While registration and expenses in early childhood education programs reached new levels in 2024, some selected states have made the share of the work lion – with many states.
And with the financing of the early childhood program in flowSome sector leaders concern the lack of investment – both financial and otherwise – could create a domino effect condemned for programming.
“For decades, we have said that this is a system that has mixed and has braid to serve children,” said Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research. “If you withdraw one of the main sources of funding, fear is that the whole system is destabilized.”
The National Institute for Early Education Research, also known as Nieer, published its Annual report of the preschool state directory This details registration and expenses in preschool programs funded by the State for children aged 3 and 4. The study interviewed preschool administrators in 50 states and the Columbia district, as well as the American territories.
Registration, quality at all levels
While registrations in 2023-2024 increased by 7% in the programs financed by the state of the previous year, California and Colorado were responsible for the majority of this increase, bringing more than 30,000 additional children – or 60% of the registration bump – in both states.
Colorado rolled up its pre-K free and universal program in the fall of 2023. California began with a progressive approach During the 2021-2022 school year, pulling this current school year for all 4-year-old children to access the state-free transition maternal program.
But there is not necessarily a correlation between the increase in inscriptions noted in the new Nieer report and the new offers of programs supported by the public.
“The positive trend is that registration is increasing; almost all states have increased,” said Allison Friedman-Krauss, associate director of political research at Nieer.
Nine states have increased registrations by more than 20%: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota and Ohio.
However, some states that have been offering universal preschool programs for more than a decade, including Iowa, Georgia and Florida, have stagnated or declining registrations.
“We are a little worried that these states can be Canaries in the coal mine,” said Barnett. “Something is not going well and it is to fear that it is a cousin of frequentation problem“This prevented students from the K-12 classrooms.
There are also concerns about the inscription which always plunges below pre-pale levels. The national percentage of 4-year-old children registered in the pre-K increased from 34% to 37%, while the 3-year-old percentage registered rose from 6% to 8%. However, almost half of the States (22 states) with preschool programs funded by the States scored fewer children in the fall of 2023 than in fall 2019, with 14 states serving a lower percentage of children 3 and 4 years in the fall of 2023 than fall 2019.
And quality in pre-K programs across the country remains unequal. Only five states (Alabama, Hawaii, Michigan, Mississippi and Rhode Island) meet Nieer's 10 recommended landmarks for high -quality preschool programs, which include classes 'size, teachers' qualifications and program assessments. And 21 states only encounter five or less benchmarks.
“When states put money in quality programs, they invest in the future of children and can expect to see returns on their investments. Low expenditure translates into low quality, ”says the report. “Although it may seem to save money, it is useless and expensive in the long term to finance programs that do not adequately support long -term gains and can even harm long -term results for some children. Investing in quality increases the cost of the pre-K but results in a larger long-term return. ”
Barnett and Friedman -Krauss said that the number of states reaching quality measures – or did not meet them – has been largely stagnant over the years. But Barnett added that the assessment of the quality of teachers, in particular those receive derogations To reduce standards, Nieer quality measures are missing because the report does not measure this.
“(Derogations are) a temporary patch when the real solution is that they will have to Increase compensation“, He said.” The good news is that more money per child will let you do it, but we must see a continuous investment in funding if we want to meet the challenges of the labor market for quality teachers. »»
Funding reaches new heights – but is accompanied by its own concerns
According to the recent report of the directory, the financing of preschool programs funded by the State reached a summit of all time in the last university year, but similar to the registration figures, this increase in funding came from a small group of states.
During the year 2023-2024, states spent more than $ 13.6 billion in preschool, almost 17% more than the previous year after inflation adjustments. However, only four states (California, New Jersey, New York and Texas) represented more than half of these total expenses.
The 19-year-old Federal Covid-19 rescue funding has also decreased $ 257 million. Friedman-Krauss is expecting this number more than the funding does not become available, but added that it was a “fairly small part” of federal funds this year.
Six states increased public spending in preschool by more than $ 100 million in the previous year: California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and Texas. And overall funding, including the state, local and federal dollars supporting the preschool of the state, reached another summit of $ 15.3 billion.
Friedman-Krauss expects funding to increase in the upcoming report of next year, because the report will cover the 2024-2025 school year-which is almost completed and largely spared from recent budgetary federal talks.
“(The financing of next year) may not have been submitted to some of the forces that cause this uncertainty,” she said. “We see almost every year that funding increases. I imagine that we would see higher funding the following year. ”
There are concerns in the report and researchers on the potential discounts offered on the Head Start program, which serves more than half a million students. While the cuts to start specifically seem to be on the rear burnerQuestions remain on the fate of other funding program funds.
“The federal context is the most worrying,” said Friedman-Krauss. “Not that federal funds are the majority of what is happening in the programs, but that affects the entire landscape, so that could change what we point out.”
