Testimony to House Appropriations Committee On Article III, Texas Education Agency
We are thrilled that Governor Abbott has made pre-K quality and funding a priority this session, as 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.
The Need
We have all heard that this would be the session for pre-K, but our state budget does not reflect that. Texas is not following suit with other state leaders across the nation, both Republican and Democrat, who are allocating more resources to state pre-K programs, because they know it is a good investment.
Texas will not get its return on investment without high-quality programs, and we can't build quality programs without adequate resources. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for, and according to a poll last year, 71 percent of voters, and 60 percent of Republicans, support greater investment in early childhood education.