Program Effectiveness
Policy Brief/Analysis
Providing Preschool Education for All 4-Year-Olds
Lessons from Six State Journeys
Date
March 1, 2009
By Debra J. Ackerman, W. Steven Barnett, Laura E. Hawkinson, Kirsty Brown and Elizabeth A. McGonigle
NIEER Policy Brief (Issue 18, March 2009)
Summary
Over the last decade, state-funded preschool education programs have grown and now enroll more than one million children. However, preschool access in most states is limited to at-risk children. Three states currently offer “preschool for all” – Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma. Three other states are slated to have preschool for all by the next five years – Illinois, New York and West Virginia. This policy brief examines the journeys of these six states in achieving a plan for preschool for all.
The Authors
W. Steven (Steve) Barnett is a Board of Governors Professor and the founder and Senior Co-Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. Dr. Barnett’s work primarily focuses on public policies regarding early childhood education, child care, and child development.