The Provo School District has been offering Optional Extended-day Kindergarten (OEK) at some schools for children who need help getting prepared for mainstream first grade. The results of this program has been very positive; however, funding for this program has run out so if it would be continued, the legislature would have to include it as a new item in the budget.
Currently, the proposal we are hearing is to allow districts to apply for Early Intervention Block Grants, which could be used for OEK, if that is how the district wants to use it. That may be a good way to fund it. The size of the grants will determine whether it is adequate.
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There is a bill HB447 that up till now had no language. That turns Kindergarten intervention over to a computer-based program. It will definitely be cheaper but how effective will it be?
It is even more suspicious because there is only one vendor that fits this bill. Was it drafted as a favor to a friend's business?
If it is adopted, it MUST be assessed with the same tools as OEK or any other early intervention program.
Yesterday the appropriations committee put $7.5 million into the Education budget for Early Intervention programs. This was the amount that the Governor's proposed budget specified for OEK.
Interestingly, the computer-based Kindergarten bill asks for $7.5 million for that program.
I hope that the legislators will stay with the proven OEK program for at-risk Kindergarten-age children and not rely on computer programs to do the job.
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