Virginia Plans Pilot Program for Universal Preschool Next Fall

More than a year after Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) was elected on promises to make state-funded preschool available to all the state's 4-year-olds, a committee has recommended starting with a pilot program next year for 1,000 children.

The Start Strong Council, a group of educators, business leaders and lawmakers convened by Kaine to help launch his ambitious proposal, issued a report yesterday saying that the state also should develop standards for class size and curriculum and work with area colleges to create teacher-training programs.

Publicly funded preschool is offered to about 27,000 disadvantaged Virginia children. But Kaine wants to open it up to any of the state's 100,000 4-year-olds whose parents want them to attend, regardless of family income. Once it is fully in place, the program would cost about $300 million a year.

"The needs of at-risk kids will be paramount, but early childhood education benefits all kids," Kaine said. "I don't think you do something like this in a big rollout all at once. I think you do something that builds on best practices."

Kaine's push for universal preschool already is coming under criticism by some lawmakers who question whether the money would be better spent on finding solutions for traffic congestion, funding health care or improving public schools.

House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) said it makes sense to provide preschool to children from poor families, but he doesn't want to invest millions on early-childhood education for middle- or upper-class children. "We have lots of other needs," he said. "The vast majority of students who aren't at-risk are going to be fine without it."

Maryland educators are expanding a state-run preschool program for disadvantaged families that will make classes available to all eligible children by next September. D.C. School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey also has added pre-kindergarten classes.

Nationwide, publicly funded preschool has expanded dramatically in recent years, and Virginia is not the only state debating the merits of providing preschool for all children. California voters rejected a ballot measure in June that would have taxed the wealthy to pay for universal preschool after some critics cast the proposal as an unnecessary subsidy for middle- or upper-class families.

W. Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, said education experts disagree on whether states should move more toward universal programs or focus on those for disadvantaged children. But he has become convinced that universal preschool would benefit many middle-class students, he said.

"The risk of a poor child failing in school or dropping out is twice as high as other kids," Barnett said. "But for a middle class kid, it's still too high."

Kaine has said that preschool for all children eventually would mean that less remediation would be needed for public school students and, ultimately, more teenagers would graduate from high school ready for college or work. According to the Start Strong Council, nearly 9,000 Virginia students had to repeat a grade last school year, a number Kaine thinks would decrease under his plan.

House Majority Whip M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights), a government teacher in Chesterfield County, said he thinks Kaine is dramatically underestimating the cost of preschool for all children. He puts the price tag as closer to $700 million a year.

Cox said he also hasn't been convinced that it's necessary: "I think it's a lot of money. I think he's low-balling it. And frankly, there's no proof it works."

The state is planning a pilot program next fall in six communities. Officials will work with existing public and private preschools and seek to enroll 1,000 children who aren't in publicly funded preschool.