Keeping Full Day Public Pre-K Alive, With Fees
The 82nd Legislature delivered a fatal whack to state grants for full-day pre-kindergarten. But some public schools are refusing to let the budgetary machete finish off their early-childhood programs, choosing instead to charge tuition.
The state offers half-day pre-K for children who cannot speak English or are from homeless, low-income, foster or military families. That remains fully financed in the budget, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Many districts opt to expand this standard half-day to a full-day program, which studies say increases the benefits of early-childhood learning, making students less likely to drop out, repeat grades or need remedial ...
Comments (6)
Cara Mendelsohn via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Jason Sabo - he tells it like it is!
David Spratt
Nice to see the program is still being fully funded for non English speaking kids, more likely as not to be the children of Illegal immigrants, Homeless and welfare families who we all have carried all these years anyway, Foster children who the State subsidizes anyway. The only deserving ones mentioned in the group are Military Families. This is nothing more than a state subsidized Daycare system anyway. While the state continues to look out for illegals and the poor , real working people < Americans< have nothing coming. Better get used to it though, if you have children the shrinking budgets and rampant abuse of the public $ will make it necessary to kick in money for their education at some point. I have no doubt all who do not work or are here illegally and drive the price of labor into the basement by their willingness to work for less than living wages will continue to feed at the public trough unrestrained.
Tribsupporter
:)
Tribsupporter
Many "advocates" highlighted in this story focused on ego-driven distractions and were utterly silent while the legislature cut the budget for full day pre-k. However key groups unmentioned here actually came out hard in support of the full day grants, and worked in the Lege to try to keep those funds. Ms Smith, you might want to broaden your sources. A good quote, I guess makes a story, but actually fighting for full-day pre-k might have really helped needy families in Texas, and that is a story worth telling.
Mary Smith
Sounds like someone is just butt hurt that his group wasn't chosen for the interview. Perhaps if pre-k advocates tried working more as a cohesive group rather than as a disorganized mess, legislators would be more inclined to listen.
Tribsupporter
uh huh huh huh huh ...he said butt hurt