HB19-1262 (Wilson & McLachlan/Bridges) State Funding for Full-day Kindergarten

Position

The Children’s Campaign strongly supports the bill. The research on full-day kindergarten and its benefits are linked strongly to math and literacy skills and overall academic growth. In addition, full-day kindergarten helps educators identify children with developmental delays and special learning needs earlier and support them with appropriate interventions. The bill also supports families who often pay tuition to access a full-day experience. With tuition reaching more than $4,500 per school year in some communities, this cost represents a strain on many family budgets that full day funding could alleviate. We know that many school districts, especially in rural areas are already absorbing the cost of providing full-day kindergarten. Ensuring adequate state investment will alleviate pressure on many school district budgets to invest in local priorities such as teacher pay, smaller class sizes, and other support services. Fully funding full-day kindergarten frees up more than 5,000 early learning slots currently used to support full-day kindergarten access for children. Currently only 24 percent of 4-year-olds in Colorado have access to state-funded preschool and there are still several thousand children on the waitlist.