Growing up in a house full of three strong-willed girls, the ongoing debate among my sisters and I was “Who really is the smartest?”. Now we all know well who this title goes to (me, of course), but my youngest sister’s most consistent and possibly strongest argument was, “But I AM the only one who went to Pre-K”. At the time, this statement usually resulted in some eye-rolling and bullying directed toward the baby of the family, but a recent article on the New York Times website got me thinking about why only one of my parent’s children attended Pre-K and if it was even a big deal (her most recent report card says otherwise).

The New York Times published an article about the push for increased funding of Preschool programs, which has been a hot topic every since President Obama discussed it in that long broadcasting that interrupted my Tuesday night shows. As research grows about the positive effects of Preschool on a child’s development, programs are becoming more attractive to both liberals and conservative (yes, they actually agreed on something). Prepare yourself for this next shocker, Georgia has been one of the states identified as a national model of preschool access and quality (why we should celebrate) (NY Times, Perez-Pena & Rich, February, 2014). The support for Preschool programs from all directions, including legislators, is pretty amazing and states are expanding and creating new, innovative programs. But all that glitters ain’t, you know the rest….so, different sides have different reasons for supporting preschool programs, for example here:

“Analysts also see politics behind the shift at the state level, with preschool appealing particularly to women and minorities, groups whose votes are needed by Republicans”. (NY Times, Perez-Pena & Rich, February, 2014)

But hey, whatever, we’ll take what we can get. Now, of course, all this camaraderie over putting America’s 4-year-old population on the fast-track to Harvard had to end somewhere. Democrats and Republicans have differing opinions on whether the specifics of early childhood education should be handled by local, state or federal government (NY Times, Perez-Pena & Rich, February, 2014).  My question is “will this seemingly small, but at the same time, enormous, detail slow down the advancement of all of these preschools?”. That’s what seemed to happen to H.R. 1368.

H.R. 1368 or the “Prepare All Kids Act” is a bill “to assist States in providing voluntary high-quality universal prekindergarten programs and programs to support infants and toddlers” (H.R.1368, 2013). Introduced by Carolyn Maloney of Congress, H.R. 1368 emphasized the diverse benefits of preschool including crime deterrence and the promise of future jobs, both of which are still motivating factors of those talking up preschool today (Project Vote Smart, Maloney, 2007). Logistically, the bill looks to assist states (Republicans won’t like that) in providing at least one year of high quality pre-kindergarten education available to all children, and free for low-income children. While these goals sound extremely similar to the goals of the aforementioned article published this year, this bill doesn’t have a hot track record. As an amendment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, H.R. 1368 was originally introduced on June 26,2007 and died after being referred to committee, reintroduced three more times in 2009, 2011, and 2013 by Maloney and currently has been referred to committee….again (H.R.1368, 2013).

With preschool talk on the horizon, I wonder if this bill will finally have its chance.

*Freeman, A. (2012, November 27). High School Graduation Rates Revealed: The 5 Best and 5 Worst States. TakePart. Retrieved February 04, 2014, from http://www.takepart.com/photos/high-school-graduation-rates/its-not-a-state-butthe-bureau-of-indian-education

*H.R. 1368–113th Congress: Prepare All Kids Act of 2013. (2013). In www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 3, 2014, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr1368

*Maloney, C. (2007, June 26). Project Vote Smart. Maloney Introduces “Prepare All Kids Act” Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://votesmart.org/public-statement/275317/maloney-introduces-prepare-all-kids-act#.UvBdZHewJJo

*Perez-Pena, R., & Rich, M. (2014, February 3). Preschool Push Moving Ahead in Many States. New York Times. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/us/push-for-preschool-becomes-a-bipartisan-cause-outside-washington.html?ref=politics