17:407.101

Title 17. Education

Chapter 1. General School Law

Part X-F. Early Childhood Care and Education Commission

17:407.101 Early Childhood Care and Education Commission

A. The legislature finds that the early childhood care and education network established by Act No. 3 of the 2012 Regular Session of the Legislature and community networks created by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education have been instrumental in improving kindergarten readiness. Community networks, especially those with the highest performance, are able to demonstrate that affordable access can be achieved when provided with adequate resources. Providing early childhood programming of high quality, rather than affordable access alone, must remain a state priority. While quality can be measured on a statewide basis, it is best assured through community-based plans and local early childhood program collaboration.

B. The Early Childhood Care and Education Commission is hereby established for the purpose of building on the foundation established by Act No. 3 of the 2012 Regular Session of the Legislature to create a vision for the future of early childhood care and education in Louisiana.

C. (1) The commission is composed of forty-one members as follows:

(a) One representative of a municipality that receives Head Start funding, appointed by the governor.

(b) One representative of a Head Start program, appointed by the governor.

(d) One representative of a special-needs advocacy organization, appointed by the governor.

(e) One representative of the governor’s office, appointed by the governor.

(f) One business representative, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

(g) One local school superintendent, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

(h) One representative of Type III early learning centers, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

(i) One representative of a child advocacy or community organization, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

(j) One parent of a child in a publicly funded child daycare center, Early Head Start Center, Head Start Center, or stand-alone prekindergarten program, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

(k) Two members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

(l) One business representative, appointed by the president of the Senate.

(m) One local school superintendent, appointed by the president of the Senate.

(n) One representative of Type III early learning centers, appointed by the president of the Senate.

(o) One representative of a child advocacy or community organization, appointed by the president of the Senate.

(p) One parent of a child in a publicly funded child daycare center, Early Head Start Center, Head Start Center, or stand-alone prekindergarten program, appointed by the president of the Senate.

(q) Two members of the Senate, appointed by the president of the Senate.

(r) Two representatives of high-performing community early childhood care and education networks, appointed by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education upon recommendation of the state superintendent of education.

(s) One representative of a nonpublic school participating in a publicly funded early childhood care and education program, appointed by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(t) A member appointed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Louisiana Chapter.

(u) One person with professional expertise in the operations of a family care center, appointed by the governor.

(v) One early care and education researcher from a public postsecondary education institution, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

(w) One representative from either a Type I or Type II early learning center, appointed by the president of the Senate.

(x) One representative of maternal, infant, and early childhood home visitation programs within the Bureau of Family Health, appointed by the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.

(y) One representative of the Early Steps program within the Bureau of Family Health, appointed by the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.

(z) One representative of early childhood programs within the state Department of Education, appointed by the state superintendent of education.

(aa) One representative of the Louisiana Head Start Collaboration Office, appointed by the state superintendent of education.

(bb) One representative of the special education programs within the state Department of Education, appointed by the state superintendent of education.

(cc) A staff member of the Board of Regents, appointed by the Board of Regents.

(dd) The secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, or his designee.

(ee) The secretary of the Department of Economic Development, or his designee.

(ff) The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, or his designee.

(gg) One professional with expertise in the socioemotional development and well-being of children from birth through age four, appointed by the governor.

(hh) One early intervention researcher from a Louisiana public postsecondary education institution, appointed by the Board of Regents.

(ii) One early childhood education researcher from a Louisiana public postsecondary education institution, appointed by the Board of Regents.

(jj) One member of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, appointed by the president of the board.

(kk) One early childhood development and education specialist, appointed by the president of the Center for Development and Learning.

(ll) One member of the Louisiana Educational Television Authority, appointed by the chairman of the authority.

(2) A vacancy in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

(3) The chairman of the House Committee on Education and chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, acting jointly, shall select two members to serve as co-chairmen of the commission.

(4) The members of the commission shall serve without compensation.

D. The state Department of Education shall provide staff support for the commission.

E. The commission shall study and make recommendations relative to establishing a vision for the future of early childhood care and education in Louisiana. When conducting analysis and making recommendations relative to a vision and framework, the commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Gather and analyze data relative to the current availability, quality, and cost of early childhood care and education throughout the state for children from birth through age four, determine needs and priorities, and develop a plan focused on family access, affordability, and quality.

(2) Consider research, local coordination currently established in Louisiana including current high-performing community networks, and related work done in other states to determine best practices for the purpose of informing and fostering the continued development of local governing entities that coordinate across programs and providers in order to meet family needs, drive quality improvement, maximize financial resources, and support children from birth through age four and their families.

(3) Determine a sustainable infrastructure to ensure quality programs across providers. Such infrastructure shall include workforce and professional development, monitoring and assessment, coordinated enrollment, and data-informed decisionmaking.

(4) Identify opportunities for collaboration and coordination among programs and agencies responsible for development of children from birth through age four.

(5) Define a timeframe for achieving the vision and determine benchmarks for the intervening years.

(6) Determine the amount of funding needed to achieve affordable access to quality care and education for all children from birth through age four and recommend policies that prioritize the allocation of future funding.

(7) Gather and analyze data, laws, and policy in Louisiana and other states where children are in the care of family child care providers and consider and make recommendations relative to the incorporation of such providers into the early childhood care and education network.

(8) Establish and appoint members to a task force to identify and recommend alternative state and local funding strategies for quality early childhood care and education. The commission shall incorporate the task force’s findings and recommendations into the report that the commission produces pursuant to Subsection F of this Section.

(a) The state Department of Education shall provide staff support for the task force.

(b) The task force shall have the following nine members:

(i) The two co-chairs of the commission, each of whom may designate someone to serve in his place.

(ii) One representative of the business community.

(iii) One person with significant experience in the generation and administration of local government revenue.

(iv) One representative of a statewide public policy organization involved in early childhood issues.

(v) One representative of a statewide foundation or nonprofit organization involved in early childhood issues.

(vi) One representative of a child advocacy or community organization.

(vii) One representative of a public postsecondary education institution in Louisiana representing the discipline of economics with experience in the study of local, state, and regional fiscal policy.

(viii) One parent of a child in a publicly funded childcare center, Early Head Start Center, Head Start Center, or stand-alone prekindergarten program.

F. Not later than fourteen days prior to the beginning of the 2021 Regular Session of the Legislature, the commission shall produce a report of its findings and recommendations. Not later than fourteen days prior to the beginning of the 2022 Regular Session of the Legislature, the commission shall produce a report on the status of the implementation of its recommendations. The reports shall be provided to the governor, members of the legislature, the state superintendent of education, and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education no less than fourteen days prior to the first day of the regular session.

G. The commission shall meet at least twice between the 2020 and 2021 Regular Sessions of the Legislature and shall meet at least twice between the 2021 and 2022 Regular Sessions of the Legislature during which meetings the state Department of Education shall provide updates on how the commission’s recommendations are being implemented. The commission shall make any further recommendations it deems necessary to advance the vision and goals established.

H. A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The commission shall be domiciled in Baton Rouge but may hold public hearings elsewhere in the state.

Added by Acts 2020, No. 180, § 1, eff. June 11, 2020.