State Profiles

Alabama	Arkansas	California	Connecticut
Florida	Georgia	Illinois	Iowa
Kansas	Kentucky	Louisiana	Maine
Maryland	Massachusetts	New Jersey	New Mexico
New York	North Carolina	Ohio	Oklahoma
Oregon	Pennsylvania	South Carolina	Tennessee
Texas	Vermont	Virginia	Washington
Washington DC	West Virginia	Wisconsin

1990		The Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 is passed and creates the Kentucky Preschool Program. The program is targeted to four year olds at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty threshold and three- and four-year-old children with special needs.
1999		Governor Paul Patton creates the Office of Early Childhood Development and places it under executive control. Additionally, Gov. Patten appoints the Governor's Early Childhood Task Force to develop a long-term early childhood strategy that will meet the needs of Kentucky's children and prepare them for success throughout their lives.
2000		In response to recommendations from the Early Childhood Task Force, Kentucky launches KIDS (Kentucky Invests in Developing Success) NOW, a comprehensive early childhood initiative focused on improving maternal and child health, supporting families with young children, and enhancing early care and education programs. STARS for KIDS NOW, Kentucky's childcare rating system, is included in this initiative.
2004		A new Division of Early Childhood Development is created within the Kentucky Department of Education. This division takes the place of the governor's Office of Early Childhood Development and provides a unified administrative body for the Kentucky Preschool Program, KIDS NOW, and the Head Start Collaboration Office.
2005		Kentucky Preschool Program regulations are amended and require all new pre-k teachers to hold a bachelor's degree plus the Kentucky early childhood teaching certificate. Funding for the Kentucky Preschool Program is increased by $6.8 million.
2006		The Kentucky Preschool Program continues expanding, with a new appropriation of $23.5 million in each year of the biennium (FY07 and 08) to cover all children at 150 percent of the federal poverty threshold.
2008		The Prichard Committee, with funding from Pre-K Now, creates the Strong Start initiative in Kentucky to forge public/private partnerships to make high-quality preschool available to all three and four year olds from families with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
2009		Governor Steven L. Beshear establishes the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Education and Development to review the state’s early childhood services and recommend improvements to the system. The Prichard Committee releases a special report, "Pre-K, To Go: Collaboration Brings New Access." The report describes a local collaboration model that is increasing pre-k access for eligible three- and four-year-olds and improving the quality of private child care providers.

The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, an organization devoted to education reform, is taking the lead on pre-k advocacy in Kentucky by mobilizing parents, business leaders, educators, and other key stakeholders in the effort to make voluntary, high-quality pre-k available to all three- and four-year-old children in the state.

Additionally, strong gubernatorial leadership has fostered the continued growth of the Kentucky Preschool Program, beginning with Governor Patton's task force in 1999, continuing with Governor Ernie Fletcher's appropriations and eligibility expansions, forging on through Governor Steve Beshear's leadership.

As the next step towards pre-k for all in Kentucky, advocates will develop a status report on pre-k in the state and will create a coalition to focus on areas of greatest need. These could include raising quality standards, promoting community-based pre-k programs, and increasing income eligibility from 150 percent to 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold.