A very large number of private nursery schopls and kindergartens for children under six years of age are operated throughout the State, and the number is constantly increasing. There is no State-wide requirement for licensing of these schools, nor are there any regulations as to the qualifications of the teachers employed by them. Furthermore, there is no central State agency responsible for the establishment and enforcement of minimum housing, safety and sanitation standards in these schools. Although there is no central State agency expressly responsible for the establishment and enforcement of fire protection standards in these schools, the State Corporation Commission is charged with the duty of prescribing minimum fire protection standards for buildings in which ten or more persons are instructed, (twenty or more in Norfolk and Richmond); and the Commission and the Chief Fire Marshal are charged with the duty of enforcing compliance with the law and standards and prosecuting for violations.

There is no State agency nor any other source from which a list of all such schools in the State can be obtained. Various civic organizations and many interested individuals, mindful of the influence exerted upon children by experiences in the early years of childhood, and concerned with the health and safety of the children attending these schools, have urged that consideration be given to the enactment of State laws to insure high standards for these schools both as to the qualificatioris of the teachers and as to safety and health provisions.

To determine whether these matters should become subject to State regulations, the General Assembly at its 1958 regμlar Session, adopted House Joint Resolution No. 76.

The Council assigned the study to Edward E. Willey, a member of the Council and of the Senate of Virginia, to serve as Chairman of the Committee to make the preliminary investigation and report on the study. The following were selected to serve with Senator Willey upon the Committee: W. Kuhn Barnett, Director, Division of Elementary and Special Education, State Department of Education, Richmond; Earle M. Brown, member of the House of Delegates, Lynchburg; Mrs. Enders Dickinson, III, Richmond; Mrs. James N. Garrett, Portsmouth; William R. Hill, member of the House of Delegates, Charlottesville; Mrs. Hazel Moore, Child Care Counselor, Arlington County; Harold H. Purcell, member of the Senate of Virginia, Louisa; Mrs. James Garnett Reid, Richmond; and Miss Susan Williams, Director of the First Presbyterian Church Kindergarten, Staunton.

The Committee met and organized, electing Earle M. Brown as Vice-Chairman and appointing John B. Boatwright, Jr., and Wildman S. Kincheloe, Jr., as Secretary and Recording Secretary·, respectively, to the Committee.

The Committee met on several occasions and thoroughly discussed the matters under study. It also held a public hearing which was given very wide publicity. At the request of the Committee, the State Department of Education compiled as complete a list as possible of the various private nursery schools and kindergartens throughout the State. Notice of the public hearing, together with a copy of House Joint Resolution No. 76, was mailed to the director of each nursery school and kindergarten shown on this list. The public hearing was unusually well attended and numerous persons addressed the Committee on this occasion, among whom were representatives of various early childhood education and pre-school associations, representatives of various denominational church school systems, and individual directors and operators of private nursery schools and kindergartens. In addition, the Committee received comments and suggestions in writing from many operators of schools who were unable to attend the public hearing.

The Council has reviewed the report of the Committee, and now submits its own report based thereon.