New RAND research on preschool in California coming next month: The third in a series of preschool studies from the RAND Corporation is scheduled to be released in June. The research will feature new data from parents, teachers and providers on the quality of pre-k and child care serving California's children. More information on the third study is available here. Visit our website to see the findings of the first two RAND preschool studies.


National report reveals strong pre-k leadership from some governors: Sixteen governors and the mayor of Washington D.C. proposed a total of $261 million in increases for pre-k for FY 2009, concludes a report from Pre-K Now. Eight governors proposed flat or decreased pre-k funding, representing a $36 million cut. Both Republican and Democratic governors made proposals to increase pre-k, in spite of significant fiscal and political challenges. Four governors, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, proposed cuts to pre-k funding. Read the report, Leadership Matters.


New fact sheets on two important preschool bills in the California state Legislature are available: See the bill fact sheets for SB 1629 - Early Learning Quality Improvement Act (Steinberg) and AB 2759 - The California State Preschool Program Act of 2008 (Jones). Learn more about 2008 pre-k legislation, including additional legislation related to preschool, child care or child development includes.


Governor's Committee on Education Excellence releases education reform recommendations:  Governor's Committee on Education Excellence's report recommends adopting a comprehensive early childhood package that includes offering pre-k to all kids, starting with those who need it most, and making strategic investments in preschool quality. The report, Students First: Renewing Hope for California's Future, is also available in Spanish. Chapter 8 of the supplementary technical report takes a look at the policy and research base for the recommendations.  


State of Preschool 2007 released: The State of Preschool 2007 report, released by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), showed that public pre-K is unavailable for most 3 and 4 year olds across the country, and California doesn't fare much better. The report said California met only 4 of 10 quality benchmarks outlined by NIEER. (With the recent development and release of the California Preschool Learning Foundations, California now meets half of NIEER's benchmarks). Read the State of Preschool 2007.


Governor proposes budget with across-the-board cuts: Gov. Schwarzenegger’s 2008-09 budget proposal calls for 10 percent across-the-board cuts, including child development programs. Please see the Child Care Law Center's response to the budget proposal and the Child Development Policy Institute's information bulletin for more specifics on the budget.

State Superintendent O'Connell calls for high-quality pre-k: In his annual State of Education speech, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell recognized that effective pre-kindergarten is a key way to improve California's education system and close the achievement gap. Read the Superintendent's speech. Visit the Department of Education's "Closing the Achievement Gap" website.


California P-16 Council recommends high-quality pre-k in its education reform report: Superintendent O'Connell accepted education reform recommendations from the California P-16 Council, a statewide group of education, business and community leaders. The P-16 report identified providing high-quality pre-kindergarten as its first recommendation. See the P-16 Council's pre-k recommendations and the Executive Summary of the P-16 report.


New research briefs on RAND's California preschool studies released: The research briefs summarize RAND's preschool studies, which reveal that the achievement gap evident among California's K-12 students exists when kids first enter kindergarten. The research also confirms that effective pre-k helps narrow the achievement gap by addressing the readiness gap. Find new research briefs on the study at RAND's website. 


Momentum grows for making preschool facilities part of the next school bond: At a recent Assembly Education Committee hearing, Chairman Gene Mullin, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and First 5 Executive Director Kris Perry all noted that pre-k is a critical component of the bond package. The Advancement Project has played a leading role in advocating for the inclusion of preschool facilities as part of the Public Education Facilities Bond Act to be put before voters in November 2008. Learn more about the preschool facilities shortfall by viewing maps created by the Advancement Project.