The Alliance for Childhood Education has helped Missouri take a first step towards increased quality for early childhood programs this week. Governor Nixon signed into law SB638 – an omnibus education bill that will repeal statutory language that prohibited quality rating systems for assessing the efficacy of early childhood education programs.
SB638 will allow center-based, home-based and exempt religious providers to participate in a voluntary three-year pilot program. A collaborative team, consisting of the Missouri Head Start Collaboration Office and the departments of Health and Senior Services, Mental Health and Social Services, will be developing an early learning quality assurance report.
The Alliance for Childhood Education had the opportunity to work with the Missouri Children’s Leadership Council (MOCLC) under the direction of Judy Dungan to further the successful passage of this legislation. “The Alliance has been making great strides on enacting legislation to support improvements in education quality for several years, and we appreciated this chance to help MOCLC. This bill furthers an effort that began with the passage of SB 869 and HB 1831 in 2014 which allowed Missouri to establish a set of quality indicators for child care providers, ” said Linda Rallo, Vice President of the Alliance. “Our organization will continue to advance our mission of making improvements in Missouri’s education system by championing legislation that will increase college and workforce readiness.”
Working closely with the bill sponsors, Rep. Donna Pfautsch, MO (R-33, Harrisonville)
and Senator David Pearce, MO (R-21, Warrensburg) , Dungan coordinated a successful legislative outreach effort to educate members on the importance of providing parents with resources to make educated decisions about early care and education choices. She stated, “Practically every decision we make as consumers is based on quality. Yet, as a matter of state policy, we have told our young families that one of the most important decisions they will make, choosing a child care or early education provider, must be made without the benefit of a quality evaluation.”
Now, thanks to the work of MOCLC and its partners, Missouri no longer will be the only state in the country to have a ban on quality rating systems. Passing this legislation required an outreach education strategy that included the help of national partners.
The Alliance worked with the Council for a Strong America to engage their Mission: Readiness and ReadyNation orga
Rachel Wein, an Associate at Mission: Readiness, explained, “During our time in the military, we relied on high-quality training, instruction, and oversight to ensure accountability and positive improvement. The proposed voluntary early learning quality assurance pilot program in conjunction with the Missouri Head Start Collaboration Office and the Departments of Health and Senior Services, Mental Health, and Social Services is a step in the right direction to ensuring that the young people of Missouri grow up citizen-ready and have the option of serving in the Armed Forces if they choose.”
Alliance President Torree Pederson explained, “The Alliance looks forward to further opportunities to work with both the Missouri Children’s Leadership Council and national groups like the Council for a Strong America to ensure that the Show-Me State continues to make measurable strides towards increased quality and access for early childhood development programs.”
The Alliance for Childhood Education is a non-partisan, 501 ( c)3 non-profit committed to creating synergy between the business and education communities so that our region’s children achieve their greatest potential and our communities can capitalize on a creative and talented workforce.
Inquiries can be directed to Torree Pederson, President, The Alliance for Childhood Education, torree@aceinvests.
