THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2019
EYES ON THE EARLY YEARS

An early education newsletter from EdSource
Newsom's proposals for early ed face revision in Legislature

Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposals to spend  nearly $2 billion for early childhood education and services are getting close scrutiny and some revisions in the Legislature.

Newsom has called for expanding preschool to more low-income 4-year-olds, expanding full-day kindergarten, building more child care facilities and training early childhood educators. He has also proposed more funding for home visits for low-income infants and toddlers and a full year of subsidized child care for low-income families who are just beginning to receive cash aid through CalWORKS.

The Assembly and the Senate are also pushing for more early education with at least 22 early childhood bills advancing in the Legislature, but both houses have voted to make some changes to Newsom's proposals , including to:

  • Reduce the funds that Newsom proposed for grants to build or renovate classrooms for full-day kindergarten. Newsom proposed $600 million. The Assembly is proposing $200 million and would allow school districts to use the funding to build preschool classrooms, not just kindergarten classrooms. The Senate is proposing $150 million.

  • Reduce the funds Newsom called for to come up with what he is calling a Master Plan for Early Learning and Care from $10 million to $5 million.

  • Provide more subsidized child care for low-income children. The Assembly proposal at $266 million would provide 6,172 more subsidized child care slots, and 16,831 more child care vouchers. The Senate proposal at $90 million this year and $163 million ongoing would provide 1,800 more child care slots and 13,548 more vouchers.

  • Reject a $12.8 million plan for emergency one-time child care assistance and use it instead for long-term child care vouchers.

The biggest change is the revision of Newsom's proposal for full-day kindergarten. As EdSource reported , UC Berkeley researchers and the Legislative Analyst's Office have questioned whether funding for full-day kindergarten is the best priority for state support. Many schools in low-income communities already offer full-day programs. By contrast, most schools that only offer part-day kindergarten are in higher-income areas. In addition, most districts that have applied for similar funding in the past already offer full-day kindergarten, and would most likely use the funds for renovations, not for converting from part-day to full-day programs.

These proposals could still undergo significant revisions before they become law. The budget has yet to be reconciled in conference committee before being sent to Gov. Newsom for his signature.
New research
Preschool benefits extend to the next generation
  
New research  from Nobel Laureate James Heckman suggests that attending a quality preschool program can have long-term benefits not only for the preschoolers, but also for their children.
 
The research expands on a study that began in the 1960s, with a group of low-income African-American children who attended the Perry Preschool outside of Detroit. 

Heckman found that the children of the original participants were more likely to complete high school without being suspended, more likely to have full-time jobs or be self-employed, and less likely to have ever been arrested, in comparison to a sample of children of similar adults who did not attend the preschool.
From the EdSource Early Learning Desk:

Proposals by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators would provide financial aid and ease the permitting process.


If small children aren't accurately counted, California could potentially get less federal funding than needed for programs such as Head Start.


The trainings teach preschool teachers how to help children learn English and keep their home languages, so they can be more successful in kindergarten and beyond.
Other early education news
California moves one step closer to 'Pre-K for All'
By Priska Neely, KPCC

One woman's endless wait for state-subsidized child care
By Katie Orr,  KQED

 How cities are convincing voters to pay higher taxes for public preschool 
By Brenda Iasevoli,  The Hechinger Report
Zaidee Stavely, editor
Got story ideas? Tips? Comments?

Early learning reporting supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation
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