Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly Tuesday announced his support for the Providing Resources Early for Kids Act, the “PRE-K Act,” legislation that would establish a new federal partnership with states to help expand access to voluntary, high-quality preschool programs.
Donnelly said, “An investment in pre-K is an investment in Indiana’s future. Providing access to high-quality education, starting with preschool, demonstrates support for the children of our state. That is why I am proud to support the PRE-K Act. One way that we can increase economic opportunity for Hoosiers is by making preschool a priority for our kids, to help give them a strong foundation for long-term success.”
The PRE-K Act, recently introduced by U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), would create an early education title under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to authorize annual grants to states. These grants would be awarded through a two-tiered framework to reflect states’ differing stages of pre-K program development. States with existing high-quality preschool programs would be eligible for grants to strengthen quality and expand to serve more children. Other states with newer or smaller pre-K programs would be eligible for grants to build a high-quality preschool program within two years.
The grants could be used to:
- Increase the hours per day and weeks per year families have access to high-quality early education programs,
- Increase the number of high-quality early childhood educators,
- Improve the student-to-teacher ratios in preschools,
- Provide comprehensive services such as health screenings and nutrition assistance, or
- Improve early education programs serving children from birth to age three.
A December 2014 White House report on the economics of early childhood investments found that there are strong economic returns on investing in childhood development and early education. According to the report, expanding early learning initiatives yields more than $8 for every $1 investment and can help children learn to read on time, stay in school, reduce involvement with the criminal justice system, and boost job earnings later in life.
Donnelly has been a vocal advocate for investments in early childhood education and development. He helped pass bipartisan legislation on November 17, 2014, that President Obama signed into law, reauthorizing a law designed to help working families afford child care. The Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 makes several commonsense changes to a law that had not been reauthorized since 1996. Reforms in the CCDBG Act included provisions to: strengthen safety of child care providers by requiring background checks for all individuals who provide child care with the support of this grant; enhance parental choice for child care options by providing information on all programs available, including faith-based and community-based providers; and allow states to train child care providers and develop more effective and safer child care services.
On October 20, 2014, Donnelly wrote a letter to Governor Mike Pence expressing disappointment and requesting a more detailed explanation regarding the State of Indiana’s decision to forego applying for a federal Preschool Development Grant. The grant, offered by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, would have helped build, develop, and expand voluntary, high-quality preschool programs for low-and moderate-income Hoosier families. Governor Pence’s response is available here. Donnelly followed up on the Governor’s response with another letter asking for answers to his questions.
