The Rhode Island State Senate is out with a package of bills that they say is the best chance to ensure young children will have the most success in school. And the cornerstone of the package is a bill that would guarantee three and four year olds in the state, all of them to have Pre K education.
“These bills are among the most important proposals the Senate will take up during this session. They set transformational goals and outline vital investments in our state’s future,” said Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio (D-Dist. 4, North Providence, Providence). “We will put Rhode Island on a dramatically accelerated path to universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds. We will invest in building capacity and strengthening the workforce pipeline for early childhood service providers. And we will make early childhood care and education an affordable, reliable, high-quality resource for all Rhode Island families.”
The idea is to get everything on line by June of 2028. It will have a hefty price tag to the tune of approximately 120 million dollars.
Senator Hanna Gallo of Cranston called it ambitions.
“Research has shown just how beneficial pre-K is for children. Access to such a life-changing resource should never depend on where a child lives or whether a family can afford it.”
The Senator is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education.
“We need to think of pre-K and child care as part of a connected early childhood system,” Sen. Gallo said. “We need a more unified focus on the programs we provide our children in their youngest years, which are so critical for their development.”
Hearings are being scheduled. There has been no timetable for votes in either the House or the Senate.
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)