Defeat of Calif. Preschool Initiative Is Major Disappointment for Advocates

The defeat of the Preschool for All initiative in California this week is unlikely to slow the pace at which public preschool programs have been growing in other states, experts said. Still, the outcome was a major disappointment for its backers in the Golden State.

California voters decided in the June 6 statewide primary not to tax the state’s wealthiest residents in order for all of the state’s 4-year-olds to attend preschool for free. More than 60 percent of those who went to the polls voted against the measure, which would have added a 1.7 percent income tax on individuals making at least $400,000 and couples earning more than $800,000 a year.

Walter S. Gilliam, an associate research scientist at the Yale University Child Study Center, said he didn’t think the proposition’s failure would have much of an impact on the pace of pre-K...