Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program
A Position Paper of the Florida Catholic Conference

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The Florida Catholic Conference supports Universal Pre-K for 4-year-old children in which participation is voluntary and accountability is defined by parental satisfaction and a standardization of quality through accreditation.

Universal Pre-K should serve to strengthen parental rights by allowing parents to select a program, be it public, private, or faith-based, that has research-based curricula to prepare children how to read.  All Universal Pre-Kindergarten providers have a responsibility to instill phonemic awareness, choral reading, speech and language, short and long-term memory into their curricula.

But for parents to have a full range of choice options, the rich diversity of Pre-Kindergarten providers  should be respected and maintained.  It is essential that the autonomy and independence of the  private sector be protected.

Recommendations ranging from the State Board of Education determining the curricula, the state setting credentialing and class size, to the Commissioner of Education having investigative powers over nonpublic programs, would impinge upon the mission and purpose of private providers.

That’s why we strongly oppose the state entangling itself in the affairs of private-religious pre-kindergarten providers.

Each Universal Pre-Kindergarten provider should:

• Adhere to a uniformity of high quality-early childhood standards by a private-sector accrediting association;

• Provide assurance that through accreditation the health and safety of students, credentialing, pupil-teacher ratios, philosophy, objectives, curricula and assessment of students are safeguarded;

• Provide assurance that through accreditation the health and safety of students, credentialing, pupil-teacher ratios, philosophy, objectives, curricula and assessment of students are safeguarded;

• Ensure that teachers have the skills to tailor their instruction to the individual learner;

• Require teachers to assess student learning by observation through portfolio to determine the individual learner’s strengths, weaknesses and overall learning gains throughout the year.

If the child is not progressing commensurate to his or her age, the provider should be required to initiate a referral process for the child to be evaluated. After consultation with parents, a determination would be rendered as to what instructional strategies are necessary for the child to progress academically.