(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.