Early Childhood gaining momentum in Congress

While we here in Minnesota have been working hard to promote policies in our state legislature, early childhood issues are getting attention on the federal level. Sen. Clinton (NY) announced a pre-kindergarten proposal last month as part of her presidential campaign. This proposal would give $10 billion to give every 4-year old access to a pre-kindergarten experience. Currently, Sen. Clinton is drafting a bill to introduce later this year based on her proposal.

Also, Sen. Casey (PA) has introduced a bill, S. 1374, known as the "Prepare All Kids Act of 2007". From the bill summary, this act will assist states in making voluntary high quality full-day pre-kindergarten programs available and economically affordable for the families of all children for at least 1 year preceding kindergarten. The bill includes funds for infant and toddler programs, extended day and extended year programs, as well as eligibility for community-based programs such as Head Start and child care. Read Sen. Casey's remarks for more detail.

After you'd had a chance to read the bill, I'd love to read your comments. What do you think about the idea? How could it work in Minnesota?