Bacon's Rebellion

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VDOE to Take Over Child Care

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sherlockj
in

by James C. Sherlock

We have joined in a lot of discussions about the Board of Education and the Virginia Department of Education.

I think it time that readers contemplate the vastly expanded role of both that happens on July 1 of this year.

From that date, the Board of Education will be setting policy and the VDOE will exercise oversight over all early childhood care and education programs.

The opening description

BUILDING A UNIFIED EARLY CHILDHOOD SYSTEM

In response to Governor Northam’s Executive Directive Four and the advocacy efforts of hundreds of stakeholders, Virginia is building a unified early childhood system under the VDOE. This call for unification was formalized through legislation signed by Governor Northam in July 2020, directing Virginia to:

  • Move oversight for all early childhood care and education programs to the VDOE,
  • Establish a new Early Childhood Advisory Committee, and
  • Create a Uniform Measurement and Improvement System.

Transition Oversight of Child Care and Family Day Homes

Effective July 1, 2021, the Board of Education will be responsible for setting policy priorities for early childhood care and accountability, to be carried out by the VDOE. This creates a single point of accountability for school readiness in the Commonwealth.

VDOE will assume oversight of child care licensing and monitoring and the Child Care Subsidy Program as of July 1. All existing policies and regulations will transfer to VDOE as-is.

Read the rest at your leisure at the linked website.

Now that its control is about to extend from birth for children put in child care, does that change any minds as to whether the Board of Education should be elected?

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11 responses to “VDOE to Take Over Child Care”

  1. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    After destroying K-12 education, why not move on to destroying pre-K as well?

    1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      Literally cradle to adulthood. Mao would be proud.

  2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    No.

    1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      “There stood Jackson like a stone wall.”

      1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
        James Wyatt Whitehead

        “Rally behind the Virginians!” Poor General Barnard E. Bee. Riddled with bullets shortly after those words that immortalized Jackson. Great article on the Jackson nickname. The author, John Hennessey is the last word on this story.
        https://bullrunnings.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/hennessy-on-the-naming-of-stonewall/

  3. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Yeah, makes perfect sense, like every other elected body… if what you seek is prolonged confusion.

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Pretty sure this came from the legislature and is not a VBOE initiative. That means a roll call or three somewhere, and as I recall this was not a big partisan thing.

  4. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    I spent some time exploring the links from VDOE. What seemed like a rabbit hole at first turned into a groundhog hotel. The documents focus on the low pay and high turnover rate for Pre K staff. Then we have the child care deserts across Virginia. Next a high degree of inequity of who can afford Pre K child care. There is also a strong lack of coordination between Pre K providers and the new standards for Kindergarten readiness. The Uniform Measurement and Improvement System appears to be a footing to build a massive publicly regulated and funded PRE K child care service. Affordability and access seems tied to eligibility for TANF and SNAP programs. Everybody else needs to set aside additional funds for the coming tidal surge costs of Pre K education and child care.

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      It is a major focus of the Biden Money Flood, should it pass. As with other federal funding, spending more will likely produce…..more spending, but not much change in quality or quantity. All part of the plan, lemmings, all part of the plan.

  5. tmtfairfax Avatar
    tmtfairfax

    Child care is already quite expensive. Adding government mandates will only increase costs.

  6. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    “Now that its control is about to extend from birth for children put in child care, does that change any minds as to whether the Board of Education should be elected?”

    Capt. Sherlock – The answer to that question will directly depend on how close the respondent is to the Virginia state government. Those closest to the government, including the politicians themselves, have nothing but contempt for the electorate. Their condescension toward the average Virginian is legendary and stretches back for centuries. They see no reason why the cabal of politicians, special interests, lobbyists and bureaucrats in Richmond should be more accountable to the people. This is the true Virginia Way. Their disrespect of the electorate includes:

    1. Off-year elections to hold down voter turnout.
    2. Unlimited campaign contributions, even from monopolies supposedly regulated by the government. Creates politicians for life.
    3. Endless gerrymandering despite the requirement for “compact and contiguous” political divisions found in the state constitution.
    4. Maintaining Virginia as one of only two states which allow the state legislature, including practicing attorneys, to directly elect judges with no qualification board.
    5. Refusing to implement an ethics commission.
    6. Refusing recall petitions.
    7. Refusing citizen led ballot initiatives.
    8. A ranking of #38 in overall integrity including the second worst rating for campaign finance (Download the pdf -https://www.bettergov.org/news/2008-bga-alper-integrity-index/)
    9. No term limits other than a draconian term limit for governors.
    10. A strict implementation of Dillon’s Rule to keep localities from having reasonable control of local matters.
    11. A “temporary” ban on annexations, passed in 1979, which has been renewed each and every time it expired. This prevents cities from growing into jurisdictions with sufficient political might to take on the state government.

    The list goes on.

    The “powers that be” who I refer to as the “plantation elite” have no interest in allowing hard-working, taxpaying Virginians to take reasonable control over their own state government.

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