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COVID-19 Executive Order No. 49 creates three paths for communities to pursue to provide additional care options to meet the needs of families who are engaged in remote learning models.
The fastest and easiest route for expanding child care in any community is through EEC licensed providers. EEC licensed providers will now be able to serve school-aged children while they are attending school, in addition to before, after, and out-of-school time.
Program expansion to serve school-aged children during the school day for EEC licensed providers is automatic and no further action is required.
EEC has also established expedited processes to apply for additional space or newly licensed space to expand program capacity for the duration of the 2020-21 academic year. At the conclusion of the academic year, EEC will work with interested providers to make the additional space permanent.
To apply for a Remote Learning Enrichment Program exemption, programs must first be approved by a Municipal Approving Authority, which will also be required to monitor the program on an ongoing basis. Approval consists of an approval letter signed by the Municipal Approving Authority, a municipal contact to identify in the application, and a completed attestation from the municipality and program. Please contact your municipality to discuss their specific process for receiving approval.
EEC will review the application and documents and, if the criteria are met, issue an exemption letter. Programs applying for the Remote Learning Enrichment Programs exemption may not operate until they have received an exemption letter from EEC.
If you have any questions or issues, please contact EECExemptions@mass.gov.
Qualifying programs will
For more eligibility, ratio and group size, staffing, and health and safety criteria, please view the Policies, guidelines, and processes for Municipal Approving Authorities below.
As parents find ways to navigate the new logistical challenges posed by remote and hybrid learning this year, EEC recognizes that many have already come up with their own solutions. Remote Learning Parent Cooperatives are outside EEC’s purview as long as they follow the criteria in the Executive Order including no more than 5 participating families, operating with an unpaid parent or guardian of one of the participating children on site at all times, and limited to children who are enrolled in school in Kindergarten and above.
