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Dear Head Start,
Have you heard that the State Fire Marshall is limiting classroom sizes to five children? Your help is urgently needed to reverse this decision.
What Can I Do?
- Head Start California is championing an effort to put this new regulation on hold until a safe, realistic solution can be negotiated. To support that effort, please download and review this letter template, put it on your letterhead, add details on your program, and send a signed PDF to melanee@headstartca.org no later than Monday, August 11 at 5PM.
- If your program has encountered this issue, please fill out this brief survey about your experience. Survey responses will be aggregated and used by advocates to demonstrate the harmful impact of this new limitation. Please respond no later than Monday, August 11 at 5PM.
What Happened?
As part of a broad regulatory “clean up” package, the State Fire Marshall has added a new limit of five children ages 0 – 36 months per classroom/facility to the building code. This limitation can only be overcome through expensive and time-consuming facility improvements, including fire sprinklers and fire walls. Many programs are only learning about this new requirement on final inspection, after construction is complete, when there is no time or money to make these installations. The ultimate result is closed classrooms, families with no care for their children, and significant expenses. Read more about this issue here.
Due to the State’s legislative calendar, we have a very limited time window – only a few days – to make our voices heard. If we are not successful now, our efforts will be forced to continue through 2025, leaving classrooms closed and children displaced even longer.
Your support will be crucial in overcoming this obstacle as soon as possible. Thank you for signing on to this critical effort!
Sincerely,
Melanee Cottrill
Executive Director,
Head Start California
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