Campaign Watch: Spotlight on Two Early Education Laggards

Sara Mead — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:17:00 -0400

Today's final Democratic presidential primaries have focused public and media attention on South Dakota and Montana, two largely rural western states that get the last vote in the 2008 primary season. Here's something else these two states have in common: They're both early education laggards.

South Dakota and Montana are two of only 11 states without any kind of state pre-k program. (Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states comprise the majority of laggards here--North Dakota, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming also lack pre-k.) Nor are they among the 9 states that provide full-day kindergarten for all children. In fact, both states' finance systems actually create a disincentive for school districts to offer full-day kindergarten, because school districts receive the same money per kindergartener regardless of whether they offer half- or full-day kindergarten programs. South Dakota, however, provides the same amount of state funding for kindergarten as it does for other grades, while Montana provides school districts with only half as much money per kindergartener. And neither state rates well on the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies' ranking of state standards and oversight for childcare centers and family care homes.

Nor has the political climate in these states been particularly hospitable to increased investment in early education access or quality. Earlier this year, the South Dakota legislature shot down a proposal to allow the state Department of Education to set voluntary preschool standards, even though nearly two-thirds of South Dakotans supported the idea. Debate over the measure illustrated that "culture wars" opposition to preschool, from conservatives who view it as a gateway to government intrusion in the family, is still alive and well in some states, particularly those that lag on early education.

But there are some positive signs. In 2007, the South Dakota legislature approved $700,000 in funding for a pilot preschool initiative in Sioux Falls (a local businessman ponied up half the costs). And Montana has in place a quality rating system that identifies higher quality childcare providers.

Both Democratic presidential candidates on the ballot in South Dakota and Montana today have proposed substantial new early education investments that would provide both an incentive and additional funding for states like South Dakota and Montana to get more involved in supporting early education. These states also illustrate an important trade-off that both candidates have made--in different ways--in designing their plans. Senator Hillary Clinton's plan, which would provide funding only to states that have pre-k programs that meet quality standards, would create an incentive for these states to invest in pre-k. But children in these states wouldn't be able to benefit from that funding if their legislators continue to buck pre-k investments--although other parts of Senator Clinton's early childhood plan could help these youngsters. Senator Barack Obama's plan would meet these states closer to where they are, providing funding that could be used for a wider array of early education activities. But Obama's plan would also require states to create Early Learning Councils that could serve as a starting point for developing state pre-k or childcare systems in these states.

Both South Dakota and Montana have lower rates of poverty, and higher levels of school performance, than the national averages, but both also suffer from significant pockets of rural poverty and poor educational performance. In addition, rural families in these states have a particularly difficult time accessing pre-k or quality, affordable childcare. Increasing support for early education is an important strategy for addressing these problems and strengthening both states' futures.

On the Street: A Comprehensive Report

Joe Mathews — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:44:00 -0400

UPDATED APRIL 4 After two nights of contacting gatherers and reading initiatives from all over the country (AND SOME EXCELLENT CORRECTIONS ON ARKANSAS AND MICHIGAN FROM Ballotpedia), here's my report on what's "on the street" and circulating in this great democratic land of ours. Please let me know if you think I'm missing important measures. For a more progressive take and focus, you can look at the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center's issues map.

THE GOLDEN STATE: California leads the way, with 52 measures circulating as of April 2 (and more to come, almost certainly). The whole list is here. "We're drowning," the owner of one signature gathering firm told me Thursday. About a dozen seem to have funding to get on signature gatherers' clipboards. Two new initiatives (one that would remove a prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation in schools, another a tobacco tax hike to pay for children's health insurance) were titled and approved for circulation Tuesday. They join three new measures -- one banning abortion, one banning stem cell research and the other banning cloning -- that also were recently approved for circulation, though such socially conservative measures typically have trouble attracting the money to qualify for the ballot in California.

ARIZONA wins the award for most circulating initiatives per capita, with 37 measures, 19 of them constitutional amendments and 18 initiative statutes. Reading the list, one gets the impression that Arizonans are so angry that they may leave the country, raising the question of whether John McCain will be eligible to be president. There are measures to maintain initiative rights (which legislators have talked about limiting), roll back taxes (the sponsors have names like Arizona Tax Revolt and Prop 13 Arizona). The blockbuster democracy industry is closely watching one initiative statute that would allow petitions to be circulated via the Internet; industry types tend to like the idea, in that it would control costs, but signature gatherers worry about being cut out of the street action. My personal favorite: an initiative that would require two witnesses before a crime might be prosecuted. There's also an initiative, sponsored by a group calling itself Arizona Tea Party, that would require someone who testifies falsely against another person in court to receive the same punishment that the accused would have received. And you wonder why they called it the Wild West.

In OREGON, 40 measures are listed as formally approved to circulate for the 2008 ballot, but the deadlines and energy for most of those have long passed. The most important measure currently on the street, according to signature gatherers is naturally an initiative that protects the rights of signature gatherers, by limiting the ability of the state to regulate them. (Oregon has been one of a handful of states to try to limit paid signature-gathering). The initiative also would permit ballot initiatives to be considered at primary elections as well as at general elections. Among the dozen or so measures currently on gatherers' clipboards in the Beaver State are initiatives that would create a renewable energy commission, alter the medical marijuana laws, establish a non-partisan or open primary, and prohibits legislators from receiving public pensions.

WASHINGTON is having a big year, with 43 measures filed, numbered and titled for circulation. (Two were approved for circulation and withdrawn; two more have been filed but are not ready for circulation). With some of those filings being different versions of the same measure, signature gatherers say they've seen as many as 18 petitions on clipboards there. The assisted suicide measure sponsored by former Gov. Booth Gardner is getting the most attention. But there are multiple measures dealing with traffic, elections, and taxes. Here's the full list. Anything new and different? How about an initiative that would set aside public funds to pay for embryo transfers as an alternative to abortion? Or an initiative that would make it a crime to lie about war? Those two initiatives have the same author, a frequent initiative filer and Tacoma CAT scan technician named David Henshaw. There's also a measure that would prevent employers from firing cocktail waitresses who refuse to serve alcohol to pregnant women.

NEVADA has 8 measures currently circulating officially, but the two attempts to raise taxes on gaming have been dropped, as has an education initiative.

MISSOURI has 20 measures approved for circulation, including Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action measure and initiatives on renewable energy, a union-backed measure on the home health care workforce, an initiative to expand eligibility for children's health insurance, and another of the so-called "paycheck protection" measures which require employees to give their written permission before money from their paycheck is used for political purposes.

ARKANSAS (updated April 4): Initiatives to institute a state lottery and ban adoption by same-sex couples are circulating. Thanks again to Ballotpedia.

MICHIGAN (updated April 4) has nine measures currently circulating, including legalization of marijuana use and cultivation on private property, a universal health care plan, an individual education accounts for children proposal, two tax measures, and two part-time legislature plans.

COLORADO: 82 measures (updated 97) were filed for the 07-08 cycle, but only five are currently circulating. Signatures on the Ward Connerly measure were turned in last month. Among the few circulating are: a payroll deduction measure, restrictions on campaign contributions by government contractors, and judicial term limits. Under the category of comedy, initiatives to impeach former President Clinton are making their way through the process. Can you impeach a former president?

FLORIDA: 52 measures remain officially active, but signature gatherers say the street is dry in Florida. There likely will be only two measures on the November ballot -- one that would give the legislature power to regulate the land ownership of undocumented immigrants, and another prohibiting gay marriage.

ALASKA: In the only state where the lieutenant governor is in charge of initiatives, it's already late in the signature gathering season. (Alaskans favor summer elections--the next is in August -- because it's dark half the year). Here's a list of measures; the viables ones -- clean water, clean government, public finance -- have already submitted petitions. Readers of this blog know all about the measure to stop wolves from being shot from the air.

MAINE: 10 measures have been circulating (here's the list), though a newspaper editor there tells me that only a handful are on the street. One measure would allow a casino in Oxford County, another would make the real estate Multiple Listing Service a public document.

IDAHO: Yes, they've got wolves, and an initiative that calls for their removal. It's one of three initiatives circulating. The others would make it easier to sue judges and others for their official duties, and would ban the building of new coal-fired and nuclear plants.

MONTANA: Three measures are out there. One is a property tax limitation, a constitutional amendment Another is a "personhood" measure, a constituional amendment -- and part of a new class of anti-abortion, anti-stem cell measures that seeks to define anything from a fertilized embryo on up as a human being. The third is an initiative statute to ease eligibility for a children's health insurance program.

NORTH DAKOTA: Six measures are pending, though the measures regulating hunting and school superintendents (wild game of another kind) seem to be the ones headed to the ballot.

SOUTH DAKOTA: Only one measure, a referendum of legislation relating to the eminent domain powers of railroads, is still circulating. Six measures -- almost all having to do with political reform -- already have made the 2008 ballot.

OHIO: Has a casino measure circulating, according to gatherers. Ballotpedia also lists a sick leave measure in circulation. The Ohio Ballot Board lists four measures that it has considered.

NEBRASKA: There have been four filings: the Connerly affirmative action ban, two measures that involve municipal annexations, and a telecom initiative.

QUIET ON THE STREETS (as far as I can determine) in New Mexico (which has the referendum but not the initiative), Illinois, Massachusetts (where the deadline was last November for submitting signatures on initiatives in the two-part process that gives the legislature a chance to weigh in first), Mississippi, Utah (where 2007 was the big referendum year), Wyoming (where the filing deadline came and went in February), and Oklahoma (where signatures on the anti-affirmative action initiative were turned in late last year).

On the Street

Joe Mathews — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:19:00 -0400

In blockbuster democracy, when one says that a measure is "on the street," he or she means that the measure is being circulated by signature gatherers.

Here's some new stuff on the street. An anti-abortion initiative in Missouri. A measure to expand access to children's health insurance in Montana