Dive Brief:
- The North Dakota Senate passed (33-14) legislation providing $6 million for early education in the 2016-17 school year.
- The money will be used to offset half the cost of preschool for 6,000 students.
- While the money will go to early pre-K programs at public and private schools, but its disbursement is being delayed until 2016 to allow time for programs to be created.
Dive Insight:
North Dakota currently has the fifth lowest pre-K enrollment in the nation. Only 36% of the state's pre-K eligible students are taking advantage of the programming. Interestingly, the new legislation keeps preschool voluntary. These two facts mean the next big task for the state is incentivizing families to enroll their children in early education programs. That doesn't necessarily mean more money needs to be set aside — though perhaps that could work, too — but families do need to be informed about the importance of early childhood development for these programs to maximize their benefits.
Recently, a slew of reports have pointed to those benefits. For example, a new study by researchers at Duke University found that universal pre-K programs reduce costs for states by bringing down the number of students later placed in special education programs. Additionally, in Michigan, a study by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation found pre-K opportunities could save taxpayers thousands and reduce crime rates.