SB 1378

This bill creates the division of early child and education ("division"") in the department of education (""department"") by December 31, 2026. The commissioner of education (""commissioner"") must appoint the director of the division, who will report directly to the commissioner. ADMINISTRATIVE R ESPONSIBILITY This bill provides that the division has administrative responsibility for all child care and early educational services that are funded through state or federal monies, including, but not limited to, the Child Care and Development Block Gr ant Act and Child Care and Development Fund, the voluntary pre-kindergarten program, the individuals with Disabilities Education Act for children before kindergarten, Head Start programs in this state, and programs that are funded through the preschool de v elopment grant of the Every Student Succeeds Act. This bill provides that the division additionally has administrative responsibility for developing a unified early child care and education system that includes, but is not limited to a uniform child car e licensing and regulatory system, a uniform accountability and quality rating and improvement system for publicly funded early child care and education programs, mechanisms such as community planning grants to engage local communities in creating solutio n s that best meet their communities' unique early care and education needs, an advisory council comprised of providers of early childhood care and education programs to help ensure the early child care and education system protects child health and safety b ut otherwise prioritizes reducing regulatory burdens and simplifying regulatory processes for early childhood care and education providers, and mechanisms such as surveys for regular feedback from parents whose children participate in programs that are par t of the unified early childhood care and education system. Beginning January 1, 2027, this bill requires the division to (i) create and publish a strategic plan for the unified early childhood care and education system, with input from local communities, providers, and parents in accordance with goals that include, but are not limited to, affordable accessible options and family choice, positive early learning outcomes, and efficient and user-friendly systems and (ii) submit a report by October 30 of eac h year to the general assembly on the progress made in creating and maintaining the strategic plan. The annual report must include any challenges to achieving such goals and recommended actions for how to address the challenges. TRANSITION ADVISORY COUNC IL This bill creates a transition advisory council to advise the department in establishing a two-part transition plan to establish the division of early child education and the unified early care and education system, that is required by this bill . The council must be staffed by persons within the department. The council must convene no later than July 15, 2025, and meet at least monthly through December 2026. The council consists of the commissioner of education, the commissioner of human services, t he state's coordinator for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the director of the Tennessee Head Start collaboration office, members appointed by the governor, and members appointed by the general assembly. The appointed members will serve a s ex officio nonvoting members. This bill requires the transition advisory council to advise the department in developing a two-part transition plan to develop and recommend a first phase of the transition plan to the governor for his approval no later than January 1, 2026. The first phase must include a plan to establish the division of early childhood care and education within the department, with such plan to include specific details, including, but not limited to, division staffing, budgetary items, and timelines for completion. This bill requires the governor to submit the approved plan no later than January 15, 2026, to the general assembly. This bill requires the transition advisory council to develop and recommend a second phase of the trans ition plan to the governor for his approval no later than October 1, 2026. The second phase must include a plan to establish the unified early childhood care and education system, with such plan to include processes and timelines to be approved by the ge n eral assembly. This bill requires the department to implement the first phase of the transition plan no later than December 31, 2026, and the second phase of the plan no later than July 1, 2027. Contractor This bill requires the department to employ a contractor, who has extensive and recent experience and expertise in guiding and overseeing the merging of state early care and education governance into a state department of education, by July, 1, 2025, to le ad the department and the transition advisory council in the development of the two-part transition plan and support the department's implementation of the transition plan. The department must require the contractor to include a process for input from sta keholders in transition planning for the unified early childhood care and education system, with such input to include the creation of a working group of 15 early childhood care and education providers selected by the department to advise on the creation o f the system, and other processes for stakeholder input."