Bill would let parents request twins be treated as one lottery unit in preschool

S4349, with committee amendments, would permit a parent or guardian of twins or higher-order multiples to request that the children be treated as a unit for preschool lottery or open-enrollment purposes; if seats are insufficient the siblings would be wait-listed together, and parents could request same-classroom placement or separation.

"A lottery should determine whether a seat is available. It should not determine whether young multiples are separated," Jackie Anderson, the mother of identical twins and a pediatric speech-language pathologist, told the committee. Anderson described her family's lottery outcome this year — Bridget was accepted, Grace was wait-listed — and said early separation can have social and emotional consequences. She cited district lottery data showing an individual applicant had about a "77 percent chance of placement," while the probability that both twins received seats dropped to "59 percent." Anderson said the bill would give families a choice without guaranteeing admission.

The committee voted to release the measure with committee amendments that preserve parental choice and create a consistent statewide standard for multiples in preschool lotteries.