Preschool commission tweaks guiding principles
‘Make it as easy as possible for families’ and caregivers, but should ‘equity’ stress income or outcomes?
Preschool commission co-chairmen George Davis and Jesse Ruiz take part in a side discussion session at Tuesday’s meeting. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)
By Ted Cox
CHICAGO — Gov. Pritzker’s newly appointed preschool commission got down to business in the new year Tuesday, tweaking its guiding principles while stressing the urgency of presenting a comprehensive plan for a statewide program only a year from now.
In Springfield as part of a joint video conference, state Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill, one of the co-chairmen of the Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding, said Pritzker had stressed “the importance and urgency of the matter,” in that the panel has to submit a report next January in time for it to be included in Pritzker’s 2021 budget address.
At the Thompson Center in Chicago, George Davis, another co-chairman and former executive director of the Rockford Human Services Department, agreed, saying, “The timeline we’re dealing with is tight.”
Pritzker announced a month ago that “Illinois will become the best state in the nation for families raising young children.” As part of that initiative, he appointed a 29-member commission to study a statewide preschool program — considered one of the most effective tools at addressing social inequalities — with two main purposes: to support children in being prepared for kindergarten, as well as to support parents in their ability to work.
The commission arrived at eight other guiding principles at its first meeting: committing to high-quality early childhood education and care as a public priority, embracing bold changes, building on a solid foundation, prioritizing family perspectives and needs, building the program to last in stability and sustainability, promoting funding equity, requiring transparency and accountability, and being realistic in eventual implementation.
At Tuesday’s second meeting, state Rep. Will Davis of Homewood, a commission member, said they have to “make it as easy as possible for families” to enroll and take part in the program, and the same goes for preschool centers and day-care providers. “They’re businesses and they’re trying to stay in business,” he said.
Commissioner Phyllis Glink of the Irving Harris Foundation almost immediately raised the issue of whether equity provisions should apply only to income or whether it should be based on outcomes — educational results. She advocated “equity of outcome,” suggesting that recognizes some areas of the state start out at a disadvantage in preschool resources and require “the funding it takes” to get up to speed in preparing kids for kindergarten.
Scott Perkins of Henry Booth House agreed with that during the public-comment period, urging the commission to “start with the end in mind” and an overall commitment to quality, and everything else should fall into place. But others said Illinois needed to commit first to equitable funding across the state.
Others raised the issue that the goals of being “bold” and building upon the existing foundation appeared to be contradictory.
“We’re all about being bold,” said Barbara Flynn Currie, co-chairwoman and former House Democratic majority leader, “but we have to match it to the outcome.”
Elliot Regenstein, a commissioner and a partner at Foresight Law + Policy, said the state already has a strong program for tending to newborns up through toddlers, but what is needed is a preschool plan after that to prepare kids across the state to enter the education system.
Staff monitored suggested changes to the guiding principles, which were minor, and planned to present them for consideration at the next meeting in February. Staff also created four working groups to concentrate on specific issues — funding adequacy, funding mechanisms, inclusion, and oversight & management — and planned to divide commissioners up into the groups to study the issues and present findings to the full body going forward.
Many said the state should pursue federal funding and grants, and co-chairman Jesse Ruiz, deputy governor for education, agreed, citing a $40.2 million federal grant for preschool development the Pritzker administration nailed down just before the end of the year.
Politico’s Illinois Playbook reported Tuesday on the anniversary of Pritzker’s inauguration that, after completing an ambitious first-year agenda including legalized marijuana, the Reproductive Health Act, and the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois capital plan, to name just three top triumphs, he is turning his attention to early childhood care and education, one of his key issues before he even ran for governor.