Universal Preschool: Much To Gain But Who Will Pay? Working Paper Series.

Beginning with the assumption that children across the full spectrum of family income, family composition, and prior experience with child care would benefit from being in a well-implemented preschool at 3 and 4 years of age, this working paper focuses on finding a feasible way to finance universal preschool for 4-year-olds. The paper begins with a discussion of the relationship between preschool, preschool quality, and developmental outcomes. The paper then provides background information on the current situation in the United States, followed by a detailed consideration of state-financed pre-kindergarten programs. Early childhood education programs in other industrialized nations are then described, with special attention given to programs in France and Sweden. Next, the paper focuses on possible financing approaches, first highlighting a variety of proposals designed to improve access to and quality of early childhood education in the United States. Finally, the paper presents and discusses a proposal for financing universal preschool for 4-year-olds in the United States which involves having parents pay for the program according to their ability to pay as measured by their average federal tax rate over a 10-year period. It is suggested that for the lowest-income parents, revenue would be raised by a reduction in the subsidy rate of the earned income tax credit; there would be a cap on the amount parents would pay in order to attract children of higher-income parents. (Contains 43 references.) (KB)