Facility Changes. There are varying types of changes a child care and early learning program may go through while being Texas Rising Star certified. These changes may affect the type of care that is being provided, requiring action by the Board and/or assessor. Facility expansions are defined as a facility continuing to operate at an existing location with the existing classrooms and age groups served, while the owner/program opens a new facility within the same city, ZIP code, or county to expand and add classrooms or age groups served. Facility splits are defined as a facility continuing to operate at an existing location while the owner/program opens an additionala new facility within the same city, ZIP code, or county and moves a subset of the staff and the children served to the new facility. A facility split also involves a modification of the current classroom structure and staffing. Both facility expansions and facility splits involve establishing a new director at either the existing or new location. For licensing purposes, CCR considers both facility expansions and facility splits to be new facilities and requires a new permanent license. Under Texas Rising Star, facility expansions and splits require programs to request a review of the program’s certification status. Licensing history for the certification will be based on the CCR monitoring conducted while the facility was operating under the original license. The need for assessment and observation will be based on the type and degree of facility changes, as determined by the assessor using the Facility Change Rubric. Facility moves are defined as a facility closing and relocating to a new location within the same city, ZIP code, or county in which the program is currently operating. A facility move does not alter the current composition of director or staff but may involve an increase in capacity or age groups served. Facility-type changes are defined as a program changing facility type (for example, changes from a registered child care home to a licensed child care home). A facility-type change may alter the current composition of director or staff and may involve an increase in capacity or age groups served. Facility ownership changes are defined as a program changing owners, which may alter the current composition of staff or current policies and procedures. When a facility incurs one of the noted facility changes above, it must notify CCR and may initiate a new CCR facility application and obtain a new license number from CCR. The facility may or may not carry its 12-month licensing history with it to the new license number. A Texas Rising Star–certified program that experiences any one of these changes (expansion, splits, facility type, changes ownership, a move to a new location within the same city, ZIP code, or county in which the program is currently operating) must have a full (permanent) permit with CCR but does not need to have 12 months of history in this situation and willin order to retain its star level during the move or change. The program will undergo a Texas Rising Star reassessment per the Facility Change Rubric within the initial three-month period from either the date the new CCR permit associated with the change is issued or the date the change occurred if a new permit is not issued. The program’s new Texas Rising Star level will be based on the results of the reassessment. The CCR history that is available under the permit before the change will be used when completing the Texas Rising Star Screening Form for these assessments. Any program that receives an initial permit due to a facility change is no longer eligible for Texas Rising Star certification and must continue to meet Entry Level requirements in order to maintain its CCS Provider Agreement. However, as soon as the child care and early learning program receives a permanent (full) permit, the program may request certification if it meets Texas Rising Star certification eligibility. Note: The 12 months of CCR history will be waived in this situation. The CCR history that is available at that time under the permanent (full) permit will be used when completing the Texas Rising Star Screening Form for these assessments. Reconsideration Rule §809.135 requires Boards TWC’s assessment entity to ensure a process for reconsideration of facility assessment at the Board level, as the Texas Rising Star program is not subject to TWC Chapter 823 Integrated Complaints, Hearings, and Appeals rules. Note: Due to the delay in procurement of a centralized assessment entity, Boards will oversee assessment functions including reconsiderations, per WD Letter 01-23, until that entity has been contracted. A reconsideration may be requested by a program that feels that the assessment was inaccurate or unfairly conducted. The reconsideration process may include scheduling a second assessment with the same assessor, a second visit with two assessors, or an assessment with a different assessor. The reconsideration may also involve a reassessment of a category and/or measure as requested by the program. Boards may also coordinate with other Board assessors for a second review of the program’s assessment. Additionally, in responding to a reconsideration request from a program, the Board may make additional mentoring services available to assist the program in meeting Texas Rising Star standards. Boards must make programs aware of policies regarding the reconsideration process, time restrictions on requesting a reconsideration, the number of reconsiderations allowed, and the elements eligible for reconsideration. Reconsideration policies may vary across Boards. Director and Staff Changes Texas Rising Star–certified programs should report to Texas Rising Star staff when there is: a change of director; or staff turnover that causes the Texas Rising Star program to fall below its current star level based on the program’s completion of the Staff Qualifications and Training section of the FARF. Staff positions that have changed will be reassessed at the program’s next annual monitoring or next Texas Rising Star assessment using the qualifications of the facility’s new director and/or staff. New directors are required to meet the CQIP requirements prior to the program’s next annual monitoring or next Texas Rising Star assessment. The new director and mentor should work together to ensure understanding and participation in CQIP. If the change in director or staff results in the program not meeting the requirements of the program’s current star level, then the program will be placed on an SIA for six months to provide time for the program to address the shortfall and retain its star level. Texas Workforce Registry Child care and early learning programs participating in Texas Rising Star are expected to participate in the Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System’s Workforce Registry (WFR). The WFR is an online system in which early childhood professionals can store and access their education and employment history, as well as the training hours they have completed. During the application certification process for Texas Rising Star, mentors will are available to assist programs and their staff in entering staff information into the WFR. Mentors will provide ongoing support to encourage and support programs to use the WFR, and assessors will review the program’s use of the WFR at the initial assessment, each annual monitoring, and any subsequent assessment visits. Programs that elect not to receive mentoring services are still required to have their center director account established within the WFR. If a program fails to use the WFR and to encourage staff to use it, a mentor will may provide technical assistance and work with the program to include use of the WFR in its CQIP. Mentors will also work with child care and early learning programs that were a part of Texas Rising Star before the requirement to participate in the WFR in order to determine an appropriate timeline and technical assistance needs to ensure the programs’ progress with implementing use of the WFR. CLASS® Option for Category 2 Observations The CLASS® (Classroom Assessment Scoring System®) is a program-quality assessment and professional development system for measuring and improving teacher-child interactions. While the CLASS® assessment tool does not measure the identical teacher-child interactions that Texas Rising Star measures, it is an evidence-based tool that examines substantially similar items. A crosswalk of this alignment is provided within WD Letter 06-22, Attachment 1, issued March 18, 2022, and titled “Texas Rising Star and CLASS® Crosswalk: Category 2.” If an early learning program has received a CLASS® assessment for each classroom within the most recent 12 months, the results of those assessments may be replaced for the observation and scoring each classroom receives for Category 2: Teacher-Child Interactions. The CLASS® observation must be completed within the most recent 12-months of the Texas Rising Star assessment or annual monitoring visit by a certified CLASS® evaluator for that age group and the CLASS® evaluator may not also be the early learning program’s mentor. If the early learning program chooses to have its CLASS® scores replace its Texas Rising Star Category 2 scores, the assessor will enter those scores into CLI Engage per the Engage User Guide. The following table indicates how the CLASS® scoring is aligned with Texas Rising Star scoring: LOW—Score of 1–2 LOW—Score of 0–1 MID—Score of 3–5 MID—Score of 2 HIGH—Score of 6–7 HIGH—Score of 3 Section 4: Continuous Quality Improvement Texas Rising Star provides professional development resources and mentoring to sustain and improve the quality of child care and early learning in Texas Rising Star–certified facilities. Texas Rising Star–certified programs have access to three types of technical assistance: CQIPs, ▇▇▇▇, and targeted assistance for programs on Texas Rising Star probation. The three types of assistance are summarized below. Continuous Quality Improvement Plans Why? Generated upon initial interest in applying forachieving Texas Rising Star certification as well as from scores on Texas Rising Star measures from any certification assessment, CQIPs provide a road map for continued quality improvement. How? CQIPs are targeted toward Texas Rising Star measures that via collaboration the mentor/program believe will help the program maintain or improve its star level. Programs choosing to not participate in mentoring services must create their CQIPs via the form available on the TRS Tools tab on the Texas Rising Star website. How long? CQIPs are required, ongoing, and continually updated based on mentor recommendations and program goals. Results? CQIPs may determine the decision for a Star-Level Evaluation Assessment—a full assessment that may be requested if the program and mentor believe that the program is ready to move to a higher star level. Service Improvement Agreements Why? ▇▇▇▇ go into effect when a program fails to maintain its certified star level at the annual monitoring visit. ▇▇▇▇ give programs an opportunity to receive mentoring and supports before potentially losing a star level of Texas Rising Star certification at the next recertification assessment. How? Technical assistance is available via the mentor and documented within the CQIP and is targeted toward the Texas Rising Star categories that led to the SIA. How long? ▇▇▇▇ last a mandatory six months. Results? An SIA assessment for all classrooms will be conducted within 30 days of the SIA end date on the Texas Rising Star categories found deficient to determine the new star level, if applicable. SIA assessments that result in a lower star level will have the opportunity to revise their CQIP with goals focused on increasing the star level. Targeted Assistance for Texas Rising Star Probation Why? Child care and early learning programs are placed on Texas Rising Star probation based on results within Section 4 or Section 5 of the facility’s screening form. How? Targeted technical assistance is available via the mentor and documented within the a CQIP is made available to the program to address CCR licensing deficiencies. How long? Probations and star-level drops last a mandatory six months. Results? If the facility is cited for any Section 4 or Section 5 CCR deficiencies within a six-month probation, without exceeding 14 total high- and/or medium-high–weighted CCR deficiencies, the facility loses a star level and a second six-month probation is established at the point of discovery. If the facility is cited for any Section 4 or Section 5 deficiencies within the second six-month probation, the facility loses certificationwill be placed on suspension. Please note that programs that are applying for Texas Rising Star certification may also access resources to help them prepare for certification. Continuous Quality Improvement Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) provides a systemic and intentional process for improving quality in child care and early learning programs and increasing positive outcomes for children. Texas Rising Star–certified programs and applicants Entry Level–designated programs have the ability to work closely with a Texas Rising Star mentor to engage in a cyclical process that includes self-reflection, continuous learning, practice, and evaluation. CQI helps programs attain certification, achieve increasingly higher levels of quality, sustain high quality over time, and ensure high quality across classrooms and age groups. For Texas Rising Star–Certified Programs CQIPs are designed to assist programs with increasing the quality of the child care and early learning experiences they provide with the goal of maintaining or increasing the program’s star level. A CQIP contains improvement goals for a targeted number of Texas Rising Star measures and/or categories, as well as resources to help reach those improvement goals, including professional development coursework, coaching from a Texas Rising Star mentor, and identification of other available resources and training material. CQIPs can also address key areas for improvement that are not directly measured by Texas Rising Star but are still important indicators of quality, such as implementing inclusive caregiving practices, working with English language learners, and developing policies to prevent suspension and expulsion. Mentors may work with programs to determine their specific needs and the best goals to incorporate in the CQIP over time. Mentors may provide direct support to help programs meet their goals or they may help identify and access appropriate resources to support improvement efforts. Mentors and programs may work together to reach an agreement on what goals and strategies are included in the CQIP. CQIPs for Texas Rising Star child care and early learning programs are developed upon initial acknowledgment of desire to participate in Texas Rising Star and again after the first full assessment. CQIPs may be further refined during annual visits with the assistance of the mentor. Additional technical assistance plans for Texas Rising Star–certified programs are automatically generated after each assessment for each classroom and the facility as a whole and may be used to further refine the CQIP. Participation in a CQIP is required. A set of professional development resources is available to Texas Rising Star child care and early learning programs, including many hours of online learning modules featuring extensive video-based demonstrations of effective instructional practices for responsive interaction, language and literacy, mathematics, and science. Through the CQIP, mentors may recommend specific courses for Texas Rising Star child care and early learning programs and their teachers may be assigned specific courses to complete depending on their quality improvement needs. Mentors will be assigned provided to work with directors and their staff on all Texas Rising Star measures, both points-based and structural. The amount of time a mentor spends on-site at the facility will vary based on the mentor’s caseload and the program’s needs. At a minimum, the mentor will visit the program once a month, either in person or through a scheduled call or virtual meeting. For Programs
Appears in 1 contract
Sources: Child Care Services Agreement
Facility Changes. There are varying types of changes a child care and early learning program may go through while being Texas Rising Star certified. These changes may affect the type of care that is being provided, requiring action by the Board and/or assessor. Facility expansions are defined as a facility continuing to operate at an existing location with the existing classrooms and age groups served, while the owner/program opens a new facility within the same city, ZIP code, or county to expand and add classrooms or age groups served. Facility splits are defined as a facility continuing to operate at an existing location while the owner/program opens an additionala a new facility within the same city, ZIP code, or county and moves a subset of the staff and the children served to the new facility. A facility split also involves a modification of the current classroom structure and staffing. Both facility expansions and facility splits involve establishing a new director at either the existing or new location. For licensing purposes, CCR considers both facility expansions and facility splits to be new facilities and requires a new permanent license. Under Texas Rising Star, facility expansions and splits require programs to request a review of the program’s certification status. Licensing history for the certification will be based on the CCR monitoring conducted while the facility was operating under the original license. The need for assessment and observation will be based on the type and degree of facility changes, as determined by the assessor using the Facility Change Rubric. Facility moves are defined as a facility closing and relocating to a new location within the same city, ZIP code, or county in which the program is currently operating. A facility move does not alter the current composition of director or staff staff, but may involve an increase in capacity or age groups served. Facility-type changes are defined as a program changing facility type (for example, changes changing from a registered child care home to a licensed child care home). A facility-type change may alter the current composition of director or staff and may involve an increase in capacity or age groups served. Facility ownership changes are defined as a program changing owners, which may alter the current composition of staff or current policies and procedures. When a facility incurs one of the noted facility changes above, it must notify CCR and may initiate a new CCR facility application and obtain a new license number from CCR. The facility may or may not carry its 12-month licensing history with it to the new license number. A Texas Rising Star–certified program that experiences any one of these changes (expansion, splitssplit, facility type, changes in ownership, or a move to a new location within the same city, ZIP code, or county in which the program is currently operating) ), must have a full (permanent) permit with CCR but does not need to have 12 months of CCR history in this situation and willin in order to retain its star level during the move or change, regardless of permit type issued (full or initial). The program will undergo a Texas Rising Star reassessment per the Facility Change Rubric within the initial three-month period from either the date the new CCR permit associated with the change is issued or the date the change occurred if a new permit is not issued. The program’s new Texas Rising Star level will be based on the results of the reassessment. The CCR history that is available under the permit before the change will be used when completing the Texas Rising Star Screening Form for these assessments, if applicable. Any program that receives an initial permit due to a facility change is no longer eligible for Texas Rising Star certification and must continue to meet Entry Level requirements in order to maintain its CCS Provider Agreement. However, as soon as the child care and early learning program must receives a permanent (full) permitpermit within six months of the change, otherwise the program will be placed on suspension status., the program may request certification if it meets Texas Rising Star certification eligibility. Note: The 12 months of CCR history will be waived in this situation. The CCR history that is available at that time under the permanent (full) permit will be used when completing the Texas Rising Star Screening Form for these assessments. A certified program must submit this type of assessment request once the new permit has been issued or the change has occurred if no new permit is issued. Programs that undergo a name change only are not subject to reassessment. Reconsideration Rule §809.135 requires Boards TWC’s assessment entity entity, the CAE, to ensure a process for reconsideration of facility assessment at the Board levelassessment, as the Texas Rising Star program is not subject to TWC Chapter 823 Integrated Complaints, Hearings, and Appeals rules. Note: Due to the delay in procurement of a centralized assessment entity, Boards will oversee assessment functions including reconsiderations, per WD Letter 01-23, until that entity has been contracted. A reconsideration may be requested by a program that feels that the assessment was inaccurate or unfairly conducted. The reconsideration process may include scheduling a second assessment with the same assessor, a second visit with two assessors, or an assessment with a different assessor. The reconsideration may also involve a reassessment of a category and/or measure as requested by the program. Boards may also coordinate with other Board assessors for a second review of the program’s assessment. Additionally, in responding to a reconsideration request from a program, the Board may make additional mentoring services available to assist the program in meeting Texas Rising Star standards. Boards must make programs aware of policies regarding the reconsideration process, time restrictions on requesting a reconsideration, the number of reconsiderations allowed, and the elements eligible for reconsideration. Reconsideration policies may vary across Boards. Director and Staff Changes Texas Rising Star–certified programs should report to Texas Rising Star staff when there is: a change of director; or staff turnover that causes the Texas Rising Star program to fall below its current star level based on the program’s completion of the Staff Qualifications and Training section of the FARF. Staff positions that have changed will be reassessed at the program’s next annual monitoring or next Texas Rising Star assessment using the qualifications of the facility’s new director and/or staff. New directors are required to meet the CQIP requirements prior to the program’s next annual monitoring or next Texas Rising Star assessment. The new director and mentor should work together to ensure understanding and participation in CQIP. If the change in director or staff results in the program not meeting the requirements of the program’s current star level, then the program will be placed on an SIA for six months to provide time for the program to address the shortfall and retain its star level. Texas Workforce Registry Child care and early learning programs participating in Texas Rising Star are expected to participate in the Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System’s Workforce Registry (WFR). The WFR is an online system in which early childhood professionals can store and access their education and employment history, as well as the training hours they have completed. During the application certification process for Texas Rising Star, mentors will are available to assist programs and their staff in entering staff information into the WFR. Mentors will provide ongoing support to encourage and support programs to use the WFR, and assessors will review the program’s use of the WFR at the initial assessment, each annual monitoring, and any subsequent assessment visits. Programs that elect not to receive mentoring services are still required to have their center director account established within the WFR. If a program fails to use the WFR and to encourage staff to use it, a mentor will may provide technical assistance and work with the program to include use of the WFR in its CQIP. Mentors will also work with child care and early learning programs that were a part of Texas Rising Star before the requirement to participate in the WFR in order to determine an appropriate timeline and technical assistance needs to ensure the programs’ progress with implementing use of the WFR. CLASS® Option for Category 2 Observations The CLASS® (Classroom Assessment Scoring System®) is a program-quality assessment and professional development system for measuring and improving teacher-child interactions. While the CLASS® assessment tool does not measure the identical teacher-child interactions that Texas Rising Star measures, it is an evidence-based tool that examines substantially similar items. A crosswalk of this alignment is provided within WD Letter 06-22, Attachment 1, issued March 18, 2022, and titled “Texas Rising Star and CLASS® Crosswalk: Category 2.” If an early learning program has received a CLASS® assessment for each classroom within the most recent 12 months, the results of those assessments may be replaced for the observation and scoring each classroom receives for Category 2: Teacher-Child Interactions. The CLASS® observation must be completed within the most recent 12-months of the Texas Rising Star assessment or annual monitoring visit by a certified CLASS® evaluator for that age group and the CLASS® evaluator may not also be the early learning program’s mentor. If the early learning program chooses to have its CLASS® scores replace its Texas Rising Star Category 2 scores, the assessor will enter those scores into CLI Engage per the Engage User Guide. The following table indicates how the CLASS® scoring is aligned with Texas Rising Star scoring: LOW—Score of 1–2 LOW—Score of 0–1 MID—Score of 3–5 MID—Score of 2 HIGH—Score of 6–7 HIGH—Score of 3 Section 4: Continuous Quality Improvement Texas Rising Star provides professional development resources and mentoring to sustain and improve the quality of child care and early learning in Texas Rising Star–certified facilities. Texas Rising Star–certified programs have access to three types of technical assistance: CQIPs, ▇▇▇▇, and targeted assistance for programs on Texas Rising Star probation. The three types of assistance are summarized below. Continuous Quality Improvement Plans Why? Generated upon initial interest in applying forachieving Texas Rising Star certification as well as from scores on Texas Rising Star measures from any certification assessment, CQIPs provide a road map for continued quality improvement. How? CQIPs are targeted toward Texas Rising Star measures that via collaboration the mentor/program believe will help the program maintain or improve its star level. Programs choosing to not participate in mentoring services must create their CQIPs via the form available on the TRS Tools tab on the Texas Rising Star website. How long? CQIPs are required, ongoing, and continually updated based on mentor recommendations and program goals. Results? CQIPs may determine the decision for a Star-Level Evaluation Assessment—a full assessment that may be requested if the program and mentor believe that the program is ready to move to a higher star level. Service Improvement Agreements Why? ▇▇▇▇ go into effect when a program fails to maintain its certified star level at the annual monitoring visit. ▇▇▇▇ give programs an opportunity to receive mentoring and supports before potentially losing a star level of Texas Rising Star certification at the next recertification assessment. How? Technical assistance is available via the mentor and documented within the CQIP and is targeted toward the Texas Rising Star categories that led to the SIA. How long? ▇▇▇▇ last a mandatory six months. Results? An SIA assessment for all classrooms will be conducted within 30 days of the SIA end date on the Texas Rising Star categories found deficient to determine the new star level, if applicable. SIA assessments that result in a lower star level will have the opportunity to revise their CQIP with goals focused on increasing the star level. Targeted Assistance for Texas Rising Star Probation Why? Child care and early learning programs are placed on Texas Rising Star probation based on results within Section 4 or Section 5 of the facility’s screening form. How? Targeted technical assistance is available via the mentor and documented within the a CQIP is made available to the program to address CCR licensing deficiencies. How long? Probations and star-level drops last a mandatory six months. Results? If the facility is cited for any Section 4 or Section 5 CCR deficiencies within a six-month probation, without exceeding 14 total high- and/or medium-high–weighted CCR deficiencies, the facility loses a star level and a second six-month probation is established at the point of discovery. If the facility is cited for any Section 4 or Section 5 deficiencies within the second six-month probation, the facility loses certificationwill be placed on suspension. Please note that programs that are applying for Texas Rising Star certification may also access resources to help them prepare for certification. Continuous Quality Improvement Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) provides a systemic and intentional process for improving quality in child care and early learning programs and increasing positive outcomes for children. Texas Rising Star–certified programs and applicants Entry Level–designated programs have the ability to work closely with a Texas Rising Star mentor to engage in a cyclical process that includes self-reflection, continuous learning, practice, and evaluation. CQI helps programs attain certification, achieve increasingly higher levels of quality, sustain high quality over time, and ensure high quality across classrooms and age groups. For Texas Rising Star–Certified Programs CQIPs are designed to assist programs with increasing the quality of the child care and early learning experiences they provide with the goal of maintaining or increasing the program’s star level. A CQIP contains improvement goals for a targeted number of Texas Rising Star measures and/or categories, as well as resources to help reach those improvement goals, including professional development coursework, coaching from a Texas Rising Star mentor, and identification of other available resources and training material. CQIPs can also address key areas for improvement that are not directly measured by Texas Rising Star but are still important indicators of quality, such as implementing inclusive caregiving practices, working with English language learners, and developing policies to prevent suspension and expulsion. Mentors may work with programs to determine their specific needs and the best goals to incorporate in the CQIP over time. Mentors may provide direct support to help programs meet their goals or they may help identify and access appropriate resources to support improvement efforts. Mentors and programs may work together to reach an agreement on what goals and strategies are included in the CQIP. CQIPs for Texas Rising Star child care and early learning programs are developed upon initial acknowledgment of desire to participate in Texas Rising Star and again after the first full assessment. CQIPs may be further refined during annual visits with the assistance of the mentor. Additional technical assistance plans for Texas Rising Star–certified programs are automatically generated after each assessment for each classroom and the facility as a whole and may be used to further refine the CQIP. Participation in a CQIP is required. A set of professional development resources is available to Texas Rising Star child care and early learning programs, including many hours of online learning modules featuring extensive video-based demonstrations of effective instructional practices for responsive interaction, language and literacy, mathematics, and science. Through the CQIP, mentors may recommend specific courses for Texas Rising Star child care and early learning programs and their teachers may be assigned specific courses to complete depending on their quality improvement needs. Mentors will be assigned provided to work with directors and their staff on all Texas Rising Star measures, both points-based and structural. The amount of time a mentor spends on-site at the facility will vary based on the mentor’s caseload and the program’s needs. At a minimum, the mentor will visit the program once a month, either in person or through a scheduled call or virtual meeting. For Programs
Appears in 1 contract
Sources: Child Care Services Agreement
Facility Changes. There are varying types of changes a child care and early learning program may go through while being Texas Rising Star certified. These changes may affect the type of care that is being provided, requiring action by the Board and/or assessor. • Facility expansions are defined as a facility continuing to operate at an existing location with the existing classrooms and age groups served, while the owner/program opens a new facility within the same city, ZIP code, or county to expand and add classrooms or age groups served. • Facility splits are defined as a facility continuing to operate at an existing location while the owner/program opens an additionala a new facility within the same city, ZIP code, or county and moves a subset of the staff and the children served to the new facility. A facility split also involves a modification of the current classroom structure and staffing. Both facility expansions and facility splits involve establishing a new director at either the existing or new location. For licensing purposes, CCR considers both facility expansions and facility splits to be new facilities and requires a new permanent license. Under Texas Rising Star, facility expansions and splits require programs to request a review of the program’s certification status. Licensing history for the certification will be based on the CCR monitoring conducted while the facility was operating under the original license. The need for assessment and observation will be based on the type and degree of facility changes, as determined by the assessor using the Facility Change Rubric. • Facility moves are defined as a facility closing and relocating to a new location within the same city, ZIP code, or county in which the program is currently operating. A facility move does not alter the current composition of director or staff staff, but may involve an increase in capacity or age groups served. • Facility-type changes are defined as a program changing facility type (for example, changes changing from a registered child care home to a licensed child care home). A facility-type change may alter the current composition of director or staff and may involve an increase in capacity or age groups served. • Facility ownership changes are defined as a program changing owners, which may alter the current composition of staff or current policies and procedures. When a facility incurs one of the noted facility changes above, it must notify CCR and may initiate a new CCR facility application and obtain a new license number from CCR. The facility may or may not carry its 12-month licensing history with it to the new license number. A Texas Rising Star–certified program that experiences any one of these changes (expansion, splitssplit, facility type, changes in ownership, or a move to a new location within the same city, ZIP code, or county in which the program is currently operating) ), must have a full (permanent) permit with CCR but does not need to have 12 months of CCR history in this situation and willin in order to retain its star level during the move or change, regardless of permit type issued (full or initial). The program will undergo a Texas Rising Star reassessment per the Facility Change Rubric within the initial three-month period from either the date the new CCR permit associated with the change is issued or the date the change occurred if a new permit is not issued. The program’s new Texas Rising Star level will be based on the results of the reassessment. The CCR history that is available under the permit before the change will be used when completing the Texas Rising Star Screening Form for these assessments, if applicable. Any program that receives an initial permit due to a facility change is no longer eligible for Texas Rising Star certification and must continue to meet Entry Level requirements in order to maintain its CCS Provider Agreement. However, as soon as the child care and early learning program must receives a permanent (full) permitpermit within six months of the change, otherwise the program will be placed on suspension status., the program may request certification if it meets Texas Rising Star certification eligibility. Note: The 12 months of CCR history will be waived in this situation. The CCR history that is available at that time under the permanent (full) permit will be used when completing the Texas Rising Star Screening Form for these assessments. A certified program must submit this type of assessment request once the new permit has been issued or the change has occurred if no new permit is issued. Programs that undergo a name change only are not subject to reassessment. Reconsideration Rule §809.135 requires Boards TWC’s assessment entity entity, the CAE, to ensure a process for reconsideration of facility assessment at the Board levelassessment, as the Texas Rising Star program is not subject to TWC Chapter 823 Integrated Complaints, Hearings, and Appeals rules. Note: Due to the delay in procurement of a centralized assessment entity, Boards will oversee assessment functions including reconsiderations, per WD Letter 01-23, until that entity has been contracted. A reconsideration may be requested by a program that feels that the assessment was inaccurate or unfairly conducted. The reconsideration process may include scheduling a second assessment with the same assessor, a second visit with two assessors, or an assessment with a different assessor. The reconsideration may also involve a reassessment of a category and/or measure as requested by the program. Boards may also coordinate with other Board assessors for a second review of the program’s assessment. Additionally, in responding to a reconsideration request from a program, the Board may make additional mentoring services available to assist the program in meeting Texas Rising Star standards. Boards must make programs aware of policies regarding the reconsideration process, time restrictions on requesting a reconsideration, the number of reconsiderations allowed, and the elements eligible for reconsideration. Reconsideration policies may vary across Boards. Director and Staff Changes Texas Rising Star–certified programs should report to Texas Rising Star staff when there is: a change of director; or staff turnover that causes the Texas Rising Star program to fall below its current star level based on the program’s completion of the Staff Qualifications and Training section of the FARF. Staff positions that have changed will be reassessed at the program’s next annual monitoring or next Texas Rising Star assessment using the qualifications of the facility’s new director and/or staff. New directors are required to meet the CQIP requirements prior to the program’s next annual monitoring or next Texas Rising Star assessment. The new director and mentor should work together to ensure understanding and participation in CQIP. If the change in director or staff results in the program not meeting the requirements of the program’s current star level, then the program will be placed on an SIA for six months to provide time for the program to address the shortfall and retain its star level. Texas Workforce Registry Child care and early learning programs participating in Texas Rising Star are expected to participate in the Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System’s Workforce Registry (WFR). The WFR is an online system in which early childhood professionals can store and access their education and employment history, as well as the training hours they have completed. During the application certification process for Texas Rising Star, mentors will are available to assist programs and their staff in entering staff information into the WFR. Mentors will provide ongoing support to encourage and support programs to use the WFR, and assessors will review the program’s use of the WFR at the initial assessment, each annual monitoring, and any subsequent assessment visits. Programs that elect not to receive mentoring services are still required to have their center director account established within the WFR. If a program fails to use the WFR and to encourage staff to use it, a mentor will may provide technical assistance and work with the program to include use of the WFR in its CQIP. Mentors will also work with child care and early learning programs that were a part of Texas Rising Star before the requirement to participate in the WFR in order to determine an appropriate timeline and technical assistance needs to ensure the programs’ progress with implementing use of the WFR. CLASS® Option for Category 2 Observations The CLASS® (Classroom Assessment Scoring System®) is a program-quality assessment and professional development system for measuring and improving teacher-child interactions. While the CLASS® assessment tool does not measure the identical teacher-child interactions that Texas Rising Star measures, it is an evidence-based tool that examines substantially similar items. A crosswalk of this alignment is provided within WD Letter 06-22, Attachment 1, issued March 18, 2022, and titled “Texas Rising Star and CLASS® Crosswalk: Category 2.” If an early learning program has received a CLASS® assessment for each classroom within the most recent 12 months, the results of those assessments may be replaced for the observation and scoring each classroom receives for Category 2: Teacher-Child Interactions. The CLASS® observation must be completed within the most recent 12-months of the Texas Rising Star assessment or annual monitoring visit by a certified CLASS® evaluator for that age group and the CLASS® evaluator may not also be the early learning program’s mentor. If the early learning program chooses to have its CLASS® scores replace its Texas Rising Star Category 2 scores, the assessor will enter those scores into CLI Engage per the Engage User Guide. The following table indicates how the CLASS® scoring is aligned with Texas Rising Star scoring: LOW—Score of 1–2 LOW—Score of 0–1 MID—Score of 3–5 MID—Score of 2 HIGH—Score of 6–7 HIGH—Score of 3 Section 4: Continuous Quality Improvement Texas Rising Star provides professional development resources and mentoring to sustain and improve the quality of child care and early learning in Texas Rising Star–certified facilities. Texas Rising Star–certified programs have access to three types of technical assistance: CQIPs, ▇▇▇▇, and targeted assistance for programs on Texas Rising Star probation. The three types of assistance are summarized below. Continuous Quality Improvement Plans Why? Generated upon initial interest in applying forachieving Texas Rising Star certification as well as from scores on Texas Rising Star measures from any certification assessment, CQIPs provide a road map for continued quality improvement. How? CQIPs are targeted toward Texas Rising Star measures that via collaboration the mentor/program believe will help the program maintain or improve its star level. Programs choosing to not participate in mentoring services must create their CQIPs via the form available on the TRS Tools tab on the Texas Rising Star website. How long? CQIPs are required, ongoing, and continually updated based on mentor recommendations and program goals. Results? CQIPs may determine the decision for a Star-Level Evaluation Assessment—a full assessment that may be requested if the program and mentor believe that the program is ready to move to a higher star level. Service Improvement Agreements Why? ▇▇▇▇ go into effect when a program fails to maintain its certified star level at the annual monitoring visit. ▇▇▇▇ give programs an opportunity to receive mentoring and supports before potentially losing a star level of Texas Rising Star certification at the next recertification assessment. How? Technical assistance is available via the mentor and documented within the CQIP and is targeted toward the Texas Rising Star categories that led to the SIA. How long? ▇▇▇▇ last a mandatory six months. Results? An SIA assessment for all classrooms will be conducted within 30 days of the SIA end date on the Texas Rising Star categories found deficient to determine the new star level, if applicable. SIA assessments that result in a lower star level will have the opportunity to revise their CQIP with goals focused on increasing the star level. Targeted Assistance for Texas Rising Star Probation Why? Child care and early learning programs are placed on Texas Rising Star probation based on results within Section 4 or Section 5 of the facility’s screening form. How? Targeted technical assistance is available via the mentor and documented within the a CQIP is made available to the program to address CCR licensing deficiencies. How long? Probations and star-level drops last a mandatory six months. Results? If the facility is cited for any Section 4 or Section 5 CCR deficiencies within a six-month probation, without exceeding 14 total high- and/or medium-high–weighted CCR deficiencies, the facility loses a star level and a second six-month probation is established at the point of discovery. If the facility is cited for any Section 4 or Section 5 deficiencies within the second six-month probation, the facility loses certificationwill be placed on suspension. Please note that programs that are applying for Texas Rising Star certification may also access resources to help them prepare for certification. Continuous Quality Improvement Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) provides a systemic and intentional process for improving quality in child care and early learning programs and increasing positive outcomes for children. Texas Rising Star–certified programs and applicants Entry Level–designated programs have the ability to work closely with a Texas Rising Star mentor to engage in a cyclical process that includes self-reflection, continuous learning, practice, and evaluation. CQI helps programs attain certification, achieve increasingly higher levels of quality, sustain high quality over time, and ensure high quality across classrooms and age groups. For Texas Rising Star–Certified Programs CQIPs are designed to assist programs with increasing the quality of the child care and early learning experiences they provide with the goal of maintaining or increasing the program’s star level. A CQIP contains improvement goals for a targeted number of Texas Rising Star measures and/or categories, as well as resources to help reach those improvement goals, including professional development coursework, coaching from a Texas Rising Star mentor, and identification of other available resources and training material. CQIPs can also address key areas for improvement that are not directly measured by Texas Rising Star but are still important indicators of quality, such as implementing inclusive caregiving practices, working with English language learners, and developing policies to prevent suspension and expulsion. Mentors may work with programs to determine their specific needs and the best goals to incorporate in the CQIP over time. Mentors may provide direct support to help programs meet their goals or they may help identify and access appropriate resources to support improvement efforts. Mentors and programs may work together to reach an agreement on what goals and strategies are included in the CQIP. CQIPs for Texas Rising Star child care and early learning programs are developed upon initial acknowledgment of desire to participate in Texas Rising Star and again after the first full assessment. CQIPs may be further refined during annual visits with the assistance of the mentor. Additional technical assistance plans for Texas Rising Star–certified programs are automatically generated after each assessment for each classroom and the facility as a whole and may be used to further refine the CQIP. Participation in a CQIP is required. A set of professional development resources is available to Texas Rising Star child care and early learning programs, including many hours of online learning modules featuring extensive video-based demonstrations of effective instructional practices for responsive interaction, language and literacy, mathematics, and science. Through the CQIP, mentors may recommend specific courses for Texas Rising Star child care and early learning programs and their teachers may be assigned specific courses to complete depending on their quality improvement needs. Mentors will be assigned provided to work with directors and their staff on all Texas Rising Star measures, both points-based and structural. The amount of time a mentor spends on-site at the facility will vary based on the mentor’s caseload and the program’s needs. At a minimum, the mentor will visit the program once a month, either in person or through a scheduled call or virtual meeting. For Programs
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Sources: Child Care Services Agreement