Let your Senator know what you value.
Thank you for your willingness to take action in 3 easy steps!
Use your home address to look up your Illinois Senator at this handy link: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/maps/
Find your Senator’s contact information or form at their website and copy/paste the note below. Feel free to edit and add your own comments.
Dear Senator Xxxxx,
Our early learning system is in a moment of tremendous need and unprecedented investment. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re envision our early childhood centers.
Despite findings that prove that nature access is a basic developmental need for young children, outdoor play and learning environments are virtually unmentioned in the Childcare Act of 1969, which is the document that the State of Illinois uses to license daycare centers.
Outdoor access for kids is distributed unfairly and unequally due to systemic racism. According to census data, ¾ of low income kids and kids of color live in areas without easy access to greenspace. You can affect this inequity at a systems level by implementing supportive policies to remove barriers.
The benefits of spending time outdoors should not be out of reach for any child. Most children spend most of their time in daycare centers. For many children, time spent outside in a licensed facility might be their first and only consistent outdoor experience. Every child in licensed care should have access to nature every day.
The State of Illinois has a unique opportunity to ensure equitable daily access to nature for every child by expanding licensing criteria to include standards for outdoor learning environments, or by creating an exemption for Outdoor Nature-Based early learning programs that spend 4 hours or 50% of the school day outdoors and are registered with ISBE.
As your constituent, I hope you will consider the fact that the laws that regulate daycare licensing in our state are 50 years old. They must be updated to protect the health of our two most precious resources: our environment and our children.
Can I count on you to support legislation to win state oversight for Outdoor, Nature-Based early learning programs?
Sincerely,
Your Name
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