Pre-K Even A Libertarian Could Love?

We here at Early Ed Watch just about fell out of our chairs last week when we read* the following in an article by Brink Lindsey:

For example, preschool enrichment programs — along the lines of Head Start, but more intensive and beginning with even younger kids — offer some promise in counteracting the negative influences of a disadvantaged upbringing.

That’s certainly a statement we agree with. So why the shock? Well, Lindsey’s Vice President of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. Cato’s education policy work focuses primarily on promoting school choice; their education policy program seeks to promote “a future when state-run schools give way to a dynamic, independent system of schools competing to meet the needs of American children.” Because they oppose a government role in supporting young children’s development, as well as the increased public investment needed to support pre-k expansion, Cato and other libertarians tend not to be fans of pre-k programs.

A few weeks back we highlighted an emerging left-right consensus on the value of high-quality pre-k. Are libertarians ready to join that consensus? We’re not holding our breath. Cato’s entire body of work to date on early education issues consists of disputing the evidence supporting high-quality pre-k and arguing against increased public investment in pre-k and early childhood programs. Lindsey’s comments aside, there’s no evidence Cato’s education policy analysts have changed their tune on early education.

There are good reasons, however, for individuals who support school choice as a way to improve educational options for disadvantaged children–rather than as a way to dismantle the public education system–to support universal pre-k. Compared to K-12 education, there’s a much greater recognition of the value of parental choice and diverse providers in the early childhood and pre-k sector. As states build new systems of public education for 3- and 4-year-olds–And that’s why policymakers are really doing when they create universal pre-k programs–they’re almost universally designing those systems in ways that incorporate a variety of diverse providers other than public school districts, including community-based providers, faith-based organizations, charter schools, private schools, and even for-profit childcare providers. That foothold for choice and diverse provision in state systems for pre-k public education could provide an opening for greater diversity and choice in publicly financed education at the elementary and secondary levels as well. Of course, if your primary goal is dismantling the public education system, rather than simply expanding quality choices for kids, this strategy may not fit your needs.

*Hat tip to Kevin Carey, whose post tweaking serious flaws in other arguments Lindsey makes in his article deserves a read.