Universal Pre-K

Pre-K, or the education and care provided to three- to five-year-old children, encompasses a critically important period of early childhood development. Under the guidance of well-trained teachers, children who are in full-day pre-K programs with sustained high-quality learning experiences through elementary school make tremendous gains compared to their peers without such a strong foundation.

Pre-K is a sound investment. Studies have shown that the return on investment for high-quality pre-K programs can be as high as 13 percent, with positive economic and educational outcomes that are multi-generational. A Center for American Progress analysis demonstrated that the United States would see a net benefit of $83.3 billion for each annual cohort of 4-year-olds enrolled in high-quality pre-K and currently experiences a net cost of inaction of $56.2 billion for each year that universal state pre-K is not provided.

Despite its promising outcomes and bipartisan support, the United States is falling behind much of the world in access to public pre-K education. Across all publicly funded pre-K programs, including Head Start, federal and state funded pre-K, and special education programs, only 44 percent of 4-year-olds and 16 percent of 3-year-olds were served in 2018. Broadening that data to include private pre-primary programs, only 68 percent of four-year-olds and 40 percent of three-year-olds were enrolled in an early learning program in 2017. Families paying for private pre-K can pay annual out-of-pocket costs ranging from a high of $18,202 in D.C. to a low of $4,556 in Mississippi.

Whether children have access to tuition-free, universal pre-K depends greatly on their state and locality. Two states, Vermont and Florida, currently offer universal pre-K, which the Education Commission of the States defines as programs which “are not capped by funding amounts, enrollment numbers or enrollment deadlines.” Seven other states have near-universal programs, while six states offer no state-funded pre-K whatsoever. Cities have taken initiatives to establish universal pre-K programs as well, including Washington, DC, San Antonio, and New York City.

Where universal pre-K programs are established, children experience greater academic gains than children in targeted programs, especially children from families with low incomes. Being in a universal, mixed-income setting can also help prevent the racial and economic segregation that’s widespread across many early childhood programs. Universal pre-K often results in pay parity between pre-K teachers and their counterparts in the K-12 system. Additionally, Washington, D.C.’s universal pre-K program has boosted workforce participation for mothers by 10 percent.

We believe universal pre-K proposals should provide all three- and four-year-olds with voluntary access to high-quality, affordable pre-K education through a mixed-delivery system of child care centers, Head Start, public schools, and family child care. High-quality pre-K would include culturally responsive, diverse teachers; a racially and socioeconomically integrated student population; instructional alignment along the early learning continuum; play-based, interactive curricula; thoughtful transitions to kindergarten; and be equivalent in length to the first grade day. The federal government should prioritize investment to make pre-K free for children from low and moderate income families, while state pre-K dollars should expand federal funding to ensure quality as well as provide universal programs. Pre-K educators (directors, lead, and assistant teachers) should be required to have comparable qualifications to their K-12 peers, and receive compensation parity, including benefits, regardless of setting.

The phrase, “universal pre-K,” has become ubiquitous on the 2020 presidential campaign trail, but what are the specific candidate plans to create well-funded, sustainable pre-K programs that would educate roughly eight million children each year?

Many candidates have talked about pre-K and some have released detailed plans. Others have signaled their support for pre-K by endorsing either the Child Care for Working Families Act or Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act. Both bills aim to increase access to affordable pre-K, but go about it in slightly different ways.

The Child Care for Working Families Act provides formula grants to states to establish free, high-quality, targeted pre-K programs for eligible three-, four-, and five-year-old children from families who earn up to 150 percent of the state median income. It requires states to take steps to improve transitions between pre-K and elementary school and encourages states to increase enrollment in full-day kindergarten. The bill also provides grants to Head Start and Early Head Start programs to help them provide access to a full school year and full school day of services.

The Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act establishes a new network of federally administered, locally-run child care centers. The bill includes pre-K providers and school districts offering pre-K among the newly established network of subsidized child care centers. Warren’s bill includes a tiered system in which the federal government would cover 100 percent of the cost of pre-K for children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and Native American children, 80 percent of the cost for families earning below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, and 50 percent of the cost for families who are middle- and upper-income. The portion of cost not covered by federal funding would come from family fees and other private and public contributions. Families’ payment would be established on a sliding scale with no family paying more than seven percent of their income on early learning. During her campaign, Warren explained that the act would be funded with one-quarter of the tax revenue collected under her proposed Ultra-Millionaire Tax.

Senator Bernie Sanders, who co-sponsored the Child Care for Working Families Act, announced a universal pre-K plan that would provide federally-funded, locally-administered pre-K for all children at no cost to families, starting at age three. Sanders’ plan goes beyond the Child Care for Working Families Act by including construction of early learning facilities, reduction in pre-K class sizes, free school meals for pre-K students, desegregation of early education, and free pre-K for all children, regardless of family income. Sanders’ plan would require assistant teachers to earn an associate’s degree and lead teachers to obtain a bachelor’s degree, with the promise of compensation commensurate with experience and training, and parity between lead early education teachers and similarly qualified kindergarten teachers.

Other candidates have acknowledged the importance of pre-K but have yet to release specific plans. Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign website asserts that, “As President, Biden will work with states to offer pre-K for all three- and four-year-olds. This investment will ease the burden on our families, help close the achievement gap, promote the labor participation of parents who want to work, and lift our critical early childhood education workforce out of poverty.” Representative Tulsi Gabbard has yet to provide any details on her plans for pre-K.

President Donald Trump has consistently put forward budget requests that would eliminate funding for the federal Preschool Development Grant program, which assists states in expanding access and quality, though the program has been spared by Congress each year. Trump’s proposed budget also maintains flat funding for Head Start at $10.6 billion, though the program only serves roughly one in three eligible three-, four-, and five-year-old children. The administration has, however, proposed a $5 billion plan for Education Freedom Scholarships which could be used to enroll children in pre-K, if the participating state categorizes pre-K as part of elementary education.

While campaigning, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg had a plan which called for a $700 billion investment that would make early education free from birth through age five for lower-income families, and require that middle- and upper-income families pay no more than seven percent of their earnings in early learning costs. Buttigieg’s plan also encouraged building on the federal Head Start program and allocating $1 billion in funding for transportation to early learning sites, particularly in rural areas.

During his campaign, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg released an early education plan advocating for universal access to full-day pre-K for all three- and four-year-olds. To achieve this, Bloomberg proposed providing federal grants to states meeting certain criteria, though his plan did not list criteria beyond successful local implementation, nor explain how programmatic success will be defined. His early education platform also promised federal grants for states to close the pay gap between pre-K teachers in low-income areas and their public school counterparts, as well as additional grant funding to expand states’ capacity to “reach the goal of universal access to affordable pre-K.” Similar to Sanders’ plan, all children, regardless of family income, would have access to free early education.

Some campaigns built upon existing legislation. Senator Cory Booker, for example, co-sponsored both the Child Care for Working Families Act and the Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act, and included passing the Child Care for Working Families Act as part of his platform while he was running. Similarly, Senator Kamala Harris, also a co-sponsor of the Child Care for Working Families Act, put forward a Children’s Agenda during her presidential campaign that built on the proposed bill.

Several candidates voiced support for universal pre-K but offered less detail on their approach. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang, while he was campaigning, aimed to direct the Department of Education to partner with states and develop a plan for establishing universal pre-K. During her campaign, Senator Amy Klobuchar’s supported a national pre-K program that would be free for low-income families. Billionaire and investor Tom Steyer included “the right to learn” as one of his five proposed, legally-protected fundamental rights. His website said, “Our government must protect the right to a free, quality, public education from preschool through college and on to skills training.”