Early Learning

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to expand access to high-quality preschool to every child in America. As part of that effort, the President will propose a series of new investments that will establish a continuum of high-quality early learning for a child – beginning at birth and continuing to age 5. By doing so, the President would invest critical resources where we know the return on our dollar is the highest: in our youngest children.

The Preschool for All initiative will improve quality and expand access to preschool, through a partnership with all 50 states, to provide all low- and moderate-income four-year-olds with high-quality preschool, while encouraging states to serve additional four-year-olds from middle-class families. The initiative also promotes access to full-day kindergarten and high-quality early education programs for children under age four.

The U.S. Department of Education will allocate dollars to states based their share of four-year olds from low- and moderate-income families and funds would be distributed to local school districts and other partner providers to implement the program.

Learn more about the President Obama's comprehensive early learning agenda from the 2013 State of the Union Address.

President Obama has called on Congress to expand access to high-quality preschool to every child in America. As part of that effort, the President proposed a series of new investments that will establish a continuum of high-quality early learning for a child – beginning at birth and continuing to age five. Doing so will invest critical resources where we know the return on our dollar is the highest: in our youngest children.

The Preschool for All initiative will improve quality and expand access to preschool, through a partnership with all 50 states, to provide all low- and moderate-income four-year-olds with high-quality preschool, while encouraging states to serve additional four-year-olds from middle-class families. The initiative also promotes access to full-day kindergarten and high-quality early education programs for children under age four.

• Preschool Development Grants: 18 states have received new federal funding to expand the reach of their high-quality preschool programs in over 200 high-need communities. Winning states will enroll over 33,000 additional children in high-quality preschool. 
• State and Local Investments: Since the President’s 2013 State of the Union address, 34 states have increased funding for their preschool programs, amounting to over $1 billion in new state resources dedicated to early education. Communities across the country have engaged public and private partners to establish new preschool programs, and push forward with major expansions to become strong early learning communities. 
• Early Learning Communities: In December 2014, the President released a Playbook to offer strategies for local leaders to develop and expand early education in their communities. Invest in US also announced increased capacity to support community and state leaders interested in expanding early learning programs and opportunities.
• Race to the Top: Early Learning Challenge: President Obama has challenged states to close the school readiness gap through the Early Learning Challenge, a competitive fund that has enabled states to increase the quality of their early education programs, to establish higher standards across programs and to provide critical links with health, nutrition, mental health, and family support for our neediest children. 
• Reforming and Expanding Head Start: Head Start continues to represent one of the best investments to help our neediest children get a strong start in school and in life. Head Start programs provide comprehensive child development services that foster children’s growth in social, emotional, cognitive and physical development, and monitor their progress in these areas to ensure that they are well prepared for kindergarten. The Obama Administration has taken important steps to make Head Start services available to additional children. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Obama invested $2.1 billion in Head Start and Early Head Start. The President has also made reform of the Head Start program a high priority, and has implemented new efforts to raise Head Start’s standards, focus on school readiness results, and promote accountability, including the launch of a new process designed to ensure that only the most capable and highest quality programs receive Head Start grants.

President Obama understands that families play the most important role in promoting the healthy development of their children, yet not all families are equipped with the information and support that help them create environments for their children to develop and learn.

The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, created under the Affordable Care Act, provides $1.5 billion over 5 years in funding to expand evidence-based home visiting programs in states to serve the most vulnerable children and families. This program makes home visitors available to connect families to a range of services — including health care, early education, early intervention and more — to better ensure that children are healthy and prepared for school and life. In addition, as part of the comprehensive child development services it provides, Head Start also provides services to families to support them in the important role of parent, as their child's first teacher. Head Start's family support approach recognizes that school readiness is a partnership between teachers and families, creating opportunities for parents to get the training and support they need to take a leadership role in the program, and in their children's education.

The President put forward a proposal to extend funding for another ten years in the 2013 State of the Union address. This program is critical in the improvement of maternal and child health outcomes in the early years, leaving long-lasting, positive impacts on parenting skills, children’s cognitive, language, and social-emotional development, and school readiness. An expansion of these efforts will help ensure that our most vulnerable Americans are on track starting at birth so that we are fully able to capitalize on later early learning program investments.

Learn more about the President Obama's comprehensive early learning agenda from the 2013 State of the Union Address.