Section 2: ImpetusThe motivations for creating prekindergarten programs are as varied as the states that implement them. When a prekindergarten program starts and then expands, there typically is a compelling need for prekindergarten, a compelling individual (or group of individuals) to raise awareness of that need, and a window of opportunity to take action. This section highlights some of the reasons why states adopt prekindergarten programs and some of the people who make them a reality. Why States Fund Prekindergarten ProgramsThere are many compelling arguments used to demonstrate a need for a comprehensive prekindergarten program. School failure. The 2002 federal No Child Left Behind legislation continues a long history of policy efforts to address the rate at which children fail in school. Research on the effectiveness of quality early education programs in preventing later school failure can spur policymakers to consider programs that start before elementary school to remedy school failure.1 Changing workforce. As more women join or remain in the workforce after childbirth, more children are in nonparental care. In 1999, 76 percent of America’s three- and four-year-olds were educated and cared for by someone other than their parents, compared with 67 percent in 1991.2 Economic return on investment. Longitudinal research on high-quality preschool programs for at-risk children shows that every dollar spent on such a program yields a savings of up to $7. Savings accrue in reducing crime, the need for educational remediation, and welfare payments; and increasing the economic productivity of the children who attend the programs, as well as the productivity of their children.3 Public will. Reports about the development of the young brain in popular magazines, television, and radio have changed the way the public thinks about child development in the early years. Most parents now know that the experiences children have during the early years “form the foundation and scaffold on which cognitive, linguistic, emotional, social, and moral development unfold.”4 In an August 2002 poll, 87 percent of respondents supported a statement calling on state governments to 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.5 Declining K-12 enrollments. In a small number of states, birth rates are dropping, causing K-12 enrollments to decline. To maintain the same level of funding for the schools, school districts have added prekindergarten classes. This is only an option in states that have education aid formulas that allow spending on four-year-olds. Who Takes the Lead?Leadership for prekindergarten initiatives can come from all three branches of government, from ballot initiatives, and from nongovernmental sources such as advocacy groups, citizen’s commissions, professional organizations, and philanthropists or philanthropic organizations. Leadership does not have to come from one source. In fact, successful efforts often have a convergence of leadership in one or more of these groups. Some examples, and their advantages and disadvantages, follow. Executive branch. Georgia Governor Zell Miller knew the statistics about the poor academic performance of students in his state. He also knew the research showing children with strong preschool experiences tend to be more successful in school and have higher self-esteem. Governor Miller successfully lobbied for a state lottery to fund prekindergarten, college scholarships, and technology in schools6; and the pilot prekindergarten program he initiated in 1992 became universal in the state of Georgia in 1995. In 2003, more than 63,000 children, or approximately 60 percent of four-year-olds in the state, had access to the state-funded program. Executives, especially governors, often have strong relationships with policymakers and are well-positioned to garner the resources needed to fund prekindergarten programs. They are in unique positions to share their agenda with the public and to build widespread support for new initiatives. However, executive-led prekindergarten initiatives can be limited by the natural lack of continuity in leadership. When a new government official with different goals and objectives is elected or appointed, support for specific programs favored by the previous administration may not continue. Legislative branch. New York legislated its Universal PreK (UPK) program in 1997 with the intent to guarantee a free early education program to all four-year-olds by 2002. Although state budget battles have prevented full implementation, Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver has championed the cause with the support of multiple advocacy and professional groups. Like the Georgia lottery, New York’s UPK program was part of a larger legislative effort to improve education in the state.7 The legislative branch of government typically holds the purse strings. When prekindergarten programs receive the endorsement of legislators, adequate funding for services is more likely to follow. In addition, legislators tend to be highly responsive to their constituents and advocacy groups. The challenge is to craft the legislation so that it produces a program and a constituency that will sustain the program through subsequent reauthorizations after legislative champions leave. Judicial branch. The 1998 Abbott v. Burke decision mandated a “well-planned, high-quality” early education program for all three- and four-year-old children in New Jersey’s thirty poorest school districts. This was the fifth of nine rulings from the New Jersey Supreme Court in response to a school finance equity lawsuit that began in the 1980s. Several states are involved in school finance equity lawsuits, and prekindergarten is one of the remedies to historically unequal access to quality education. Prekindergarten programs introduced as a result of judicial action have the benefit of legal enforcement. Enforcement may necessitate further judicial action and therefore may bring an adversarial component to program development and implementation. Although judicial action encourages program implementation, rulings generally do not provide detailed guidelines for how prekindergarten programs should be designed or implemented. Responsibility for program implementation can be ambiguous, and the courts often leave issues related to program administration, design, service coordination, and finance unresolved. Voter initiatives. Voters in Florida used their power to pass a referendum in 2002 that called for universal access to prekindergarten by 2005. Miami/Dade Mayor Alex Penelas championed this effort, but multiple advocacy groups and grassroots efforts made it a reality. A mandate from the voters gives a focus to the work of the governor and the legislature, but it leaves many unanswered questions about what the program will look like and how the state will pay for it. About half of the states allow voters to express their voice through a ballot initiative. All of these states require citizens to collect a specified number of signatures to put the measure on the ballot, but states vary in their rules of what and how voters can propose for the ballot.8 For More InformationBarnett, W.S., J.E. Tarr, C. Esposito Lamy, E. Frede. Fragile Lives, Shattered Dreams: A Report on Implementation of Preschool Education in New Jersey’s Abbott Districts. New Brunswick, N.J.: Center for Early Education Research, 2001. Available at:
Committee for Economic Development, Research and Policy Committee. Preschool for All: Investing in a Productive and Just Society. New York: Committee for Economic Development, 2002. Available at:
Gallagher, J. J., J.R. Clayton, and S.E. Heinemeier. Education for Four-Year-Olds: State Initiatives. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Center, National Center for Early Development & Learning, 2001. Available at:
Raden, A. Universal Prekindergarten in Georgia: A Case Study of Georgia’s Lottery-Funded Pre-K Program. New York: Foundation for Child Development, 1999. Available at:
Web ResourcesInitiative and Referendum Institute
National Institute for Early Education Research: Economic Benefits of Quality Preschool Education for America’s 3- and 4-Year-Olds
State Prekindergarten Programs with Different Leadership Impetus Executive Branch Leadership: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
Judicial Branch Leadership: New Jersey Early Childhood Education
Legislative Branch Leadership: Connecticut School Readiness Initiative
Executive and Judicial Branch Leadership: North Carolina “More at Four” Pre-Kindergarten Program
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J.J. Gallagher, J.R. Clayton, and S.E. Heinemeier, Education for Four-Year-Olds: State Initiatives (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Center, National Center for Early Development & Learning, 2001). Available at: 2
Tabulations generated by the National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University, based on data from the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Survey, 1999. 3
National Institute for Early Education Research, Economic Benefits of Quality Preschool Education for America’s 3- and 4-Year-Olds. Available at: 4
National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development, Eds. J. Shonkoff and D. Phillips (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2000). Available at: 5
National Institute for Early Education Research, Poll Shows Voters Want States to Fund Quality Preschool for All 3-and 4-year Olds, August 2002. Available at: 8
For more information, visit the Initiative and Referendum Institute website at: [ Return
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