Pre-K Gaining Traction in 'Wilderness States'

Advocates see promising, though tentative, moves in areas slow to embrace state-funded programs.

They’ve been called the “wilderness states” when it comes to prekindergarten services. And in one prominent advocacy group’s yearbook of state pre-K activity, they earn a full page with the words “no program” in large, obvious print.

But among the 12 states that advocates say do not operate or fund preschool programs—including Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Mississippi—efforts are under way that could yield legislation providing for such services in the future.

Mississippi, the only Southern state still considered to lack a publicly funded early-childhood-education program, passed a measure last year that created an “early care and education grant program” to improve access to existing providers for children...