NAEYC Children’s Champions Update

June 14, 2006

• House Appropriations Bill Shortchanges Children and Education
• Recent state prekindergarten developments in California and Illinois

House Appropriations Bill Shortchanges Children and Education
Yesterday, the full House Appropriations Committee passed out the fiscal year 2007 discretionary funding bill for programs in the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The Budget Resolution passed this year did not give room for real growth in domestic discretionary programs. For programs under the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education - which are grouped together in a single appropriations bill -- the amount given for discretionary funding for programs in those agencies for fiscal year 2007 (known as the "allocation") was only 0.6% more than last year's amount. Moreover, any increase in funding for a program had to be "paid for" by making a cut to another program within the bill. Because so many critical early childhood education programs are frozen (that is, last year's funding level without an adjustment for inflation), if passed this bill could translate into real cuts in services for children as child care providers, Head Start programs, schools and other services providers try to meet the need for services for eligible young children and to meet the desire to provide quality services for children.

The House leadership would like to have the floor debate and final vote before the July 4th recess. The Senate subcommittee may mark its version in July.

Here are highlights from the House bill as reported out of Committee: (Note: a "freeze" does not include an adjustment for inflation; it is the same dollar amount as appropriated for fiscal year 2006)

Programs funding frozen

• Child Care & Development Block Grant
• Head Start
• Title I local educational agency basic grants
• Early Reading First
• Reading First
• Early Childhood Educator Professional Development
• Perkins loan forgiveness federal contribution (higher education)
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers afterschool
• CAMPIS
• IDEA infant/toddler grants
• IDEA preschool grants

Programs with a cut

• Even Start - cut $29 million
• Ready to Learn TV - eliminated ($24 million)
• State Grants for Improving Teacher Quality (NCLB) - cut $300 million

Programs with an increase

• Title I school improvement -- $200 million to state education agencies
• IDEA Part B -- $150 million
• Institute for Education Sciences statistics -- $3 million

In addition, an amendment offered by Rep. Hoyer of Maryland passed which would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. There has been no increase in the federal minimum wage since 1997.

Recent State Pre-Kindergarten Developments

CALIFORNIA: On June 6th, the California voters rejected Proposition 82 that would have created a new revenue stream for universal, voluntary prekindergarten for all four year olds in the state. If passed, Proposition 82 would have established free, part-day preschool for all California children whose parents chose to enroll them in the year prior to kindergarten. This funding would come from a 1.7% additional tax on taxable personal income over $800,000 for couples filing jointly and over $400,000 for individuals. It was estimated that Prop. 82 would have generated more than $2 billion by 2010-11 in new revenue to a dedicated fund, the date when the prekindergarten guarantee for prekindergarten would have taken effect. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction would have ultimate responsibility for the prekindergarten program, but County Superintendents would plan and administer programs locally. Counties could contract with a variety of preschool providers such as Head Start, private preschools, and family child-care homes as long as they met state quality standards. By 2016, teachers in programs participating in the prekindergarten program would have been required to have a bachelor's degree, including 24 units in early care and education and an Early Learning Credential. Prekindergarten teachers would have been paid on the same salary scale as K-12 teachers and the initiative would have provided funding for higher education tuition for teachers.

Governor Schwarzenegger, who opposed Prop. 82, has proposed a three-year expansion of funding for four-year-olds in California, with a $50 million increase next year and an overall investment of $145 million. This funding would be targeted to low-income children.

ILLINOIS: In Illinois, the state legislature passed legislation to create the Preschool for All program, which will offer voluntary, high-quality preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds. The legislation goes into effect on July 1st and children who are at risk of school failure are the first priority, followed by middle-income children and, finally, all other children whose parents want them to participate. When the program is fully implemented, it is estimated that 190,000 children in Illinois have access to voluntary, high-quality preschool. The FY07 budget for Preschool for All includes $45 million in new funding, in addition to the $90 million increase over the past three years that was pledged by Governor Blagojevich, for total spending of $318 million. Preschool for All funding also includes an 11% set-aside for birth-to-3 programs targeting at-risk families.

Preschool for All is based on the recommendations of the Illinois Early Learning Council and will be administered by the Illinois State Board of Education. The program will provide preschool in a variety of settings, including child care centers, licensed family child care homes, community-based organizations, and schools. Preschools will be staffed by experienced teachers with bachelor's degrees and early education training, and provide at least 21/2 hours a day of programming that builds children's social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills.