanding regarding the child-care and early
education coordination and integration that is:
(1) entered into by each entity participating in the
project; and
(2) [certified by the State Center for Early Childhood
Development as meeting any standards developed under Section
29.155(g); and
[(3)] consistent with the applicable provisions of
this section and applicable laws and regulations in a manner that at
a minimum maintains existing child-care and early education program
requirements and does not waive any existing health and safety
standards.
SECTION 9. Section 42.003(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A student to whom Subsection (a) does not apply is
entitled to the benefits of the Foundation School Program if the
student is enrolled in a prekindergarten class under Section 29.153
[or Subchapter E-1, Chapter 29].
SECTION 10. Section 481.078, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d-4) to read as follows:
(d-4) The fund may be used to finance amounts to which
school districts are entitled under the Foundation School Program
on the basis of the number of students in average daily attendance
in prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E, Chapter 29,
Education Code. The governor may transfer appropriations from the
fund to the Texas Education Agency for that purpose. Amounts
transferred under this subsection are not considered to be grant
funds, and the amounts transferred are not subject to any provision
of this section or other law that applies to grants awarded by the
governor under this section.
SECTION 11. Section 481.079, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-3) to read as follows:
(a-3) The report must include a statement regarding any
amounts transferred to finance prekindergarten payments in
accordance with Section 481.078(d-4).
SECTION 12. Sections 2308.3171(a) and (c), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "quality child-care indicator" means
any appropriate indicator of quality services, including whether
the provider of the services:
(1) meets Texas Rising Star Program certification
criteria;
(2) is accredited by a nationally recognized
accrediting organization approved by the commission;
(3) is certified under the school readiness
certification system established under Section 29.161, Education
Code; or
(4) [meets standards developed under Section
29.155(g), Education Code; or
[(5)] has achieved any other measurable target that is
relevant to improving the quality of child care in this state and
that has been approved by the commission.
(c) Each board shall post in a prominent place on the
board's Internet website home page and at any physical location
where the board provides services:
(1) a list of local designated vendors that are
child-care providers and have a quality child-care indicator listed
in Subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3)[, or (4)]; and
(2) a list of local parenting classes.
SECTION 13. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Sections 29.153(a), (b), and (f);
(2) Section 29.155; and
(3) Subchapter E-1, Chapter 29.
SECTION 14. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
during the state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 2017, the
governor may transfer to the Texas Education Agency any amounts
appropriated for that biennium to a trusteed program within the
office of the governor. Any amounts transferred by the governor in
accordance with this authority may be used by the Texas Education
Agency only to finance amounts to which school districts are
entitled under the Foundation School Program on the basis of the
number of students in average daily attendance in prekindergarten
programs under Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code.
SECTION 15. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
school year.
SECTION 16. 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, 2017.