Early education bill a milestone for state
The Republican, Editorial, August 3, 2008

Just as a child's first step is a milestone to celebrate, so too was the moment last Thursday when Gov. Deval L. Patrick put his signature on a law that seeks to make high-quality preschool available for children across the Bay State.

Research shows that low-income children who participate in two years of high-quality early education programs are 40 percent less likely to need special education or be held back a grade, 30 percent more likely to graduate from high school and twice as likely to go to college.

With the state's growing reliance on workers who can function well in a knowledge-based economy, there are good reasons to cheer the adoption of the new law.

The legislation - a key part of Patrick's ambitious education reform plan including free community college tuition for all high school graduates - formally established the state Department of Early Education, which was created a year ago, and calls for a universal voluntary pre-kindergarten program.

Specifically, the legislation, an Act Relative to Early Education and Care, directs the new department to create strategic recommendations for a broad range of initiatives such as the Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten program and to develop a state policy on kindergarten transition.

The new law is an important step in realizing the state's second round of education reform, but it's just a first step. Now that the groundwork has been laid, the challenge - over the next few years - will be to increase funding for more preschool classes. The bill came with no new funding. Statewide, 18,000 children are on pre-school waiting lists.

When setting an education reform agenda, making high-quality early education available to all 3- to 5-year-olds in Massachusetts is a good place to start.