Voter Attitudes Toward Preschool and the State Government's Role in Funding and Administering Programs

National Institute for Early Education Research (August 2002)

Summary

A national poll of voters shows 87% think state governments should provide enough funding so that every American family can afford to send its three-and four-year old children to a high-quality preschool education program. The survey of 3,230 voters was commissioned by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Most voters surveyed think high-quality programs should be free to all children, regardless of family income. While half say these programs should be funded from the existing state budget, one-third believe early education is so important they would be willing to pay higher state taxes to fund universal access to quality programs.

The poll included a main sample of 807 voters nationwide and oversamples of approximately 300 voters in each of eight states (Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Oklahoma).

Complete Poll