Universal Preschool - Movement

Movement

• The universal preschool movement started in France with Ecoles Maternelles in 1834.

• Various other European countries adopted some form of universal preschool, including Sweden.

• The movement gained ground in the United States as public opinion changed from viewing young children as the responsibility of only families to viewing it as a shared responsibility between families and society. To date, various states have begun implementation of a Universal Preschool system including Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Illinois and others. Many programs have been started by the Legislature and Governor. New Jersey's program came out of a court decision based on the poor quality of education in large parts of the state (New Jersey Abbott versus Burke). Florida's Universal Preschool was established by initiative approved by the voters that left much of the program to be implemented by the Governor and Legislature. Georgia dedicated their lottery profits for preschool.

• On June 6, 2006, California voters soundly defeated an initiative that would have established part day preschool for all four year olds as a constitutional right. The initiative included an unusual provision that imposed a dedicated tax on those in very wealthy income brackets. Those taxes were to be placed in a separate fund, and remain independent to the state budget. Text of the initiative can be found at California Preschool for All Act. The initiative was sponsored by film director and actor, Rob Reiner

• Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP) is an independent public benefit corporation created in 2004 and funded by First 5 LA – the commission established by Proposition 10. LAUP’s goal is to make voluntary, high-quality preschool available to every 4-year-old child in Los Angeles County, regardless of their family’s income, by 2014. LAUP is guided by a 10-year Master Plan developed by hundreds of educators, parents, government officials, and business and community leaders. Building on this plan, LAUP is bringing resources together from across the county in support of early childhood education. When LAUP has reached full scale, funded classrooms will serve more than 100,000 4-year-olds.

• The National Association for the Education of Young Children participated in a Governor's Forum on Quality Preschool held in December 2003. This organization stands on the principal that building on existing preschool providers and programs, including child care, Head Start and schools, will ensure a standard for high quality preschools.

• Illinois was the first state to offer voluntary preschool to all three- and four-year-olds whose parents want them to participate. Preschool for All was signed into law in July 2006, after a bill passed in the general assembly. When fully implemented, Preschool for All will ensure that 190,000 children in Illinois have access to high quality preschool. The legislature also approved $45 million in additional funding for the Early Childhood Block Grant to expand and enhance already established programs, and an 11% allotment of funds for birth- three children.

• Preschool for All programs are funded in a wide variety of child care and school settings. According to a 2005 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, children are more likely to attend a center-based care program located in its own building (38 percent) than a center-based care arrangement in any other location, including churches, synagogues and other places of worship (25 percent), public schools (17 percent), private schools (9 percent), community centers (3 percent), and any other facility (10 percent). Directors of faith-based preschools and child care centers have voiced concern that Preschool for All will close down their programs. The concern is that, while other not-for-profit centers and for-profit centers can apply for the Early Childhood Block Grant, faith-based programs might not qualify, because they include Bible stories, prayer and worship songs in their curriculum. This matter has been addressed in a number of states, such as Illinois, where faith-based programs are eligible for Preschool for All funding for the part of the day that does not include religious instruction. Since Preschool for All is funded for a half day program in most locations, religious schooling can occur at other times during the day, and additional funding streams can be used to subsidize child care at those other times.