Last week, Rep. Ruben Gallego joined Reps. Cindy Axne (D-IA), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) to introduce the Universal Full-Day Kindergarten Act in an effort to ensure that every American child has access to high-quality full day kindergarten. Gallego originally introduced this bill in 2019. At that time, Reps. Raul Grijalva, Ann Kirkpatrick, Tom O’Halleran, and Greg Stanton all cosponsored the bill.
According to Gallego’s press release, the Universal Full-Day Kindergarten Act creates a grant program in which States and Tribes that apply will receive funding to carry out no-cost, high-quality, full-day kindergarten programs taught by qualified teachers. The bill would also require the Department of Education to release an annual report on the availability of full-day kindergarten across the United States. A 2010 research study concluded that children who attended full day kindergarten had better academic outcomes the following year, more self-confidence, and were better at playing with others.
“As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to make sure that all students, no matter where they live, have access to high-quality education and start their academic experiences on equal footing,” stated Rep Gallego. “I am proud to reintroduce the Universal Full-Day Kindergarten Act, the first-ever legislative effort in the House to achieve universal full-day Kindergarten. Not only is ensuring access to full-day Kindergarten the right thing to do to set students up for success, it also would increase economic opportunities for parents and families and provide a lifeline for underfunded and low-income school districts across the country. I am grateful to my colleagues Rep. Jacobs, Rep. Axne, and Rep. Torres for joining me to make access to Kindergarten a reality for all American families.”
Rep Jacobs commented, “Investing in our kids is the best return on investment we can make – and we know that early childhood education means healthier, happier kids in the long-run. That’s why I’m excited to join Congressman Gallego in introducing the Universal Full-Day Kindergarten Act. This pandemic has exposed the deep inequities in our society, and as we work to rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis, access to universal full-day kindergarten will be critical. I’m proud to be fighting to make universal full-day kindergarten a reality.”
“Countless studies have shown that early childhood education is critical to setting the foundations for a lifetime of academic and professional success. The conversation around early childhood education has typically focused on the benefits of preschool. Yet, those benefits can only be sustained if children also receive high-quality, free full-day kindergarten,” said Rep. Torres. “Across the country we have seen school districts move from half-day to full-day kindergarten to better academic outcomes for our young children and ease the financial burden of childcare off parents who work full-time. I am grateful to Rep. Ruben Gallego for spearheading this important piece of legislation and to Reps. Jacobs and Axne for leading with us.”
Axne commented, “When my oldest son was getting ready to start kindergarten, I discovered that access to full-day kindergarten in West Des Moines was determined by a lottery – leaving some kids behind despite overwhelming evidence of the value of a full kindergarten education. As a mother, that wasn’t something I could accept – and I pushed the school district to change that, successfully securing all-day instruction for the entire district. Now, I’m joining my colleagues to push for that fix nationwide – because I’ve seen firsthand the benefits that our kids get from that change, and want to see it offered to the forty percent of students that don’t currently have that full-day option. With my own family’s experience, I will be pushing to advance this bill by telling my story, and the story of the Iowa students that I’ve fought to help.”’
This bill is also endorsed by the National Education Association, Arizona Head Start Association, and Save Our Schools Arizona.
