Testimony to Senate Finance Committee On Texas Education Agency
My name is Andrea Brauer and I am the Early Education Policy Associate with Texans Care for Children. I also facilitate the Texas Early Education Alliance, a group of stakeholders that collaborate on improving early care and education in Texas.
I appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on state pre-K funding today. Last session, the leadership of this Committee allocated $30 million dollars in supplemental funding for the state's pre-K program, but called it a place holder for greater action this session. Despite that fact, TEA did not ask for an ADA increase for pre-K, even though our funding is far below national average, and according to the National Institute for Early Education Research, Texas has the lowest quality pre-K program in the country.