Child care, education among pressing concerns for state Republicans

By Harry Loomis

With a new legislative session underway in Jefferson City, a local lawmaker said he expects child care and education policy to be priorities for Republicans this year.

Now that COVID-19 is in the rear-view mirror and people are back to work, parents need to have a safe place to send their children, said Rep. Dean VanSchoiack, R-Savannah. Bills that limit or ban schools from moving to four-day weeks are among the legislation being discussed.

“If they don’t have a place for a child to go, they can’t go to work,” VanSchoiack said. “We want people to be productive citizens, and they do too. We need to to modify our laws to make it to where they can find a reliable child care that’s affordable.”

VanSchoiack said this could come in reform and added protection.

“I look for first to district petition reform,” he said. “We’ll probably do some kind of education reform, whether that be school choice or something else.”

VanSchoiack said crime legislation is sure to be another area of focus.

“I’m sure we’re going to protect law enforcement. We’re going to make laws better for people to protect them from criminals,” he said. “We’re seeing a huge influx of criminal behavior throughout the state and throughout the country. Frankly, we need to protect our citizens and do a better job of that.”