Republican lawmakers hope to change 4K in Wisconsin to bolster child care. Here's what to know.
Two Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill they say will strengthen the child care industry by altering the structure of Wisconsin’s public 4-year-old kindergarten.
Child care programs are losing enrollment and revenue under the current public 4K system, many child care providers say. The new bill, authored by Reps. Joy Goeben of Hobart and Karen Hurd of Fall Creek, hopes to address such issues and help to stabilize child care programs.
The draft bill was circulated earlier this month for co-sponsors. The two representatives previously introduced a package of bills they say will bolster the child care industry by adjusting staff-to-child ratios, creating loan programs and more. That package has passed the Assembly and is awaiting Senate action, though Gov. Tony Evers has indicated he may veto them.
Here’s what you need to know about Goeben and Hurd’s new 4K bill.
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Wisconsinites could see more 4K in child care settings
In Wisconsin, children are not required to attend 4K, and school districts are not required to offer 4K. Under the existing system, school districts can choose if they wish to partner with child care programs to provide public 4K in the child care program's buildings. Regardless of where a child attends public 4K, whether it be in a school-setting or in a child care-setting, it is tuition-free in Wisconsin.
Many child care providers have told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin that the existing 4K setup often threatens the stability of their businesses.
If a child care program does not offer public 4K, parents may choose to withdraw their child from the child care program and instead enroll them in a public 4K program offered through a school district. Families may opt for this as it will save them money.
But if the public 4K program offers only half-day 4K, parents might still need wraparound child care.
Either way, when parents completely or partially withdraw their child from child care, the child care program’s revenue decreases. Providers might even have to raise rates for other families to make up for this lost revenue.
The new bill would require school districts to contract with eligible child care and Head Start programs to provide public 4K. This would allow children to get their 4K education and stay at their child care program. It would also enable providers to maintain enrollment.
Under the bill, public 4K will remain tuition-free, regardless of if it is within a school building or community site. Parents could also enroll their child into any 4K program in accordance with state Department of Public Instruction open enrollment regulations, just as they can now.
Requiring school districts to contract with child care providers would give Wisconsin families more public 4K options, Goeben said.
“From an educational and geographic perspective, Wisconsin families benefit from access to more 4K programs. Families can choose a location and a curriculum most suited to their needs,” Goeben told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
For a school district to be obligated to contract with a child care program to offer a 4K site, the child care program would have to meet specific requirements, according to the bill. These include being licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, being in good standing with DCF and being located within the school district’s boundaries.
The Wisconsin Association of School Boards has long supported a community-based approach to 4K, which encourages school districts to collaborate with child care programs to provide 4K options on a voluntary basis, said WASB Executive Director Dan Rossmiller. The association takes issue with mandating a particular approach.
"We're supportive of flexibility and local decision making — in other words, not having the legislature impose a particular model of providing 4K on school districts," Rossmiller told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
He added that WASB was not consulted in the drafting of the bill.
Related: Is 4K right for your child? Educators and parents share insight on this tough decision.
School districts would provide funding to the child care providers they contract with
School districts that offer 4K receive a per-pupil funding amount from the state DPI. The amount a school district receives is determined by a variety of factors, such as the amount of outreach activities. The funding comes from state aid and local property taxes, DPI said.
Currently, when a school district partners with a child care program to offer 4K within the child care program, it creates a contract that specifies how much of this state funding the district passes on to the child care program. There are no stipulations on how much of the funding must go to the child care program.
Hurd and Goeben’s bill would change this, requiring school districts to give the child care programs at least 95% of the 4K per-pupil funding that they receive from DPI.
“This model provides more funding to child care centers, so that our child care administrators, owners and operators can do what they do best — create safe environments where our kids thrive,” Goeben said in a press release.
The requirements to teach public 4K in a child care setting would change
Currently, to teach public 4K in a child care setting, a teacher must have a license issued by DPI. The bill would remove this requirement, and instead require that the teacher have a bachelor’s degree or higher. If they don’t have this degree, they must have an associate’s degree in early childhood education and be working toward a bachelor’s degree. If they aren’t currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program, they would need to do so within a year.
4K contracts between school districts and child care programs must include key details
The new bill would put in place requirements that must be included in contracts between school districts and child care providers that offer 4K:
They must allow the child care provider to implement any curriculum that meets Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards, which DPI currently encourages — but does not require — 4K programs to use.
They must include a quarterly payment schedule to the child care provider.
They must make the child care provider responsible for transportation.
They cannot require the child care provider to have a staff-to-child ratio that is less than what’s required by its state license.
They cannot require assessments that are not required under state or federal law.
What's next?
The bill was due for co-sponsorship Jan. 19. It is now awaiting committee assignments.
More: What's the status of child care, workforce proposals? Here are five things to know.
Madison Lammert covers child care and early education across Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member based at The Appleton Post-Crescent. To contact her, email mlammert@gannett.com or call 920-993-7108. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Republican lawmakers hope to change Wisconsin 4K to bolster child care
