New Jersey Preschools: Do We Get What We Pay For?

My column today at WHYY's Newsworks looks at President Obama's push for preschool and New Jersey's programs. We do a great job. Our costs are through the roof, by far the highest in the country. What can we do to expand access, per the President's instructions, and contain costs?

For early childhood education advocates, last week was Christmas in February when President Obama, in his fifth State of the Union address, proposed access to high-quality preschool for every child in America...

Pres. Obama's Administration has since released more details about his proposal. All 50 states would share costs, along with hefty federal contributions, to provide free preschool to 4-year olds from families that have incomes at or below 200% of the poverty level. Various incentives would prod states to provide preschool to middle-class families on a sliding scale.

New Jersey can strut proudly on this one: in the preschool department, we're well ahead of the President's agenda. The long series of State Supreme Court Abbott decisions, which continue to govern many of the state's school funding allocations, mandates that NJ provides free preschool to about 51,000 children in our 31 Abbott districts. The cut-off for eligibility is family income at or below 300% of the poverty level. (NJ's new funding formula has technically increased eligibility to poor children not residing in Abbott districts, but the State has never come through with the money.)

Read the rest here.