Journalists following early childhood issues should take a look at a new report released from Pre-K Now, which found that twenty nine states and the District of Columbia chose to increase funding for pre-kindergarten education or hold it study, despite the tough economic times their governments are facing.
The report includes a wealth of information on state budgets that will be helpful to education journalists, along with examples of how certain states are using money from the federal stimulus package to help pay for pre-k programs. It’s a key issue at a time when President Barack Obama is pushing unprecedented federal investment in early childhood.
According to the report:
* Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia increased or are projected to increase pre-k investments by a total of more than $187 million.
*Thirteen legislatures increased investment in existing programs by nearly $130 million: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
* Two states that previously had no state pre-k programs approved pilot initiatives: Alaska and Rhode Island.
* Nine states and the District of Columbia anticipate increases through the school funding formula (Texas is included in this group as well but counted only once in the tally of 23 states with increased investments).
Hechinger blogs
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