Early learning did not earn serious time in the State of the Union address, observers note today, and this raises concern that it is falling down or potentially off President Barack Obama’s 2011 agenda.
Certainly, the State of the Union is a bellwether of a president’s plans for the coming year, but there are elements of his speech that suggest early education reforms could emerge, albeit quietly, in his legislative push.
Even though President Obama didn’t emphasize his Early Learning Challenge Fund, he made education a key theme, and this could create openings. Despite a divided Congress, with Republicans running the House and Democrats the Senate, No Child Left Behind has emerged as legislation both parties could potentially support, according to some analysts. (See K-12 Politics’s take on this topic today, “Bipartisanship on K-12 Is the Name of the Game, for Now”, and its excellent overall tracking of K-12 reform,)
If the legislation moves it’s possible it could carry improvements for the nation’s early learning system. Last year, for example, the Congressional Progressive Caucus included expanded support services for pre-kindergarten in its wish list for reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The Caucus list had an entire section on early learning, which included:
It would not be a big surprise if the Obama administration used K-12 reform to move elements of its early education agenda. It packed the economic stimulus package with money for its priorities.
Of course, it is too early to say if K-12 reform legislation will move, and if it will contain early learning provisions. But, the fact that it wasn’t featured in the State of the Union, doesn’t mean there will not be good opportunities.
Further Reading: