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AUSTIN State Representative Carlos Truan of Corpus Christi has repeatedly called 1975 ‘the year of the child” The total amount of state legislation proposed thus far this year concerning young children, children one to six, may prove him right. More than 125 bills relating directly to young children and more than 200 others which, if passed, will influence the lives of young children in Texas, have been proposed. Here are just a few of the many bills directly affecting young children: House Bill 1764, sponsored by Truan and Representative Walt Parker of Denton, and Senate Bill 725, sponsored by Senator William Patman of Canada, give legislative foundation to the state Office of Early Childhood Development (OECD) in the Texas Depart ment of Community Affairs (TDCA). The bills authorize OECD to perform many ac tivities in behalf of young children: disseminating in formation on early childhood; surveying available public and private resources and services for young children and their families; surveying needs of young children; developing demonstration programs; promoting cooperation among public and private agencies; and developing a system throughout the state for delivering services to young children and their families through local community participation and decision making. The licensing of child care facilities and enforcement of child care facility regulations has been an important issue of the last two years. For the current legislative session, there have been at least twelve bills proposed having to do with licensing. House Bill 225, sponsored by Joe Salem of Corpus Christi, would set up the same regulatory council, but would, in addition, exempt from licensing all churches and religious bodies with child care facilities. House Bill 565, sponsored again by Truan, sets up a regulatory council composed of persons from many state of fices, to coordinate and review all rules and regulations for all child care facilities. House Bill 1511, sponsored by Representative Craig Washington of Houston, establishes a Child Care Licensing Division in DPW, provides that all child care facilities be licensed on an annual basis only, establishes the method of closing down a non-compliant or unlicensed center and makes the penalty for non-compliance a Class B misdemeanor. It also establishes a State Advisory Committee on Child Care Facilities and Regional Ad visory Committees, and makes provision for an annual report from the new division. House Bill 1828, sponsored by Representative Lynn Nicers of Brownwood, divides respon sibility for licensing child care facilities in Texas between Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Department of Public Welfare (DPW). This bill was developed by seven state agencies to respond to a recommendation by the Governor's Task Force on Youth Care and Rehabilitation. Senate Bill 203, sponsored by Senator Ron Clower of Garland, would bring state operated child care facilities and child - placing agencies both now exempt — under licensing requirements by DPW. The issue of child care is also affected by three other bills. House Bill 734, sponsored by Representative Sam Hudson of Dallas, authorizes DPW and OECD to establish and regulate day care centers for all children who are at least two years old and 1) are eligible for state Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), or 2) whose mothers are enrolled in DPW job training programs certified by the Texas Employment Com mission (TEC), or 3) are from families eligible as welfare recipients under federal law or regulations providing for matching federal funds for welfare programs. Additional children may participate on a sliding fee scale, based upon family income. The bill also provides for a 15 member advisory committee on child care appointed by the Governor, a committee which will advise the state on child care matters. House Bill 1237, sponsored by Representative Joe Pentony of Houston, authorizes TEA to establish pilot early childhood education programs for children who are 3 to 4 years old at the beginning of each school year. House Bill 1308, also spon sored by Representative Hudson, liberalizes ad ministration and admission regulations of certain federally established day care programs, requiring adherence to federal regulations only, gains prepayment for a program rather than reimbursement after the services are given, and includes procedures to allow parents of children in the program to review and com ment on proposed rules and regulations. In the area of child health, there are two bills designed to include illegitimate children in state information systems. House Bill 53, sponsored by Representative Andrew Baker of Galveston, authorizes the sending of birth information to parents of all children, in cluding illegitimates, and authorizes the issuance of birth and death certificates of illegitimate children. Senate Bill 705, sponsored by Senator Oscar Mauzy of Dallas, authorizes inclusion of the names of illegitimate children in the Infant Immunization and Infant Immunization Sur veillance Programs of the state. Five bills relate to kin dergarten, three of which are slight variations of one another and authorizes bilingual education for kindergarteners. House Bill 425, sponsored by Representative Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth, would enable five-year-olds who are not quite six when school begins to go to first grade if they first pass a test given by the school in which they will enter. Senate Bill 585, another sponsored by Senator Clower, would entitle kindergarten children to the benefits of the state’s Minimum Foundation School Program on either a full-day, full-year basis; a full day, half-year basis; or a half day, full-year basis — at the option of the local school board and authorize one teacher for every ten kindergarten students. Senate Bill 96, sponsored by Senator Jack Ogg of Houston, Senate Bill 102, sponsored by Senator Chet Brooks of Pasadena, and Carlos Truan’s House Bill 289, all have the same intent and authorize bilingual education for kin dergarten, first and second grades, beginning with the upcoming school year. Idnntical bills in the House and Senate, House Bill 280, sponsored by Representative Frank Madla of San Antonio, and Senate Bill 84, sponsored by Senator Brooks, would establish a statewide educational program for gifted and talented students, ad ministered by TEA, and would appoint a full-time director of programs for gifted and talented students in TEA. There are four social service bills directed toward young children. Senate Bill 759, sponsored by Senator Max Sherman of Amarillo, gives TEA the responsibility for care and education of multiple handicapped children under 21 years of age. House Bill 347, sponsored by Representative Calvin Rucker of Cedar Hill, would shift financial responsibility for caring for dependent and neglected children from counties to the state, and would appropriate funds for state DPW for this purpose. House Bill 597, sponsored by Representative Chris Semos of Dallas, provides stricter penalties for failure to report suspected cases of child abuse fines of not less than $100 nor more than $500, jail not less than ten days nor more than six months, or both. Senate Bill 34, sponsored by Senator Ron Farabee of Wichita Falls, makes the buying and selling of children for purposes of adoption a misdemeanor but specifically excludes application of this law to fees charged by child-placing agencies.
Newspaper Details
Taylor Daily Press
Taylor, Texas, US
Fri, Apr 11, 1975
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Aimee V.
USA 20 Aug 2026
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