HOUSTON—Day care providers are wondering whether childcare changes state officials are considering will improve education or simply hurt their bottom line.
The state agency that regulates Texas’ 9,300 day care centers held a public hearing in Austin Tuesday. It ended with no final decisions, since the state’s attorney general must review the proposals to make sure they’re legal.
But critics warn the proposals could drive some smaller day cares out of business.
They would need to hire extra staff members to reduce class sizes. For example, classes with 6- to13 year-olds currently require one adult for every 26 students. The proposals would lower that to one adult for every 22 students.
And the teacher-student ratio is just one part of the childcare overhaul the state is considering. Other proposals include steps to curb childhood obesity, including a ban on sweetened drinks—even chocolate milk—and limiting TV or computer time to just two hours a day for children over two.
The head of the Wee Care Day Care, located at 14400 Northwest Freeway in northwest Houston, supports anything that improves the quality of education, but he worries the changes might mean some parents will no longer be able to afford good childcare.
"We would probably still have to add three or four more staff members just to handle the changes," said John Miller, adding that the changes would likely mean tuition at the center would jump 30 to 40 percent.
Parent Madeline D’Agostini has two kids at the school.
"I’ll pay anything for my children to get the best care if it means cutting other things," she said. "But I can do that, not all families can do that."
The proposals will be discussed throughout the summer and are scheduled to be voted on in October. If approved, most of them would take effect in December—although changes to student-teacher ratios would be phased in through 2012.
The state Department of Family and Protective Services reviews the child care standards every six years. Supporters of the proposed changes say it’s time for Texas to catch up with other states.
"Our status is pretty low in terms of our childcare standards," said Carol Shattuck, president and CEO of the nonprofit Collaborative for Children. "I think we need to—as a community and as a country—really begin to grapple with the importance of early childhood education."
