What is Universal Preschool?
We believe there are 2 separate and distinct definitions: • As the government or state would define it right now, “Universal Preschool” is public preschool funded by tax dollars, and made available to all children ages 2-5, regardless of need or family income. It is being developed in response to: • The demand for childcare that stems from the increasing proportion of families that have both parents in the workforce; • The increase in the number of preschoolers who are English language learners, and therefore need to be identified to receive intervention for their special needs; • The agenda of special interest groups such as corporations and teachers unions that will profit from public preschool programs. These factors have resulted in a national campaign to institutionalize all preschoolers through government funded and/or mandated “universal preschool.” Proponents say that ideally, government preschools would provide a stimulating learning environment, with credentialed teachers ove
The term Universal Preschool is used in the California Legislature to define publicly funded preschool. If Universal Preschool is initiated in California, preschools would be similar to kindergarten, available through your public school system and free. A very different definition of Universal Preschool is posted on the Universal Preschool website. Their definition states that universal preschool is really “an unheralded worldwide community of loving, functional parents who nurture and teach their young children at home, sometimes with the occasional and thoughtful use of private and co-op preschool programs in their community.” The web site provides links to articles and news stories that explain the dangers inherent in a publicly funded universal preschool program, and it offers information and resources to assist families who choose to homeschool their preschoolers outside of a traditional institution. CHN is opposed to the Universal Preschool legislation and is working to educate t
Related Questions
- In a universal program that is currently operating half-day preschool disabled classrooms, should the self-contained preschoolers stay in the self-contained setting for a full day?
- Can Universal Preschool (UPK) dollars be counted as meeting C4E provisions or spending requirements?
- Does Obama support the idea of free universal preschool?
