Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a)
Definitions. The following words and terms when used in this section shall have
the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Eligible student--A child is eligible for
enrollment in a prekindergarten class under this section if the child is at
least three years of age and meets eligibility criteria consistent with the
Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.153.
(2) Licensed child care--Child care that
meets the requirements adopted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective
Services under the Human Resources Code, §
42.002(3).
(3) Nonprofit--An organization that meets the
requirements of the United States Code, Title 26, Subtitle A, Chapter 1,
Subchapter F, Part I, Section 501(a).
(4) Partner--A non-public school organization
collaborating with a public school to provide an educational component to
eligible prekindergarten children.
(5) Prekindergarten Early Start Grant
Program--A program established in accordance with the TEC, §29.155, to
administer grant funds to implement and expand prekindergarten
programs.
(6) Prekindergarten
site--A public or non-public school classroom where teachers work with three-
and four-year-old children in a prekindergarten school readiness
program.
(7) Proven school
readiness components--The components of proven school readiness are:
(A) a high-quality, developmentally
appropriate, and rigorous curriculum, based on the Texas Prekindergarten
Guidelines;
(B) continuous
monitoring of student progress in the classroom; and
(C) professional development, including
mentoring, to promote student achievement.
(8) School district--For the purposes of this
section, the definition of a school district includes an open-enrollment
charter school.
(9) School
readiness certification system (SRCS)--In accordance with the TEC,
§29.161, the school readiness certification system is a valid,
research-based automated system provided by the State Center for Early
Childhood Development through which an early childhood education program
submits an application demonstrating the program's record of cognitive, social,
and emotional development of young children to be certified as a school ready
program.
(10) School readiness
integration--In accordance with the TEC, §29.158, school readiness
integration refers to cooperative strategies to share resources across public
and non-public program delivery organizations in a community or communities
that may include, but are not limited to:
(A)
sharing certified or highly qualified teachers so that every child in each
targeted classroom receives a minimum of three hours daily of high-quality
skill development consistent with developing children's social and emotional
well-being;
(B) developing a
comprehensive instructional framework, based on the Texas Prekindergarten
Guidelines, consisting of common performance goals that encompass the unique
characteristics of each individual organization responsible for preparing young
children for school success;
(C)
sharing physical space if one organization lacks capacity while another has
available capacity;
(D) conducting
joint professional development programs that focus on proven school readiness
components, including the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines; and
(E) adopting similar approaches to student
progress monitoring to inform classroom instruction.
(11) School readiness integration
partnership--A collaboration among public prekindergarten programs and local
workforce development boards, Head Start providers, college or university early
childhood programs, and/or providers of private for-profit or nonprofit
licensed child care services that provides a school readiness component to
eligible prekindergarten students.
(12) School ready or school readiness--A term
that refers to a child being able to function competently in a school
environment in the areas of early language and literacy, mathematics, and
social skills as objectively measured by state-approved assessment
instruments.
(13) Shared services
arrangement (SSA)--An agreement between two or more school districts and/or
education service centers (ESCs) that provides services for entities
involved.
(14) State Center for
Early Childhood Development (SCECD)--The state center for early childhood
education research and training for early childhood teachers and caregivers
administered by The University of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston.
(15) Texas Prekindergarten
Guidelines--Guidelines approved by the commissioner of education that offer
detailed descriptions of expected behaviors across multiple skill domains that
should be observed in four- to five-year-old children by the end of their
prekindergarten experience. The guidelines are to prepare prekindergarten
children to master the skills and concepts in each subject area specified in
§
74.1
of this title (relating to Essential Knowledge and Skills) in the kindergarten
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
(16) Tier 1 grantee--An applicant not
currently eligible to receive funds under Tier 2 eligibility
criteria.
(17) Tier 2 grantee--An
applicant that participated as a Tier 2 grantee in the Prekindergarten Early
Start Grant Program in school years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 that is eligible to
receive continuation funding.
(b) Eligibility. Eligible applicants include
school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, and ESCs operating as the
fiscal agent of an SSA. An applicant may apply for Prekindergarten Early Start
Grant Program funds if the applicant meets the criteria for a grantee as
defined in subsection (a)(16) or (17) of this section and:
(1) establishes a school readiness
integration partnership;
(2)
demonstrates how the applicant will measure student progress based on proven
school readiness components and the SRCS in accordance with TEC, §29.161;
and
(3) demonstrates a commitment
to adopt a kindergarten reading diagnostic assessment instrument compatible
with the requirements for submission of kindergarten data to the
SRCS.
(c) Application
and grant award.
(1) An eligible applicant
must submit a Prekindergarten Early Start Grant Program application in
accordance with the instructions provided by the Texas Education Agency
(TEA).
(2) An applicant must
document in the grant application its locally adopted procedures for:
(A) determining which eligible students will
participate in the program;
(B)
implementing a strategic plan encouraging eligible students to attend the
program; and
(C) sustaining the
level of program quality and services following the term of the grant
period.
(3) Each
applicant shall provide evidence that before establishing a new prekindergarten
program, the school district considered the possibility of sharing use of an
existing Head Start or other licensed child care prekindergarten site as a
prekindergarten site.
(d) Notification. The TEA will notify each
applicant in writing of its selection or non-selection for funding. In the case
of an application selected for funding, notification to the grantee will
include the contractual conditions which the grantee must accept in accordance
with state law.
(e) Funding.
Funding allocations may take into account the percentage of educationally
disadvantaged students served in the district, in addition to other funding
allocation methods as determined by the commissioner annually in the grant
application. Contingent upon adequate appropriations, distribution of funds
will be according to the following funding structure.
(1) Tier 1 funding. The highest percentage of
available funding will be proportionately awarded to Tier 1 grantees. Funding
will be provided for a period not to exceed five years from year one of grant
application approval and will be based on annual accomplishment of grant
objectives and requirements set forth in the application in subsequent years of
the five-year cycle.
(A) Grants will be
awarded first to Tier 1 applicants whose average student performance over the
last three consecutive years on the Grade 3 assessment instruments administered
under the TEC, §39.023, is substantially below state average and whose
application score meets a minimum score as defined in the grant
application.
(B) Any funds
remaining after all grants for Tier 1 applicants meeting criteria defined in
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph have been awarded may be awarded to Tier 1
applicants whose average student performance over the last three consecutive
years on the Grade 3 assessment instruments administered under the TEC,
§39.023, is at or above the state average and whose application score
meets a minimum score as defined in the grant application.
(2) Tier 2 funding. A percentage of available
funding will be awarded to Tier 2 grantees on a continuation basis.
Continuation funding will be provided for a period not to exceed three years or
through the 2011-2012 school year.
(f) Allowable expenditures. Allowable
expenditures include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) expenditures related to the continuation
of existing full-day prekindergarten programs;
(2) personnel costs related to the teaching
personnel needed to expand prekindergarten programs to meet the requirements of
at least six hours of instruction by a certified teacher each day;
(3) curriculum materials based on scientific
research that are consistent with the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines and
designed to improve the school readiness of preschool children;
(4) equipment, including computers and other
technology;
(5) leases for space
for prekindergarten programs;
(6)
costs associated with developing plans for and entering into integrated school
readiness partnerships, including costs associated with infrastructure and
administration of the program and partnership;
(7) training activities on proven school
readiness components conducted by the SCECD or another provider;
(8) costs associated with the grantee's
participation in the SRCS; and
(9)
indirect costs.
(g)
Unallowable expenditures. Grant funds may not be expended on the following:
(1) portable buildings;
(2) construction of classroom
space;
(3) renovation or remodeling
of existing space; or
(4)
expenditures related to students who are not eligible for the
program.
(h) Conditions
of operation.
(1) Each grantee must agree to
submit all information requested by the TEA through periodic activity/progress
reports, a final evaluation report, and other activities related to the
evaluation of the program. Reports must be submitted in the prescribed time and
must contain all requested information in the prescribed format. These reports
will be used by the TEA to evaluate the implementation and progress of
grant-funded programs and to determine if modifications or adjustments to the
program are necessary.
(2) Each
grantee must provide a prekindergarten program designed to develop children's
school readiness that is aligned with the Texas Prekindergarten
Guidelines.
(3) Each grantee must
collaborate in a school readiness integration partnership as established in its
grant application. In coordinating school readiness services under this section
and in making any related decision to contract with partners such as local
workforce development boards, Head Start and Early Head Start providers,
licensed child care providers, or other licensed private for-profit or
nonprofit child care services providers, a school district shall give
preference to entities willing to commit through mutual agreement to implement
proven school readiness components that are aligned with the Texas
Prekindergarten Guidelines, including participation in:
(A) the SRCS in accordance with the TEC,
§29.161;
(B) a nationally
recognized accrediting organization approved by the Texas Workforce Commission
and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services; or
(C) the Texas Rising Star Provider
certification program administered by the Texas Workforce Commission.
(4) Each grantee must develop and
implement, throughout the duration of the grant period, a sustainability plan
to continue the quality and level of services of the program after the grant
period ends. The sustainability plan must include continuation of the school
readiness integration plan and participation in the SRCS.
(i) Continuation funding. All continuation
funding will be awarded according to the tier funding structure described in
subsection (e) of this section. To receive continuation funding for the
Prekindergarten Early Start Grant Program, all grantees must reapply for
funding each year of the grant cycle and meet all applicable performance
standards included in the prior year's grant agreement. A Tier 2 grantee
applying for funding in year three must present valid, research-based empirical
data as evidence that the grantee has implemented a prekindergarten program
that includes proven school readiness components.
(j) Exemptions.
(1) The requirement in subsection (h)(3) of
this section for a school readiness integration partnership may be exempted if
Head Start and/or licensed child care programs required for school readiness
integration planning are unavailable in a local community. A school district
must provide proof of inability to enter into a school readiness integration
partnership by submitting an Exemption Request form in the grant application
signed by the superintendent or his/her designee, including a statement signed
by the authorized member of the school district's board of trustees certifying
inability to submit the required school readiness integration plan based upon
unavailability of eligible entities and programs with which to coordinate. An
open-enrollment charter school board may also provide a statement certifying
inability to enter into a school readiness integration plan based on
limitations of the approved charter.
(2) All requests for exemptions from program
requirements must be submitted as part of the application.
(3) A Tier 2 grantee may request an exemption
from the requirement in subsection (b)(2) of this section to participate in the
SRCS if the Tier 2 grantee was not using a Kindergarten reading diagnostic
instrument compatible with the SRCS by April 2, 2009, the original adoption
date of this section. The grantee will be required to establish a policy for
providing another source of valid and reliable data to demonstrate program
effectiveness. Approval of a request for an exemption from the requirement to
participate in the SRCS will also apply to the condition of operation specified
in subsection (h)(3)(A) of this section. However, a district receiving such an
exemption will be required to allow evaluation of Kindergarten-Grade 2 student
performance by the state, or its designee or its evaluator, using a
Kindergarten reading diagnostic instrument compatible with the SRCS or any
other developmentally appropriate diagnostic assessment instrument.
(k) Technical assistance. The TEA
or its contractors will provide technical assistance, contingent on available
funding, to implement proven school readiness components to selected school
districts and their school readiness integration partners. Based on a
comprehensive analysis of student performance, SRCS results, periodic
activity/progress reports, final evaluation reports, and other relevant data
from grantees, selected grantees and their school readiness integration
partners will be required to participate in the technical assistance.
(l) Evaluation. Each grantee operating a
prekindergarten program using Prekindergarten Early Start Grant Program funds
must comply with evaluation procedures consistent with the TEC, §29.154,
in a manner established by the commissioner. Annual submission of evaluation
reports based on program quality and student performance will be required in
the manner and time set forth in the application for funding.
(m) Revocation.
(1) The commissioner may revoke a grant award
for the Prekindergarten Early Start Grant Program based on the following
factors:
(A) noncompliance with application
assurances and/or the provisions of this section;
(B) lack of program success as evidenced by
progress reports and program data;
(C) failure to participate in data collection
and audits;
(D) failure to meet
performance standards specified in the application; or
(E) failure to provide accurate, timely, and
complete information as required by the TEA to evaluate the effectiveness of
the Prekindergarten Early Start Grant Program.
(2) A decision by the commissioner to revoke
the grant award of a Prekindergarten Early Start Grant Program is final and may
not be appealed.
(n)
Recovery of funds. The commissioner may audit the use of grant funds and may
recover funds against any state provided funds.
(o) Implementation. The funding structure
delineated in subsection (e) of this section takes effect beginning with school
year 2011-2012.
