Today Gov. Abbott will sign HB 4, the much lauded Pre-K bill that topped the governor’s list of emergency items.
HB 4 is designed to improve Pre-K quality through an optional program that provides grant funding to some school districts choosing to implement limited quality improvements. It’s a good start, and we applaud the state’s efforts to increase the quality of Pre-K. Representative Dan Huberty authored the bill.
Over the last six months CPPP has worked hard on this issue, using data, research, and advocacy to get us here this session. There’s more to do, and full-day Pre-K for currently eligible students that meets quality benchmarks is the ultimate goal. Requiring all Pre-K programs to meet quality standards and providing the funding to do so would be a great accomplishment in the next legislative session. We’ll be there, working on behalf of Texas children.
Our new resource The Path to Pre-K and the 2015 Legislative Session provides deeper insight into the work we and others have done to improve Pre-K in Texas this session.
