THE IDEA: The federal government should provide financial incentives for states to add high-quality universal preschool programs to their public school systems in order to promote higher student achievement among students of all socioeconomic classes and provide long-term benefits to society.

A growing number of states are recognizing the need for broad access to preschool education. By 2005, forty states funded some form of preschool, most of which was targeted to low-income and at-risk children.1 A review of 2006 State of the State addresses and budget proposals found that twenty-four governors mentioned early education or pre-kindergarten as a priority and proposed a combined increase in new funding of $250 million. Federal involvement in early education began in 1964 with the Head Start program, which was designed to reduce the achievement gap between wealthy and poor students by addressing school readiness. With increasing evidence supporting the long-term benefits of preschool and cost-benefit analyses favoring government funding for such programs, states have begun to expand access to preschool programs for their children. In 2005, eight states offered universal preschool, including Oklahoma, Georgia, and Florida. Illinois joined their ranks in 2006, breaking ground by being the first to offer universal preschool to both three- and four-year olds. Political momentum is building for universal preschool because Americans recognize the need to raise the academic achievement and social skills of their children and to support working parents.

Click here for a complete list of the Security and Opportunity Agenda reports available online.

The Security and Opportunity Agenda is an initiative that consists of a series of short, engaging publications putting forward policy ideas for addressing the most serious challenges facing the United States. Each brief provides an overview of the nature of the problem to be confronted, a summary of public opinion data about the issue, an explanation of the proposed solutions and evidence that they will work, and an estimate of the costs involved. The series is intended to offer journalists, congressional staffers, and others concerned with current policy debates a concise guide to the problem and a clearly stated idea for a solution.