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AJR-16 State preschool programs: early learning.(2013-2014)

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AJR16:v96#DOCUMENT

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 16
CHAPTER 153

Relative to Preschool for All in California.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  September 27, 2013. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AJR 16, Bonilla. State preschool programs: early learning.
This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to enact President Barack Obama’s budget proposal to increase funding for preschool and early learning. This measure would also urge the Superintendent of Public Instruction to prepare a plan for making California competitive for future increases in federal funding to preschool and early learning programs.
Fiscal Committee: NO  
WHEREAS, To be competitive in the 21st century global economy, California must have a dynamic and educated workforce; and
WHEREAS, To strengthen and grow the middle class, California must broaden investments proven to prepare students for college and careers, and proven to create economic opportunity; and
WHEREAS, Research by a Nobel Laureate economist shows that every dollar invested in high-quality early education can save more than $7 later on, by boosting grade level proficiency and graduation rates, increasing earned income and job stability, reducing teen pregnancy, and reducing violent crime; and
WHEREAS, Study after study, over 100 in the United States alone, shows that preschool significantly benefits children’s school success; and
WHEREAS, Research has shown that the early years in a child’s life, when the human brain is forming, represent a critically important window of opportunity to develop a child’s full potential and shape key academic, social, and cognitive skills that determine a child’s success in school and in life; and
WHEREAS, During the preschool years, children not only develop core academic knowledge in preliteracy and early math, but they develop critically important learning skills, such as paying attention, managing emotions, and completing tasks; and
WHEREAS, Research has shown that California’s academic achievement gap exists before children start school; and
WHEREAS, Research shows that students who start out behind too often also stay behind, and those who are not reading proficiently in third grade are four times more likely to not graduate from high school; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, 52 percent of California third graders tested below proficient in English-Language Arts and more than 30 percent are not proficient in Mathematics; and
WHEREAS, Since 2008, over 110,000 children have lost access to preschool and child care programs due to $1 billion in state budget cuts; and
WHEREAS, Over 220,000 low-income three- and four-year-old children who are eligible for the California State Preschool Program or the federal Head Start program do not receive services; and
WHEREAS, President Barack Obama in his 2013 State of the Union speech called on states to partner with the federal government to make sure every child, regardless of their parents ability to pay, has access to high quality preschool; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature respectfully urges the Congress to enact President Barack Obama’s budget proposal to increase funding for preschool and early learning; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully urges the Superintendent of Public Instruction to prepare a plan for making California competitive for future increases in federal funding to preschool and early learning programs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.