New Report Shows Need for Access to High-Quality Preschool for Florida’s Children

Data highlights the nation’s unmet need for high-quality early learning

The U.S. Department of Education released a new report today detailing the unmet need across the country for high-quality preschool programs.

According to the report, A Matter of Equity: Preschool in Americaof the approximately 4 million 4-year olds in the Unites States, about 60 percent – or nearly 2.5 million - are not enrolled in publicly funded preschool programs, including state preschool programs, Head Start and programs serving children with disabilities. Even fewer are enrolled in the highest-quality programs. In Florida 11 percent of 4-year-olds are not enrolled.

The report highlights the need for an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that expands access to high-quality early learning opportunities and makes the law preschool through 12th grade, rather than K-12. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discussed the report today during a visit to Martin Luther King Jr. Early Childhood Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

“This new report shows that we are a long way from achieving full educational opportunity in this country. Students have made enormous progress in recent years, thanks to the hard work of educators, families and the students themselves, but we have so much farther to go, and making high-quality preschool available to all families who want it must be part of that,” Duncan said. “We’ve made key investments in early learning, but we need to do more. Expanding access to high-quality preschool within the reauthorization of ESEA will narrow achievement gaps, and reflect the real, scientific understanding that learning begins long before a child enters kindergarten.”

Advances in science and research have proven the important impact that preschool programs can have on children’s learning, but unfortunately too many children still do not have access to these programs. Latinos are the United States’ fastest growing and largest minority group, making up a quarter of 3- and 4-year-olds, yet they have the lowest preschool participation rates of any major ethnicity or race – 40 percent as compared to 50 percent for African-American children, and 53 percent for white children. In addition, children from low-income families are less likely to be enrolled in preschool than their peers – 41 percent compared to 61 percent. African-American children and children from low-income families are the most likely to be in low-quality settings and the least likely to be in high-quality settings. All children need access to high-quality preschool to prepare them for kindergarten and to close the opportunity and achievement gaps

For some children when they enter kindergarten, huge educational gaps exists. White students have higher reading and math scores than students of color. Scores on reading and math were lowest for kindergartners in households with incomes below the federal poverty level and highest for those in households with incomes at or above 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Children at risk for academic failure, on average, start kindergarten 12 to 14 months behind their peers in pre-literacy and language skills.  Without access to quality preschool, students of color, and children from low-income families, are far less likely to be prepared to start kindergarten than their peers. 

High-quality preschool provides benefits to society of $8.60 for every $1 spent, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisors December 2014 report, The Economics of Early Childhood Investments, about half of which comes from increased earnings for children when they grow up.  An impressive coalition of education, business, law enforcement, retired military, child advocacy groups, and faith-based leaders and 70 percent of voters said in a recent Gallup poll that they would support increasing federal funding to make sure high-quality preschool programs are available for every child in America.

The Obama Administration has made significant investments in early learning through the Early Learning Challenge and thePreschool Development Grants programs. The grants lay the groundwork for states to be prepared for the proposed Preschool for All program. The Administration has asked for an increase of $500 million for Preschool Development Grants in the FY16 budget request to expand this opportunity to more states, the Bureau of Indian Education, tribal educational agencies, territories, and the outlying areas.

Preschool Development Grants support states’ efforts to build or enhance their infrastructure to provide high-quality preschool programs, and expand programs in high-need communities. The $250 million awarded to 18 states will benefit more than 33,000 additional children in 200 high-need communities, where families have little or no access to affordable, high-quality preschool.  With additional funding, the Department could have provided high-quality opportunities for many more children in the 36 states that applied.

Access to Preschool Uneven Across States
Table 1. Enrollment in Publicly Funded Preschool1 by State (4-year-olds) 2012–2013[i]
State
Total  number of 4-year-olds in the state
Percentage of 4-year olds enrolled in state preschool
Percentage of 4-year olds enrolled in federal Head Start programs
Percentage of 4-year-olds enrolled in special education preschool services
Total 4-year-oldsnot enrolled in a publicly funded program
Total percentage of 4-year-olds not enrolledin a publicly funded program
50 states plus D.C.
4,112,347
28%
10%
3%
2,462,740
59%
Alabama
    62,483
6%
15%
2%
48,145
77%
Alaska
    10,760
3%
13%
6%
8,420
78%
Arizona
    92,778
3%
11%
5%
75,118
81%
Arkansas
   40,173
33%
13%
5%
19,862
49%
California
  516,595
15%
11%
3%
368,341
71%
Colorado
    69,956
21%
7%
6%
46,103
66%
Connecticut
    40,958
13%
7%
5%
30,343
74%
Delaware
    11,372
7%
6%
6%
9,223
81%
District of Columbia
6,945
94%
6%
0%
0
0%
Florida
  221,842
78%
9%
1%
25,266
11%
Georgia
  140,894
58%
7%
1%
47,981
34%
Hawaii
    17,536
0%
9%
4%
15,176
87%
Idaho
    24,427
0%
8%
4%
21,298
87%
Illinois
  167,665
27%
11%
3%
98,124
59%
Indiana
    87,734
0%
9%
6%
75,006
85%
Iowa
    41,034
60%
8%
2%
12,159
30%
Kansas
    41,428
21%
8%
8%
26,440
64%
Kentucky
    57,379
29%
15%
0%
31,945
56%
Louisiana
    64,356
31%
12%
2%
35,050
54%
Maine
    14,059
34%
10%
7%
6,775
48%
Maryland
    74,758
35%
6%
5%
38,679
52%
Massachusetts
    74,901
14%
7%
4%
55,932
75%
Michigan
  119,525
21%
15%
0%
77,066
64%
Minnesota
    72,464
1%
8%
6%
61,430
85%
Mississippi
    43,363
0%
33%
4%
27,339
63%
Missouri
    78,544
3%
10%
6%
63,586
81%
Montana
    12,568
0%
19%
3%
9,833
78%
Nebraska
    26,783
26%
9%
0%
17,527
65%
Nevada
    38,407
3%
4%
7%
33,065
86%
New Hampshire
    13,853
0%
5%
7%
12,144
88%
New Jersey
  109,605
28%
6%
5%
65,952
60%
New Mexico
    29,614
18%
14%
7%
18,036
61%
New York
  231,040
45%
10%
6%
91,147
39%
North Carolina
  128,958
23%
9%
3%
84,809
66%
North Dakota
     9,256
0%
17%
5%
7,183
78%
Ohio
  144,309
2%
12%
5%
116,712
81%
Oklahoma
    54,100
74%
13%
0%
6,955
13%
Oregon
    48,463
10%
8%
5%
37,307
77%
Pennsylvania
  147,710
12%
10%
6%
105,705
72%
Rhode Island
    11,607
1%
10%
7%
9,455
81%
South Carolina
    61,682
40%
9%
2%
30,261
49%
South Dakota
    12,237
0%
18%
6%
9,295
76%
Tennessee
    84,178
21%
11%
2%
55,086
65%
Texas
  397,272
52%
9%
1%
152,559
38%
Utah
    53,014
0%
7%
6%
46,130
87%
Vermont
     6,462
71%
8%
0%
1,320
20%
Virginia
  104,722
17%
7%
3%
76,900
73%
Washington
    90,419
8%
8%
4%
72,255
80%
West Virginia
    21,469
62%
23%
0%
3,165
15%
Wisconsin
    72,488
64%
7%
1%
19,968
28%
Wyoming
     8,202
0%
11%
13%
6,216
76%
Source: National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). (2013). 2013 State Preschool Yearbook
1 Publicly-funded preschool includes state preschool, Head Start, and special education preschool services and does not include privately funded or locally funded preschool programs. 


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