88R13946 MM-F
	By: Button	H.B. No. 4153

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to strategies to increase the availability of child-care
	and prekindergarten programs.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
	amended by adding Sections 302.0051 and 302.0063 to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 302.0051.  PREKINDERGARTEN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. (a)
	The commission shall establish and administer a prekindergarten
	partnership program to assist Texas Rising Star program providers
	who meet the definition of an eligible private provider under
	Section 29.171, Education Code, in partnering with local school
	districts and open-enrollment charter schools to provide the
	prekindergarten classes required under Section 29.153, Education
	Code.
	(b)  Using existing funds, the commission shall coordinate
	with the Texas Education Agency to develop joint strategies to
	expand the availability of prekindergarten partnership programs,
	including by:
	(1)  establishing and maintaining a database of Texas
	Rising Star program providers within the boundaries of each school
	district and open-enrollment charter school;
	(2)  assisting in negotiating and administering
	contracts between school districts or open-enrollment charter
	schools, as applicable, and Texas Rising Star program providers to
	provide prekindergarten classes; and
	(3)  annually establishing guidelines for funding
	amounts per child to be provided by a school district or
	open-enrollment charter school, as applicable, to a Texas Rising
	Star program provider with which the district or charter school
	partners to provide prekindergarten classes.
	Sec. 302.0063.  CHILD-CARE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
	SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.  (a) In this section, "program" means the
	professional development scholarship program established under
	this section.
	(b)  From funds appropriated for the purpose, the commission
	shall establish and administer a professional development
	scholarship program for current and prospective child-care
	workers.
	(c)  A scholarship under the program may be used to pay an
	individual's costs related to:
	(1)  earning:
	(A)  a Child Development Associate (CDA)
	credential; or
	(B)  an associate's degree or bachelor's degree in
	early childhood education or another related field from a public or
	private institution of higher education; and
	(2)  participation in a registered child-care
	apprenticeship program.
	(d)  The program may be used to pay for other ancillary costs
	for child-care workers who are enrolled in an educational program
	or apprenticeship program described by Subsection (c), including:
	(1)  books and supplies;
	(2)  release time or stipends to attend classes;
	(3)  costs related to the examination for the Child
	Development Associate (CDA) credential;
	(4)  travel to attend classes or attend a hands-on
	practicum training; and
	(5)  stipends for mentors or master teachers who
	provide hands-on training at a child-care program.
	SECTION 2.  Section 2308.256(a), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(a)  A board is composed as follows:
	(1)  representatives of the private sector, who:
	(A)  constitute a majority of the membership of
	the board; and
	(B)  are owners of business concerns, chief
	executives or chief operating officers of nongovernmental
	employers, or other private sector executives who have substantial
	management or policy responsibilities;
	(2)  representatives of organized labor and
	community-based organizations, who constitute not less than 15
	percent of the membership of the board; and
	(3)  representatives of each of the following:
	(A)  educational agencies, including community
	colleges and secondary and postsecondary practitioners
	representing vocational education, that are representative of all
	educational agencies in the service delivery area;
	(B)  vocational rehabilitation agencies;
	(C)  public assistance agencies;
	(D)  economic development agencies;
	(E)  the public employment service;
	(F)  local literacy councils; [and]
	(G)  adult basic and continuing education
	organizations; and
	(H)  the child-care workforce.
	SECTION 3.  Section 2308.256(g), Government Code, is
	repealed.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.