Pre-K/Extended Care Licensing

Dear Principals:

The State of Washington’s Department of Early Learning has visited several of our schools, warning them that their Pre-K or Extended Care programs are not licensed or do not comply with state regulations. It is important, of course, that we comply with these regulations, for example:

1. That Pre-School/Pre-K programs meet requirements if they serve children under 5 years of age, who are in attendance for over 4 hours a day.
2. That Extended Care programs meet requirements concerning hours of operation and the need to separate children from one another according to age.

All schools must be licensed and comply with regulations or face penalties from the state, such as fines. Because the regulations are complex, the OCS will summarize the major regulations in future mailings. School principals, however, are responsible for knowing the regulations and observing them.

To consult the state’s regulations, please use the following links:

School age extended care:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.a...-297&full=true

Pre-K:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.a...-295&full=true

OCS Website

Please note that on the OCS website we have a forum established for the Pre-K conversation which includes Model for Early Childhood education, best practices and resources, and links to review state law and benchmarks : http://www.ocsww.org/site/forumdisplay.php?f=21.

At our principals’ meeting on March 14th, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and to get further information from experienced principals and the assistant superintendents.

I am sorry to be the bearer of this news, but it is important for the good standing and even the existence of our programs that we bring ourselves into compliance with regulations whose intention is to protect our children.

Thank you for your attention to this notice.

(Rev.) Stephen C. Rowan, Ph.D.
Superintendent