Congress Calls for Investment in Early Education

On Wednesday, June 27, the U.S. Joint Economic Committee held a hearing on "Investing in Young Children Pays Dividends: The Economic Case for Early Care and Education." The House and Senate also joined to introduce S. 1374 and H.R. 2859, the Prepare All Kids Act. The week’s focus on early education underscored the recent push towards investing in young American’s education at the earliest age possible. Members of Congress and early education advocates all seem to agree that investing in education at younger ages is a good way to help ensure that future generations are healthy and prosperous.

Wednesday’s hearing included witness testimony from:
• Dr. James Heckman, Nobel Prize-winning professor of economics from the University of Chicago;
• Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius;
• Harriet Dichter, Deputy Secretary at the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning; and
• Douglas Besharo, Director of the American Enterprise Institute’s Social and Individual Responsibility Project.

Research indicates that non-scholastic, social factors are vital in determining a child’s success in school. A landmark study that followed children in the Perry Preschool Program in Michigan found that for every dollar invested in that program, $17 were saved in other costs, including those for crime, welfare and education. Dr. Heckman testified that while the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) focuses on measuring early cognitive ability through achievement test scores in the fourth grade, a range of other factors spur success in school and later in life, including socio-emotional skills that promote motivation, self-confidence and tenacity.

To show their support for proposals and suggestions offered from the panel, members of the committee touted that joint effort in introducing the Prepare All Kids Act. Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), introduced the bill in May, while Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) introduced the House version on Tuesday. The bill works to provide at least one year of high-quality pre-kindergarten education to all children and free for the neediest low-income children, as the bill targets children from families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, about $40,000 for a family of four. The programs will use a research-based curriculum that supports children’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical development, as well as individual learning styles.

Resources:
Frank Wolfe, “Congress presses investments for pre-K programs,” Education Daily, June 28, 2007.
Author: SAS