REIMBURSEMENT RATES FOR TEXAS RISING STAR PROGRAM PROVIDERS.

(a) Each board shall establish graduated reimbursement rates for child care based on the commission's Texas Rising Star Program.

(b) The minimum reimbursement rate for a Texas Rising Star Program provider must be greater than the maximum rate established for a provider who is not a Texas Rising Star Program provider for the same category of care. The reimbursement rate must be:

(1) at least five percent higher for a provider with a two-star rating;

(2) at least seven percent higher for a provider with a three-star rating; and

(3) at least nine percent higher for a provider with a four-star rating.

(c) The Texas Rising Star Program rate differential established in this section shall be funded with federal child-care development funds.

(d) The commission shall examine and implement strategies to address the increased costs a Texas Rising Star Program provider with a four-star or three-star rating would incur to provide care to infants and toddlers due to low child-to-caregiver ratios for children in those age groups.

(e) Each board may reimburse a Texas Rising Star Program provider in the board's area at the board's maximum rate of reimbursement for the provider's Texas Rising Star Program rating level regardless of the provider's published rate only if paying the higher reimbursement rate does not reduce the commission's target performance measure for the average number of children served each day for children receiving subsidized child care in the workforce development area served by the board.