88R10049 TSS-F
 
  By: Allen H.B. No. 4515
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to an alternative qualified early learning grant program
  administered by the commissioner of education and funding for
  prekindergarten and kindergarten programs under the Foundation
  School Program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 29.1534(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  In this section, "prekindergarten program" includes
  prekindergarten programs provided by a private entity through a
  partnership with the school district or by an early learning
  provider qualified under Section 29.1535(d).
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 29.1535 to read as follows:
         Sec. 29.1535.  ALTERNATIVE QUALIFIED EARLY LEARNING GRANT
  PROGRAM. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Eligible student" means a child who resides in
  this state and who either:
                     (A)  is eligible for prekindergarten classes
  under Section 29.153(b); or
                     (B)  is five years of age or older and otherwise
  eligible for enrollment in kindergarten. 
               (2)  "Parent" includes a person standing in parental
  relation to a student, including a stepparent.
               (3)  "Qualified early learning provider" means a
  child-care provider that qualifies under Subsection (d) to receive
  a grant under this section.
         (b)  A parent of an eligible student may enroll the student
  in prekindergarten or kindergarten classes offered by a qualified
  early learning provider as an alternative to a public school
  kindergarten or prekindergarten program.
         (c)  A qualified early learning provider is entitled to
  receive a grant in the amount equal to the amount of funding per
  eligible student in weighted average daily attendance, calculated
  on the basis of full-day attendance, to which the school district in
  which the student resides would be entitled.
         (d)  To qualify for a grant under this section, an early
  learning provider must:
               (1)  offer, at no cost to the student, prekindergarten
  or kindergarten classes to each student for which the provider
  receives a grant under this section;
               (2)  meet the qualifications of Section 29.153(g); 
               (3)  only employ teachers in a prekindergarten or
  kindergarten program:
                     (A)  who meet the qualifications of Section
  29.167(b); or 
                     (B)  for whom the provider has received a waiver
  under Subsection (f);
               (4)  if offering prekindergarten classes, implement a
  curriculum consistent with Section 29.167(a);
               (5)  if offering kindergarten classes, only offer
  curriculum from a list of approved curricula developed by the
  agency under Subsection (l)(4); and
               (6)  select and implement appropriate methods for
  evaluating the provider's prekindergarten and kindergarten
  programs in accordance with Section 29.169.
         (e)  Money from the available school fund or federal funds
  may not be used for awarding a grant under this section.
         (f)  A qualified early learning provider may apply to the
  commissioner for a waiver of the requirement that a teacher be
  certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, in the same manner as
  provided by Sections 7.056(b) and (c) as a school campus or district
  seeking a waiver. A teacher for whom the provider has been granted a
  waiver must be employed under a probationary contract or a contract
  that establishes an at-will employment relationship between the
  provider and the teacher.
         (g)  A waiver granted under Subsection (f) is effective for
  the period stated in the application for a waiver, which may not
  exceed three years. A qualified early learning provider that has
  been granted a waiver for a certain teacher may not apply again for
  a waiver for that teacher.
         (h)  The commissioner shall develop a system to notify the
  population in each school district with children who are eligible
  for enrollment in a prekindergarten or kindergarten program under
  this section of the availability of prekindergarten or kindergarten
  classes at a qualified early learning provider. The notification
  must:
               (1)  include each qualified early learning provider
  located within the district; and
               (2)  be provided in English and Spanish.
         (i)  This section does not restrict or prohibit a qualified
  early learning provider from advertising the availability of
  prekindergarten and kindergarten classes offered by the provider.
         (j)  The commissioner may not reduce the amount of funds to
  which a qualified early learning provider is entitled under this
  section based on an eligible student's simultaneous enrollment in
  the provider's program and a public school's prekindergarten or
  kindergarten program. 
         (k)  The commissioner shall administer the program and award
  grants to qualified early learning providers.
         (l)  The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this
  section, including rules for: 
               (1)  establishing a process by which a qualified early
  learning provider may apply for a grant under Subsection (c);
               (2)  providing a timeline for making payments to grant
  recipients under this section; 
               (3)  ensuring that a qualified early learning provider
  awarded a grant under this section is, to the greatest extent
  possible and except as provided by this section, funded in a manner
  identical to a prekindergarten or kindergarten program offered at a
  public school;
               (4)  developing criteria for and a list of approved
  kindergarten curricula; and
               (5)  developing and publishing a list of qualified
  early learning providers.
         SECTION 3.  Section 48.005, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (i) and adding Subsection (i-1) to
  read as follows:
         (a)  In this chapter, average daily attendance is:
               (1)  the quotient of the sum of attendance for each day
  of the minimum number of days of instruction as described under
  Section 25.081(a) divided by the minimum number of days of
  instruction;
               (2)  for a district that operates under a flexible year
  program under Section 29.0821, the quotient of the sum of
  attendance for each actual day of instruction as permitted by
  Section 29.0821(b)(1) divided by the number of actual days of
  instruction as permitted by Section 29.0821(b)(1);
               (3)  for a district that operates under a flexible
  school day program under Section 29.0822, the average daily
  attendance as calculated by the commissioner in accordance with
  Sections 29.0822(d) and (d-1); or
               (4)  unless otherwise provided by Subsection
  (i-1), for a district that operates a half-day program [or a
  full-day program] under Section 29.153(c), one-half of the average
  daily attendance calculated under Subdivision (1).
         (i)  Unless otherwise provided by Subsection (i-1), a [A]
  district or a charter school operating under Chapter 12 that
  operates a prekindergarten program is eligible to receive
  three-quarters [one-half] of average daily attendance under
  Subsection (a) if the district's or charter school's
  prekindergarten program provides at least 50,400 [32,400] minutes
  of instructional time to students.
         (i-1)  A district or a charter school operating under Chapter
  12 that operates a prekindergarten program is eligible to receive
  full-day average daily attendance under Subsection (a) for each
  student enrolled in a prekindergarten program at a campus that
  offers only prekindergarten or prekindergarten and kindergarten. 
         SECTION 4.  Section 48.108, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  A school district is entitled to receive funding for a
  student who satisfies the requirements of this section regardless
  of whether the eligible student is simultaneously enrolled in a
  prekindergarten or kindergarten program provided by an early
  learning provider qualified under Section 29.1535(d) and is a
  student for whom the early learning provider receives a grant under
  that section.
         SECTION 5.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the commissioner of education shall adopt rules to
  implement the alternative qualified early learning grant program
  established by Section 29.1535, Education Code, as added by this
  Act.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.