Kindergarten may be too late: recognizing the strong connection between a child's early development and success later in life, states are funding preschool programs for 4- and even 3-year-olds.

In an effort to improve early childhood education in country where "too many children come to school unprepared to learn," President George W. Bush recently introduced an initiative he calls "Good Start, Grow Smart." The president calls for focusing on school readiness in Head Start, joining states to improve early childhood education, and providing information to teachers, caretakers and parents.

The president's initiative is part of a growing school readiness movement already under way in the states, Over the last several years, policymakers have increasingly established, expanded and funded early childhood education programs, known as preschool or pre-K. Today, 42 states and the District of Columbia fund preschool programs of one kind or another, spending about $2 billion a year.

Increases in state-funded preschool have been "dramatic," says Anne E. Mitchell, whose independent consulting firm, Early childhood Policy Research, studies the issue. "We've gotten much more serious about educational achievement, and we realize we're not going to be able to deliver on that unless we start earlier."

The need for government-backed preschool is supported by a variety of social and scientific data, say the president, child experts and policymakers. Statistics show that 62 percent of children ages S and under are cared for outside their homes. Recent brain research proves that children begin learning at an earlier age than was previously believed. And there is a strong connection between a child's early development and his success later in life, conversely, the more unprepared children are for school, the more likely they will be to repeat grades, drop out and commit crimes.

"We were aware of the fairly overwhelming evidence that good quality preschool programs have tremendous economic and educational benefits for children," says Connecticut Representative Cameron Staples, who helped push his state's school readiness program. "The cost to the system of re-educating kids is astounding. Add to that the costs of other remedial and special education programs, and you can make a strong case that the short-term expense of providing preschool saves money over the long term."

THE CHILDREN

State-funded preschool programs are strictly voluntary for families wishing to participate. A typical program serves mainly 4-year-olds and, sometimes, 3-year-olds, says Mitchell in her report, "Education for All Young Children: The Role of States and the Federal Government in Promoting Prekindergarten and Kindergarten."

Twenty-six states limit preschool services to children who are poor or educationally disadvantaged in some way, according to Education Week's report on public education, "Quality Counts 2002: Building Blocks for Success." For example, New Jersey provides preschool for 3-and 4-year-olds in low-income school districts. Washington state's Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program serves preschoolers living at or below 110 percent of the federal poverty level.

Although most states limit eligibility due to budget constraints, there is a growing movement to make preschool available to any 4-year-old whose family wishes to participate.

"Universal preschool is a hot topic," says Mitchell. "There seems to be a lot of public policymaker sentiment toward it."

Georgia, New York and Oklahoma are the only states that have universal preschools to date. Georgia's prekindergarten program has been open to all 4-year-olds regardless of any criteria except age since 1995. Because its program has a dedicated funding stream from state lottery money, Georgia has been able to serve the vast majority of eligible children-more than 75 percent, according to some estimates.

New York's pre-K program, begun in 1997 through legislation, is also open to all 4-year-olds, but is not yet fully funded. Local school districts in Oklahoma have had the option of providing pre-K since 1998 to any 4-year-old wishing to attend. To date, more than 90 percent of the state's 543 districts participate, serving more than 50 percent of eligible children.

Many other states, including Connecticut, hope to increase their preschool programs as momentum increases and funds become available.

"Universal is our goal," says Representative Staples. Connecticut currently offers preschool to 3- and 4-year-olds in certain districts. Families contribute to the costs on a sliding scale based on income.

THE PROGRAMS

Most preschool programs are administered by the executive branch, often within the department of education or the governor's office. Typically, funds flow from the state to local providers. Preschool classes are often held in public schools, but most states allow private providers to participate, as well.

In many cases, local providers apply to the state for funds. Local school readiness councils in Connecticut, for example, prepare preschool plans based on their own needs, including whether facilities need to be built or renovated and whether to start a new program or improve an existing one. They then present their plans to the education commissioner and the director of social services, who fine-tune the proposals if necessary and allocate funds to the mayor's office, which then distributes them to the providers.

At least 18 states require preschool programs to adhere to certain standards, according to the Mitchell report. In some states, providers must be licensed or accredited, teachers must be certified and teacher-student ratios must be low. In Connecticut the state department of education is charged with setting standards. One such standard is that providers are given a limited amount of time to achieve accreditation from the National Association for Education of Young Children. Georgia requires use of approved curricula only.

With all these investments in quality, many states are beginning to measure the results of their pre-K programs. Washington recently completed a 10-year longitudinal study, and Connecticut requires that independent evaluations and longitudinal studies be conducted to assess the effectiveness of its school readiness program. A study in Bridgeport found that only 4 percent of children participating in the program were held back between kindergarten and second grade, compared with 21 percent of non-participating children. The same study showed that it cost $622,000 in tax money to re-educate children who were retained in grades K-2 and who had not attended preschool, vs. $113,000 spent re-educating children who had gone to preschool.

"We felt that it was extremely important to have the information to back up the theory that we really are producing higher levels of performance," says Representative Staples.

Seventeen states require that kindergartners be tested to determine how well they've been prepared for school. And 15 states and the District of Columbia require developmental testing of prekindergartners.

Higher quality, however, often means more money, requiring lawmakers to struggle with the quality vs. quantity issue. The Florida Legislature made sweeping changes in its preschool program last session, repealing a number of statutes in an effort to streamline the state's educational system. Although local coalitions must provide school readiness services to prekindergartners under certain conditions, public school districts are no longer required to offer preschool or adhere to specific standards, including lower staff-child ratios and higher levels of staff training. In addition, the Florida Partnership for School Readiness was moved from the state department of education to the Agency for Workforce Innovation, the state's welfare-to-work agency.

Although the changes may allow more children to be served, Representative Nan Rich believes quality is suffering. Some school-based providers are adding more children to their classes. And at least five school districts have opted to discontinue preschool programs altogether. Those advocating the repeals, she says, "do not understand the importance of quality, and how important providing that quality up front is to succeeding in school."

CREATIVE FUNDING

State preschool budgets vary widely, ranging from $1.5 million in Nebraska to $295 million in California, according to the Education Week report. Pre-K expenditures range from $242 per child in Minnesota to $5,882 in Connecticut.

Although most states fund their programs with general revenue via their education budgets, some have searched for more creative financing. Georgia's program is funded strictly by the state Lottery for Education, proposed by then-Governor Zell Miller in 1990 and passed by voters in 1992. The budget now totals more than $210 million annually. In Missouri, riverboat gambling revenue is used for the Early Childhood Development, Education and Care Fund program. California voters in 1998 approved a 50-cent tax on tobacco products to help pay for that state's pre-K program. And when Arkansas' Better Chance program was cut last year, the legislature passed a beer tax to bring the program's budget back up to its original $10 million.

Oklahoma's $64 million preschool program is funded through "dilution," according to Representative Joe Eddins. In 1998, he proposed making 4-year-olds eligible for state funding. As a result, early childhood education has become a slice of the education pie, he says.

THE COLLABORATION QUESTION

Further complicating the school readiness movement is the question of how it fits--or clashes--with existing programs. Some of the same children targeted by state-funded preschools may already be enrolled in federal programs, such as Head Start, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant. At the state level, child care programs usually are administered by human services agencies, while education departments oversee preschool programs.

"While these distinctions seem highly categorical, in practice the boundaries between these programs or systems are blurring as interactions among them become common," says Mitchell in her report. "For example, prekindergarten programs in many states use child care and Head Start programs as delivery systems.

Indeed, many states find that it makes sense to piggyback on these existing plans as they build their preschool programs. Three out of four states have enacted laws designed to coordinate child care and preschool services, according to a recent NCSL survey.

A new law in Oklahoma clarified that school districts may hold preschool and kindergarten classes in day care centers, according to Representative Eddins. He cites a program in Norman where early childhood teachers will go to child care centers, removing the need to transport those 4-year-olds to schools.

"That to me is going to be state of the art--the icing on the cake," he says. "The best thing for the children is to have them go to a high quality child care center and stay there all day. The public school teacher will come to them for a two-and-a-half-hour program. Not only do the children benefit, but the teachers and child care staff learn from each other."

State funds are also used to improve the quality of existing programs in nursing homes, churches and Head Start facilities, according to Nancy Von Bargen, the state's child care director. "We are a collaboration state," she says.

Combining federal and state money also allows states to offer extended services to families who need them. Vermont supplements half-day Head Start programs, allowing youngsters to receive full-day, year-round care.

One of the tricks of combining state and federal money is that each program may have different rules and eligibility requirements, says Rachel Schumacher, policy analyst for the Center for Law and Social Policy. Head Start serves poor families free of charge, while other federal child care funds may go only to families with parents who are working or in training and who have to make co-payments. States may have their own sets of rules and regulations, creating confusion.

But states are responding to the challenge. The Florida Partnership for School Readiness distributes funds from TANF and the Child Care and Development Block Grants, along with general revenue money, to local programs. Molly Jones, the partnership's deputy director for public education and policy, says her office handles all the paperwork, making sure the correct amounts flow to the correct children.

Most state policymakers and administrators conclude that putting up with the extra red tape is well worth the effort. Combining early childhood programs, they believe, serves the dual purpose of getting children ready for school and supporting working parents.

The two are not mutually exclusive. "All child care is education and all education is child care," Schumacher says.

THE FUTURE

While strong momentum exists for school readiness, states are facing budget shortfalls that could stall or cut preschool programs. Several have reduced or are considering reducing their preschool budgets, according to a recently released Children's Defense Fund report, "State Developments in Child Care, Early Education and School-Age Care 2001."

During the legislative session ending in March, Washington Governor Gary Locke asked agencies across the board to cut their budgets by 15 percent, according to Lynne Shanafelt, managing director of Children's Services in the state's Office of Community Development. As a result, the state's early childhood education program has been cut by $2.1 million. Among other things, the program is losing development and training money for providers, along with funds used for its longitudinal study.

Budget concerns may not be the only thing preventing some policymakers from starting or expanding preschool programs. Polls show that 38 percent to 42 percent oppose government initiatives for early care and education strictly based on the value judgment that a parent ought to stay home and tend to their children, according to an Education Week report.

To be sure, not all lawmakers subscribe to the view that government is responsible for getting children ready for school. Pennsylvania is one of nine states that does not fund preschool. The reason, according to Representative Sam Rohrer, is a combination of financial and philosophical concerns. Not only are such programs expensive, he argues, they inappropriately compete with the role of parents.

"I think that government has to really resist that tendency to fill a void that only a parent can fill," he says.

Rohrer does agree that lack of school readiness is a problem, attributed largely to poverty and single-family homes. But he believes the answer lies in less--not more--government intervention.

"Our overall tax burden is too high because overall government spending is too high, which makes it very difficult for mothers to be home with their children during those early years," he says.

The problem could be eased, he believes, if government concentrated on lowering taxes and working on ways to keep families intact.

Despite philosophical opposition and budget shortfalls, school readiness remains on the front burner in many states. The Children's Defense Fund report found that 33 states actually increased funding for child care, pre-K and school-age care programs in 2001.

And efforts are continuing in 2002. Illinois Governor George H. Ryan is advocating universal preschool for his state. Colorado is considering a bill to expand its preschool program to at-risk 3-year-olds. In Florida, Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas launched a petition drive to put a statewide universal pre-K referendum on the November ballot. If the proposal passes, the Legislature would be required to fund a preschool program for any 4-year-old wishing to participate by 2005.

Will it be commonplace one day for the nation's children to start school at age 3 or 4, instead of 5 or 6, as they do now? As the school readiness movement continues to gain momentum, it seems a distinct possibility.

Mitchell believes that the pressing need for higher quality in both the nation's child care and education systems will make widespread preschool programs inevitable.

"We would have invented a different public education system 100 years ago," she says, "had we known then how early children begin learning."

[GRAPH OMITTED]

RELATED ARTICLE: COURT CASES PUSH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

State courts have grappled for years with equitable school funding for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. But more recently, courts in at least three states have specifically included preschool in education funding decisions.

Over the years, the New Jersey Supreme Court has handed down at least six rulings that grew out of a 1970s case that addressed funding disparities between poor urban school districts and their wealthier suburban counterparts. In Abbott vs. Burke, first filed in 1981, the court ordered the state not only to provide the urban school districts with funding at parity with suburban schools, but to implement full-day kindergarten and preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds in those urban districts.

"The court was grappling with a very persuasive record that students in 30 districts--the Abbott districts--were not getting the education that the state constitution guaranteed," said Paul Tractenberg, a law professor at Rutgers Law School and founder of the Education Law Center, which filed the original Abbott case. "The court is saying that early childhood education is a supplemental program that is absolutely essential to poor urban students if they are to be able to compete with wealthier suburban students."

Tractenberg said that after years of contentiousness, the executive and legislative branches are now committed to providing a high-quality education for all 3- and 4-year-olds. Governor James E. McGreevey recently issued an executive order creating the Abbott Implementation Council to execute the court's mandates.

Courts in Arkansas and North Carolina have ruled similarly. In Arkansas, Lake View School District No. 25 vs. Mike Huckabee, Governor started out as a "garden variety school finance equity case" 10 years ago, according to Tristan Greene, an attorney and special assistant to the state's director of education. But 10 days before trial, he says, "it expanded into being an adequacy case."

In its May 2001 ruling, the Pulanski County Chancery Court held that early childhood education was necessary in order for Arkansas to provide an adequate education to its children. The state is arguing that no one can make early childhood education obligatory, Greene says. The case is on appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

In Leandro vs. State of North Carolina, the Wake County Superior Court ruled in October 2000 that the state must provide prekindergarten to at-risk children. In his ruling, judge Howard Manning wrote, that "... under the North Carolina Constitution as interpreted by Leandro, the right of each child to an equal opportunity to receive a sound basic education in the public schools is not to be conditioned upon age, but rather upon the need of the particular child, including, if necessary, the equal opportunity of an at-risk child to receive early childhood prekindergarten education ... "The state is awaiting additional rulings before deciding whether it will appeal.

INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS 

There is no shortage of advice for policymakers looking to start or expand preschool programs. The Children's Defense Fund, the Center for Law and Social Policy, the Foundation for Child Development and NCSL are among organizations that have published reports describing state efforts in early childhood education and recommend steps that can be taken for successful programs.

The report authors agree that states must first assess their needs and resources. They should then define their goals, working closely with local representatives from various sectors of society. Finally, based on those needs, goals and resources, states can create a comprehensive plan for early childhood education.

A key component of any state preschool plan is how well it is coordinated with existing federal and local child care and education programs, the authors contend. The idea is to build on--not duplicate or supplant--existing programs. The Foundation for Child Development recommends that states establish one set of regulatory standards for all early childhood programs. NCSL suggests that states consider common standards and monitoring practices for all early care and education funding, and consolidate requests for proposals and program contracts.

Experts also support investing enough money to ensure that children receive high-quality, well-coordinated early education. Those funds should be directed toward:

* Requiring higher qualifications for child care and preschool staff.

* Requiring that preschool programs meet certain standards--e.g., national accreditation--in order to receive public funds.

* Ensuring that teachers receive continuing education and training, and that they are adequately compensated.

* Building or renovating facilities to ensure a safe, stimulating environment for preschoolers.

"State Initiatives to Promote Early Learning: Next Steps in Coordinating Subsidized Child Care, Head Start and State Prekindergarten" by the Center for Law and Social Policy is available by calling Anya Arax at [phone].

"Bringing It Together: State-Driven Community Early Childhood Initiatives," and other reports from The Children's Defense Fund are available at www.childrensdefense.org or by writing CDF Publications, 25 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.

"Education for All Young Children: The Role of States and the Federal Government in Promoting Prekindergarten and Kindergarten" and other reports in the Foundation for Child Development's Working Paper Series are available at www.ffcd.org.

NCSL's "Child Care and Early Education Coordination in the States: A Statutory Overview," is available on the Web at www.ncsl.org/programs/ cyf/coordsum.htm and the just published "Legislator's Guide to Child Care Financing," Item No. 6157 is available from the Marketing Department at [phone].

Jane Carroll Andrade is a fanner State Legislatures editor who now writes from her home in Evergreen, Colo.