§ 302.006. PROFESSIONAL CHILD-CARE TRAINING SCHOLARSHIPS, BONUSES, AND WAGE SUPPLEMENTATION.

(a) The commission may develop and administer a program under which the commission awards scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each for professional child-care training to eligible recipients.

(b) A recipient may use a scholarship awarded under this section only to pay expenses associated with obtaining:

(1) Child Development Associate (CDA) national credentials;

(2) Certified Child-Care Professional (CCP) credentials; or

(3) a level one certificate or associate's degree in the area of child development or early childhood education from a public or private institution of higher education.

(c) To be eligible to receive a scholarship awarded under this section, a person must:

(1) be employed in a child-care facility, as defined by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code;

(2) intend to obtain a credential, certificate, or degree specified in Subsection (b);

(3) agree to work for at least 18 additional months in a child-care facility, as defined by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code, that accepts federal Child Care and Development Fund subsidies and that, at the time the person begins to fulfill the work requirement imposed by this subdivision, is located:

(A) within the attendance zone of a public school campus considered low-performing under Chapter 39A, Education Code; or

(B) in an economically disadvantaged community, as determined by the commission; and

(4) satisfy any other requirements adopted by the commission.

(d) A person may not receive more than one scholarship awarded under this section.

(e) In addition, the commission may provide for payment of a bonus or wage supplementation to a scholarship recipient who for 18 months after the date of receiving the scholarship provides care for children younger than six years of age while remaining in the employment of the child-care facility that employed the person when the scholarship was awarded and that meets the requirements of Subsection (c)(3). Any bonus or wage supplementation provided under this subsection shall be paid in equal shares by the scholarship recipient's employer and the commission. The commission shall determine the amount of any bonus and the amount and duration of any wage supplementation provided under this subsection.

(f) The commission shall fund scholarships and any bonuses or wage supplementation provided under this section through federal Child Care Development funds or other funding sources available to the commission. Total funding may not exceed $2 million per state biennium.

(g) The commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section. The rules must include provisions that:

(1) address the computation of the 18-month service requirement prescribed by Subsection (c); and

(2) ensure that the commission may recover scholarship money from a recipient who fails to comply with that service requirement or any other requirement imposed by the commission.