As advocates tout preschool benefits, Colorado voters face question about funding it with tobacco

As advocates tout preschool benefits, Colorado voters face question about funding it with tobacco tax hike


Only a sliver of 4-year-olds in Colorado attend preschool — a critical early step for a child’s school readiness, educators and advocates say — but that could change by 2023 should voters approve a ballot measure in November that would seek to expand the state’s preschool program.

Proposition EE would increase the tax on cigarettes and all other nicotine and tobacco products incrementally over the next seven years, providing funding for a universal preschool program that would also target resources toward families whose children would benefit most.

That kind of program would position Colorado as a pioneer in early childhood education, advocates argue. Bill Jaeger, vice president of early childhood and policy initiatives at the nonprofit Colorado Children’s Campaign, isn’t aware of another state with a preschool program that is both accessible to all and prioritizes kids who face the most significant barriers to opportunity.

Jaeger considers preschool an essential prelude to elementary school. “We know from decades of research that the experiences children have in the earliest years of life lay the foundation for what is to come,” he said.

Read more: https://coloradosun.com/2020/10/05/colorado-preschool-proposition-ee-education-legislature-election/