BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2310

By: Ordaz

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), and Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) have separate but vital responsibilities in supporting early childhood services for children with disabilities, with each agency serving a specific need: TEA oversees the public prekindergarten and early childhood special education programs, TWC oversees the child care services program and the state’s child care quality rating and improvement program, Texas Rising Star, and HHSC oversees the early childhood intervention program for infants and toddlers with disabilities as well as child care regulation, which establishes and enforces minimum child care licensing standards. The bill author has further informed the committee that, with these programs and services split between three agencies, information and resources can slip through the cracks and children and families may be left out. H.B. 2310 seeks to bring agency leaders from TEA, HHSC, and TWC together to develop and implement a strategic plan to collaboratively improve and expand early learning and educational opportunities for children with disabilities and developmental delays.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2310 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Education Agency (TEA), in collaboration with the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), to develop and implement a strategic plan to improve early learning and educational opportunities for young children with disabilities or developmental delays. The bill requires TEA, in developing the plan, to do the following in coordination with HHSC and TWC:

· develop strategies for the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood education settings;

· consider topics and existing barriers relating to ensuring, and any changes to existing practices or policies necessary to ensure, more effective inclusion of children with disabilities in early learning programs, including in:

o tuition-free prekindergarten programs, including prekindergarten programs provided under partnerships with community-based child-care providers;

o early childhood special education settings; and

o child-care programs participating in TWC's subsidized child-care program; and

· coordinate with, at a minimum, representatives of state, regional, and local agencies, the governor's Texas Early Learning Council, nonprofit organizations, and relevant social services providers.

H.B. 2310 requires the plan to include the following:

· the strategies for the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood education settings developed under the bill's provisions, signed by the commissioner of education, the executive commissioner of HHSC, and the executive director of TWC;

· a description of existing barriers to the effective inclusion of children with disabilities in early learning programs;

· recommendations for statutory, regulatory, guidance, or funding changes, and policy implementation changes, necessary to improve the inclusion of young children with disabilities in early childhood education programs; and

· current and proposed strategies and recommendations to achieve:

o improved provider staffing, training, sustainability, and effectiveness across public schools, child-care programs, and early childhood intervention services providers that serve young children with disabilities;

o the effective leveraging of existing funding and resources;

o streamlined transitions for families from early childhood intervention programs to early childhood special education programs and from early childhood special education programs to special education programs; and

o improved collaboration and partnerships between child-care programs, early childhood intervention services providers, and public schools.

H.B. 2310 requires the following to occur not later than September 1, 2026:

· TEA, HHSC, and TWC must publish the initial strategic plan required by the bill's provisions on the agencies' respective websites; and

· TEA must submit the plan to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives.

The bill requires the following to occur not later than September 1 of the last state fiscal year in each four-year period covered by the most recent strategic plan:

· TEA must update the plan for the subsequent four-year period;

· TEA must submit the updated plan to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives; and

· TEA, HHSC, and TWC must publish the updated plan on the agencies' respective websites.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.