Teacher Age Restrictions – pg. 15

Aides under 18 years of age may be included in staff-to-child ratios, but shall not be left alone with children.

We need 16 & 17 year old aides to be able to work independently the first & last hour of the day. We need this age demographic to relieve many of the full-time teachers by 5pm daily. Sixteen and seventeen year olds are watching children unsupervised all the time in home care. We believe that licensed care is a much safer option for them to be alone in a classroom for 1 hour the first or last hour of the day. 

?The Virginia Department of Planning & Budget's Economic Analysis states that, "this new rule may cause licensees to incur additional costs to ensure that these teenagers are not left alone with children in care.  This proposed change will likely limit the usefulness of 16 & 17 year olds as child care workders and, therefore, will make it less likely that they will be hired by licensees. Given that it is unlikely that 16 & 17 year olds are any less safe or competent as childcare workers than 18 year olds with comparable training, the cost of this proposed requirement likely outweigh any benefit."

??We would like to see this staffing option remain available. Thank you.