Veepstakes Watch: Republicans and Early Ed

Now that Senator John McCain has locked down the race for the GOP presidential nomination, and we’re approaching the final primaries for both parties, speculation moves to the question of who nominees will select to be their running mates. Early Ed Watch gets in on the fun by looking at the early education records of some of the leading names being floated as potential vice presidential nominees. The Vice President is not only a heartbeat away from the presidency, he or she also has opportunities to draw attention to issues he or she cares about, including early education. In contrast to Senator McCain, who isn’t generally associated with education issues, several leading contenders for the Republican VP nod have significant track records on early education [See updated content.]:

Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty‘s strong support for John McCain has put him at the top of many VP shortlists. The two-term governor, who this summer will assume the chair of the Education Commission of the States, would also add some education heft to the GOP ticket. As governor, Pawlenty has supported pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten investments targeted to low-income children, over universal programs favored by some state legislators. Last year, Pawlenty supported a new Pre-Kindergarten Allowance program, which provides vouchers of up to $4,000 for low-income families to purchase pre-k services from the provider of their choice.

South Carolina governor Mark Sanford has a mixed record on early education. Early in his term, Sanford supported South Carolina’s early education programs, including 4k, a pre-k program created by his predecessor Jim Hodges; First Steps, a comprehensive early childhood program; and the Child Development Education Pilot Program created in response to a 2005 court ruling that mandated state funding for pre-k services in the state’s eight lowest-performing school districts. In 2006, Sanford expanded the mandate of First Steps to include funding for pre-k, but did not increase funding to support the expansion. This year, he proposed reducing the CDEPP budget by 20 percent.

Florida governor Charlie Crist has been a vocal champion for the state Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program, which was launched in 2005 under Governor Jeb Bush. This year, despite a looming $3.9 billion state deficit, Crist proposed increasing funding for VPK by $32 million (though three quarters of this funding goes to restore previous budget cuts.) Crist also supported raising quality standards for pre-k teachers, including a measure requiring all pre-k teachers to hold a bachelor’s degree by 2013. Currently the VPK program, which serves nearly 60 percent of Florida four-year olds, only meets four of the ten NIEER benchmarks for quality pre-k programs.

Among the other Republican VP contenders, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney vetoed a 2006 bill to start a $1 billion pre-k program. Mississippi governor Haley Barbour indicated he has no plans to start a pre-k program in his state (the only Southern state that doesn’t invest in pre-k!), although he has supported efforts to improve childcare coordination and quality in Mississippi. In contrast, Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee oversaw a $60 million expansion of the pre-k program for at-risk four-year olds in his state between 2003-2005, and also implemented K-4 reforms aligned standards, professional development, and accountability in the early years.

There’s a clear message in these potential nominees’ records: Early education does not come with clear partisan stripes. Republican governors and state legislators have played a key role in expanding and improving the quality of pre-k at the state level, and Republican elected officials also have an important role to play in improving early education quality, access, and alignment at the national level. Check back tomorrow to see what the Democratic VP contenders have said and done to advance quality early education.

UPDATE: A reader tells us we’re overlooking one front runner for the VP nod, former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, who also served as Homeland Security Secretary from 2003-05. As Governor, Ridge supported family literacy and the expansion of nurse home visiting programs in Pennsylvania, and invested $100 million in Read to Succeed, an initiative focused on getting all students to be proficient readers by the end of third grade. In 2001, despite a tight state budget, Ridge proposed new funding for a state Early Childhood initiative, which focused on parent education and connecting families with health services but did not include a preschool component. Pennsylvania wouldn’t get a state pre-k program until Governor Ed Rendell enact the Education Accountability Block Grant in 2004.