Obama Pre-K Expansion Battle Pits Kids Against Cigarettes
President Barack Obama's 2014 budget pits education activists against the tobacco industry by proposing to help fund a new early childhood education program with a tax hike on tobacco.
The education advocates took up that fight early Wednesday. The Center for American Progress, a left-wing think tank with close ties to the administration, released an analysis showing the expansion is badly needed.The analysis by Juliana Herman, Sasha Post, and Melissa Lazarin found that while many states are expanding access to state-funded preschool -- such as Mississippi, which recently established its first program -- many of these programs won't be available to any 3-year-olds. And for 4-year-olds, the wait lists are long.
"This investment could help jumpstart preschool programs in states without adequate preschools and could also help states with programs reach the lowest-income children," the authors wrote. "This would free up state dollars to expand access for higher-income children and improve program quality."
The analysis found that 3.4 million children ages 3 and 4, or 40 percent, are not enrolled in a pre-K program. For poor families, only 54 percent of kids in that age group are enrolled in pre-K. Thirty-six percent of kids in families below the poverty line are not enrolled in any pre-K program. The Center for American Progress also found that 11 states have no state-funded pre-K programs.
The education advocates took up that fight early Wednesday. The Center for American Progress, a left-wing think tank with close ties to the administration, released an analysis showing the expansion is badly needed.The analysis by Juliana Herman, Sasha Post, and Melissa Lazarin found that while many states are expanding access to state-funded preschool -- such as Mississippi, which recently established its first program -- many of these programs won't be available to any 3-year-olds. And for 4-year-olds, the wait lists are long.
"This investment could help jumpstart preschool programs in states without adequate preschools and could also help states with programs reach the lowest-income children," the authors wrote. "This would free up state dollars to expand access for higher-income children and improve program quality."
The analysis found that 3.4 million children ages 3 and 4, or 40 percent, are not enrolled in a pre-K program. For poor families, only 54 percent of kids in that age group are enrolled in pre-K. Thirty-six percent of kids in families below the poverty line are not enrolled in any pre-K program. The Center for American Progress also found that 11 states have no state-funded pre-K programs.