Amend CSSB 1 (house committee report) by adding the following appropriately numbered ARTICLE to the bill and renumbering subsequent ARTICLES and SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
ARTICLE ____. FISCAL MATTERS RELATING TO PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS
SECTION ____.01. Section 29.1532, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
(a) A school district's prekindergarten program shall be designed to develop skills necessary for success in the regular public school curriculum, including language, mathematics, [and] social, and school readiness skills that are aligned with the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines approved by the commissioner.
(d) A school district's prekindergarten program must demonstrate effectiveness in preparing children for kindergarten according to a school readiness certification system established by the commissioner. The commissioner may waive participation in the certification system for a school district whose prekindergarten program otherwise demonstrates effectiveness in preparing students for kindergarten.
(e) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.
SECTION ____.02. Section 29.154, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 29.154. EVALUATION OF PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS. (a) The commissioner [of education, in consultation with the commissioner of human services,] shall:
(1) monitor and evaluate prekindergarten programs as to their developmental appropriateness and the development of school readiness, as aligned with the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines approved by the commissioner and a school readiness certification system established by the commissioner;
(2) [. The commissioners shall also] evaluate the potential for coordination on a statewide basis of prekindergarten programs with government-funded early childhood care and education programs such as child care administered under Chapter 44, Human Resources Code, and federal Head Start programs; and
(3) [. That evaluation shall use recommendations contained in the report to the 71st Legislature required by Chapter 717, Acts of the 70th Legislature, Regular Session, 1987. For the purpose of providing cost-effective care for children during the full workday with developmentally appropriate curriculum, the commissioners shall investigate the use of existing child-care program sites as prekindergarten sites. Following the evaluation required by this section, the commissioners,] in cooperation with school districts and other program administrators, [shall] integrate programs, staff, and program sites for prekindergarten, child-care, and federal Head Start programs to the greatest extent possible.
(b) The commissioner or an entity acting under a contract with the commissioner shall provide technical assistance to implement proven school readiness components to a school district operating a prekindergarten program under this subchapter that is not certified by the commissioner following two consecutive review cycles. The commissioner is not required to provide assistance to a school district under this subsection if funding is not available.
(c) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.
SECTION ____.03. Section 42.003, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b) A student to whom Subsection (a) does not apply is entitled to the benefits of the Foundation School Program if the student is enrolled in a prekindergarten class under Section 29.153 that participates in a school readiness certification system established by the commissioner or that has received a waiver from participation under Section 29.1532(d).
(b-1) For the 2012-2013 school year, the commissioner may withhold from a school district an amount of the funds appropriated to the district for allotments for prekindergarten students enrolled in a classroom that participates in a school readiness certification system established by the commissioner to pay the costs of the district's participation in the school readiness certification system. The commissioner may also withhold an amount of revenue to which a school district is otherwise entitled under Section 42.2516 to ensure that each school district in this state pays a comparable amount of the costs of participation in the system. This subsection expires September 1, 2013.