Given that all five members of the Senate Committee on Education sponsored the bill that would "lift the cap" on pre-Kindergarten in Vermont, it’s not surprising the legislation made it past that committee.
Still, advocates for early education were thrilled Thursday after the committee took its vote, calling it an endorsement of the plan and a step in the right direction.
"They really believe pre-K is a good thing and that towns should be able to decide to use it as an educational strategy or not,” said Mary Schwartz, the director of Pre-K Vermont, a coalition of advocates, businesses and public education leaders who support early education.
The bill, S.53, would erase a state-imposed limit that allows only 50 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds in Vermont school districts to enroll in pre-K.
The limit was part of a 2007 law and was a compromise between proponents of pre-K and those who feared unlimited enrollment would increase property taxes and hurt private day cares.
Proponents say that early education can save on education costs by avoiding the need for expensive special education. Some lawmakers, however, worry that lifting the cap will burden the state education fund.
The pre-K bill still has a long way to go before it becomes law. On Friday, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.
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