State funding for preschool has increased by 12 percent, or $672 million, since the 2013-14 school year, according to a report by the Denver-based Education Commission of the States.
This year’s increase builds on a 6.9 percent funding increase from 2012-13 to 2013-14, according to the commission’s annual report, released in January. Twenty-eight of the 44 states and the District of Columbia that provide public preschool funding increased their spending. Funding remained flat in 11 states, and five states—Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida, and Maine—reduced funding.
California led the states that increased funding with an additional $397.5 million, a 78.6 percent increase over the previous year. The state’s budget agreement calls for the creation of 11,500 new full-day, full-year preschool slots in the coming year.
