MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – The state Board of Education decided Tuesday to recommend that the Legislature take no further action on an early education proposal this session until several issues can be studied.

The board voted 5-4 against recommending that publicly funded preschool programs be limited to at-risk children. Board members instead opted to advise the state to study whether students who are not at-risk benefit from pre-kindergarten programs and whether it’s better for at-risk students who participate in preschool programs to attend classes with other students. The vote was 7-2.

“We would be premature in coming to a firm recommendation” without answers to those questions, said Chairman Tom James.

“My recommendation to the board is we wait until we can do some research.”

An ad hoc committee of the board started studying early education in December in response to a bill being considered in a Senate committee that would allow public schools to offer preschool education by counting 3- and 4-year olds in their student population for state education funding.

The committee agreed that participation in early education programs should continue to be voluntary and parents in districts that offer preschool programs should be able to chose a qualified provider regardless of their location in the state.

The board voted Tuesday to pass those recommendations on to the Legislature.

But the panel was divided about whether public funding should cover all preschool children or be limited to at-risk kids, a proposal that the full board turned down on Tuesday.

Committee Chairman Donald Collins, D-Franklin, testified Tuesday that he would be interested in working collaboratively with the board.

“I think it’s great that they (board members) want to continue to study this issue,” he said in an interview.

He suggested that the board set up a task force headed by the education commissioner and commissioner of the Department of Children and Families to study a wide range of early childhood issues. Collins said he was waiting for a response from James before he decides if his committee will take any action on the bill.

Supporters say the bill simply would put into law what already is in practice. About 131 school districts around the state already offer preschool programs to 2,950 students, education officials said.

The bill is intended to prepare students for kindergarten and improve student performance in school, supporters said.

Critics claim that the bill would lead to publicly funded preschool programs for all students, drive up education spending, and unfairly compete with private day cares.

School districts would either offer early education programs at schools or collaborate with private providers. About 70 of the 131 school districts that offer early education program have contracts with private providers, education officials said.

Of the 101 districts that do not offer preschool programs 34 said they were considering starting an early education program, and roughly 25 said they would contract with a private provider, according to a recent survey by the Vermont Department of Education.

AP-ES-02-21-06 1539EST