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Schools

Questions linger over launch of pre-K plan

Lawmakers seek answers on local oversight, provider eligibility and other matters, but many details aren't set.

By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published February 22, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Six months before the state launches its new voluntary prekindergarten program, lawmakers still have significant questions about how it will be run.

For almost two hours, members of a House committee quizzed education officials Monday on topics ranging from the eligibility of providers to how parents should be notified about the program.

And the committee purposefully bypassed other, larger issues, including the viability of a 300-hour summer program and whether the state's largest private school system, the Florida Catholic Conference, will participate.

"We're not here to open up the pre-K legislation and look at making amendments," said Rep. Rafael Arza, R-Hialeah, chairman of the House Select Committee on Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Implementation. "We have to go to the next step."

Officials from the state Department of Education and Agency for Workforce Innovation said many of the details are still being worked out. Some questions can't be answered until the state knows more about how many providers will participate, said Gladys Wilson, deputy director of AWI's office of early learning.

"We're asking everyone to be patient," Wilson said after the hearing.

The role of early learning coalitions, the 30 regional groups of private businesspeople, educators and politicians that will oversee pre-K on a local level, was a source of concern among some committee members.

As written, the rules give these coalitions the power to determine whether a licensed provider qualifies for the program. Arza said he feared this could lead to the creation of 30 fiefdoms, each with its own set of standards.

"Why don't we just have a central agency controlling all of this?" Arza asked.

Wilson said most providers will already be accredited by other agencies. But they wanted to preserve some flexibility for worthy providers who aren't accredited.

"We don't know how many of these there are until we have the providers registered," Wilson said.

Rep. Susan Goldstein, R-Weston, said she worried about whether children with special needs would be allowed into the pre-K program. Others expressed fear about discrimination against hyperactive children.

Wilson said her agency is working on ways to prevent discrimination but added she didn't think it would be a major problem.

"I think it will be the exception and not the rule with providers that send children away," Wilson said.

Officials expect about 70 percent of the state's 4-year-olds to enroll in pre-K, which will begin in August. As of Feb. 14, there were 14,807 children and 1,173 providers preregistered through the Internet.

But there is not yet a specific date for enrollment to begin, Wilson said. It is scheduled for mid April, but it could begin at different times for different regions, she said.

Parents can find information about pre-K on a Web site, www.vpkflorida.com But committee members urged Wilson to find other ways of spreading the word because some families may not have access to the Internet.

A major advertising campaign is in the works, but state officials don't have enough information yet to make it useful to parents, Wilson said.

"We're just not there yet," she said.

--Carrie Johnson can be reached at 850 224-7263 or cjohnson@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 22, 2005, 22:19:58]