DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Florida bill aimed at expanding access to after-school programs for Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten families could be a game-changer for working parents in Leon County.
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House Bill 765 would allow children under the age of 5 to stay at VPK after-school programs until 6 p.m. Right now, after-school programs at VPK schools are unable to apply for an exemption to let children under 5 remain at those programs once the school day ends at 2 p.m. That means parents are often forced to leave work mid-day to pick up their children and find alternate childcare.
"If that family, that mom, that dad has to stop working, take off work to come and pick their child up, then there's really a disruption to the work day. There's a disruption to the continuity of services to the student," said Brooke Brunner, Director of Early Learning for Leon County Schools.
Brunner said the continuity of care at these programs goes well beyond academics.
"These little people are building relationships themselves. They are establishing trust with not only their peers, but with school staff. And so having this access early on to the community," Brunner said.
Brunner said expanding access to this care also encourages parents to take advantage of the state's free pre-K program.
"So the state provides this free pre-K program, and that is wonderful. But if families don't have a mechanism to continue that quality of care while they're still at work, oftentimes they won't access that. So it's extremely critical to providing that foundational VPK quality instruction," Brunner said.
State Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, is among the bill's supporters and said the legislation is about standing up for working families.
"So if we're not supporting our working families, then why are we here, right?" Tant said.
Tant said the bill is designed to ensure children who need after-school programs have consistent access to the academic, social, and developmental support those programs provide.
"It is to make sure that those homes, those children who need those after-school programs and those, and the support that they get from that after-school programs in the fields of academics, social growth, and everything else that is provided there at the school district, to be able to continue and keep the consistency going," Tant said.
Tant said the House bill does have a Senate companion, although that bill does not contain the exemption language. Tant said the Senate and the House will negotiate to determine which version of the bill, if any, passes. The legislative session is set to wrap up on March 13.
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