BILL ANALYSIS
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Senate Research Center |
C.S.S.B. 940 |
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85R17906 MK-F |
By: Campbell |
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Health & Human Services |
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4/10/2017 |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Texas parents, educators, and taxpayers now have access to basic information about their Pre-K classrooms, such as class size, number of students per teacher, and what assessments, if any, are being administered. Many of the same low-income children in public Pre-K are products of the subsidized child care program housed at the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Every year TWC and its network of 28 local workforce development boards serves over 100,000 children at a cost to the taxpayers of half a billion dollars per year. Currently, too little coordination exists between these two systems. It is unnecessarily burdensome for policymakers to ensure the accountability for hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and for school districts to partner with private child care providers.
S.B. 940 ensures that taxpayers have clear data when children transition from the subsidized child care program at TWC to Pre-K and public schools. TWC spends approximately half a billion dollars per year on child care for low-income, working parents. However, it is difficult to determine the impact of these dollars on the ultimate educational success of these children. Coordination between TWC and the Texas Education Agency will ensure greater impact from dollars invested in both Pre-K and child care�a big win for educators, parents, taxpayers, and� most importantly�children. (Original Author�s / Sponsor�s Statement of Intent)
C.S.S.B. 940 amends current law relating to the evaluation of and improvements to the quality of the Texas Workforce Commission's subsidized child care program.
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 Section 302.0042, Labor Code, by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c), as follows:
(b) Requires that the Texas Workforce Commission's (TWC) evaluation assess:
(1) through (2) makes no changes to these subdivisions;
(3) the estimated, rather than average, cost incurred by child care providers (providers) in each local workforce development area (area) as stated in the report required under 45 C.F.R. Section 98.45(f)(1); makes a nonsubstantive change;
(4) the average price charged by providers in each area as stated in the market rate survey conducted under 45 C.F.R. Section 98.45(f)(1);
(5) redesignates existing text from Subdivision (4) as Subdivision (5) and makes no further changes to this subdivision;
(6) redesignates existing Subdivision (5) as Subdivision (6) and makes a nonsubstantive change;
(7) the number of places that are reserved for participants in the child care subsidy program out of the total number of children enrolled with a provider on a full-time basis categorized by age of the child for each provider, rather than vacant slots available for child care placement, in each local workforce development area that is certified as a certain star rated provider in the Texas Rising Star Program (program) or that does not participate in the program;�
(8) the total number of providers participating in the program in each area and certain star rated providers in the area;
(9) the number of providers participating in the program in each area as a percentage of the total number of subsidized providers in the area and certain star rated providers in the area as a percentage of the total number of subsidized� providers in the area;
(10) the total number of children enrolled in subsidized providers participating in the program in each area and the number of subsidized children enrolled in certain star rated providers in the area; and
(11) the number of subsidized children enrolled in providers participating in the program in each area as a percentage of the total number of subsidized children enrolled in providers in the area and the number of subsidized children enrolled in certain star rated providers in the area as a percentage of the total number of subsidized children enrolled in providers in the area.
Redesignates existing Subdivision (6) as Subdivision (7) and makes conforming changes.
(c) Requires TWC to, for the purpose of evaluation, annually update the information described by Subsections (b)(6) through (11).
SECTION 2. Amends Section 302.0043, Labor Code, by adding Subsection (c-1) and amending Subsections (e) and (f), as follows:
(c-1) Requires TWC to measure and evaluate the progress of TWC's child care program regarding:
(1) coordination by TWC with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to assign a public education information management system (PEIMS) number to children younger than six years of age enrolled in TWC's child care program;
(2) coordination with TEA, school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools on any prekindergarten quality improvement efforts;
(3) efforts to increase coordination between participating providers in TWC's child care program, school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools;
(4) facilitation of provider enrollment in the program and progression of providers to the highest rating level in the program; and
(5) development and implementation of certain rates and payments to allow participating providers to provide high quality child care and ensure that TWC meets performance measures established by the legislature for the average number of children served by TWC's child care program per day.
(e) Requires TWC to make the information collected by TWC and TWC's findings available to local workforce development boards, school districts, open enrollment charter schools, and the public.
(f) Requires that the report include information described by Sections 302.0042(b)(8)-(11).
SECTION 3. Amends Section 302.00435, Labor Code, as follows:
Sec. 302.00435. SUBSIDIZED CHILD CARE PROGRAM; INPUT POLICY. (a) Redesignates existing text as Subsection (a) and makes no further changes to this subsection.
(b) Requires that the policy developed under Subsection (a) include methods for obtaining input from TEA, school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, subsidized child care providers, relevant businesses, and the public regarding improving coordination between the subsidized program and prekindergarten programs and increasing the quality of and access to the subsidized child care program.�
SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 2017.