Democrats Stress Early-Childhood Education

Los Angeles

The task of educating the nation’s youngest children—those who aren’t even old enough for public schools—has received considerable attention this week at the Democratic National Convention.

This morning, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, and the actor-director Rob Reiner gathered at a “Campaign for Literacy” at Los Angeles’ Hope Street Family Center, which offers Early Head Start for infants and toddlers and a range of other programs for children and families.

“There is no greater thing that we will do to strengthen the fabric of our country than to make sure our children are healthy and enter school ready to learn,” said Mr. Reiner, who has become a strong advocate for early-childhood education and was instrumental in getting California voters to approve Proposition 10. That 1998 ballot measure enacted a 50-cent tax on tobacco products, with revenues earmarked for improving child-care quality and for aiding other statewide and county-level programs that serve children from birth through age 5. Mr. Reiner also serves as the chairman of the state...