Louisiana preschoolers should have a better chance of being ready for kindergarten now that the state is taking major steps to improve early-childhood education.
Gov. Bobby Jindal last week signed legislation that requires the state education board to create an early-childhood-education-and-care network governed by performance standards for kindergarten readiness. That network must be fully implemented by the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, according to the legislation.
The proposed “seamless early-childhood education system” would replace the “fragmented system of standards, funding, and oversight” that has served as “a barrier to providing every child with the high-quality services and programs which he deserves and to providing parents with the information needed to make an informed choice when selecting the programs that best fit the needs of their children,” the legislation says.