Holly Barnes Higgins
Office 202.862.9863
Mobile 202.834.6846
hhiggins@preknow.org
(Washington, DC) – As policymakers across the country face unusually tough fiscal constraints, many are also facing a growing demand among their constituents for high-quality pre-kindergarten. To assist legislatures with these simultaneous challenges, Pre-K Now today released “Funding the Future: States’ Approaches to Pre-K Finance” – an up-to-date analysis of the ways states are funding pre-k and the pros and cons of various funding strategies.
“Now is not the time for state leaders to throw up their hands,” said Libby Doggett, Ph.D., executive director of Pre-K Now. “This report reveals that policymakers have more options for funding pre-k than they realize.”
The report highlights strategies and sources that states – and some cities – are tapping in order to expand and supplement current pre-k funding. In particular, the report identifies the trend among states to include pre-k programs in the state school funding formula. This approach ties pre-k to the K-12 system, ensures secure, enrollment-based funding, and is an effective strategy for expanding programs to serve all children.
“We’ve seen a growing political will to support quality pre-k across the country,” Doggett said. “We hope this report inspires states to identify dependable, sustainable ways to fund these critical early learning opportunities so that every American child can benefit from them.”
Pre-K Now collaborates with state advocates and policymakers to lead a movement for high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds. The following funders contribute to making this important work possible: The Pew Charitable Trusts, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the McCormick Tribune Foundation, the Foundation for Child Development, RGK Foundation, CityBridge Foundation, PNC Financial Services Group, and the Schumann Fund for New Jersey.
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