AUSTIN – State Representatives Eric Johnson (D-Dallas) and Marsha Farney (R-Georgetown) today filed a bill to provide incentive payments to school districts to provide full-day, quality pre-kindergarten. To receive the incentives, districts would be required to adopt best practices identified through research as delivering the best return on educational investment. Texas’ current system funds only a half-day of pre-k and does not ask school districts to meet any substantial quality standards. The Johnson-Farney bill builds on a framework proposed by Governor Abbott last year.
“The research is in, and it shows that full-day pre-k is one of the best investments we can make in education. It can cut the achievement gap for children in poverty in half and will reduce future spending on remedial education, special education and the criminal justice system. If we’re serious about improving public education, we’ve got to get serious about full-day pre-k,” said Rep. Johnson.
The bill contains several transparency and accountability measures designed to ensure that taxpayer dollars are invested wisely. Participating districts will report much more information on student achievement, teacher performance, program design and parental involvement to the state under the new plan. The plan expressly prohibits any new standardized, high-stakes tests, but uses existing assessments to measure program effectiveness when students enter kindergarten and the 3rd grade.
The proposal has the general support of a wide array of stakeholders, including business associations, school districts, children’s advocacy groups, private schools and municipal leaders, including the Dallas Regional Chamber, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas Independent School District, the Commit Partnership, the Dallas Early Education Alliance, the ChildCareGroup (Dallas), Texas Association of Business, Children at Risk, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, and Austin Mayor Steve Adler.
“Early childhood education is critically important to help our kids get a jump start in school and set them up for success, and I am pleased to see Representative Johnson and the Legislature taking up this very important issue,”  Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings shared.
“Dallas ISD is committed to providing a full day of high quality pre-K to our early learners. It is exciting to see that our legislators are now putting forth serious proposals to help ensure our children receive the educational foundation necessary to achieve life long success,” according to statement from the school district.
 and Marsha Farney (R-Georgetown) filed a bill to provide incentive payments to school districts to provide full-day, quality pre-kindergarten.){kind=link}
Good to see that DISD is ahead of the curve on this very important issue – early childhood education. The district has been making pre-k a priority for a couple of years now, with a recent ramp-up of funding and personnel resources focused in the early childhood area. This is the most hopeful sign I’ve seen in a while, and it’s a big one. Just want to shout out to DISD for being on top of this one.
Agreed.