Legislators rejected a proposal to create an advisory council to study gaps in program offerings for children prior to kindergarten in the state. House Bill 1237, if passed, would have created an Early Learning Advisory Council aimed to “study the accessibility and affordability of early childhood education programs and wasn’t requiring children to attend preschool, nor was it creating universal preschool” according to Rep. Erin Healy. The article also touches on the realities of many preschool programs in South Dakota: independent preschools in the state are unregulated, meaning essentially anyone can open an independent preschool. Just as well, many community organizations and lobbyists rejected the bill due to concerns around parents, stating, “Parents of young children should not have free childcare and free preschool dangling before them, enticing both parents to join the workforce rather than to continue to raise their own children.”
Published on: February 25th, 2020
By: LISA KACZKE