Early Childhood Initiatives
Research demonstrates the importance of the first years of a child’s life. Florida must make investments early - when it counts for our children. This means ensuring every parent has the information and support they need to access prenatal and infant care, training in parenting skills, high quality childcare and enriching after-school activities. Representative Ausley has worked hard in the legislature and in her community on early childhood efforts.
Early Childhood Development is Circling the Drain, Tallahassee Democrat Editorial
Universal Pre-Kindergarten
The people of Florida showed their overwhelming support for early education when over 60% of Florida’s voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring a voluntary, high quality pre-kindergarten opportunity for all 4 year olds. Florida parents now have the option of sending their four year olds to a three hour program during the school year, or a full day program during the summer through a network of public, private, faith-based and family child care centers. Unfortunately, Florida has not made the appropriate investment to ensure that every four year old has access to a quality program, resulting in under-enrollment and difficult choices for parents and providers. Representative Ausley remains committed to addressing these critical issues of quality, and will continue to advocate for appropriate standards to ensure that parents have a broad array of choice when selecting early education options for their four year olds.
Legislative Action
The Universal Pre-Kindergarten amendment passed in 2002, requiring legislative action to design the details of the program including setting standards and providing the funding. In 2003, Governor Bush appointed a Task Force to study the issue and to offer recommendations to the 2004 legislature.
The Governor appointed the UPK Council, a Task Force representing parents, advocates, providers and other educators. Under the leadership of Lt. Governor Toni Jennings, the UPK Council developed very specific recommendations for how to create and implement a high quality program for 4 year olds. Some of the key recommendations include a four hour day, developmentally and age appropriate curriculum, accreditation for each provider, and teacher credentialing, starting with a Child Development Association (CDA), and phasing into the requirement of a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood over eight years. The UPK Council also recommended that all programs relating to early childhood be placed at the Department of Education, indicating a real emphasis on early learning and a continuum of learning starting at or before birth. Representative Ausley sponsored and supported legislation addressing the high quality provisions set forth by the UPK Council. Unfortunately, the program designed by 2004 legislature did not represent these critical cornerstones of a quality program.
After several months of deliberation, Governor Bush vetoed the legislation, sending the issue back to the Florida legislature in a subsequent Special Session.
Universal Pre-Kindergarten Special Session
The Florida legislature met in Special Session in December 2004 to address the UPK legislation. The resulting legislation implementing a pre-K program still falls far short of the recommendations set forth by the Governor’s own Task Force. Representative Ausley’s amendments advocating for the choice of a 3 or a 6 hour day, and requiring teachers to have an Associate’s Degree within 4 years, and Bachelors Degree wihin 8 years failed. In August of 2005, Florida began to offer a 3 hour program for 4 year olds. Unfortunately, the Florida legislature is not willing to make the necessary investment in quality, and Florida’s families and our public education system will be short served. Please see recent editorials and articles on this issue.
Whole Child Leon ….. "Imagine, a Community Where Everyone Works Together to Make Sure that Children Thrive." Representative Ausley currently serves as Chair of Whole Child Leon, a local early childhood initiative. Whole Child is a community based approach to supporting Leon County’s youngest children and their families. Representative Ausley chairs a Leadership Council of community and business leaders that is working in partnership with a Professional Network of advocates and professionals to identify community needs and prioritize action steps relating to children ages 0-5. Whole Child Leon has launched the "Whole Child Connection" which is a web based tool to link families directly to services in Leon County. For more information, please visit the Whole Child website.
Parents and Children’s Day
Thanks to legislation sponsored by Representative Ausley, Florida’s Parents’ and Children’s Day is now celebrated annually on the first Sunday in April. This day has been set aside to honor Florida’s families and to highlight the importance of early childhook initiatives.
Representative Ausley serves as the Statewide Chair of Florida Parents’ and Children’s Day. In 2003, over 25 communities participated with events or proclamations. The 2004 celebrations expanded to even more communities, and the 2005 celebration was held in conjunction with Florida Chidren’s Week at the Capitol. For more information visit the Florida Children’s Forum, or The Impact of Good Parenting, Tampa Tribune Editorial