Assembly Creates 4K Committee

WCCF's Legislative Alert Center – http://capwiz.com/wccf

As other states make plans to expand preschool education, a new committee has been appointed in the Wisconsin Assembly that will reconsider our state’s commitment to 4K education. The Assembly Speaker, Rep. John Gard, announced on May 22 that he has appointed a task force on four-year-old kindergarten.
According to Speaker Gard, "The task force will evaluate the merits of 4-K programs and consider changes to their structure. The information will allow us to make better decisions when looking at the overall picture for public education funding." Gard’s announcement follows closely on the heels of the adoption of a resolution at the WI GOP convention that “calls for the state legislature to eliminate funding of 4-year-old kindergarten.”
The 9-member task force will be chaired by Rep. Debi Towns (R.-Janesville) and it is charged with examining the following questions:
-- Does evidence support that there is a cumulative educational or societal benefit to having four year olds in structured programs?
-- If the state sees value in structured 4K programs, what is a reasonable or adequate cost of a structured 4-K child care with qualified providers?
-- How should we structure and deliver these programs, and who is best qualified to decide what placement is most appropriate for each individual young child?
Other people on the 9-member task force include: Rep. Steve Kestell, (R-Elkhart Lake); Rep. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa); Rep. Barbara Toles (D-Milwaukee); (Rep. Amy Sue Vruwink (D-Milladore); Connie Roberts, executive director of the WI Head Start Assn. in Rock and Walworth counties; Laura Klingelhoets, a daycare owner and board member of the WI Child Care Administrators Assn.; Brett Healy, research director for School Choice Wisconsin; and Rick Grobschmidt of DPI.
http://capwiz.com/wccf/utr/1/LLIQFYHEGJ/LJYOFYHQUV/745295836
The first meeting of the task force was held on Thursday, June 1, at the Capitol. The meeting was open to the public, but testimony at the initial meeting was limited to a couple of invited speakers (from DPI and the Legislative Fiscal Bureau).
A critical reaction to the new task force (and responses to it) can be found in this blog by Cory Liebmann:
http://capwiz.com/wccf/utr/1/LLIQFYHEGJ/ABYWFYHQUW/745295836