Stalled Progress on State Preschool

Yesterday, the National Institute for Early Education Research released the latest version of its annual report, The State of Preschool 2012, and it contained very discouraging news. Between the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, total state prekindergarten funding fell by $548 million and spending per child dropped by $442 (after adjusting for inflation). Enrollment in state prekindergarten had virtually stalled; as in the previous year, just 28 percent of four-year-olds and 4 percent of three-year-olds were served in state prekindergarten programs in 2011-2012. Only five states (Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Rhode Island) had prekindergarten programs that met all ten of NIEER’s quality standards benchmarks. Ten states—Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming—had no prekindergarten program in 2011-2012 (although just this month, Mississippi approved legislation establishing a prekindergarten program).

Given the importance of prekindergarten in giving children a strong start, clearly more needs to be done to ensure that adequate resources are provided to support prekindergarten, that strong standards are in place to provide children with high-quality learning experiences, and that prekindergarten is widely accessible to children who need it—particularly low- and moderate-income children. States have been leaders in supporting prekindergarten for decades, and we can hope that the recent negative trend is only a temporary set-back. As states have begun to recover from the recession, a number of governors—both Republicans and Democrats—have signaled that early learning will be one of their top priorities for investment. However, even with their increased interest, there is still a long way to go. The President’s proposal to provide significant new funding to partner with states to expand and strengthen their prekindergarten programs would give states a pivotal incentive to increase support for early education.

At a press briefing for the release of the report, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated that early learning is the best investment we can make. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius emphasized that prekindergarten can not only give children an opportunity to learn numbers and letters but also address children’s health and nutrition needs, foster their social and emotional development, and engage parents in encouraging their children’s learning, all of which are essential to children’s success in school and in life. John Brennan, Chairman Emeritus of the Vanguard Group, spoke about the importance of early education to building a strong workforce and increasing economic competitiveness. Hopefully, our political leaders in Washington will listen to these calls to expand support for prekindergarten—for the good of our children, our families, and our nation’s future.