On Sept. 17, the Early Childhood Committee of the Education Reform Commission (ERC) met to continue discussion on the committee's recommendations to the full ERC with a focus on the Department of Early Care and Learning's Quality Rated Initiative.
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Quality Rated Explained
Georgia's Quality Rated program recognizes exceptional child care programs based on a scale of one, two, or three stars with more stars indicating a higher quality program. These stars are awarded based on independent observations as well as a portfolio that demonstrates the program meets standards higher than those required for licensing. The Quality Rated program is intended to give parents confidence in selecting a program committed to continuous improvement and higher standards.
For more information on the Quality Rated initiative, CLICK HERE.
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Feedback on Quality Rated Initiative Recommendations
The committee began by reviewing committee members' support for each of the following recommendations:
- The state should enact legislation to create a refundable consumer tax credit for families when their children are enrolled in a Quality Rated childcare program. Tax credit should be tiered based on star level.
- The state should enact legislation to create a business investment tax credit for childcare providers which are Quality Rated to increase access to high quality early learning programs..
- The state should enact legislation to create a refundable occupational tax credit, based on teacher credentials, for teachers who are employed at a Quality Rated childcare program.
- By December 2016, DECAL should develop a timeline in which childcare programs must be Quality Rated to receive childcare subsidy funds.
- The state should adjust the subsidy rates for Quality Rated providers to more closely align with the true cost of tuition.
- The state should appropriate funding to at least match private dollars raised to support a comprehensive marketing and public relations campaign to promote awareness of Quality Rated designation and the importance of high quality early learning.
For the most part, there was consensus that each of these recommendations should be presented to the full ERC. On the second recommendation, there was concern that if the family tax credit currently used by DECAL is set up in a tiered system, then the proposed business investment tax credit should also be set up in a tiered system. Amy Jacobs, the commissioner of the Department of Early Care and Learning and chair of the ERC Early Childhood Education Committee, mentioned this will be included in the final draft of the recommendations. There was also a concern regarding the fourth recommendation in that the timeline may be too aggressive and could have the unintended consequence of limiting pre-K access. Commissioner Jacobs assured the committee that the timeline would be spread out over an extended period to avoid this issue.
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Timelines for Current Pre-k Recommendations
The Early Childhood committee already has moved forward six recommendations to the full ERC. CLICK HERE for the PowerPoint containing these recommendations beginning on slide 15.
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Next Steps
At the next scheduled meeting on Nov. 4, the committee plans to develop possible recommendations for children with high needs, prioritize and finalize the current recommendations, and review the committee's final report. In December, the committee will present the final report to the full ERC.
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Josh Stephens - Legislative Policy Analyst
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