                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

COMMISSION ON EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION (§ 2.2-208.1)

A. In recognition of the fact that early care and education of young children is
linked to academic success and workforce readiness, the Commission on Early
Childhood Care and Education (the Commission) is hereby established for the
purpose of providing recommendations for and tracking progress on the financing
of a comprehensive birth-to-five early childhood care and education system as
established in &#xA7; 22.1-289.03 that provides stable, high-quality early
childhood care and education services for families who need them the most,
empowers parents with choices that meet their needs and preferences, and
supports both school readiness and workforce participation.

B. The Commission shall have a total membership of no fewer than 32 members that
shall consist of nine legislative members, no fewer than 19 nonlegislative
citizen members, and four ex officio members. Members shall be appointed as
follows: five members of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker
of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional
representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; four members of
the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules on the
recommendation of the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health; and
no fewer than 19 nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Secretary
of Education. The Secretary of Education, upon receiving recommendations for
appointments from the Virginia Council for Private Education, the Virginia Child
Care Association, the Virginia Head Start Association, the Virginia Alliance for
Family Child Care Associations, and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, shall
appoint nonlegislative citizen members to the Commission in a manner that
ensures representation from each of the nine Ready Regions identified by the
Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (Ready Regions). Nonlegislative citizen
members shall include one representative of the Virginia Early Childhood
Foundation, one representative of the Virginia Association of School
Superintendents, one representative of the Department of Veterans Services, one
representative of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, three
executive-level representatives of the private business sector who each
represent different Ready Regions, one local government representative
recommended by the Virginia Association of Counties and the Virginia Municipal
League, one administrator from a public early childhood education program, one
administrator from a faith-based private early childhood education program, one
administrator from a non-faith-based private early childhood education program,
one administrator from a Head Start program, one administrator from a family
child care program, one representative from an organization advocating for
children with disabilities, three parents or guardians of children who are
age-eligible or who were recently age-eligible to participate in early childhood
care and education in the Commonwealth, one educator from a public early
childhood education program, and one educator from a private early childhood
education program. The Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Commissioner of Social Services,
or their designees, shall serve ex officio with voting privileges.

C. The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:

   1. Expand access to and the quality of child care in all regions of the
   Commonwealth;

   2. Analyze all existing and potential new opportunities for financing early
   childhood care and education programs with a focus on outcomes that are
   verifiable by data;

   3. Retain, grow, and strengthen the quality of the Commonwealth&#8217;s early
   childhood care and education workforce;

   4. Gather and study information and data to accomplish its purposes as set
   forth in this section;

   5. Gather and analyze data on the current and the projected five-year
   availability, quality, cost, and affordability of early childhood care and
   education throughout the Commonwealth for children from birth to age five,
   determine needs and priorities for early childhood care and education, and
   develop funding recommendations focused on family choice, access,
   affordability, and quality, giving due consideration to potential unforeseen
   impacts of funding and policy changes on the early childhood care and
   education sector;

   6. Annually report on specific expenditures, outcomes, and impact, including
   the number of children served, demographics, child-level assessment data via
   the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP), classroom-level assessment
   data via the Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five System (VQB5), teacher
   turnover and retention data, and parental employment data;

   7. Support the development of an integrated early childhood longitudinal data
   process to capture and link access, quality, and educator data with preschool
   growth and school readiness outcome data through third grade and facilitate
   the sharing and use of such data and the seamless integration of the early
   childhood longitudinal data process with other student longitudinal data
   systems and processes; and

   8. Monitor and support ongoing research and evaluation conducted by the
   Department of Education, the University of Virginia, and the Virginia Early
   Childhood Foundation, and any other higher education or research institutions
   as deemed relevant, to continuously improve the quality of early childhood
   care and education services in the Commonwealth.

D. One of the most important factors in learning outcomes for young children is
exposure to high-quality teacher-student interactions made possible through the
hiring, training, and retention of skilled educators who support their growth
and learning. In recognizing the importance of strong professional supports and
competitive compensation to retaining skilled educators, the Commission shall
prioritize financing early childhood care and education services using the
Department of Education&#8217;s cost of quality estimation model. Adoption of
this model will ensure that early childhood care and education programs are
resourced to attract and retain talented educators and consistently deliver
high-quality services, yielding strong school readiness and literacy outcomes
for participating young children. As part of this effort, the Commission should
consider best practices and innovations in the private and public sector from
across the Commonwealth and the country. The Commission should consider
different sources of revenue and establish long-term goals and targets for
affordable access to quality care and education for all birth-to-five children
in the Commonwealth. Based on disparities in school readiness outcomes, the
Commission should ensure that all recommendations address the needs of the
Commonwealth&#8217;s most vulnerable children, families, and early childhood
educators. The Commission shall review the goals set forth in this subsection
and other priorities within the early childhood care and education system and
submit no later than October 1 of each year recommendations to the Governor and
the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on
Finance and Appropriations, the House Committee on Labor and Commerce, the
Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, the House Committee on Education, and
the Senate Committee on Education and Health. The Commission shall also post
such recommendations on its website in a manner and format that ensure ease of
access by interested parents and other members of the public.

E. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be
for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointments. All legislative members and nonlegislative citizen
members may be reappointed.

F. After the initial staggering of terms, legislative members and nonlegislative
citizen members shall be appointed for terms of three years.

G. No legislative member or nonlegislative citizen member shall serve more than
two consecutive three-year terms. The remainder of any term to which a member is
appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the
member&#8217;s eligibility for reappointment.

H. The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its
membership. The chairman shall be a legislative member. The vice-chairman shall
be a nonlegislative citizen member who is an executive-level representative of
the private business sector. A majority of the members shall constitute a
quorum. The meetings of the Commission shall be held at least four times per
year at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so
request.

I. Recommendations and other actions by the Commission shall require an
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Commission.

J. The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation shall provide for the facilitation of
the work of the Commission under the direction of the Secretary of Education or
his designee and with the guidance of a steering committee that includes the
Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, one legislative member, one
executive-level representative of the private business sector, one
representative of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, and one parent or
guardian of a child who is age-eligible or was recently age-eligible to
participate in early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth.

K. The chairman may request and access the expertise of additional
representatives and organizations relating to the Commission&#8217;s goals and
priorities.

L. The Commission may appoint, employ, and remove an executive director and such
other persons as it deems necessary, and determine their duties and fix their
salaries or compensation within the amounts appropriated therefor. The
Commission may also employ experts who have special knowledge of the issues
before it.

M. The Commission may request and shall receive from every department, division,
board, bureau, commission, authority, or other agency created by the
Commonwealth, or to which the Commonwealth is party, or from any political
subdivision of the Commonwealth, cooperation and assistance in the performance
of its duties.

HISTORY: 2016, c. 652; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 446; 2023, cc. 8, 9; 2025, cc. 297,
304.