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Florida Lawmakers Seek Expanded Pre-Kindergarten Program

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - House and Senate Democrats this week filed proposals to expand instructional hours in the state's voluntary pre-kindergarten program.

Public and private providers that participate in the voucher-based program would be required under the proposals (HB 1417 and SB 1922) to offer 1,440 instructional hours per school year, an increase from the currently required 540 hours.

The change would mean pre-kindergarten students would receive eight-hour days of instruction, rather than partial days.

"I'm proposing that we expand the pre-kindergarten to a full day.

After all, who works three hours a day? This would go a long way towards helping ensure that no child falls behind and parents can get back to work," Senate sponsor Annette Taddeo, a Miami Democrat who is running for governor, said in a statement Wednesday.

The bills also seek to extend summer pre-kindergarten programs from 300 to 480 instructional hours per term.

House sponsor Kamia Brown, D-Ocoee, said the legislation is geared toward ensuring children "receive substantive instruction that would prepare them to enter kindergarten and thrive."

(©2022 CBS Local Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.)

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