Bill Text: VA SJR52 | 2014 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Early childhood education; recognizing value to children and sets goal of extending availability.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-17 - Passed by indefinitely in Rules by voice vote [SJR52 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2014-SJR52-Prefiled.html
|
14102853D WHEREAS, quality early childhood education programs benefit all children, particularly those from economically disadvantaged homes; provide a sound basis for learning; and build knowledge, personal competence, confidence, and a sense of social responsibility; and WHEREAS, ensuring access to quality preschool programs for three-year-olds and four-year-olds has proven to be one of the soundest educational investments the public can make, providing demonstrated, significant, long-term reductions in the costs of special education, grade retention, welfare, and crime; and WHEREAS, during their K through 12 years and beyond, children who attend quality preschool programs perform better on standardized achievement tests in reading and math; exhibit more positive behaviors in the classroom; and are more likely to graduate from high school, continue their education, and become prosperous adults; and WHEREAS, quality preschool programs should be funded adequately in order to assure adherence to established standards of quality and to recruit and retain professional staff; and WHEREAS, the Commonwealth in 2014 expects to allocate $68.6 million for the Virginia Preschool Initiative to expand childhood education opportunities for children not served by the federal Head Start program; and WHEREAS, the Virginia Preschool Initiative and Head Start serve approximately 33,000 children in Virginia; and WHEREAS, this figure represents a small percentage of the children in Virginia who could benefit from preschool education; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Commonwealth recognize the inestimable value of early childhood education to children and to the Commonwealth and set a goal of extending the availability of early childhood education so that the Virginia Preschool Initiative and Head Start together reach 50,000 children in the Commonwealth by 2019; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit a copy of this resolution to the Governor in order that he may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter. |
