Another poll shows voters favor universal pre- school

Darrell Steinberg
Darrell Steinberg

SACRAMENTO. California (Press Release) – On the heels of a Field Poll showing large majorities of registered California voters supporting universal preschool for all four-year old children, a new poll released Thursday, April 24,  by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) reflects similar public sentiment, as the Senate Democratic caucus presses early childhood education as a priority in this year’s budget negotiations. The PPIC poll also reveals overwhelming public support for career-relevant curriculum in public education, a policy that the Senate Democratic caucus successfully fought for in last year’s budget agreement.

As Senate Democratic lawmakers urge Governor Brown to include funding for voluntary preschool for all four-year-olds in the 2014–15 state budget, the PPIC poll demonstrates “solid majorities of California adults (73%), likely voters (63%), and public school parents (80%) say the state should do this. Consistent with this finding, 66 percent of adults say attending preschool is very important to a student’s success in kindergarten through grade 12 (22% somewhat important).”

The Kindergarten Readiness Act – SB 837 (Steinberg) – to strengthen early language development and reduce the achievement gap for children entering their first year of school would make one year of voluntary, high quality preschool available to every four-year-old in California, expanding a current program for which only 25 percent of the state’s four-year-olds are eligible. A second measure, the Strong Children, Strong Families Act (SB 1123, Liu), would support increased full-day preschool for children from birth to age three.

The poll also revealed strong public support for providing career technical or vocational education curriculum in California public schools. According to the poll “Seven in 10 adults (73%) and three in four public school parents (76%) say it is very important that their local public schools include career technical or vocational education as part of the curriculum.”

The Senate Democratic caucus fought for, and secured, $250 million in last year’s state budget to create the Career Pathways Trust, a competitive grant designed to build seamless pathways between schools, higher education and careers that lead to jobs in growing and high need industries. With the deadline for grant applications recently closed, there are three-times as many applications as there are grants available.

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Preceding provided by State Senate president pro tempore Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento … San Diego Jewish World invites attention from sponsors who would like their messages to run beneath topical stories.  Contact donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com