Let us predict that the future of education in Indiana will include early childhood education. It is inevitable that public education in Indiana will reach out to prekindergarten children, as is already done in other states. It is either that, or Indiana will be left further behind other states that realize the absolute importance of reaching out to young children when brain development is most important.
Unfortunately, the time for Indiana to provide early childhood education will not come this year, and likely not next school year. Some Indiana officials, including Gov. Mike Pence wanted to launch a pilot program in early childhood education with the current legislative session, but it is not to be. It appears that the best we can hope for in this short, non-budgetary, session is the creation of an early childhood education study group later this year and perhaps some sort of positive action next year.
Prior to the beginning of this year’s session, Pence, a Republican, proposed that low income families would be eligible for vouchers to help pay for young children to attend prekindergarten schools. However, last week, and despite a direct appeal from Pence, the Senate Education and Career Development Committee removed the governor’s proposal for the pilot program. According to a news report by Courier & Press staff writer Chelsea Schneider, the Senate committee instead created the study group.
Already, the Indiana House created a pilot program to provide pre-K vouchers and held off on determining the funding for that program until 2015. But without the House and Senate agreeing, no program will be offered to low-income children anytime soon.
And then, on Monday, Senate Democrats attempted to bring back a pilot program for the state to offer prekindergarten vouchers, but it failed in committee. Instead, the Senate committee recommended a study group to look at early childhood education. Republican Sen. Luke Kenley (Noblesvile), who favors the study committee, said that group can decide just who is in charge of early learning programs in Indiana. The group could decide as well the availability of funds for early childhood education, among them federal Race to the Top funds.
The proposed pilot program would have provided vouchers in five Indiana counties, at a cost of some $10.6 million, an issue that would likely be taken up by the expected study committee. Alas, short of a dramatic change of mind, the best we can hope for is a positive legislative study report, followed by a prompt plan to bring accessible early childhood education to Indiana children in need of help.