Robert Kuttner applauds Biden’s proposal for universal pre-kindergarten, while warning of the danger of allowing the program to be partially privatized. The same could be written for K-12 education. In state after state, private corporations are using their political influence to privatize public money and si err it to charters and vouchers.
Kuttner on TAP
Universal Pre-K: Will Biden Do It Right?
There is a great deal in Biden’s American Families Plan to be thankful for. In a stroke, his administration has expanded the bounds of what is politically mainstream. Assuming it can get through Congress, which is by no means certain, the devil will be in the details.
For instance, Biden proposes to spend $200 billion over a decade, or $20 billion a year, for what the White House fact sheet describes as free, universal pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds, through “partnerships” with the states.
Ideally, these should be true public institutions—an expansion of public school kindergartens downward to younger kids, with teachers compensated CONTINUE READING: Robert Kuttner: Biden’s Universal Pre-K Should Be Part of Public Schools, Nor “Public-Private” Partnerships | Diane Ravitch's blog