US House Approves Legislation to Support Quality Early Learning
From Ready 4 K
It was an exciting week last week, as the US House passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3221) by a vote of 251 to 171 on Thursday. The bill includes $8 billion for the new Early Learning Challenge Fund which would provide competitive grants to challenge states to build comprehensive, high-quality early learning systems for children up to age five. The Senate is expected to take up their version of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act soon. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, be sure to thank the Minnesota representatives who voted in favor of the legislation, Reps. Ellison, McCollum, Oberstar, Peterson and Walz. You can be connected to your representative by calling (202) 225-1904 or find out who represents you by clicking here.
Senator Harkin is New Chair of HELP Committee
The sad passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) last month left vacant the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), which oversees the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, education for young children with disabilities and special needs, Title I, and Higher Education.
We are pleased to announce that longtime friend to Minnesota and champion of education, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has graciously accepted the chairmanship, while Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) will replace Sen. Harkin as Chair of the Agricultural Committee, which is responsible for child nutrition programs including the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Read his announcement here.
Action of the Month: Contact your Congressperson
Have you contacted your US Congressperson? Now is a good time to introduce yourself and let them know that you believe early childhood is a critical issue for our nation and that you’ll be looking for their leadership on behalf of our youngest Minnesotans. Read more…
Take Action Today! US House to Vote on Early Learning this Week!
From Ready 4 K
This week, Congress is going to vote on the most major piece of federal early care and education legislation in almost a decade. The Early Learning Challenge Fund, included in H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, would support critical quality improvements for young children.
The legislation would provide $1 billion a year for eight years to states to develop and enhance high-quality early learning opportunities for all young children, especially those at-risk of not coming to school ready to learn.
This bill, paired with existing supports for current providers, sends a strong signal about the need to invest in comprehensive initiatives at the state level to increase the quality of early learning programs to ensure that children succeed. The bill will also create federal partnerships to help improve the quality of early care and education programs for children from birth to five in all educational settings.
What you can do
Please e-mail and call your US Representative today and urge them to:
Support the Early Learning Challenge Fund included in H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009. This bill supports critical quality improvements so that young children are prepared for school. It will give states like Minnesota the support we need to deliver high quality early learning programming for young children. Please support the Early Learning Challenge fund in H.R. 3221.
Find your U.S. Representative.
Deadline for responding: Please take action by Thursday, September 17, 2009.
Additional note: On September 11, the OECD (a source of international comparisons among developed nations) released the United States Country Highlights from it’s larger January, 2009 report on “Doing Better for Children” with the following information: “In spite of the United States being a very high income country, in key outcomes of health, education and poverty, US children do less well than their peers in other, less rich countries,” calling on the United States to increase its public investment in early learning (Full Report).