1. A. There is hereby created the Early Childhood Task Force to study and make recommendations to improve service access to and delivery to families and children and increase the quantity of high-quality early childhood services.

2. B. The task force shall be comprised of eighteen (18) members to be appointed as follows:

   1. 1. The Director of Human Services, or a designee;
   2. 2. The State Commissioner of Health, or a designee;
   3. 3. The Chief Executive Officer of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, or a designee;
   4. 4. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, or a designee;
   5. 5. The Administrator of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, or a designee;
   6. 6. A representative of a statewide association representing the business community that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, appointed by the Governor;
   7. 7. Two child care providers, each of whom is a member of a statewide association representing child care providers, appointed by the Director of Human Services;
   8. 8. A representative of an Oklahoma parent-child support organization, selected by the Director of the Early Childhood Education Institute of the University of Oklahoma;
   9. 9. The Executive Director of Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness, or a designee;
   10. 10. A representative of a statewide association that advocates for early childhood education, appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction;
   11. 11. A Senator, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
   12. 12. A Representative, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
   13. 13. A director of a public school early childhood program, appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction;
   14. 14. A representative responsible for programs under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), appointed by the State Commissioner of Health;
   15. 15. A representative from Oklahoma State University’s Department of Human Development and Family Science, appointed by the Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences of Oklahoma State University;
   16. 16. A pediatric specialist appointed by the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine; and
   17. 17. A representative of a statewide professional association representing the workforce for infant and early childhood mental health services, appointed by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
3. C. The Early Childhood Task Force shall elect a chair and vice chair, or co-chairs, from the task force’s membership, and the chair or co-chairs shall establish rules for the task force’s meetings and the conducting of business. Upon the absence or vacancy of the chair, the vice chair shall serve as chair in an acting capacity.
4. D. An honorary chair may be selected to serve in a ceremonial capacity. The honorary chair shall not serve as a voting member of the task force but may engage with the work of the task force in an advisory role or in a manner deemed appropriate by the chair or co-chairs.
5. E. The task force shall develop and electronically submit an initial report to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by November 2027 and a final report by November 2028.
6. F. Members shall receive no compensation or reimbursement for expenses and shall serve voluntarily. Officers or employees of state agencies who are appointed to the task force as part of their duties shall be authorized to participate on the task force and may claim subsistence, allowance, mileage, or associated expenses from their respective agency budgets as permitted by law.
7. G. The task force shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open Records Act and the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.
8. H. Plans, reports, or recommendations of any nature adopted by the task force shall be considered advice to the Legislature and shall not be construed as official policies, positions, or interpretations of laws, rules, or regulations by any department or agency of state government, nor shall any such department or agency be bound in any manner to consider such advice when conducting its advisory and regulatory affairs.
9. I. The task force shall be guided by the following vision statement: Oklahoma children, especially those between zero (0) and five (5) years of age, deserve healthy childhoods that are supported by a robust early childhood system which improves outcomes and effectively provides high-quality early care and education, improves and enhances school readiness, adapts to the needs of families and communities, and is equitably accessible to all communities across the state.
10. J. The task force shall work toward the mission of creating a framework for a more efficient and effective governance structure for early childhood programming, such as a coordinated, consolidated, or new independent agency.

11. K. The task force’s work shall be guided by a commitment to the following principles:

    1. 1. Children, family, and community well-being shall be centered throughout the Early Childhood Task Force’s work;
    2. 2. Efforts shall be focused on maximizing efficiencies to reduce the administrative burdens on families and improve access to early childhood services through the creation of a new governance structure;
    3. 3. Any possible consolidation of early childhood services shall be informed by what families and communities say are wanted and needed;
    4. 4. Access to programs and services shall be equitable and available to all children and families regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location;
    5. 5. Intentional focus shall be placed on developing strategies to reach families and young children in health care, early education, and care deserts or furthest from opportunity and existing resources;
    6. 6. Access to affordable and quality health care, nutrition, early education and care, mental health, home visiting, early intervention, support for families, early learning, and other services in the critical prenatal to five-year age period will decisively impact academic success, economic development opportunities, and the prosperity of Oklahoma;
    7. 7. Efforts shall be made to use data-informed approaches and explore better ways to develop shared data systems;
    8. 8. Work shall focus on strengthening and expanding the early education and care delivery system already in use in Oklahoma;
    9. 9. Alignment across sectors and state agencies shall increase capacity, maximize funding, and create a more streamlined delivery of services;
    10. 10. The importance of growing a well-educated and well-supported early childhood workforce shall remain at the forefront and be informed by the task force’s work;
    11. 11. While focusing on advancing the delivery system, work shall highlight the importance of defining quality care and expanding capacity and access to create a greater quantity of quality services;
    12. 12. To incentivize innovation and respond to family needs, communities must be empowered to develop local, community-based solutions that take a whole-child and whole-family approach in responding to needs;
    13. 13. To ensure holistic childhood well-being and improve health outcomes, there must be alignment between state efforts to improve early learning and care and existing prenatal and maternal health initiatives; and
    14. 14. Strengthening early childhood developmental health is vital to ensuring that children are prepared to achieve academic success and are prepared for lifelong learning.

12. L. The task force’s duties shall include:

    1. 1. Conducting an analysis of the current early childhood delivery system in Oklahoma and how it is financed with specific focus on gaps, inefficiencies, and redundancies. This work should focus on how creating a new governance structure for early childhood services could overcome these challenges and improve how care is delivered, accessed, and funded. This analysis must specifically include:

       1. a. a review of current early childhood programs and policies dispersed between the Department of Human Services, State Department of Health, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Oklahoma Health Care Authority, and State Department of Education. The review should pay special attention to where current statutory authority over certain operations exists and where possible areas of redundancy occur,
       2. b. a review of how current funding systems blend and various funding opportunities, with special attention as to how funding streams are currently utilized for early childhood programs that are housed across departments. This fiscal review should map the routes all private, public, federal, and state funding streams take from funding authority to program application,
       3. c. a review of how Oklahoma might integrate existing programming into a consolidated delivery system and what needs might exist for new programming that the state currently lacks,
       4. d. recommendations on how cross-agency collaboration and partnerships can be fostered to develop a whole-of-government approach to strengthening the delivery of early childhood services, specifically ensuring that data infrastructure is integrated across agencies, accounts for both qualitative and quantitative methods, and can be widely utilized by multiple state agencies,
       5. e. recommendations on how a new governance structure might maximize efficiencies for early childhood providers and their workforce. This work should determine how licensing, workforce development and support, and facility review can be improved to eliminate barriers to entry for providers and professionals. This should also include a review of current regulatory structures that complicate the process of entering the early childhood sector,
       6. f. recommendations on how a new governance structure can strengthen the existing health care workforce to better support the development of young children and well-being of mothers through improved access to comprehensive and preventive care. This should also include a review of how to secure improved health outcomes for children, financial sustainability of delivery models, and robust workforce pipelines, and
       7. g. an analysis of key lessons learned from states already advancing consolidated systems of early childhood governance to inform Oklahoma’s own process;
    2. 2. Conducting a series of stakeholder engagement opportunities to elicit feedback on the current early childhood governance structure and better understand the needs of parents, families, providers, and businesses;
    3. 3. Following the engagement of stakeholders, conducting a review that synthesizes feedback received from families, providers, community leaders, and the business sector. This review shall include recommendations on how the state delivery system and governance model can be improved to respond to family and community needs. It shall also include recommendations for how the state can better engage with parents, families, and communities on a regular basis to ensure family voice is centered in the work of state agencies;

    4. 4. Drafting a proposed transition plan to ensure the continuous operation of state services upon the creation of a new governance structure for early childhood. This plan shall:

       1. a. include detailed recommendations for what programs and services should remain in their current place or transition into a new governance structure. Each recommendation shall consider the challenges and benefits of moving programs,
       2. b. focus on movement between agencies and how collaboration can be strengthened with nonexecutive agencies. It shall also include recommendations for any necessary interagency agreements,
       3. c. include a review of what additional funding, if any, and resources, if any, might be needed to transition to a new governance structure effectively and efficiently, and
       4. d. provide recommended goals and metrics for the new entity to strive toward once operational; and
    5. 5. Drafting proposed legislation that creates a new governance structure that oversees Oklahoma’s early childhood education and care programs.

Laws 2026, HB 1979, c. 242, § 1, eff. November 1, 2026.