President Obama and other supporters of increasing government spending on preschool have argued that “investments” on early childhood education yield big results later in life. As President Obama told an audience last March, “For every dollar we invest in these programs, we get nearly $10 back in reduced welfare rolls, fewer health care costs, and less crime.” The president and other preschool backers generally base these claims on impressive results from one or two small-scale preschool programs that existed decades ago and that have not been replicated since. Unfortunately, a …
New regulations passed by the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care will now require all child care providers – public or private – to follow new strict guidelines covering everything from academics to child hygiene. The Boston Herald reports that the new regulations are part of the state’s plan to place day care centers under the auspice of Massachusetts Department of Education. In a typical government-knows-best mentality, Early Education Commissioner Sherri Killins told the Boston Herald: I don’t believe there’s anything frivolous or overburdening in the new regulations. We’re …
The House is expected to vote today on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, which would end the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, transferring student lending exclusively to the federal Direct Loan and Perkins Loan programs – effectively ending federally subsidized private lending. While the proposed legislation will drastically change the dynamics of the student loan industry, it will also expand the federal government’s role in early childhood education – to the tune of $8 billion. The SAFRA establishes an $8 billion Early Learning Challenge Fund …
The massive 1,018-page health care bill introduced by House Democrats is full of bad policy ideas, and they’re not all even about health care. One troublesome provision calls for a home visitation program that would bring state workers into the homes of young families to improve “the well-being, health, and development of children.” Lawmakers have essentially inserted the “Education Begins at Home Act” – which was introduced in 2008 and again this year by Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) – into the health care bill under …
The Washington Post recently ran a piece by Chester Finn, asking to “slow the preschool bandwagon”, which currently consists of a $10 billion pledge by President Obama for his “zero to five” program, numerous bills in Congress to promote states’ efforts in implementing universal preschool, and a chorus of governors, unions, and preschool advocacy groups across the country pushing for an increased federal role in early education. Finn notes: For all its surface appeal, universal preschool is an unwise use of tax dollars…It fails to overhaul expensive but woefully ineffectual …
This week, the Tulsa World proudly proclaimed: Finally, along comes a set of national rankings which ought to make Oklahomans especially proud. The latest annual survey by the National Institute for Early Education Research shows Oklahoma leading the nation in prekindergarten enrollment. The State of Preschool 2008 showed Oklahoma in first place with 71 percent of its 4-year-olds enrolled in preschool education. This is not the first time the state has ranked first in this survey. This clearly begs the question: Are all of those kids enrolled in Oklahoma’s prekindergarten …
