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We Need to Provide Access to Public Preschool

By giving children access to public preschool today, we can help ensure that both they and the country have a bright and vibrant future.

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Preschool is essential to school readiness and can significantly impact a child’s chance of reading at grade level, of graduating high school, and of obtaining the necessary skills to be college and career ready. Yet today too many children do not have access to high-quality, publicly funded preschool, which means they arrive at kindergarten classroom doors without the skills they need to succeed. By letting this situation persist we are allowing these children to start the life race two steps behind.

President Barack Obama has put forth a bold and ambitious plan to significantly expand access to high-quality preschool for low- and moderate-income children and to provide incentives to expand access for children from middle-income families. The plan would establish a state-federal partnership that allows states to expand, improve, or create preschool programs.

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