NC Policy Watch: “Nearly a fifth of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion sweeping social spending package is dedicated to providing low-cost care for children from birth to kindergarten—investments that would benefit single parents and low-income families.
But how the states implement their programs for pre-K for 3-and 4-year-olds—or whether they even decide to accept the cash, particularly in red states—would have a profound effect on the quality of education those small children receive.
Also key is whether preschool teachers will be required to have four-year degrees, researchers say—something that’s often not the case in private day care or home-based care.
That is assuming the ambitious plan to boost spending on universal pre-K survives ongoing negotiations over the price tag for Biden’s “Build Back Better” package….
But it would be up to states whether they will buy into the program at all. Local governments would be able to opt in even if the state refuses.
It would be a big change for many states.
Only two states, Vermont and Florida, along with the District of Columbia, now offer universal pre-K. Florida offers universal pre-K to all 4-year-olds and Vermont is the only state to offer the same for all 3-and 4-year-olds.
Several states have mostly universal programs, such as Georgia, Iowa and Wisconsin, where a patchwork of preschool programs is offered.
Six states have no state-funded pre-K: New Hampshire, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming. However, Montana is working to partially fund a pre-K program.
And some states are creative with funding their pre-K programs. Kansas, Connecticut and Arizona pay for their preschool programs through tobacco settlements. Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina use money from a state lottery program to fund pre-K.”