Federal Policy

Earlier today we wrote about legislation that the District of Columbia passed last month to establish universal pre-k here in Washington, D.C. Today D.C.'s other legislative body--Congress--took a small step towards helping more states follow the District's example here.

The House Committee on Education and Labor today approved H.R. 3289, the PRE-K Act, sponsored by Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai'i), which creates a partnership between the federal government and the states to improve pre-k quality and access.

Early education programs fared poorly under the fiscal year 2008 omnibus appropriations bill signed by President Bush in late December. Of 9 federal programs that provide support for early education, only one—Title I—received a significant funding increase—$1 billion, bringing Title I funding to $13.9 billion for 2008. But, because Title I funds are used to improve education for disadvantaged students from preschool through high school, only a fraction of this increase will go to early education.

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The legislation significantly cuts funding for three early education programs:

• Cuts Reading First, which supports scientifically based literacy programs in kindergarten through third grade, by two-thirds, or $636 million;
• Cuts Even Start, which supports family literacy, parenting classes, and early education, cut by 20 percent, or $16 million;
• Eliminates the Early Childhood Educator Professional Development program.

Several other programs received level funding—a cut in real terms—or small cuts due to a 1.74% across the board recission for all programs. As a result, total funding for early education programs other than Title I fell by $677 million. These cuts exceed any likely increase in school districts’ early education spending as a result of Title I increases.