Education links

Education links: How do we establish universal preschool in a way that builds the early care and education system as a whole?

Several states have established or set as a near-future goal, having universal preschool. Almost every state has some kind of preschool program, at least for ‘at risk’ or ‘unserved’ four year olds. Among the 45 states with preschool programs, Georgia has a universal pre-kindergarten program, serving 60% of 4-year-olds. So does Oklahoma, also serving about 60% of 4-year-olds. Several other states are working toward their commitment to universal preschool: New York served about 25% of 4-year-olds in 2002; West Virginia and Illinois are beginning implementation. And Massachusetts or Maryland will probably be next – Massachusetts has the Early Education for All Campaign and Maryland’s Governor announced universal preschool in the state of the state message in 2003. California is working on universal preschool in several counties, including Los Angeles (which itself is larger than many states), and recently held a legislative hearing in Sacramento on universal pre-kindergarten. Also, several states have preschool programs that are in a sense universal, in that they are available to all the preschoolers in a particular school district (New Jersey, Connecticut). Indiana is the latest state to join the preschool bandwagon: the Governor’s state of the state message in 2004 announced a plan for preschool for at-risk 4-year-olds and full-day kindergarten for all children by 2007.

The spread of preschool is in many ways a welcome development, since it generally means a net gain in funding for early childhood programs - that is, more state revenue is devoted to early childhood. Preschool is almost always funded with state dollars, usually general revenue in the state education budget. In 2002, 45 states invested over $2 billion in preschool programs through a number of financing strategies.

Yet as preschool policy spreads rapidly across the country, legitimate questions arise about what impact this policy change will have on the rest of the early childhood system, the sub-systems of Head Start, child care, etc. Concerns range from outright fear that child care will be put out of business, to concern about what role kith and kin providers might have, to questions about implementation. The vision of an early childhood system means much more than preschool – it is services and supports for all children birth to five, with parents able to make meaningful choices among quality alternatives, all with a well-qualified and well-compensated workforce, etc. The high interest in preschool is an opportunity to advance toward that system.

Preschool legislation and practice in several states offer examples of approaches to enacting preschool that build parts of the unified system we envision.