(a) School districts and open-enrollment charter schools providing a prekindergarten program must provide high-quality educational services established under 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 Texas Family Code, §262.201, or foster care in another state or territory, if the child resides in Texas; 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 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines in the following domains:
  (1) social and emotional development;
  (2) emergent literacy 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, middle, and end of the school year, the progress of each student in meeting the recommended end of prekindergarten year outcomes identified in the 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) emergent literacy 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 class must be certified under 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 teaching in a nationally accredited child care program or a Texas Rising Star Program;
  (4) an associate or baccalaureate 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, the teacher who provides prekindergarten instruction has completed at least 150 cumulative hours of documented professional development addressing the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines in addition to other relevant topics related to high-quality prekindergarten over a consecutive five-year period;
    (B) a teacher who has not completed training required in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph prior to assignment in a prekindergarten class completes:
      (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 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 include experiential learning, practical application, and direct interaction with specialists in early childhood education, mentors, or instructional coaches.
(e) Each teacher in a high-quality prekindergarten program class provided by an entity with which a school district contracts to provide a prekindergarten program must be supervised by a person who meets the requirements under subsection (d) of this section and must have one of the following additional qualifications:
  (1) at least two years' experience teaching in a nationally accredited child care program or a Texas Rising Star Program and:
    (A) a CDA credential or another early childhood education credential approved by the Texas Education Agency (TEA); or
    (B) a certification offered through a training center accredited by Association Montessori Internationale or through the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education;
  (2) an associate or baccalaureate 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;
  (3) at least eight years' experience teaching in a nationally accredited child care program or a Texas Rising Star Program; or
  (4) be employed as a prekindergarten teacher in a partnership program that has ensured that:
    (A) prior to assignment in a prekindergarten class, the teacher has completed at least 150 cumulative hours of documented professional development addressing the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines in addition to other relevant topics related to high-quality prekindergarten over a consecutive five-year period;
    (B) a teacher who has not completed the training required in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph prior to assignment in a prekindergarten class completes:
      (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 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
Cont'd...