NAEYC CHILDREN’S CHAMPIONS SPECIAL UPDATE
FEBRUARY 13, 2013
President Puts Forward Early Childhood as a Highlight of His Agenda –
See NAEYC’s Press Release
Last night, President Obama highlighted the importance of early childhood education – both quality and access. See NAEYC’s press release applauding the focus on early childhood education and NAEYC’s recommendations for creating equity in access and quality in early childhood education for children from birth through age 8 by clicking here.
Also check out the sheet released by the White House last night that adds to the President’s words in the State of the Union, which includes, “The President is also proposing new investments in early learning so that every child has the chance at a high-quality education starting at the youngest ages, and promoting educational pathways to help students find good-paying, high-skilled jobs.” Click here to view this sheet.
We expect more details when he visits an early childhood program tomorrow in Georgia.
NAEYC looks forward to working with the White House and the Congress on a robust, well-financed agenda of early childhood education, starting at birth and through the early grades, founded on developmentally appropriate practices and knowledgeable and well-compensated staff with high-quality conditions for children to thrive and learn. We also will be working for additional investments so that families can afford quality programs and providers can to meet and sustain high standards of quality.
Stay tuned for more details.
But Let’s Not Forget –
Countdown to the Sequester/Cuts Starting March 1
Congress is quickly approaching its latest budget deadline, with just three weeks before big spending cuts will hit. March 1st is the day when $85 billion in cuts, known as the “sequester,” begin to take effect in domestic and defense programs unless Congress acts to stop them. (The automatic-cut mechanism was put in place as part of the 2011 budget deal, which called for more than $1 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years unless Congress enacted a budget deal to achieve equivalent savings.)
Whether Congress and the White House will be able to reach an agreement on an alternative plan before March 1 remains uncertain. Also on the timeline, Congress needs to come up with a final appropriations bill for the current year or another Continuing Resolution, or there will be a government shutdown on the flow of funds on March 27.
These cuts would be significant: 70,000 children losing Early Head Start and Head Start, 600,000 children and mothers losing WIC, teacher layoffs, cuts to child care, K-12 education, and much more. There is still time to create a fair approach. There can still be revenue created fairly by closing tax loopholes. We can still find a better way to determine appropriate spending that doesn’t hurt children and families.
What You Need to Do NOW –
Contact Your Senators and Representative and Tell Them:
The sequester is bad economic policy and will hurt vulnerable children and families. Now is the time to invest in child care, Head Start and Early Head Start, early intervention, education, child nutrition and the other basics that help America prosper and children and families thrive. When children lack quality early childhood, and families struggle to provide the basics of food, health care and other necessities, we put not only them but also our nation at risk. Click here to reach your members of Congress.
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