The Pennsylvania House passed House Bill 1155 unanimously. HB 1155 has now moved to the PA Senate.

The State Senate is considering a bill (HB 1155) that would allow municipal parks and recreation programs to care for preschoolers without having staff specifically trained in the care of this age group or properly supervised. The bill already passed the state House of Representatives. We believe HB 1155 compromises health and safety for children and sets a dangerous precedent by creating separate standards of care for our youngest children based on the entity running the program.

Advocates for the passing of this bill cite parent choice, the expense of getting licensed, and that they have been doing this for 60-80 years. Times have changed since 1942. We have learned a lot about child development and early learning. Communities are different. Our stringent Child Protective Services Laws are an indicator of how society has changed.

Municipal parks and recreation programs are vital to our community. The licensing requirement does NOT apply to school-age children. HB 1155 would allow municipal recreation programs to serve three- and four-year olds without requiring licensure and without meeting the basic health and safety standards our child care field is required to follow.

This bill could also impact enrollment and revenue for licensed child care programs - setting precedent for those that don’t think they should be licensed and creating new competition for our already under resourced child care community.

We want to protect our youngest children and our child care businesses.

Please click to send your State Senator a message TODAY to stand with child care professionals and protect our preschool children by opposing HB 1155.