AN ACT
1-1 relating to pre-reading instruction for certain children.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
1-4 amended by adding Section 29.155 to read as follows:
1-5 Sec. 29.155. READY TO READ GRANTS. (a) From funds
1-6 appropriated for the purpose, the commissioner shall make grants as
1-7 provided by this section in support of pre-reading instruction.
1-8 (b) The commissioner shall establish a competitive grant
1-9 program for distribution of at least 95 percent of the available
1-10 appropriated funds. Grants shall be used to provide scientific,
1-11 research-based pre-reading instruction for the purpose of directly
1-12 improving pre-reading skills and for identifying cost-effective
1-13 models for pre-reading intervention. The commissioner shall
1-14 distribute the grants in amounts not less than $50,000 or more than
1-15 $150,000 to eligible applicants to be used for:
1-16 (1) professional staff development in pre-reading
1-17 instruction;
1-18 (2) pre-reading curriculum and materials;
1-19 (3) pre-reading skills assessment materials; and
1-20 (4) employment of pre-reading instructors.
1-21 (c) A public school operating a prekindergarten program, or
1-22 an eligible entity as defined by Section 12.101(a) that provides a
1-23 preschool instruction program and that meets qualifications
1-24 prescribed by the commissioner, is eligible to apply for a grant if
2-1 at least 75 percent of the children enrolled in the program are
2-2 low-income students, as determined by rule of the commissioner.
2-3 (d) As a condition to receiving a grant, an applicant must
2-4 commit public or private funds matching the grant in a percentage
2-5 set by the commissioner. The commissioner shall determine the
2-6 required percentage of matching funds based on the demonstrated
2-7 economic capacity of the community served by the program to raise
2-8 funds for the purpose of matching the grant, as determined by the
2-9 commissioner. Matching funds must equal at least 30 percent, but
2-10 not more than 75 percent, of the amount of the grant.
2-11 (e) The commissioner shall develop and implement performance
2-12 measures for evaluating the effectiveness of grants under this
2-13 section. Those measures must correlate to other reading diagnostic
2-14 assessments used in public schools in kindergarten through the
2-15 second grade.
2-16 (f) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary for the
2-17 administration of this section.
2-18 SECTION 2. Subtitle B, Title 3, Human Resources Code, is
2-19 amended by adding Chapter 72 to read as follows:
2-20 CHAPTER 72. HEAD START PROGRAMS
2-21 Sec. 72.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "Head Start
2-22 program" means the federal program established under the Head Start
2-23 Act (42 U.S.C. Section 9831 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments.
2-24 Sec. 72.002. EDUCATIONAL SERVICES. To promote the
2-25 comprehensive health, safety, and well-being of children receiving
2-26 child care through Head Start programs, a program provider shall
3-1 provide educational services to children participating in the
3-2 program so that each child is prepared to enter school and is ready
3-3 to learn after completing the program. The educational services
3-4 provided must include components designed to enable a child to:
3-5 (1) develop phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness,
3-6 including the ability to:
3-7 (A) recognize that letters of the alphabet are a
3-8 special category of visual graphics that can be individually named;
3-9 (B) recognize a word as a unit of print;
3-10 (C) identify at least 10 letters of the
3-11 alphabet; and
3-12 (D) associate sounds with written words;
3-13 (2) understand and use language to communicate for
3-14 various purposes;
3-15 (3) understand and use an increasingly complex and
3-16 varied vocabulary;
3-17 (4) develop and demonstrate an appreciation of books;
3-18 and
3-19 (5) progress toward mastery of the English language,
3-20 if the child's primary language is a language other than English.
3-21 SECTION 3. To the extent practical, the commissioner of
3-22 education shall administer the grant program established by Section
3-23 29.155, Education Code, as added by this Act, in a manner
3-24 consistent with other reading programs the commissioner identifies
3-25 as components of the governor's reading initiative.
3-26 SECTION 4. Section 29.155, Education Code, as added by this
4-1 Act, takes effect September 1, 1999.
4-2 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-7 and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its
4-8 terms, and it is so enacted.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 955 passed the Senate on
April 9, 1999, by a viva-voce vote; and that the Senate concurred
in House amendments on May 29, 1999, by a viva-voce vote.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 955 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 26, 1999, by a non-record vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
_______________________________
Date
_______________________________
Governor