Longtime Pre-Kindergarten Champion Kucinich Issues Statement on Sen. Clinton's Plan

    CLEVELAND, May 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Democratic Presidential
 candidate and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who has been pushing for federal
 legislation to provide additional funding for a national free
 pre-kindergarten program since 2003, today issued a statement welcoming
 U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton support for a position he has long championed.
     Unfortunately, Kucinich (http://www.kucinich.us) said in the statement,
 Sen. Clinton's plan falls short by: limiting eligibility to 4-year-olds,
 failing to provide adequate federal funding; and requiring a too-high
 dollar- for-dollar match by state governments.
     "I appreciate the fact that Sen. Clinton's announcement is now
 attracting wider attention to this crucial issue," Kucinich said, "but, it
 would be more meaningful if I and the co-sponsors of H.R. 6114, which I
 introduced in September, could secure her support for companion legislation
 in the Senate."
     Kucinich's legislation calls for a five-year $150 billion appropriation
 "to ensure that all children 3, 4, and 5 years old have access to a high-
 quality, full-day, full-calendar-year pre-kindergarten education" by
 providing grants to States for a program that is voluntary and
 free-of-charge. Kucinich's plan would require a less burdensome 20% dollar
 match by state governments, and it was also require states to meet certain
 criteria.
     Those criteria include: coordinating with existing state-funded pre-
 kindergarten programs, federally funded programs (such as Head Start),
 public school programs, and child care providers; addressing the shortages
 of qualified early childhood education teachers, including how to increase
 such teachers' compensation to be comparable to that of public school
 teachers; providing ongoing professional development opportunities for
 teachers and staff; addressing the needs of children with disabilities,
 limited English proficiency, or other special needs, including children in
 the State foster care system and homeless children; and providing
 transportation to children to and from pre-kindergarten.
     Kucinich introduced similar legislation in the 108th and 107th
 Congresses, and his education program, including universal pre-kindergarten
 and tuition- free education in state universities, was a cornerstone of his
 2004 Presidential campaign.
 
 

SOURCE Kucinich for President 2008