State Profiles

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Florida	Georgia	Illinois	Iowa
Kansas	Kentucky	Louisiana	Maine
Maryland	Massachusetts	New Jersey	New Mexico
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Oregon	Pennsylvania	South Carolina	Tennessee
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1971		After an initial pilot program for half-day kindergarten for five year olds (5K) in 1969, South Carolina legislates that every school district offer at least one kindergarten class.
1984		The Half-Day Child Development Program (4K) is established under South Carolina’s 1984 Education Improvement Act and is funded by a one-cent sales tax increase.  This new program is designed to provide at-risk four year olds with a high-quality, half-day pre-k program as a means to better prepare them for school.
1993		5K funding becomes part of the school funding formula and legislation is enacted requiring all school districts to have full-day kindergarten available for all five year olds by 1996.  Today, over 96 percent of five year olds participate in full-day kindergarten.
2000		South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness (First Steps) is signed into law and receives an initial appropriation of $22 million.  The distribution of funds for this program is determined in each county by a partnership board, which examines local needs and determines how the money can best be utilized.  Funds are often used to augment the existing 4K program, either by allowing more children to enroll or extending the program to a full day.
2005		The Abbeville County School District v. State of South Carolina ruling determines that South Carolina’s children are being denied their constitutional right to a minimally adequate education and declares that high-quality early education programs are a critical step towards overcoming the negative effects of poverty on children.
2006		As a result of the court decision, the state senate approves a one-time, $23.5 million appropriation to create CDEPP, a pilot full-day 4K program in the state’s eight lowest-performing school districts beginning with the 2006-07 school year.  These moneys are added to the state’s current pre-k budget of $25.9 million to create a total budget of $55.5 million for FY 2007.  It is expected that this new funding will provide an additional 3,000 children with access to a full-day 4K program, bringing the total number of four year olds served up to 24,550.

Voices for South Carolina’s Children has championed the effort to promote high-quality pre-k programs for all of South Carolina’s children and has been a driving force in the recent policy reforms.  Their efforts have been enhanced by First Steps, the Palmetto Institute, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way Association of South Carolina, all of which have helped to increase awareness of the importance of high-quality pre-k programs.

Former Governor Richard Riley served from 1979-87 and was a major supporter of pre-k, signing into law the Education Improvement Act (1984) which created South Carolina’s current 4K program.  Over a decade later, Governor Jim Hodges (1999-2003) followed in Governor Riley’s footsteps by including the development of First Steps in his election platform.

South Carolina is currently engaged in the process of creating a set of comprehensive early learning standards for 4K and is anticipating their completion and implementation.

Advocates are working hard to ensure that all CDEPP classrooms - whether they are in public schools or community-based settings - are led by BA-degreed teachers. They are also trying to secure recurring funds to provide CDEPP programs to low-income children across the state.