Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, February 11, 2026 EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2026 The Early Childhood Council convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 301 West Second Street in Austin, Texas. Chair Hamilton called the Early Childhood Council Meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Board Members in Attendance: Chair Hamilton, Vice Chair Menard, and Members Alvizo, Cárdenas, Freeland, Latham-Sikes, McIllwain, and McNary Board Members in Attendance Remotely: Members Navarro and Sears PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Early Child Council Regular Meeting on January 14, 2026. The minutes from the Early Childhood Council regular meeting on January 14, 2026, were approved on Member Latham-Sikes’s motion, Member McNary’s second, on a 10-0 vote. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. 3. Austin Independent School District (AISD) school closure and pre-K expansion plans. Presentation by Yvette Cárdenas, AISD Executive Director of Academic Programs, and Jeremy Martorell, Director of AISD Child Care & Apple Blossom Programs. Yvette Cárdenas and Jeremy Martorell presented current AISD pre-K3 and pre-K4 enrollment; 2025-26 locations of pre-K, child development, and 3rd Base after-school programs; early learning programs impacted by school closure plans; and updates on the pre-K3 Apple Blossom program locations funded by Raising Travis County. Impacts of the federal child care funding freeze and Governor Abbott’s letter to Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Health and Human Services regarding child care funding. Updates from Madison Mattise, Senior Director of Child Care Quality Initiatives, Workforce Solutions Capital Area. 1 EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, February 11, 2026 Madison Mattise presented an overview of the instructions the Texas Workforce Commission has provided to local workforce boards in response to the Governor’s letter. The Texas Workforce Commission will provide a list of high-risk child care providers to local workforce boards for the boards to monitor and investigate. The documentation that must be submitted about the child care providers that have a contract with Workforce Solutions Capital Area remains the same. 4. Fiscal year 2027 budget recommendations. Yesenia Prieto, Early Childhood Education Director at Todos Juntos, provided public comment, urging City Council to increase their investment in early childhood education. Member Freeland presented the draft FY 2027 budget recommendations that asks City Council to maintain current early childhood investments. Members discussed adding references to the Quality-of-Life Study for Austin’s Families with Young Children into the document. Freeland requested edits and input from community groups by the end of February. The ECC plans to take action on the recommendations at the March 11th regular meeting. 5. Updates from the January Joint Inclusion Committee (JIC) meeting. Member McNary gave updates on the JIC budget recommendation process. The ECC members discussed submitting the approved ECC FY 2027 budget recommendation to the JIC chair by March 15. STAFF BRIEFINGS 6. Staff briefing regarding Early Childhood Council bylaws revisions and updates from related local early childhood groups such as Austin Chapter of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children, Success By 6 Coalition, Child Care Regulation, and Workforce Solutions Capital Area. Caitlin Oliver presented an Austin Economic Development staffing change, updates about ECC agenda items at upcoming meetings, and an announcement from Child Care Regulation about liability insurance changes for child care providers. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Members listed the following future agenda items: • Update from the Austin Infrastructure Academy • Presentation about the Communities in Schools of Central Texas economic mobility study and the ASPIRE program Chair Hamilton adjourned the meeting at 9:58 a.m. without objection. The minutes were approved at the March 11, 2026, meeting on Vice Chair Menard’s motion, Member McNary’s second, on a 9-0 vote. 2