| (a) School districts and open-enrollment charter schools
providing a prekindergarten program must provide high-quality educational
services established under the Texas Education Code (TEC), Chapter
29, Subchapter E-1, to qualifying students. A student is qualified
to participate in a high-quality prekindergarten program if the student
is four years of age on September 1 of the year the student begins
the program and:
(1) is unable to speak and comprehend the English language;
(2) is educationally disadvantaged;
(3) is a homeless child, as defined by 42 United States
Code §11434a, regardless of the residence of the child, of either
parent of the child, or of the child's guardian or other person having
lawful control of the child;
(4) is the child of an active duty member of the armed
forces of the United States, including the state military forces or
a reserve component of the armed forces, who is ordered to active
duty by proper authority;
(5) is the child of a member of the armed forces of
the United States, including the state military forces or a reserve
component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while serving
on active duty;
(6) is or ever has been in the conservatorship of the
Department of Family and Protective Services following an adversary
hearing held as provided by the Texas Family Code, §262.201;
or
(7) is the child of a person eligible for the Star
of Texas Award as:
(A) a peace officer under Texas Government Code, §3106.002;
(B) a firefighter under Texas Government Code, §3106.003;
or
(C) an emergency medical first responder under Texas
Government Code, §3106.004.
(b) A school district or an open-enrollment charter
school shall implement a curriculum for a high-quality prekindergarten
program that addresses the 2015 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines in
the following domains:
(1) social and emotional development;
(2) language and communication;
(3) emergent literacy reading;
(4) emergent literacy writing;
(5) mathematics;
(6) science;
(7) social studies;
(8) fine arts;
(9) physical development and health; and
(10) technology.
(c) A school district or an open-enrollment charter
school shall measure:
(1) at the beginning and end of the school year, the
progress of each student in meeting the recommended end of prekindergarten
year outcomes identified in the 2015 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines
using a progress monitoring tool included on the commissioner's list
of approved prekindergarten instruments that measures:
(A) social and emotional development, which may be
referred to as "health and wellness" in a progress monitoring tool;
(B) language and communication;
(C) emergent literacy reading;
(D) emergent literacy writing; and
(E) mathematics; and
(2) the preparation of each student for kindergarten
using a commissioner-approved multidimensional kindergarten instrument
during the first 60 days of school for reading and at least three
developmental skills, including literacy, as described in TEC, §28.006.
(d) Each teacher of record in a high-quality prekindergarten
program must be certified under the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B,
and have one of the following additional qualifications:
(1) a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential;
(2) a certification offered through a training center
accredited by Association Montessori Internationale or through the
Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education;
(3) at least eight years' experience of teaching in
a nationally accredited child care program;
(4) a graduate or undergraduate degree in early childhood
education or early childhood special education or a non-early childhood
education degree with a documented minimum of 15 units of coursework
in early childhood education;
(5) documented completion of the Texas School Ready
Training Program (TSR Comprehensive); or
(6) be employed as a prekindergarten teacher in a school
district that has ensured that:
(A) prior to assignment in a prekindergarten class,
teachers who provide prekindergarten instruction have completed at
least 150 cumulative hours of documented professional development
addressing the 2015 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines in addition to
other relevant topics related to high-quality prekindergarten over
a consecutive five-year period;
(B) teachers who have not completed training required
in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph prior to assignment in a prekindergarten
class shall complete:
(i) the first 30 hours of 150 cumulative hours of documented
professional development before the beginning of the next school year.
The professional development shall address topics relevant to high-quality
prekindergarten and may include:
(I) the 2015 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines;
(II) the use of student progress monitoring results
to inform classroom instruction;
(III) improving the prekindergarten classroom environment
to enhance student outcomes; and
(IV) improving the effectiveness of teacher interaction
with students as determined by an evaluation tool; and
(ii) the additional hours in the subsequent four years
in order to continue providing instruction in a high-quality prekindergarten
classroom; and
(C) at least half of the hours required by subparagraph
(A) or (B) of this paragraph shall include experiential learning,
practical application, and direct interaction with specialists in
early childhood education, mentors, or instructional coaches.
(e) A school district or an open-enrollment charter
school shall develop, implement, and make available on the district,
charter, or campus website by November 1 of each school year, a family
engagement plan to assist the district in achieving and maintaining
high levels of family involvement and positive family attitudes toward
education. An effective family engagement plan creates a foundation
for the collaboration of mutual partners, embraces the individuality
and uniqueness of families, and promotes a culture of learning that
is child centered, age appropriate, and family driven.
(1) The following terms, when used in this section,
shall have the following meanings.
(A) Family--Adults responsible for the child's care
and children in the child's life who support the early learning and
development of the child.
(B) Family engagement--The mutual responsibility of
families, schools, and communities to build relationships to support
student learning and achievement and to support family well-being
and the continuous learning and development of children, families,
and educators. Family engagement is fully integrated in the child's
educational experience and supports the whole child and is both culturally
responsive and linguistically appropriate.
(2) The family engagement plan shall:
(A) facilitate family-to-family support using strategies
such as:
(i) creating a safe and respectful environment where
families can learn from each other as individuals and in groups;
(ii) inviting former program participants, including
families and community volunteers, to share their education and career
experiences with current families; and
(iii) ensuring opportunities for continuous participation
in events designed for families by families such as training on family
leadership;
(B) establish a network of community resources using
strategies such as:
(i) building strategic partnerships;
(ii) leveraging community resources;
(iii) monitoring and evaluating policies and practices
to stimulate innovation and create learning pathways;
(iv) establishing and maintaining partnerships with
businesses, faith-based organizations, and community agencies;
(v) identifying support from various agencies, including
mental and physical health providers;
(vi) partnering with local community-based organizations
to create a family-friendly transition plan for students arriving
from early childhood settings;
(vii) providing and facilitating referrals to family
support or educational groups based on family interests and needs;
(viii) communicating short- and long-term program goals
to all stakeholders; and
(ix) identifying partners to provide translators and
culturally relevant resources reflective of the home language;
(C) increase family participation in decision making
using strategies such as:
(i) developing and supporting a family advisory council;
(ii) developing, adopting, and implementing identified
goals within the annual campus/school improvement plan targeting family
engagement;
(iii) developing and supporting leadership skills for
family members and providing opportunities for families to advocate
for their children/families;
(iv) collaborating with families to develop strategies
to solve problems and serve as problem solvers;
(v) engaging families in shaping program activities
and cultivating the expectation that information must flow in both
directions to reflect two-way communication;
(vi) developing, in collaboration with families, clearly
defined goals, outcomes, timelines, and strategies for assessing progress;
(vii) providing each family with an opportunity to
review and provide input on program practices, policies, communications,
and events in order to ensure the program is responsive to the needs
of families; and
(viii) using appropriate tools such as surveys or focus
groups to gather family feedback on the family engagement plan;
(D) equip families with tools to enhance and extend
learning using strategies such as:
(i) providing families with updates at least three
times a year that specify student progress in health and wellness,
language and communication, emergent literacy reading, emergent literacy
writing, and mathematics;
(ii) designing or implementing existing home educational
resources to support learning at home while strengthening the family/school
partnership;
(iii) providing families with information and/or training
on creating a home learning environment connected to formal learning
opportunities;
(iv) equipping families with resources and skills to
support their children through the transition to school and offering
opportunities for families and children to visit the school in advance
of the prekindergarten school year;
(v) providing complementary home learning activities
for families to engage in at home with children through information
presented in newsletters, online technology, social media, parent/family-teacher
conferences, or other school- or center-related events;
(vi) providing families with information, best practices,
and training related to age-appropriate developmental expectations;
(vii) emphasizing benefits of positive family practices
such as attachment and nurturing that complement the stages of children's
development;
(viii) collaborating with families to appropriately
respond to children's behavior in a non-punitive, positive, and supportive
way;
(ix) encouraging families to reflect on family experiences
and practices in helping children; and
(x) assisting families to implement best practices
that will help achieve the goals and objectives identified to meet
the needs of the child and family;
(E) develop staff skills in evidence-based practices
that support families in meeting their children's learning benchmarks
using strategies such as:
(i) providing essential professional development for
educators in understanding communication and engagement with families,
including training on communicating with families in crisis;
(ii) promoting and developing family engagement as
a core strategy to improve teaching and learning among all educators
and staff; and
(iii) developing staff skills to support and use culturally
diverse, culturally relevant, and culturally responsive family engagement
strategies; and
(F) evaluate family engagement efforts and use evaluations
for continuous improvement using strategies such as:
(i) conducting goal-oriented home visits to identify
strengths, interests, and needs;
(ii) developing data collection systems to monitor
family engagement and focusing on engagement of families from specific
populations to narrow the achievement gap;
(iii) using data to ensure alignment between family
engagement activities and district/school teaching and learning goals
and to promote continuous family engagement;
(iv) ensuring an evaluation plan is an initial component
that guides action;
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