Preschool a Missed Step for Many Ind. Children

Indianapolis

Indiana's lack of state-funded preschool and its later school starting age for children could be sending a bad message to parents and putting more children at risk of academic failure, experts say.

Only 20 percent of preschool-age children in Indiana attend public pre-kindergarten programs, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research. Oklahoma has 87 percent attendance and West Virginia has 73 percent, the institute says.

Experts say Indiana's low rate and its failure to require children to attend school before age 7 prevent students from building...