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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Universal Pre-School Education: Poverty and Politics

    A few states subsidize pre-school for all their four-year olds, with the red state of Oklahoma leading the way. In last year's State of the Union address, the President called for early education to be made universal. The idea went nowhere in Congress.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    A few states subsidize pre-school for all their four-year olds, with the red state of Oklahoma leading the way. In last year's State of the Union address, the President called for early education to be made universal. The idea went nowhere in Congress. This year, he repeated the request, arguing that 30 states have raised pre-K funding on their own because, as he put it, "we can't wait." Polls show 60% of Republican voters in favor nationwide, along with 84% of Democrats. But the federal cost would be $75 billion. Will Congress give it a chance? Faced with long odds, the President says he'll build his own coalition of business leaders and others. Meantime, we talk with a parent in Oklahoma and others about the benefits of early education, including the impact on poverty.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Universal Pre-School Education: Poverty and Politics
    1. 0:00Al Qaeda Dumps Its Syria Affiliate
    2. 8:05Universal Pre-School Education: Poverty and PoliticsYou’re reading this
    3. 42:05Alarming Confessions of a TSA Airport Screener
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Jenny Hamel

      KCRW

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Benjamin Gottlieb

      Reporter, Fill-in Host

    • KCRW placeholder

      Lyndsey Layton

      Washington Post

    • KCRW placeholder

      Emily Lim

      mother of a child in a state-funded pre-school

    • KCRW placeholder

      William Gormley

      Georgetown University

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Universal Pre-School Education: Poverty and Politics
    1. 0:00Al Qaeda Dumps Its Syria Affiliate
    2. 8:05Universal Pre-School Education: Poverty and PoliticsYou’re reading this
    3. 42:05Alarming Confessions of a TSA Airport Screener
    Back to To the Point