Gov. Dayton Proposes Free Preschool For 4-Year-Olds

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- During a visit to a Newport Elementary classroom Friday morning, Gov. Mark Dayton made his pitch for universal preschool for Minnesota 4-year-olds.

The administration estimates the proposal would affect 47,300 students in its first year, eventually growing to roughly 57,000 in a few years. If enacted, Minnesota would be among the first states in the country to offer free, full-day early learning programs for pre-kindergarten children.

"We have already seen the tremendous successes of all-day kindergarten, which got underway just this year," Gov. Dayton said in a press release. "But we have a lot more work to do to narrow Minnesota's achievement gap, and provide excellent educations for every student in Minnesota."

The proposal comes as part of a push by the governor and Democratic lawmakers to put a large part of the state's $1.87 billion surplus towards improving education. Republicans, on the other hand, are hoping to give a lot of that money back to the tax payers.

According to a recent report by the Education Research Center, Minnesota ranks 50th in the nation for all-day preschool enrollment. The report also ranks the state 9th in preschool enrollment gains over the past five years.

Another report by the National Institute for Early Education ranks Minnesota 40th in the nation in access to prekindergarten programs for 4-year-olds, with only 1 percent enrolled. Wisconsin, meanwhile, is ranked 4th with 64 percent enrollment.