Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
 
Agency
Department of Social Services
 
Board
State Board of Social Services
 
chapter
Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers [22 VAC 40 ‑ 185]
Action Amend Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers to Address Federal Health and Safety Requirements
Stage Proposed
Comment Period Ended on 4/6/2018
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3/22/18  4:31 pm
Commenter: Christine Campe-Price, Cooperative Preschool community member

Proposed changes will destroy the Cooperative Preschool model
 

I am writing to ask that you reconsider the new training requirements in the proposed change to standards for Licensed Day Care Centers.  The proposed new training requirements for parents who volunteer at cooperative preschools are so burdensome that they will doom the traditional cooperative preschool model. It is not feasible or necessary to ask parents of young children to undergo 16 hours of orientation training and 20 hours of annual training.

I ask that the total number of training hours (both orientation and ongoing, collectively) for cooperative preschool parents be limited to the current 4 hours. Please remove the language "who are not considered staff" from section 22VAC40-185-245C describing the required annual training for cooperative preschool parents. Please include an exception for cooperative preschool parents in the new orientation training section 22VAC40-185-240.

Cooperative preschools have been a valued early education option in Virginia for decades. Both of my children attended Dulin Cooperative Preschool in Falls Church and I served as a member of the Board during the 5 years my children attended.  The traditional cooperative preschool model has many benefits for children and families including low tuition (because the parents serve as unpaid classroom aides) and deep, meaningful parental involvement in children's early education.  My children, and my husband and I, benefited greatly from our involvement in Dulin Coop.  My children were well prepared when they entered Kindergarten, having had a positive educational and social experience.   The friendships that our family made 21 years ago at Dulin Coop are still strong today.   

In order to comply with the new regulations, cooperative preschools would have to hire aides so that parents would not be counted in staff ratios. This would not only reduce the significance of parents' roles in the classroom, but would also raise tuition so significantly that many families could be left without any affordable preschool options.  I believe that these regulations would kill the successful and beneficial cooperative model.  Please do not let this happen.

I respectfully urge you to implement the above changes to the proposed regulations in order to preserve the viability of traditional cooperative preschools.

CommentID: 64321