The implementation of Vermont’s universal pre-kindergarten mandate, signed into law with much fanfare in May, will be delayed for a year. State officials made the announcement Wednesday, citing challenges with rulemaking and school budget processes.
Act 166 requires publicly funded pre-kindergarten education for a minimum of 10 hours per week for 35 weeks annually for all 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds who are not enrolled in kindergarten. The legislation was to go into effect in the 2015-16 school year.
State officials say the rules governing the program won’t become final until spring, which doesn’t allow local school districts enough time to integrate the cost of programs into local budgets, which are voted on Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March.
In a letter to school districts, Rebecca Holcombe, secretary of the Agency of Education, and Harry Chen, the secretary of the Agency of Human Services, said schools should budget for pre-kindergarten programs in the 2016-17 school year.
The AOE and the Department for Children and Families will work with school districts that are ready to move ahead with their own pre-K plans for the coming school year.
In an interview Wednesday, Holcombe said the timeline for implementation — about six months — was shorter than the Legislature originally intended. The bill was introduced in 2013 and passed late in the 2014 session, but the deadlines did not reflect the additional year it took for the legislation to become law.
Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, one of the bill’s authors, said he’s disappointed by the delayed implementation.
“I would love to stand on a soapbox, and say this is one more thing the (Gov. Peter) Shumlin administration has screwed up,” Mullin said. “But I can’t really blame them for it.” He blamed the Senate instead.
“It’s as much the Senate’s fault because (the Appropriations Committee) sat on it,” he said.
Rep. Sarah Buxton, D-Tunbridge, led the bill through the House in 2013. She said ultimately the delay is for the best.
“I am just as anxious as I think anyone could be to move the implementation of Act 166 forward,” Buxton said.
She welcomed the decision by the administration for two reasons:
First, school districts are struggling to create new programs or establish partnerships with early childhood care providers on such a tight schedule, Buxton said. This is especially true for districts with heavy obligations under Title 1 of federal law, which ensures equal education opportunities for all children. Schools will now have more time to develop more thoughtful and effective programs, she said.
Second, the administration has pledged technical support and other assistance to those districts that aren’t in a strong position to comply on their own.
Buxton said implementing changes to Vermont’s public school system is complicated because local and state governing bodies are disconnected.
“Yet again, the lack of a system impedes an approach that everyone agrees is the right thing,” she said.
She added that the Agency of Education’s limited staff is strapped to provide all the technical assistance many small schools need in order to implement state mandates.
