Early Education Clips for Week of February 16 – 20
Here’s a sampling of early childhood education in the news this week:
TOP STORY
States Increase Funding For Early Childhood Education in 2015 Budgets State funding for pre-kindergarten programs that serve 4 year olds has increased by 12 percent ($672 million) over the 2013-2014 school year, according to the Education Commission of the States. Twenty-eight states proposed increases for early childhood education over last year.
Read More:
Report: States Increase Preschool Funding Again in 2014-15 Budgets – Education Week
States are Increasing Pre-K Funding, Report Finds – Education World
OTHER NATIONAL NEWS
Strengthening Early Learning in the New ESEA Law (3 Part Series) Laura Bornfreund, Deputy Director of New America’s Early Education Initiative offers specific ways Congress can successfully incorporate early childhood education into the nation’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Read More at EdCentral Part One. Part Two. Part Three.
Early Education: the Key to Economic Upward Mobility for American Families Early Childhood Education has been shown to create future benefits including higher earnings and economic success, but there are still millions of American children who don’t have access to high-quality preschool. Read More at Marketplace.
FROM THE STATES
TEXAS: Governor Abbott’s State of the State Includes Boost for Early Childhood Education In his first State of the State address, Republican Governor Greg Abbott identified early childhood education as one of five “emergency items” for the legislature. The Governor proposed additional funding for schools with high-quality pre-kindergarten programs and enhanced training for early childhood educators. Read More.
MISSISSIPPI: More Opportunities for Early Education Can Improve State’s Kindergarten Readiness With two out of three Mississippi students starting kindergarten without the necessary skills, state leaders are calling for more investment in the state’s early learning program. Read More.
ALABAMA: Early Learning Summit Looks to Make Early Childhood Education More Available The Alabama Governor’s Early Childhood Education Leadership Summit convened this week to explore ways to better serve Alabama children with high-quality early learning programs. Read More.
CALIFORNIA: Legislation Introduced to Expand Child Care Subsidies for Needy Families California State Senate Leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) introduced a bill this week to provide more child care assistance for low-income Californians. Read More.
COLORADO: Investing in Early Childhood Education is Good Business Sense David Hammond of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children lays out the ways investments in high-quality early learning helps businesses now and in the future. Read More.