SECTION 1. There shall be a special commission established to study and report on a potential requirement of bachelor’s degrees for early education professionals and whether such a requirement would then lead to more effective early education classrooms. The commission shall consist of 9 members, as follows: the commissioner of early education and care or their designee, who shall serve as the chair of the commission; the commissioner of education or their designee; the commissioner of higher education or their designee; the house and senate chairs of the joint committees on education and higher education; a member of the house appointed by the house minority leader; and a member of the senate appointed by the senate minority leader. 

SECTION 2. The commission shall study and identify, but shall not be limited to: (i) whether teacher education is correlated with quality programs (ii) factors that contribute to quality early educational programs (iii) how to encourage professional development for early education teachers and (iv) improving accessibility to higher education for early education professionals. 

SECTION 3. The commission shall submit a report, including any draft legislation and regulations, to the clerks of the house and representatives and the senate within 12 months of the passage of this act.