Amend CSHB 1 (house committee printing) in Article III of the bill, following the appropriations to the Texas Education Agency (page III-27), by adding the following appropriately numbered rider and renumbering subsequent riders accordingly:

____.  Voluntary Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program. (a) Out of the amounts appropriated in Strategy A.2.1, Statewide Educational Programs, the Texas Education Agency shall allocate $2,000,000 for the state fiscal biennium ending August 31, 2021, for the commissioner of education to administer four in-home, technology-delivered school readiness pilot projects that include a parental involvement component, are delivered in English, Spanish, and other languages as needed, and are designed to increase access to early learning programming education and to improve the transition into elementary education, including content in reading, math, and science correlated to Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines. The pilot program must be offered to not less than 1,000 four-year-old students selected based on early learning needs in this state, including children residing in rural or remote areas, children who are educationally disadvantaged, and children of limited English proficiency. The pilot program must include evidence-based assessments provided by the Texas Education Agency or an independent qualified provider designed to measure student progress on domains that include early literacy, numeracy, and language.

(b)  Funds allocated to the pilot program under this rider may fund the installation of computers and Internet service for pilot program participants who are educationally disadvantaged and reside in homes without a computer or Internet service.

(c)  The commissioner of education shall issue a report to the legislature evaluating the educational growth of children participating in the pilot program.