BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 49
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the State Center for Early Childhood Development (State Center) is funded as a discretionary grant recipient. All discretionary grant recipients must report their financial transactions to TEA by submitting an annual report of projected expenditures. This one-page report must be turned into TEA whether the grant is for $10,000 or $10,000,000. Since the State Center is one of the larger grant recipients with funding from several agencies and organizations, there are often requests for additional reporting of financial transactions from groups other than TEA, such as the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
In an effort to streamline reporting requirements for the State Center, the bill will require the State Center to report its financial transactions to the legislature on a biennial basis. The intended result is a more clear and easily accessible reporting system, so the State Center will not be required to report its transactions to several different agencies.
In addition, the external evaluation of the management and implementation of school readiness integration projects required by the bill will promote accountability in an effort to demonstrate positive outcome-related data from the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM) and Texas School Readiness Certification programs.
As proposed, S.B. 49 requires that the same contracting requirements applied to state agencies be applied to the State Center. The bill requires the State Center to prepare and submit a report by December 1 of each even-numbered year to the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Appropriations Committee detailing the use of all state funds provided for early childhood education services.
In addition, S.B. 49 requires that an external evaluation be done in each even-numbered year regarding the management and implementation of school readiness integration projects, and requires that organization completing the external evaluation be selected through a competitive process developed by TEA.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter E, Chapter 29, Education Code, by adding Section 29.162, as follows:
Sec. 29.162. REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO STATE CENTER FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT. (a) Requires the State Center for Early Childhood Development (state center) to comply with contract management requirements prescribed by Chapter 2262 (Statewide Contract Management), Government Code; to prepare and submit a report detailing the use of all state money provided to fund early childhood education services to the presiding officers of the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Appropriations Committee by December 1 of each even-numbered year; and to provide state center staff to appear before a standing committee of the senate or house of representatives with jurisdiction over public primary and secondary education on request of the presiding officer of the committee.
(b) Requires the state center to allow an external evaluation each even-numbered year by an organization under contract with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for that purpose, regarding the management and implementation of demonstration projects authorized by Section 29.160 (Demonstration Projects), Education Code, and the school readiness certification system developed in accordance with Section 29.161 (School Readiness Certification System), Education Code.
(c) Requires that the organization completing the external evaluation be selected through a competitive process developed by TEA.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2009.