Each year, the Early Education for All (EEA) Campaign makes a series of budget recommendations to the Governor and State Legislature for increased investment in early education. EEA needs your help to make the case to Governor Patrick and the Legislature that early education and care should be the top priority in the FY09 state budget.

View EEA's FY09 state budget recommendations.

View an overview of the state budget process.

Learn why increased investments in early education are essential.

New Developments

The FY09 Budget Conference Committee Selected
The budget process is almost complete. Last week, the Legislature appointed six members, three from the House of Representatives and three from the Senate, to the FY09 Budget Conference Committee: House Ways and Means Chairman Robert DeLeo, Representative Marie St. Fleur, and Representative Vinny deMacedo; Senate Ways and Means Chairman Steven Panagiotakos, Senator Steven Tolman, and Senator Michael Knapik. The committee is working to resolve differences between the House and Senate budgets and will propose a final FY09 budget to Governor Deval Patrick in the coming weeks for his approval.

Your voice has made a difference throughout the FY09 budget process, but we can’t stop now. It is critically important that your representative and senator weigh in with Conference Committee members to ensure that young children and their early education continue to remain a priority during these final budget negotiations.

Act Now! Click here to ask your legislators to contact members of the Conference Committee on behalf of young children and their early education!

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EEA's Conference Committee Recommendations:

3000-5075 Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Grant Program
- Support language in the House budget for "community-wide capacity building" and allowing for a "CDA or higher" to access UPK Grants.

3000-6000 Professional Development
- Support the House budget appropriation of $4.56 million, which includes a $250,000 earmark for the CDA scholarship program.

3000-2000 Access Management
- Support the House budget appropriation of $25.46 million.

7030-1002 - Kindergarten Expansion Grants
- Support the Senate budget appropriation of $33.80.
- Support language in the House budget allowing the unexpended transition grants to be used for quality grants and allowing grants to be awarded in the first year of the transition to full-day kindergarten.

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The Senate's Final FY09 State Budget
The Early Education for All (EEA) Campaign commends Senate President Therese Murray, Ways and Means Chairman Steven Panagiotakos, Education Chair Robert Antonioni, and other members of the Massachusetts State Senate for passing a budget that increase investments in young children and their early education.

Your recent advocacy helped to inform the final Senate budget, which includes the following funding levels for EEA’s priorities:

-3000-5075 Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten Grant Program (UPK) - $12.14 million ($5 million increase over FY08)
-3000-6050 Professional Development - $3.66 million ($548,000 increase over FY08)
-7070-0065 Early Educators Scholarship Program - $4 million (level funding)
-3000-6000 Quality Supports - $1.74 million (level funding)
-3000-5000 Head Start - $10 million ($1 million increase over FY08)
-3000-2000 Access Management - $25.06 million ($100,000 increase over FY08)
-1599-0042 Rate Reserve – $5 million ($5 million increase over FY08)
-7030-1002 Kindergarten Expansion Grants - $33.8 million (level funding)

This week the House of Representatives and the Senate will appoint legislators to a Budget Conference Committee, which will be tasked with resolving any differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget. Stay tuned for information about how you can contact members of the Conference Committee to advocate on behalf of young children and their early education.

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Senators who signed on as sponsors to the amendment to increase investments in the Universal Pre-Kindgergarten (UPK) Grant Program:
Robert Antonioni
Edward Augustus
Karen Spilka
Stephen Buoniconti
Robert Creedon
Anthony Galluccio
Brian Joyce
Michael Knapik
Anthony Petrucelli
James Timilty

The Senate Ways and Means Committee (SWM) released its FY09 budget recommendations, which recognize the importance of increasing investments in Massachusetts’ young children's early education during these difficult fiscal times. Specifically, the Senate Ways and Means budget includes a $5 million increase to the Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten Grant Program (UPK), a $548,000 increase to Professional Development for early educators, and a $100,000 increase for Access Management.

The budget now moves to the amendment process. Senators have until noon this Friday, May 16, to offer amendments, which will be debated by the full Senate beginning Wednesday, May 21.

View EEA's statement on the SWM budget. [PDF]

Read the complete SWM budget.

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The House of Representative's FY09 State Budget
EEA applauds Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, Ways and Means Chairman Robert DeLeo, Education Chair Patricia Haddad, and other members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for adopting several amendments to increase investments in young children's early education during the House's FY09 budget debate on May 1.

The House's FY09 budget includes a $5 million increase to the Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten Grant Program (UPK), a $1.45 million increase to Professional Development for early educators, a $1 million increase to Head Start, and a $5 million increase to the Rate Reserve. Your phone calls and emails to your representatives over the past week have helped to inform the final House budget, which includes the following funding levels for EEA’s priorities:

-3000-5075 Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten Grant Program - $12.14 million ($5 million increase over FY08)
-3000-6050 Professional Development - $4.56 million ($1.45 million increase over FY08)
-7070-0065 Early Educators Scholarship Program - $4 million (level funding)
-3000-6000 Quality Supports - $1.74 million (level funding)
-3000-5000 Head Start - $10 million ($1 million increase over FY08)
-3000-2000 Access Management - $25.46 million ($500,000 increase over FY08)
-1599-0042 Rate Reserve – $5 million ($5 million increase over FY08)
-7030-1002 Kindergarten Expansion Grants - $33.8 million ($3,000 decrease over FY08)

ACT NOW! Click here to thank your representative for increasing investments in young children's early education.

View the final House budget.

Read EEA's statement on the final House Budget. [PDF]

Representatives who are signed on as co-sponsor of Amendment #1478 to increase investments in the Universal Pre-Kindergarten Grant Program:

Don't know who your state representative is? Find out here.

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Governor Patrick's FY09 State Budget Recommendations
On January 23, Governor Deval Patrick filed his FY09 state budget. We are grateful to Governor Patrick for championing the cause of young children and families in his state budget and increasing investments in high-quality early education. This challenging budget climate presents an opportunity to pursue policies that achieve better results for our Commonwealth and maximize state resources. Research demonstrates that investments in high-quality early education produce positive outcomes for our children and our economy, while yielding a substantial return on taxpayers' investment.

In the face of a $1.3 billion structural deficit, Governor Patrick increased funding for the Department of Early Education and Care by 10.3%, while overall spending in the state budget increased by 3.5%. Specific funding increases for early education include: a $15 million increase in the Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten (MA UPK) Program, an $8.38 million increase in the Kindergarten Expansion Grant Program, a $1.2 million increase in Professional Development for early educators, and a $260,000 increase in Access Management.

View Governor Patrick's complete budget recommendations.

Read EEA's statement on the Governor's budget.

View a video clip of Governor Patrick pledging to increase funding for high-quality early education.

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FY09 State Budget Funding Outcomes

MA UPK Program (3000-5075)
- FY08 Funding: $7.14 million
- EEA request: $50 million
- Governor's budget: $22.14 million
- House budget: $12.14 million
- Senate budget: $12.14 million

Professional Development (3000-6050)
- FY08 Funding: $3.11 million
- EEA request: $5.06 million (Includes: Building Careers: $1.2 million; Expanded professional development related to proposed licensing regs: $400,000; Child Development Associate Scholarships: $350,000)
- Governor's budget: $4.31 million
- House budget: $4.56 million
- Senate budget: $3.66 million

Early Educators Scholarships (7070-0065)
- FY08 funding: $4 million
- EEA request: $6 million
- Governor's budget: $4 million
- House budget: $4 million
- Senate budget: $4 million

Board of Higher Education (7066-0000)
- EEA request (New): $100,000: To create a new position at the Board of Higher Education responsible for the development of curriculum to address high educational needs of early educators.
- Governor's budget: Not included
- House budget: Not included
- Senate budget: Not included

Accreditation (Quality Supports 3000-6000)
- FY08 funding: $1.74 million
- EEA request: $5 million
- Governor's budget: $1.74 million
- House budget: $1.74 million
- Senate budget: $1.74 million

Head Start (3000-5000)
- FY08 funding: $9 million
- EEA request: $10.8 million
- Governor's budget: $9 million
- House budget: $10 million
- Senate budget: $10 million

Access Management (3000-2000)
- FY08 funding: $24.96 million
- EEA request: $26.96 million
- Governor's budget: $25.22 million
- House budget: $25.46 million
- Senate budget: $25.06 million

Rate Reserve (1599-0042)
- FY08 Increase: $7 million
- EEA request: $15 million
- Governor's budget: not included
- House budget: $5 million
- Senate budget: $5 million

Full-Day Kindergarten (7030-1002)
- FY08 funding: $33.8 million
- EEA request: $45.8 million
- Governor's budget: $42.18 million
- House budget: $33.8 million
- Senate budget: $33.8 million

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Overview of the FY09 State Budget Process

Governor’s Budget Wednesday, January 23, 2008	The budget begins as a bill that Governor Patrick submits to the House of Representatives, referred to as House 2.
House Ways & Means Budget April 16, 2008	The House Ways and Means Committee reviews House 2 and then develops its own budget recommendations.
House Budget May 5, 2008	The House Ways and Means budget is then debated, amended and voted on by the full House of Representatives, becoming the House budget bill.
Senate Ways & Means Budget May 14, 2008	The House then passes its budget bill to the Senate. The Senate Ways & Means Committee reviews that version and develops its own recommendation.
Senate Budget May 22, 2008	Once debated, amended and voted on by the Senate, it becomes the Senate's budget bill.
House and Senate Conference Committee Budget June 2008	House and Senate leadership then assign members to a joint "conference committee" to negotiate the differences between the House and Senate bills. Once that work is completed, the conference committee returns its bill to the House for a vote. Once approved by the House, the budget passes to the Senate, which then votes for its approval.
Vetoes July 2008	From there, the Senate passes the bill to the Governor who has ten days to review and approve it, or make vetoes recommendations, but may not add anything to the budget.
Overrides	The House and Senate may vote to override the Governor's vetoes, with a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber.
Final Budget July 1, 2008	July 1, 2008, the first day of the 2009 Fiscal Year, the FY09 budget becomes effective.

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EEA's FY09 State Budget Recommendations
With the creation of the consolidated Department of Early Education and Care in 2005 and the allocation of pilot funding for the Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program in the FY07 budget, the state has laid the foundation for responsible, accountable and effective investments in high-quality early learning opportunities for young children. In order to achieve universal, high-quality early education, EEA recommends new investments in the FY09 budget, including:

MA UPK Program (3000-5075)
- FY09 Total: $50 million
- Increase of: $42.86 million
- FY08 Funding: $7.14 million

Professional Development (3000-6050)
- FY09 Total: $5.06 million
- Increase of: $1.95 million. Includes: Building Careers: $1.2 million; Expanded professional development related to proposed licensing regs: $400,000; Child Development Associate Scholarships: $350,000
- FY08 Funding: $3.11 million

Early Educator Scholarships (7070-0065)
- FY09 Total: $6 million
- Increase of: $2 million
- FY08 funding: $4 million

Board of Higher Education (7066-0000)
- FY09 (New): $100,000: To create a new position at the Board of Higher Education responsible for the development of curriculum to address high educational needs of early educators.

Accreditation (Quality Supports 3000-6000)
- FY09 Total: $5 million
- Increase of: $3.26 million
- FY08 funding: $1.74 million

Head Start (3000-5000)
- FY09 Total: $10.8 million
- Increase of: $1.8 million
- FY08 funding: $9 million

Access Management (3000-2000)
- FY09 Total: $26.96 million
- Increase of: $2 million
- FY08 funding: $24.96 million

Rate Reserve (1599-0042)
- FY09 Increase: $15 million
- FY08 Increase: $7 million

Full-Day Kindergarten (7030-1002)
-FY09 Total: $45.8 million
- Increase of: $12 million
- FY08 funding: $33.8 million

Read an editorial from The Boston Globe supporting EEA's budget recommendations.

View for a summary of early education in the FY08 state budget.