HIGH QUALITY CURRICULUM AND TEACHER REQUIREMENTS.

(a) A school district shall select and implement a curriculum for a prekindergarten program that:

(1) includes the prekindergarten guidelines established by the agency;

(2) measures the progress of students in meeting the recommended learning outcomes; and

(3) does not use national curriculum standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

(b) Each teacher for a prekindergarten program class must:

(1) be certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21; and

(2) have one of the following additional qualifications:

(A) an associate or baccalaureate degree in early childhood education or a related field;

(B) a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or another early childhood education credential approved by the agency;

(C) certification offered through a training center accredited by Association Montessori Internationale or through the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education;

(D) at least eight years' experience of teaching in a nationally accredited child care program or a Texas Rising Star Program;

(E) be employed as a prekindergarten teacher in a school district that has received approval from the commissioner for the district's prekindergarten-specific instructional training plan that the teacher uses in the teacher's prekindergarten classroom; or

(F) an equivalent qualification.

(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), each teacher for a prekindergarten class provided by an entity with which a school district contracts to provide a prekindergarten program must:

(1) be certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, to teach prekindergarten or supervised by a person who meets the requirements under Subsection (b);

(2) have one of the following qualifications:

(A) at least two years' experience of teaching in a nationally accredited child care program or a Texas Rising Star Program and:

(i) a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or another early childhood education credential approved by the agency; or

(ii) certification offered through a training center accredited by Association Montessori Internationale or through the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education; or

(B) a qualification described by Subsection (b)(2)(A), (D), (E), or (F); and

(3) when appropriate, be appropriately certified or be supervised by a person who is appropriately certified to provide effective instruction to emergent bilingual students, as defined by Section 29.052, enrolled in the prekindergarten program.

(b-2) A person who supervises a prekindergarten program provided by an entity with which a school district contracts for that purpose may supervise multiple prekindergarten classrooms to:

(1) ensure programmatic compliance; and

(2) support:

(A) classroom instruction;

(B) the developmental needs of students; and

(C) continuous quality improvement, including professional development.

(b-3) Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (b-4) and this subsection expire September 1, 2029.

(b-4) Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) apply to any prekindergarten class provided by an entity with which a school district contracts to provide a prekindergarten program under Section 29.153.

(c) A school district may allow a teacher employed by the district to receive the training required to be awarded a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential from a regional education service center that offers the training in accordance with Section 8.058. Training may not include national curriculum standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

(d) A school district or an entity with which the district contracts to provide a prekindergarten program must attempt to maintain an average ratio in any prekindergarten program class of not less than one qualified teacher or teacher's aide for each 11 students.