Report Highlights Governors Leadership on Pre-Kindergarten

Governors’ leadership on pre-kindergarten is growing, according to a national report by Pre-K Now. By analyzing state of the state addresses and fiscal 2006 budgets, the report found that nineteen governors are recommending increased investment in high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten-up from eleven governors last year.

Despite budget deficits and other fiscal challenges, governors’ proposed increases for pre-kindergarten totaled about 30 percent. A few governors’Hawaii Governor Lingle, Iowa Governor Vilsack, Louisiana Governor Blanco, New Mexico Governor Richardson, and Tennessee Governor Bredesen-recommended increased investments ranging from 57 percent to 460 percent. The report outlines each governor’s proposals and percent changes of pre-kindergarten and early child education in their state of the state addresses and budgets

The report focuses specifically on pre-kindergarten investments and therefore does not take into account gubernatorial leadership on other early childhood priorities (such as improving child care quality, supporting parents, expanding health services, etc.), all of which are shown to have positive impacts on children’s readiness for school.

A related resource from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Missed Opportunities: The Possibilities and Challenges of Funding High-Quality Preschool through Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act, provides data on states’ use of Title I for pre-kindergarten and offers clear guidance on allowable uses of funds.
Related Links:

* CLASP Report http://www.clasp.org/

* Pre-K Now http://www.preknow.org/

* Report, ”Leadership Matters: Governor’s Pre-K Proposals, Fiscal Year 2006” http://www.preknow.org/documents/LeadershipReport.pdf

http://www.nga.org/center/frontAndCenter/1,1188,C_FRONT_CENTER%5ED_8304,00.html