The Alliance for Early Success is a 50-state resource for early-childhood advocates as they pursue the big, sustained impact that will ensure every child in every state, birth through age eight, has an equal chance to grow, learn, and succeed.
From 2012-2016, Missouri was the only state in the country to ban quality rating systems for early childhood providers. Alliance partner Kids Win Missouri catalogs the two years of progress since the state legislature lifted the ban — and how the state is finally righting the course in early childhood policy.
Oregon early childhood advocates are celebrating passage of the Student Success Act (HB 3427) — a historic investment of $1 billion per year with 20 percent of the budget, or $200 million per year, dedicated for early childhood programs. The Children’s Institute reports on the breakdown, and the state’s five major funding victories for early childhood.
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, the only statewide non-partisan advocacy organization with a public policy agenda that spans the life of a child from birth to adulthood, reports on the outcomes of the state’s FY 2019-20 state budget — which includes a $30-million increase in pre-K funding and a $5-million increase in home-visiting funding, serving in total an additional 3,000 children and families.
Kansas Action for Children set a bold agenda for the future of Kansas, one that elevated children and families, while ensuring a sound funding structure to support them for years to come. We focused on highlighting opportunities to remove barriers created by systemic racism facing communities of color.
Nebraska’s Unicameral adjourned six days early this year when senators could not reach consensus on a comprehensive property tax relief package or a business tax incentive program. Despite the contentious atmosphere at times, the session concluded with some notable successes for early childhood.
Working with our supporters and partners in Texas and across the country, Texans Care for Children has had several great victories this year that will help more children and their families be healthy and thrive. But we are celebrating one of the biggest victories for Texas kids in recent memory: Governor Greg Abbott recently signed HB 3, the school finance bill that funds full-day pre-k for currently eligible four-year-olds.
For the first time in a decade, more Louisiana working families will have crucial support in sending their children to a quality early care and education program thanks to a governor and legislative-supported budget that includes an $18.8 million increase for early ed programing and seats—and this was accomplished even though the state budget bill started the legislative process with $0 new dollars for early learning for children birth through age four.
The January 2019 session of the Georgia General Assembly welcomed a newly elected Governor and many new members of the legislature, and we were determined to ensure that our policy makers kept the needs of Georgia’s infants and toddlers at top of mind. Thus, on the second day of the 2019 session of the Georgia General Assembly, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students and the Metro Atlanta Chamber worked with two early education champions, Representatives Katie Dempsey and Robert Dickey, to host our first Georgia Early Learning Legislative Academy.
The Alliance for Early Success believes that protecting or making progress in early childhood investments depends largely on state leadership. Governors have a lot of discretion over how to allocate, maximize or misuse resources. And their policies will either support or harm young children; and either help or prevent their families from becoming independent, successful and secure.
Like its predecessor, the new Preschool Development Grants seek to support early childhood education, but the similarities don’t extend much beyond this general commonality. The first Preschool Development Grants were issued by the U.S. Department of Education in 2015 and 2016 to help states expand high-quality pre-kindergarten for four-year-olds from low-income famliies.
