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Advocates want free pre-K for all military children

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All states should make military children eligible for state-funded pre-kindergarten programs, according to two advocacy organizations for pre-K education and military children.

Thirty-nine states have state-funded pre-K programs, but eligibility requirements vary. As states expand their programs, some base eligibility requirements on income.

But regardless of income or other requirements, all military families should have access, said Libby Doggett, executive director of Pre-K Now, a public education and advocacy organization based in Washington.

Many military families are middle-income, she said, and “middle-income families are very much left behind in this country.”

Eligibility also should go to children of activated National Guard and Reserve families, as well as children of those killed or wounded in the line of duty, she said.

Pre-K Now and the Military Child Education Coalition issued a joint report July 11 at the Coalition’s annual conference, titled “Pre-K for Military Families: Honoring Service, Educating Children.”

Doggett said past research has shown that 3- and 4-year-old children benefit from high-quality pre-kindergarten education.

Several states, including Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma, provide pre-K education for all 4-year-olds. Texas passed a law in 2006 making military children eligible for that state’s pre-K program, including children of Guard and Reserve members activated at some point, coalition Executive Director Mary Keller said.

Their children remain eligible once the service member returns from deployment.

Also in 2006, Kansas approved a pilot program that covers military children in six counties, including Geary County near Fort Riley.

Pre-K education for military children could provide a foundation to help children adapt later in the educational process, Doggett said.

“Military families have more stress. They may move from a state with lower education standards to a state with high standards. If the child has a strong start, they have more chance of catching up,” she said. “This is learning that lasts a lifetime.”

Private-sector pre-K education costs vary, but can be expensive. A family in Texas, for example, could pay more than $8,000 a year.

Last year, there were 5,395 3- and 4-year-old military children in Texas, half of whom did not meet previous requirements for the state pre-K program. If all eligible military children had attended, Keller said, it would have cost the state about $7 million.

She estimated about 500,000 military children worldwide might be in the pre-K age range, although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how many military children would be eligible for pre-K, because of the fluid nature of the population, and the number of Guard and Reserve families with children in that age range.

Keller said states can also work with military child development centers, so children can go to pre-K for half a day, then roll over to the child development center staff.

Doggett said pre-K programs are growing in schools and in conjunction with child care centers.

“The military child care program is the premiere child care program in this country, but it’s still not pre-K and is not tied to pre-K standards,” Doggett said.

Keller said while it is difficult to determine the cost of pre-K for states, in the long run it saves money in terms of the costs to provide remedial help for children.