POLL: MAJORITY FAVOR EXPANSION OF GEORGIA PRE-K

3/10/2008

ATLANTA (March 10, 2008) - Georgians are receptive to using additional lottery funds for expanding the state’s pre-Kindergarten program for four-year-olds to include some three-year-old children, according to poll results released by child advocacy organization Voices for Georgia’s Children.
 
The results of a survey commissioned in Jan. 2008 by Voices indicate an approval rating for expanded pre-K at 59 percent of the population.  Demographic variations by age, sex, race, gender, region, area, community type (urban/rural) and political party affiliation were accounted for in the survey.
 
Georgia became the first state in the nation to offer families pre-K education in 1994 through funding by lottery proceeds.   Most states have since followed suit, with more than half also offering programs for three-year-olds amid recent studies reporting 90 percent of critical brain development occurring in the first three years of a child’s life.
 
Pre-K has been an active topic in the Georgia State House of Representatives during the current session. A bill to expand the Georgia’s existing program to some younger children on a pilot basis is under consideration.  House Bill 939 would create a voluntary program using dollars from lottery reserve funds.  A resolution also under consideration, HR 0791, proposes the institution of a study committee to examine strengths and weaknesses of the current pre-K program.
 
Voices for Georgia’s Children recently introduced an early care and learning policy framework recommending higher priority and investment for a number of existing state programs – including expanded pre-K – that can provide a positive return over the long-term.  A copy of the report, “Compounding Interest,” can be downloaded at the group’s website http://www.georgiavoices.org/.
 
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Voices for Georgia’s Children is an independent, non-profit advocacy organization speaking up for the well being of the state’s children.  Our aim is to be a primary information source to assist the leaders and citizens of Georgia in making sound decisions on policy, investment and systems that serve children and youth.   In so doing, we can ensure that every child is safe, healthy, educated, employable and connected by family and community through supportive public policies as well as adequate public and private resources.
 
Atlanta-based Voices is a network member of the national organization Voices for America’s Children.