Tuesday, May 22, 2007
2007 Legislative Overview...
The legislative session finally wound its way down at yesterday at midnight. Without an agreement with the Governor, the fate of the bills is a bit unclear. Follow the link for a comprehensive summary of the bill sent to the Governor for his consideration.
Child care, other early education and school-age care provisions were included in the Health & Human Service, Higher Education and E-12 bills. Highlights include:
- Reduction in Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) co-payments
- Changes in the Absent Day policies to make CCAP more workable for parents
- School Readiness Service Agreements
- After-School Community Learning Grants
- TEACH
- Child Care Service Grants
- Professional Development System
- Cap on family child care license fees
- Pre-K Exploratory Program
Details are included in both the first draft of the summary as well on the updated chart. Editing will take place over the next few weeks, but we wanted to make sure you had this information as quickly as possible.
The session officially adjourned at midnight, and the bills passed by the Legislature now head to the Governor. Once the bills are presented to the Governor, he has three days to veto them. If he does not veto or sign the bill in those three days, then it becomes law.
A summary from Ready4K:
Looking at the 2007 legislative session brings to mind the age-old question: is the glass half empty or half full? I think that is an incomplete question. I would add: what is in the glass in the first place?
What was in the “glass” of the 2007 legislative session for school readiness was of pretty good quality, and for that the Legislature and Governor deserve credit. Clearly they understand the value and importance of early care and education, and want to move forward, not backward, on this issue.
Here are some of the positive aspects of the recent session: increased access to high quality early learning experiences for our youngest citizens; restored and expanded support for parents; and encouragement of quality improvements, including professional development. For a quick summary of all the early care and education items that received increased funding, go to today's edition of our Ready 4 K @ the Capitol update.
Access to high quality early learning was increased by additional funding for Head Start, including enhancing that program’s ability to improve early literacy. School Readiness programs saw increases. Child care, which is early education, gained funding in a variety of ways that helped parents and providers, and many initiatives that passed also spurred the improvement of quality, that all-important concept which needs to infuse all early learning settings. An innovative scholarship program was passed on a pilot basis as well, further enlarging parent choice.
Parents were supported in two key ways: one through restoration of Early Childhood Family Education funding, a proposal that was one of few that both the House and Senate agreed to from the outset. The other was in the form of funding for home visiting for families that are most at risk for not having their young children ready for kindergarten. Parents remain the center of all early childhood work, so these two measures were encouraging.
Quality improvements also saw significant gains this year. Nothing is more important in early education than the quality of the provider. The 2007 legislative session finally saw the passage of an appropriation for TEACH scholarships which provide an incentive to practitioners to get additional training. The Legislature also approved proposals from the Governor for a streamlined structure to enhance providers’ access to additional professional development. Support for Family, Friend, and Neighbor caregivers was also given in the form of a grant program to be carried out locally with the Child Care Resource and Referral Network, libraries and tribes. Small though that appropriation is, the new law acknowledges the vital importance of this sector.
We are also pleased to see that 37,000 more children will have health care coverage under MinnesotaCare. The health and physical development of children is a critical building block for school readiness, so progress in health care access is welcome. This legislative session also elevated the work of the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF), which Ready 4 K helped to create. The MELF is playing an increasingly significant role in funding and evaluating innovative early learning projects and Ready 4 K will be working closely with them to monitor the implementation of the new policies that were created this year.
Having said all this, and in no way wanting to disparage the work done by the legislature and the Governor, I must be candid that, although the “glass” has a fine substance in it, the glass is about a quarter full. Why? Because if the real goal is to move the school readiness “needle” from 50 percent to 80 percent, this $40 million of additional funding does not take us far enough fast enough. Elements of a new system based on effective outreach, parent choice, and high quality are infused in the legislation that just passed, and that is significant, but the resources devoted to the larger mission are simply inadequate.
Patience is a virtue, and Minnesota policymakers will some day make early care and education a true priority, as is happening in other states throughout America. Unfortunately, failure to act boldly today is closing the door of opportunity for too many of our youngest children right now. State leaders understand that the issue is important, but there are two serious disconnects that we need to encourage them to confront.
One, there is a disconnect between the evidence of the importance of this issue and current legislative and gubernatorial budgetary priorities. Many studies show the true value of providing early learning experiences to young children. Yet early childhood still receives only one percent of the state budget.
Two, there is a disconnect between the actions of policymakers and what the public expects. Ready 4 K’s public opinion poll shows strong support for giving school readiness a much higher priority than it currently enjoys.
The bottom line from Ready 4 K’s perspective is that the 2007 legislative session was pretty good, but not yet up to what our youngest citizens deserve. So thank you, legislative leaders, particularly education committee co-chairs Representative Mindy Greiling and Senator Tarryl Clark, Governor Pawlenty, and especially our early childhood champion Representative Nora Slawik, and know that your good work has been noticed and appreciated. But please also know that literally thousands of young Minnesotans and their families need and deserve more support than you have provided so far.
Ready 4 K will continue to engage individuals across the state to speak out on behalf of what is needed for our children and we will not stop until we see the leaders of our state commit to real changes that will measurably improve the lives and future fortunes of our youngest citizens. We thank the Governor and lawmakers for the modest but strategically important steps taken this year, and look forward to working with them in the future.
The legislative session finally wound its way down at yesterday at midnight. Without an agreement with the Governor, the fate of the bills is a bit unclear. Follow the link for a comprehensive summary of the bill sent to the Governor for his consideration.
Child care, other early education and school-age care provisions were included in the Health & Human Service, Higher Education and E-12 bills. Highlights include:
- Reduction in Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) co-payments
- Changes in the Absent Day policies to make CCAP more workable for parents
- School Readiness Service Agreements
- After-School Community Learning Grants
- TEACH
- Child Care Service Grants
- Professional Development System
- Cap on family child care license fees
- Pre-K Exploratory Program
Details are included in both the first draft of the summary as well on the updated chart. Editing will take place over the next few weeks, but we wanted to make sure you had this information as quickly as possible.
The session officially adjourned at midnight, and the bills passed by the Legislature now head to the Governor. Once the bills are presented to the Governor, he has three days to veto them. If he does not veto or sign the bill in those three days, then it becomes law.
A summary from Ready4K:
Looking at the 2007 legislative session brings to mind the age-old question: is the glass half empty or half full? I think that is an incomplete question. I would add: what is in the glass in the first place?
What was in the “glass” of the 2007 legislative session for school readiness was of pretty good quality, and for that the Legislature and Governor deserve credit. Clearly they understand the value and importance of early care and education, and want to move forward, not backward, on this issue.
Here are some of the positive aspects of the recent session: increased access to high quality early learning experiences for our youngest citizens; restored and expanded support for parents; and encouragement of quality improvements, including professional development. For a quick summary of all the early care and education items that received increased funding, go to today's edition of our Ready 4 K @ the Capitol update.
Access to high quality early learning was increased by additional funding for Head Start, including enhancing that program’s ability to improve early literacy. School Readiness programs saw increases. Child care, which is early education, gained funding in a variety of ways that helped parents and providers, and many initiatives that passed also spurred the improvement of quality, that all-important concept which needs to infuse all early learning settings. An innovative scholarship program was passed on a pilot basis as well, further enlarging parent choice.
Parents were supported in two key ways: one through restoration of Early Childhood Family Education funding, a proposal that was one of few that both the House and Senate agreed to from the outset. The other was in the form of funding for home visiting for families that are most at risk for not having their young children ready for kindergarten. Parents remain the center of all early childhood work, so these two measures were encouraging.
Quality improvements also saw significant gains this year. Nothing is more important in early education than the quality of the provider. The 2007 legislative session finally saw the passage of an appropriation for TEACH scholarships which provide an incentive to practitioners to get additional training. The Legislature also approved proposals from the Governor for a streamlined structure to enhance providers’ access to additional professional development. Support for Family, Friend, and Neighbor caregivers was also given in the form of a grant program to be carried out locally with the Child Care Resource and Referral Network, libraries and tribes. Small though that appropriation is, the new law acknowledges the vital importance of this sector.
We are also pleased to see that 37,000 more children will have health care coverage under MinnesotaCare. The health and physical development of children is a critical building block for school readiness, so progress in health care access is welcome. This legislative session also elevated the work of the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF), which Ready 4 K helped to create. The MELF is playing an increasingly significant role in funding and evaluating innovative early learning projects and Ready 4 K will be working closely with them to monitor the implementation of the new policies that were created this year.
Having said all this, and in no way wanting to disparage the work done by the legislature and the Governor, I must be candid that, although the “glass” has a fine substance in it, the glass is about a quarter full. Why? Because if the real goal is to move the school readiness “needle” from 50 percent to 80 percent, this $40 million of additional funding does not take us far enough fast enough. Elements of a new system based on effective outreach, parent choice, and high quality are infused in the legislation that just passed, and that is significant, but the resources devoted to the larger mission are simply inadequate.
Patience is a virtue, and Minnesota policymakers will some day make early care and education a true priority, as is happening in other states throughout America. Unfortunately, failure to act boldly today is closing the door of opportunity for too many of our youngest children right now. State leaders understand that the issue is important, but there are two serious disconnects that we need to encourage them to confront.
One, there is a disconnect between the evidence of the importance of this issue and current legislative and gubernatorial budgetary priorities. Many studies show the true value of providing early learning experiences to young children. Yet early childhood still receives only one percent of the state budget.
Two, there is a disconnect between the actions of policymakers and what the public expects. Ready 4 K’s public opinion poll shows strong support for giving school readiness a much higher priority than it currently enjoys.
The bottom line from Ready 4 K’s perspective is that the 2007 legislative session was pretty good, but not yet up to what our youngest citizens deserve. So thank you, legislative leaders, particularly education committee co-chairs Representative Mindy Greiling and Senator Tarryl Clark, Governor Pawlenty, and especially our early childhood champion Representative Nora Slawik, and know that your good work has been noticed and appreciated. But please also know that literally thousands of young Minnesotans and their families need and deserve more support than you have provided so far.
Ready 4 K will continue to engage individuals across the state to speak out on behalf of what is needed for our children and we will not stop until we see the leaders of our state commit to real changes that will measurably improve the lives and future fortunes of our youngest citizens. We thank the Governor and lawmakers for the modest but strategically important steps taken this year, and look forward to working with them in the future.
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 5:12 PM 
