Gov. Inslee announces budget priorities, including significant preschool funding increase

Gov. Jay Inslee today announced his budget priorities for the 2013-15 state operating budget, which included a proposed $35 million increase to funding for low-income 3- and 4-year-olds to attend preschool.

The Department of Early Learning's Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) currently offers high-quality preschool to about 8,400 children from low-income or otherwise vulnerable families. ECEAP includes at least 320 hours of preschool per school year, as well as family support, nutrition and health services.

ECEAP is effective at:

• Increasing children’s social-emotional, physical and pre-academic skills.
• Strengthening families and building their capacity to support their children’s success.
• Ensuring that each child receives medical and dental care so they start school with optimal health.

Read more about the strong gains in school readiness made for children enrolled in ECEAP.

Gov. Inslee's proposal would expand ECEAP by 1,000 enrollment slots in school year 2013-14 and 2,035 slots in school year 2014-15. The proposal includes quality improvements including increased classroom hours, more training for ECEAP teachers and family support specialists, and support from DEL ECEAP specialists to local programs to help ensure consistent quality statewide.

"With this proposal, Gov. Inslee makes clear his strong support for getting our youngest learners school-ready," DEL Director Bette Hyde said. "ECEAP is a proven program that is an important component of our early learning system. If we want all children to enter kindergarten ready to succeed--no matter where they live or their family income--we must offer them high-quality early learning opportunities."

Legislation passed in 2010 makes ECEAP an entitlement program in school year 2018-19, when any eligible child will be able to enroll. In January 2012, there were nearly 4,000 children on waiting lists for ECEAP programs around the state.  

Gov. Inslee's proposal also includes funding for full-day kindergarten expansion and reducing kindergarten and first grade class sizes and early reading intervention.

Read more about Gov. Inslee's budget proposal here. The Senate will announce its budget proposal in the coming days, followed by a proposal from the House of Representatives. The 2013 Legislature is scheduled to adjourn April 28.

Legislative update: Bills addressing early learning K through grade 3 moving foward

How to support Washington's youngest learners continues to be an area of focus during the 2013 legislative session. The Legislature hit a significant milestone on March 13, the date that bills had to be voted out of their house of origin (either the House of Representatives or the Senate).

Among the key early learning issues (birth through third grade) still on the table post-cutoff:

• Child care subsidies. House Bill 1671 and Senate Bill 5595 are related to child care eligibility. They each create a parent and provider oversight board that
• Early learning system. House Bill 1723 would create a legislative task force charged with looking at how to streamline the early learning system so that families can more easily access high-quality early learning opportunities at every age. The bill also provides an increase to Working Connections Child Care subsidy rates. 
• Kindergarten transition. House Bill 1369 would allow kindergarten teachers to use up to five days at the start of kindergarten to meet with families as part of the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS). The Senate passed a measure (Senate Bill 5330) that provides for up to three days for this purpose.
• Child outcomes. Several bills are still alive that aim to improve student outcomes:
• Senate Bill 5491 establishes six statewide indicators of educational system health, including how many kindergartners display characteristics of incoming kindergartners on all six WaKIDS domains.
• Senate Bill 5330 includes several strategies to enhance student outcomes, such as parent involvement coordinators and keeping class sizes in grades K-3 below the average of 25.23 students.
• Senate Bill 5237 indicates the Legislature's intent to expand the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) to more students next biennium. It also includes language to help ensure students are reading at grade level in grade 3, and support them if they are not. 
• House Bill 1680 would implement strategies to close the educational opportunity gap.
• School-age care. House Bill 1547 makes clearer that certain drop-in school-age programs are exempt from child care licensure. House Bill 1968 directs the state Fire Marshal to make rules that help programs in school buildings operate school-age child care programs.
• Children's privacy. DEL has agency-request legislation (House Bill 1203 and Senate Bill 5198) to allow us to redact children's names and identifying information from public records before releasing them.

Legislature reaches first major deadline; key early learning bills still "alive"

Feb. 22 is the first "cutoff" of the 2013 legislative session. This is the day that bills without fiscal impact must be voted out of policy committee. The session cutoff calendar, which outlines key deadlines, is online here.

A summary of the current status of key early learning-related bills is on DEL's website here. Among the issues being considered:

• House Bill 1369 would allow kindergarten teachers to use up to five days at the beginning of the school year to meet with families and learn about the children they will be teaching. These "family connection" meetings are a key component of the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) and teachers say the meetings help them know their children better and inform their instruction.
• HB 1723 would establish the Early Start program to provide a continuum of high-quality early learning opportunities for families. Among its provisions, the bill would enhance child care subsidy rates, increase funding for birth-to-3 programs, and create a legislative task force on early learning.
• HB 1671 and Senate Bill 5595 have to do with child care subsidy reform. They have each been amended in different ways, but both would create a parent and provider oversight board to provide feedback to DEL and the Department of Social and Health Services on consumer issues.
• Gov. Jay Inslee has requested two bills (House Bill 1872 and SB 5755) that seek to improve educational outcomes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). DEL would be included in a STEM Education Innovation Alliance to support STEM education and would be part of a STEM benchmark report on the state's efforts.

Learn more about the legislative process and check out the Legislature's pilot project for commenting bills online at www.leg.wa.gov.  

Child care, kindergarten transition bills heard as 2013 legislative session continues

The Legislature just wrapped up week 3 of the 2013 session. Find a summary of some key bills DEL is watching here. 

Here are some early learning highlights from session so far:

• DEL has presented updates on some key early learning programs (including the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, home visiting, the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills, child care subsidies, and Early Achievers) to various legislative committees. You can find the PowerPoint presentations and video of those presentations on DEL's website here.
• Our agency-request bill that would allow us to redact children's names and identifying information from public records will be heard in the Senate on Tuesday. It already has been heard in the House. (Senate Bill 5198, sponsored by Sen. Jeannie Darneille and House Bill 1203, sponsored by Rep. Jessyn Farrell.)
• DEL testified in support of HB 1134, which would require DEL to convene a work group to make recommendations on early learning programs in tribal compact schools. Watch the public hearing on this bill here.
• DEL testified against HB 1228, which would exempt certain family home providers from meeting the high school education or equivalent requirement currently in rule. Watch the public hearing on this bill here.
• DEL testified with concerns on SB 5157, which would require license-exempt providers receiving subsidies to become licensed after one year of providing care. Watch the public hearing on this bill here.

Coming up next week: Public hearings on bills to allow for up to five days for family connection at the beginning of the kindergarten year (HB 1369) and a student outcomes bill that would make changes to state-funded full-day kindergarten (SB 5330).

Early learning a key topic as 2013 legislative session begins

The 2013 Legislature convened this week for a 105-day session, during which they must write a 2013-15 budget. Stay connected on DEL's State Legislature web page, which includes links to reports, presentations, and DEL briefing papers on key programs and services.

Early learning issues likely to be areas of focus this session include:

• How to expand and enhance the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), our state-funded preschool program. ECEAP is scheduled to become a statutory entitlement for eligible 3- and 4-year-olds beginning in school year 2017-18. Outgoing Gov. Chris Gregoire in her proposed 2013-15 budget added $50 million to ECEAP to fund 5,000 more enrollment slots and program quality improvements.
• How to support children ages birth to 3. A legislatively created birth-to-3 work group delivered recommendations to the Legislature on how to help ensure our very youngest learners and their families have high-quality opportunities that prepare them for school and life. Read those recommendations here. 
• How to help ensure our state offers high-quality service to families seeking Working Connections Child Care subsidies and ensures program integrity.Read the eligibility study here, and the DEL/Department of Social and Health Services response here. DEL is pursuing continued state funding for an electronic subsidy attendance system to help ensure billing accuracy. That system will go live in 2015.
• How to implement the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS), our state's kindergarten readiness process for helping to ensure a successful start to the K-12 experience. WaKIDS is a key component of Washington's Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant. A legislatively created work group has delivered recommendations to the Legislature about how to roll WaKIDS out statewide. Watch a WaKIDS update during a Jan. 17 joint work session of the House Early Learning & Human Services and House Education committees:

Watch a Jan. 17 DEL/Thrive by Five Washington overview to the House Early Learning & Human Services Committee:    

New crib standards take effect today for all child care providers in the United States

Starting today, all child care centers and homes must comply with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) new crib rules.

More than 11 million cribs have been recalled because of safety hazards in the United States since 2007. The CPSC changed federal manufacturing standards for cribs in June 2011. The new rules, which apply to full-size and non-full-size cribs, prohibit the manufacture or sale of traditional drop-side rail cribs, strengthen crib slats and mattress supports, improve the quality of hardware and require more rigorous testing. Read more about the details of the crib manufacturing rules.

Starting today, all cribs in use in child care centers, family homes and places of public accommodation must comply with the June 2011 crib safety standards.

How can I tell if my crib complies with the new standards?

You cannot tell from looking at a crib whether it meets the new standards. If you purchased a crib before July 2011, it is not likely that it meets the new federal standard. You can check the crib itself for the manufacturing date. If it’s after June 28, 2011, the crib meets the standard. To be sure, you can contact the manufacturer to ask if the crib complies with 16 CFR 1219, the new standard for full-size cribs, or 16 CFR 1220, the new standard for non-full-size cribs.

The CPSC recently published guidance on which cribs meet the requirements and how providers can determine if their cribs comply. Read the guidance on CPSC’s cribs webpage.

How will DEL enforce the new standards?

DEL has incorporated the CPSC crib rules into our child care center and family home licensing rules. The rules require licensees to keep a log that shows each crib in use meets the CPSC crib requirements. Child care licensors may ask to see the log at any time, including during monitoring visits.

More information:

• Child care provider guide to new crib standards
• Enforcement guidance for child care providers
• New crib standards questions and answers
• CPSC crib information center
   

Updated school-age licensing rules take effect Dec. 20

Updated rules for licensed school-age child care go into effect on Dec. 20. The revised school-age licensing WAC 170-297 will replace the previous school-age center requirements, WAC 170-151. The revised rules pertain to the 450 licensed school-age programs around the state, which serve up to 20,000 children ages 5 through 12 with before- and after-school care. The rules were last updated in 2001.

The updated rules are better aligned with DEL's other child care licensing rules, and reflect more recent research. Key changes in the updated rules include:

• Updates to water safety requirements, including adding a requirement of minimum staff-to-child ratio of 1:10 during water activities.
• More information about guidance and discipline, including positive options for discipline and ways to help ensure bullying does not occur in the program.
• Allowing use of public transportation, so long as children are supervised at all times and required staff-to-child ratios are maintained.
• Updates to lighting safety requirements, including adding a requirement for either shatter-resistant light bulbs or shatter-resistant light coverings on ceiling-mounted light fixtures.
• Requiring licensees to share more information with families about the program's program philosophy (view of child learning and development).
• Information about use of private wells for water.
• Updated information about smoking in or near the licensed space.
• Updated information about first-aid kits.
• Adding a requirement for ground cover in fall zones near swings and play equipment.
• Adding limitations to screen time.
• New rules regarding satellite kitchens.
• Increasing education requirements for program directors.

The Department of Early Learning (DEL) began the process of updating these rules in 2009, when we contracted with School's Out Washington to create recommendations for the rules. School's Out Washington brought together key stakeholders to deliver these recommendations to DEL.

DEL filed formal proposed rules on Sept. 5, 2012, and held public hearings in Seattle and Yakima. We also accepted comments online.View a list of those comments and how they informed the rules.

View a comparison of the old rules and the updated rules.

School-age providers who have questions should contact their licensor.