By Bivins S.B. No. 955
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 955:
By Sadler C.S.S.B. No. 955
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to pre-reading instruction and the provision of
1-3 scholarships, bonuses, wage supplementation, and student loan
1-4 repayment assistance for certain professional child-care workers.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
1-7 amended by adding Section 29.155 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 29.155. READY TO READ GRANTS. (a) From funds
1-9 appropriated for the purpose, the commissioner shall make grants as
1-10 provided by this section in support of pre-reading instruction.
1-11 (b) The commissioner shall establish a competitive grant
1-12 program for distribution of at least 95 percent of the available
1-13 appropriated funds. Grants shall be used to provide scientific,
1-14 research-based pre-reading instruction for the purpose of directly
1-15 improving pre-reading skills and for identifying cost-effective
1-16 models for pre-reading intervention. The commissioner shall
1-17 distribute the grants in amounts not less than $50,000 or more than
1-18 $150,000 to eligible applicants to be used for:
1-19 (1) professional staff development in pre-reading
1-20 instruction;
1-21 (2) pre-reading curriculum and materials;
1-22 (3) pre-reading skills assessment materials; and
1-23 (4) employment of pre-reading instructors.
2-1 (c) A public school operating a prekindergarten program, or
2-2 an eligible entity as defined by Section 12.101(a) that provides a
2-3 preschool instruction program and that meets qualifications
2-4 prescribed by the commissioner, is eligible to apply for a grant if
2-5 at least 75 percent of the children enrolled in the program are
2-6 low-income students, as determined by rule of the commissioner.
2-7 (d) As a condition to receiving a grant, an applicant must
2-8 commit public or private funds matching the grant in a percentage
2-9 set by the commissioner. The commissioner shall determine the
2-10 required percentage of matching funds based on the demonstrated
2-11 economic capacity of the community served by the program to raise
2-12 funds for the purpose of matching the grant, as determined by the
2-13 commissioner. Matching funds must equal at least 30 percent, but
2-14 not more than 75 percent, of the amount of the grant.
2-15 (e) The commissioner shall develop and implement performance
2-16 measures for evaluating the effectiveness of grants under this
2-17 section. Those measures must correlate to other reading diagnostic
2-18 assessments used in public schools in kindergarten through the
2-19 second grade.
2-20 (f) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary for the
2-21 administration of this section.
2-22 SECTION 2. Subtitle B, Title 3, Human Resources Code, is
2-23 amended by adding Chapter 72 to read as follows:
2-24 CHAPTER 72. HEAD START PROGRAMS
2-25 Sec. 72.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "Head Start
2-26 program" means the federal program established under the Head Start
2-27 Act (42 U.S.C. Section 9831 et seq.) and its subsequent
3-1 amendments.
3-2 Sec. 72.002. EDUCATIONAL SERVICES. To promote the
3-3 comprehensive health, safety, and well-being of children receiving
3-4 child care through Head Start programs, a program provider shall
3-5 provide educational services to children participating in the
3-6 program so that each child is prepared to enter school and is ready
3-7 to learn after completing the program. The educational services
3-8 provided must include components designed to enable a child to:
3-9 (1) develop phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness,
3-10 including the ability to:
3-11 (A) recognize that letters of the alphabet are a
3-12 special category of visual graphics that can be individually named;
3-13 (B) recognize a word as a unit of print;
3-14 (C) identify at least 10 letters of the
3-15 alphabet; and
3-16 (D) associate sounds with written words;
3-17 (2) understand and use language to communicate for
3-18 various purposes;
3-19 (3) understand and use an increasingly complex and
3-20 varied vocabulary;
3-21 (4) develop and demonstrate an appreciation of books;
3-22 and
3-23 (5) progress toward mastery of the English language,
3-24 if the child's primary language is a language other than English.
3-25 SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is amended
3-26 by adding Section 302.006 to read as follows:
3-27 Sec. 302.006. PROFESSIONAL CHILD-CARE TRAINING SCHOLARSHIPS,
4-1 BONUSES, AND WAGE SUPPLEMENTATION. (a) The commission shall
4-2 develop and administer a program under which the commission awards
4-3 scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each for professional
4-4 child-care training to eligible recipients.
4-5 (b) A recipient may use a scholarship awarded under this
4-6 section only to pay expenses associated with obtaining:
4-7 (1) Child Development Associate (CDA) national
4-8 credentials;
4-9 (2) Certified Child-Care Professional (CCP)
4-10 credentials; or
4-11 (3) a level one certificate or associate's degree in
4-12 the area of child development or early childhood education from a
4-13 public or private institution of higher education.
4-14 (c) To be eligible to receive a scholarship awarded under
4-15 this section, a person must:
4-16 (1) be employed in a child-care facility, as defined
4-17 by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code;
4-18 (2) intend to obtain a credential, certificate, or
4-19 degree specified in Subsection (b);
4-20 (3) agree to work in a child-care facility, as defined
4-21 by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code, for at least 18 additional
4-22 months; and
4-23 (4) satisfy any other requirements adopted by the
4-24 commission.
4-25 (d) A person may not receive more than one scholarship
4-26 awarded under this section.
4-27 (e) In addition, the commission may provide for payment of a
5-1 bonus or wage supplementation to a scholarship recipient who for 18
5-2 months after the date of receiving the scholarship provides care
5-3 for children younger than six years of age while remaining in the
5-4 employment of the child-care facility that employed the person when
5-5 the scholarship was awarded. Any bonus or wage supplementation
5-6 provided under this subsection shall be paid in equal shares by the
5-7 scholarship recipient's employer and the commission. The
5-8 commission shall determine the amount of any bonus and the amount
5-9 and duration of any wage supplementation provided under this
5-10 subsection.
5-11 (f) The commission shall fund scholarships and any bonuses
5-12 or wage supplementation provided under this section through federal
5-13 Child Care Development funds or other funding sources available to
5-14 the commission. Total funding may not exceed $2 million per state
5-15 biennium.
5-16 (g) The commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement
5-17 this section. The rules must include provisions that:
5-18 (1) address the computation of the 18-month service
5-19 requirement prescribed by Subsection (c); and
5-20 (2) ensure that the commission may recover scholarship
5-21 money from a recipient who fails to comply with that service
5-22 requirement or any other requirement imposed by the commission.
5-23 SECTION 4. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
5-24 Subchapter T to read as follows:
5-25 SUBCHAPTER T. EARLY CHILDHOOD CHILD-CARE WORKER
5-26 STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM
5-27 Sec. 61.871. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
6-1 (1) "Child-care facility" has the meaning assigned by
6-2 Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
6-3 (2) "Early childhood child-care worker" means a person
6-4 who works more than 30 hours a week in a child-care facility,
6-5 whether as an employee, owner, or volunteer, and whose duties
6-6 consist primarily of providing child care or education to children
6-7 less than four years of age.
6-8 Sec. 61.872. LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The
6-9 board shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board
6-10 rules, assistance in the repayment of eligible student loans for
6-11 persons who apply and qualify for the assistance.
6-12 Sec. 61.873. ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE. To be eligible to
6-13 receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person
6-14 must:
6-15 (1) hold an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate
6-16 degree in early childhood development or the equivalent from a
6-17 public or private institution of higher education accredited by a
6-18 recognized accrediting agency; and
6-19 (2) enter into an agreement to serve as an early
6-20 childhood child-care worker as provided by Section 61.875.
6-21 Sec. 61.874. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) A person may receive loan
6-22 repayment assistance under this subchapter for the repayment of any
6-23 student loan for education at any public or private institution of
6-24 higher education through any lender. If the loan is not a state or
6-25 federal guaranteed student loan, the note or other writing
6-26 governing the terms of the loan must require the loan proceeds to
6-27 be used for expenses incurred by a person attending any public or
7-1 private institution of higher education.
7-2 (b) The board may not provide repayment assistance for a
7-3 student loan that is in default at the time of the person's
7-4 application.
7-5 Sec. 61.875. AGREEMENT; TERMS. (a) To qualify for loan
7-6 repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person must enter
7-7 into a written agreement with the board as provided by this
7-8 subchapter. The agreement must specify the conditions the person
7-9 must satisfy to receive repayment assistance.
7-10 (b) To be eligible for loan repayment assistance, a person
7-11 must agree to serve at least two years as an early childhood
7-12 child-care worker in this state. A person may receive loan
7-13 repayment assistance for additional years of service as specified
7-14 in the agreement.
7-15 (c) The agreement must specify the number of additional
7-16 years of service for which the person may receive repayment
7-17 assistance and the period within which the person must complete
7-18 those years of additional service.
7-19 (d) Only service as an early childhood child-care worker
7-20 after the date the person enters into the agreement may be used to
7-21 satisfy the service requirement under the agreement.
7-22 (e) The person must complete the initial service obligation
7-23 within three years of the date of the agreement unless the board
7-24 grants the person additional time to begin fulfilling the initial
7-25 service obligation. The board shall grant the person additional
7-26 time to complete the service obligation for good cause.
7-27 (f) The board shall cancel a person's service obligation if
8-1 the board determines that the person:
8-2 (1) has become permanently disabled so that the person
8-3 is not able to work as an early childhood child-care worker; or
8-4 (2) has died.
8-5 (g) The board shall require a person who receives loan
8-6 repayment assistance under this subchapter to sign an agreement in
8-7 the nature of a contract under which the person agrees to perform
8-8 the required years of service. In the event the person does not
8-9 fulfill the terms of the agreement, all loan repayment assistance
8-10 paid on behalf of the person becomes a loan and must be repaid.
8-11 The agreement must include a promissory note acknowledging the
8-12 conditional nature of the loan repayment assistance and promising
8-13 to repay the amount of the loan repayment, applicable interest, and
8-14 reasonable collection costs if the person does not satisfy the
8-15 applicable conditions. The board shall determine the terms of the
8-16 promissory note.
8-17 Sec. 61.876. AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE; LIMITATIONS.
8-18 (a) For each year that a qualified person serves as an early
8-19 childhood child-care worker in this state under an agreement under
8-20 Section 61.875, the person may receive loan repayment assistance in
8-21 an amount not to exceed 15 percent of the total amount of the
8-22 person's outstanding student loans, including scheduled interest
8-23 payments that would become due if the loan is not prepaid, when the
8-24 person enters into the agreement. The amount of repayment
8-25 assistance paid for a year may not exceed the lesser of:
8-26 (1) the actual amount of the loan payments the person
8-27 receiving the assistance is required to make for that year; or
9-1 (2) an amount set by the board equal to the maximum
9-2 amount of resident tuition and required fees paid by a person
9-3 enrolled as a full-time student at a general academic teaching
9-4 institution for the most recent academic year, excluding summer
9-5 sessions.
9-6 (b) The board may enter into an agreement to provide loan
9-7 repayment assistance under Section 61.875 only to the extent money
9-8 is appropriated or otherwise available to provide the repayment
9-9 assistance as it becomes payable. If that money will not be
9-10 sufficient to provide repayment assistance to each eligible
9-11 applicant, the board shall select persons to receive repayment
9-12 assistance from the eligible applicants according to financial need
9-13 or on another basis the board considers reasonable to further the
9-14 purposes of this subchapter.
9-15 (c) The board may determine the manner in which the loan
9-16 repayment assistance is to be paid and shall include provisions
9-17 governing the manner of repayment in the agreement. The board may
9-18 provide for the payment of a portion of the repayment assistance in
9-19 one or more installments before the person completes a full year of
9-20 service as an early childhood child-care worker and for the payment
9-21 of the remainder of the repayment assistance for that year after
9-22 the completion of the full year of service.
9-23 Sec. 61.877. ADMINISTRATION; RULES. (a) The board shall
9-24 adopt rules necessary for the administration of this subchapter.
9-25 (b) The board shall distribute a copy of the rules adopted
9-26 under this section and pertinent information in this subchapter to
9-27 each public or private institution of higher education in this
10-1 state that offers a degree program in early childhood development
10-2 or an equivalent degree.
10-3 Sec. 61.878. FUNDING. The board may solicit and accept
10-4 gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private source for
10-5 the purposes of this subchapter.
10-6 SECTION 5. To the extent practical, the commissioner of
10-7 education shall administer the grant program established by Section
10-8 29.155, Education Code, as added by this Act, in a manner
10-9 consistent with other reading programs the commissioner identifies
10-10 as components of the governor's reading initiative.
10-11 SECTION 6. (a) Subchapter T, Chapter 61, Education Code, as
10-12 added by this Act, takes effect immediately and applies beginning
10-13 with the 1999 fall semester.
10-14 (b) Section 29.155, Education Code, and Section 302.006,
10-15 Labor Code, as added by this Act, take effect September 1, 1999.
10-16 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
10-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
10-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
10-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
10-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
10-21 and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its
10-22 terms, and it is so enacted.