Indiana coalition pushing for expanded pre-K funding

A new coalition launched a lobbying effort Friday to push state lawmakers to increase funding for prekindergarten education during the 2017 General Assembly session beyond the state’s limited pilot program.

The group's aim is to expand prekindergarten in a “targeted way” that focuses on low-income children and programs meeting certain academic standards, said Ann Murtlow, CEO of United Way of Central Indiana.

Murtlow declined to offer a cost estimate at a news conference Friday. But she said advocacy efforts will center on providing additional money to families in Marion County and the four other counties involved in the state’s current $10 million pilot program.

“Funding must be made available for the thousands of low-income children in the five pilot counties who simply failed to win a place for their child in the lottery,” Murtlow said.

Read more: http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/12/indy-coalition-vying-expand-pre-k-funding/88569090/