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Providers and advocates press MSDE for funding, training and transport solutions to expand inclusive preschool
Summary
Breakout groups flagged three recurring barriers to inclusive early childhood services: private providers need funding and training to serve children with disabilities; transportation and building access limit participation; and participants urged including children with disabilities in Tier 1 priority for pre-K expansion.
Participants in four separate breakout groups at the Sept. 1 work group meeting reported three consistent priorities: more funding and training for private and community-based providers, clearer transportation plans to ensure physically accessible service delivery, and inclusion of children with disabilities in Tier 1 priority for pre-K expansion.
Miss Dorsey (speaker 6), who identified herself as a private community-based program owner, said the draft recommendations focus technical assistance on LEAs but provide little direct support for private providers. "If there was a specific position where that was the liaison person for community based programs, that would be extremely helpful," she said; she also described lost training funds and workforce challenges that make consistent inclusion difficult.
Miss Sapp (speaker 13), a child-care–sector participant from Charles County, described a local barrier: unpaved driveways and local liability rules can prevent buses from servicing certain child-care sites, which in turn restricts children who rely on bus transportation from attending programs that provide needed supports. MSDE staff said they would look into the local transportation issue.
Betsy Perry (speaker 11), speaking from Montgomery County, said socioeconomic differences across ZIP codes affect preschool access and raised a case of a five-year-old who arrived in kindergarten without prior intervention. She urged more proactive outreach to doctors, churches and community organizations to improve child-find efforts and prevent families from "falling through the cracks."
Breakout groups suggested short-term 'quick wins'—for example, better sharing of existing lists of high-quality inclusive providers with pediatricians and families—and longer-term efforts such as credentialing, accreditation or incentives for centers that adopt inclusive practices. Several groups recommended that MSDE consider cross-jurisdictional or pooled services to address capacity gaps and transportation barriers.
MSDE staff said notes from the breakouts will be used to revise draft recommendations and to inform implementation planning ahead of October and December report deadlines.
