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MARCH NEWS
Legislative session continues, with many bills moving forward that would affect DEL and the early learning community. We are keeping an eye on bills that would:
- Create a state Department of Education (SB5639)
- Create a portable background check for child care employees (HB1903 and SB5714)
- Create a non-expiring child care license (HB1756 and SB5625)
- Allow drop-in child care for employees in certain facilities (SB5172)
- Adopt the Core Competencies as the state framework for defining what those who care for and teach young children should know and be able to do (SB5715)
- Strengthen the penalties for offering unlicensed child care (SB5504)
- Create a statewide education council (HB1849)
- Change the membership of the Early Learning Advisory Council (HB1491 and SB5389)
- Allow DEL and the Department of Social and Health Services to share certain background check information (HB1419 and SB5426)
- Allow state entities to exempt certain information about children in early learning settings from public disclosure (HB1293 and SB5314)
- Require DEL to make recommendations on tying subsidy to quality care indicators (HB1364)
- Require DEL to make rules around child care in publicly owned or operated buildings (HB1776)
- Require teachers in state-funded full-day kindergarten classrooms to use the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) starting in the 2012-2013 school year (HB1510, SB5427)
