From Burden to Benefit: Rethinking Child Care Regulations

Early learning educators learning on the job

There are over 100 Washington Administrative Codes (WACs) governing early learning programs in Washington State, which are continually updated and revised. The frequent changes to these WACs can be overwhelming and challenging for busy child care owners and directors to track.

Last year, Representative Dent sponsored a bill, with Representative Eslick as a co-sponsor, known as HB 1648. This bill called for a review of the educational requirements for early learning educators to ensure they align with quality standards and the latest academic theories in early learning, while also setting realistic expectations based on current educator salaries and compensation. The professionalization of the early learning sector is crucial; however, when academic requirements become prohibitively expensive for early learning educators, they create unnecessary barriers for new educators entering the field and for experienced educators remaining in the profession.

HB 1648 also provides:

• Extended timelines: Providers hired before August 1, 2025, have more time to meet staff qualification requirements.

• Experience-based qualifications: Professionals with five years of experience by August 1, 2030, can use this to meet some qualifications, though not all educational requirements.

• Temporary breaks: Temporary breaks for reasons like parental leave or family emergencies are not considered service breaks for qualification purposes.

• Community-based training: The DCYF must develop or update a community-based training pathway for providers.

HB 1648 aims to strike a balance between the goal of providing high-quality education and professionalizing the early learning sector, while maintaining educational requirements that are realistic in relation to current educator salaries.

On November 15th, from 12 PM to 2 PM at the Granite Falls Library, Representative Eslick will present the progress of the newly formed Staff Qualification Workgroup.

We invite you to join us!