For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Peter Clark, [email protected], 512.417.9262
AUSTIN – Today State Representative Dan Huberty filed House Bill 4, new legislation to improve pre-K quality in Texas. The legislation is modeled on the proposal championed by Governor Greg Abbott.
Following the introduction of the bill, Andrea Brauer, Early Education Policy Associate at Texans Care for Children, issued the following statement:
"We commend Representative Huberty for filing this legislation to improve pre-K quality. We also applaud Governor Abbott for his leadership in making pre-K quality a priority issue for this legislative session.
"Improving the quality of pre-K is one of the most effective ways the Legislature can support children and build our economy, and this bill is a great starting point for those efforts. As the Legislature works on this bill, we believe it should include limits on pre-K class sizes and student-teacher ratios, as well as improved requirements for teacher qualifications.The research is clear that taxpayers don't maximize the return on their investment and children don't get fully prepared for kindergarten when students are in low quality programs, with 25 or 30 four-year-olds competing for the attention of an under-qualified teacher.
"We look forward to working with Representative Huberty and the rest of the Legislature to strengthen HB 4 and ensure that high-quality pre-K is made available to all children attending the program.”
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