DELAWARE STATE SENATE

151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 55

DIRECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH CONSISTENT REGULATIONS FOR CHILD CARE LICENSING, THE EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND THE QUALITY RATING AND IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM.

WHEREAS, child care providers and public schools in Delaware are governed by many sets of regulations, standards, and policies, including Title 14, IDEA, DELACARE Regulations, Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP), Head Start, the Quality Rating and Improvement System (Delaware Stars for Early Success), and Purchase of Care; and

WHEREAS, these regulations often conflict and compete with each other or are duplicative, causing undue confusion and barriers for families and staff and requiring providers and schools to complete the same or similar tasks for children and staff multiple times using different forms or data systems, rather than focusing on providing quality care to support strong child development; and

WHEREAS, Senate Bill 187 in the 150th General Assembly established that “The Department of Education shall ensure that Delaware Stars for Early Success standards are consistent with the regulations of the Office of Child Care Licensing,” by July 2020, which has not yet been completed; and

WHEREAS, Delaware has committed to strengthening early child care and education and continues to be committed to making child care subsidies accessible with no waiting list for families; and

WHEREAS, Delaware’s child care providers and public preschool staff have requested simplification of rules and regulations; and

WHEREAS, several initiatives are under way to strengthen the early care and education field, including state rate setting, Stars redesign and simplification, and enhanced technical assistance and training.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the 151 ^st General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, directs the Department of Education to create streamlined, consistent regulations to conform with public school code and regulations found in Title 14 that pertain to children ages birth to five who are not yet in kindergarten and who are enrolled in public school, the DELACARE Regulations, the Early Childhood Assistance Program, and Delaware Stars for Early Success.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the regulations for family child care, child care centers, and licensed early education programs in public schools must all align within a similar framework and establish a common set of quality benchmarks, with minimum standards required in order to gain licensure.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a single, statewide system guided by aligned processes should be developed whenever possible for the following categories: registration and attendance, curriculum recommendations and assessments, health and developmental screenings, early intervention, special education identification and referral, adult to child ratios and maximum group size for designated age groups, and requirements for educator and administrator licensure, certification, and professional development.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is to engage stakeholders, including the Delaware Early Childhood Council, the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Children, the Interagency Coordinating Council, the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children, the Delaware State Education Association, and the Chairs or other members of the House and Senate Education Committees, as well as community members including small business child care providers, non-profit child care centers, public school teachers, parents, administrators, and board members, in the discussion and development of these regulations.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is to make recommendations based on the discussions with stakeholders to the General Assembly by October 1, 2022, and propose any necessary revisions to the Delaware Code no later than January 1, 2023.

SYNOPSIS

This Concurrent Resolution directs the Delaware Department of Education to establish consistent regulations across the State’s early child care providers and programs. It also directs the Department to engage stakeholders in this process, and to make recommendations to the General Assembly by October 1, 2022, and propose necessary code revisions by January 1, 2023.

Author: Senator Gay