Vermont Senate Bill 132 Update

Thanks to your calls and letters Vermont S.B. 132 was stalled in the Senate Education Committee as of March 8, 2005. Watch for a version of this bill to be reintroduced in the 2006/2007 congressional session.

Vermont Senate Bill 132 Alert

Bill S.132 has been put on "hold" until the summer committee completes a study as designated by the State Board of Education's Ad Hoc Committee on Early Education as to whether or not U-Pre-K is a good thing for the State of Vermont.

If passed, Senate Bill 132 will include all 3 and 4 year olds. It will not require schools to work with existing providers and if schools choose to "collaborate" with existing preschool providers, then the provider has to be a licensed teacher or have one present at the time that the preschool curriculum is being delivered.

Links to Vermont Resources

In 2005, our State Board of Education made up an Ad Hoc Committee to study the pros and cons of universal preschool. Their conculsion was that it was not a good thing for the State of Vermont. Once they made this decision then the powers that be made up the "Summer Committee" to study it once again. The "Summer Committee" is stacked with pro U-Pre-K people so there is only one conclusion that will come from this study.

Contact the Pre K Education Study Committee to request that home childcare providers are represented on the committee. Home childcare providers were supposed to have a seat on this committee but we were replaced at the last minute with Commissioner Richard Cate (Chairman of the State Board of Education) and Commissioner Steve Dale (Head of the Department for Children and Families).

These are the members of the Summer Committee:

Representative Duncan Kilmartin, Chair
Senator James Condos, Vice-Chair
Representative Denise Barnard
Senator Donald "Don" Collins
Senator Vincent Illuzzi
Representative Tim Jerman
Commissioner Richard Cate
Commissioner Steve Dale
Chris Robbins

To help stop Universal Preschool in Vermont, please contact Anissa DeLauri, Rutland City Child Care Provider, to find out how you can help. The more people we can get involved the better.

More Information on Vermont U-Pre-K