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House Education presses Human Services on pre-K language, flags funding and liability questions
Summary
House Education members questioned pre-K language sent from Human Services that would require districts to provide or arrange pre-K where private slots are unavailable, and would require licensed teachers in private pre-K classrooms with a seven-year on-ramp; members said funding, cost estimates and liability for provisional licenses must be clarified before any mandate takes effect.
Members of the House Education Committee extensively questioned representatives of the House Human Services Committee on March 31 about proposed pre-K statutory language, focusing on who would be responsible for ensuring access, how the requirement would be funded and how teacher licensing and provisional licenses would work in private settings.
"We set up a pre-K implementation committee" tied to Act 76, Teresa Wood, chair of the House Human Services Committee, told the Education panel, explaining the package aims to "increase access" and to expand hours for four-year-olds while maintaining services for three-year-olds. Wood said data show wide regional disparities and that the committee wants a single locus of responsibility so families who want pre-K can find it.
Human Services proposes treating pre-K as part of the education system and using education-fund mechanisms to pay for it. The draft would require school districts to provide or arrange pre-K when private capacity does not exist and would require licensed preschool…
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