Amended in Assembly May 2, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 45

Introduced by Assembly Member Weber

(Coauthors: Assembly Members begin insert Bonilla, end insert Bradford, begin insert Brown, Garcia, end insert Holden, Jones-Sawyer, and Mitchell begin insert , Mullin, and Rendon end insert )

(Coauthors: Senators begin insert Liu, end insert Price begin insert , end insert and Wright)

April 11, 2013

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 45—Relative to early care and education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 45, as amended, Weber. Early care and education.

This measure would urge the California State Legislature, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Governor to restore budget funding to early care and education programs and to support efforts to fund and implement the Quality Rating and Improvement System begin delete for end delete begin insert and other programs that support end insert early care and education. The measure would also urge the California State Legislature to commit to improving the public’s understanding of the role that early care and education plays in securing an educated, nimble, and stable workforce to help keep California’s economy vibrant and strong for years to come.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Over the last two decades, a significant body of
research has shed light on neuroscience and brain development,
improving our understanding of the importance of the earliest years
in a child’s life, and of the influence those years have on later
economic, educational, emotional, and social outcomes; and

WHEREAS, Eighty percent of a child’s brain development
occurs by age three and 90 percent of brain development occurs
by age five, and children who attend quality early care and
education programs are more likely to pass reading exams through
third grade; and

WHEREAS, On the National Assessment of Educational
Progress and on California’s own standards-based tests, poor,
African American, and Latino students, as well as English learners,
are all overrepresented among students scoring at the lowest levels
and underrepresented among those scoring at the highest levels;
and

WHEREAS, Other measures of assessing student achievement,
including high dropout rates, low graduation rates, failure to
complete the A through G course requirements for eligibility to
the state’s four-year universities, and lower college admissions,
reflect similar achievement patterns; and

WHEREAS, In 2011 in San Diego County, only 51 percent of
third graders were proficient in English language arts and 34
percent of preschool-aged children were enrolled in early care and
education programs, while statewide only 46 percent of third
graders were proficient in English language arts and 25 percent of
preschool-aged children were enrolled in early care and education
programs; and

WHEREAS, A high-quality early care and education program,
which is the formal care and teaching of young children often
provided by individuals other than a child’s first teacher or parents,
that actively engages parents in their child’s education, results in
higher grades, better school attendance, increased motivation, and
higher graduation rates. It is well documented in research and
widely understood that quality early care and education programs
contribute tremendously to a child’s ability to mature, reach his
or her potential, and become a productive citizen; and

WHEREAS, Early care and education reflects a variety of
educational and care service options, including begin delete childcare, end delete begin insert child
care, end insert development, and preschool programs that provide positive
early learning experiences to foster a child’s emotional, intellectual,
and social development, and lays the foundation for later academic
success; and

WHEREAS, Children learn by observing and modeling what
they see their parents do. When parents enroll in parenting classes,
they learn new techniques and realize that parental involvement
and early care and education will advance their children as
compared to other children whose parents do not know about or
do not value the importance of parental classes and early care and
education; and

WHEREAS, San Diego has a “Parent Engagement Education
Program” through the Parent Institute for Quality Education that
teaches parents how to create a positive and lasting educational
environment at home using a number of proven academic success
tools, including dedicating a home study location and time of day
for homework, creating ongoing dialog with their children about
academic successes and challenges, discussing children’s college
expectations, and more. Parents also learn about how grades are
used for college admittance, what classes are important and needed
for children planning to attend college, how to navigate the school
system, and other information vital to the academic success of
their children; and

WHEREAS, The earlier that parent involvement begins in a
child’s educational process, the more powerful the effects on the
child’s life. Sometimes parents do not realize that the parental
involvement and early care and education will have a positive
impact in the lives of their children forever. Studies have shown
that parental involvement is a strong predictor of school
achievement, especially among children from low-income families.
These studies have demonstrated that children in poverty whose
parents provide an engaging learning environment at home are
better prepared for school and have lower suspension rates than
their low-income peers; and

WHEREAS, Statistics on parental involvement indicate that
family participation in education is twice as predictive of a child’s
academic success as a family’s socioeconomic status, meaning a
child whose parents are engaged in their child’s education tends
to have fewer behavioral problems, performs better academically,
and is more likely to complete high school than a child whose
parents are not engaged in his or her education; and

WHEREAS, A child who attends quality early care and
education programs is less likely to be arrested and more likely to
earn higher incomes than a child who does not, and the opportunity
to participate in such programs prepares children to attain a higher
standard of living as adults and to become members of the
high-skilled workforce that is critical to our nation’s economic
future; and

WHEREAS, The finding of a connection between strong early
care and education programs and the state’s economic growth is
what compelled First 5 LA to make a number of early care and
education investments, including the ECE Works! Career
Development Policy Project, which promotes the development of
a strong early care and education workforce to prepare today’s
children for the dynamic workforce challenges of the future. This
early care and education workforce development initiative supports
the First 5 LA Strategic Plan FY 2009-2015’s goal of ensuring
that children are ready for kindergarten; and

WHEREAS, The public’s understanding of the relationship
between brain development at the early stages of life and a child’s
future development compelled voters in California to dedicate
resources solely for the benefit of children from birth to five years
of age through the establishment of First 5 California and county
First 5 commissions and agencies, which are located in all 58
counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno,
Los Angeles, Merced, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, San
Francisco, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz,
Ventura, and Yolo Counties; and

WHEREAS, An integral part of a sound public investment
strategy to secure California’s economic future must include the
development of, and the appropriate compensation levels to recruit
and retain, a highly trained early care and education workforce;
and

WHEREAS, There is now broad-based consensus that early
care and education is a critical foundation for improving our
nation’s educational system and a vital investment strategy to
ensure the competitiveness of our nation’s workforce in the global
economy; and

WHEREAS, Historically, early care and education settings,
such as child care and preschool for infants, toddlers, and young
children, were viewed solely as a means of enabling parents to
function in the workforce, and public policy for providing and
funding early care and education was focused on safety and
accessibility; and

WHEREAS, Brain development research has informed our
understanding of the relevance and importance of early care and
education environments and the value of the early care and
education workforce. Public policy must develop and evolve to
more accurately reflect what we now know to be most effective,
including well-trained teachers offering high-quality services that
provide a large return on investment; and

WHEREAS, President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union
Address proposed making high-quality preschool “available to
every single child in America.” The President explained that his
focus will be on low- and moderate-income four-year-old children.
The President stated, “Every dollar we invest in high-quality early
childhood education can save more than seven dollars later on--by
boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing
violent crime. In states that make it a priority to educate our
youngest children, like Georgia or Oklahoma, studies show students
grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate
high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own.
We know this works. So let’s do what works and make sure none
of our children start the race of life already behind. Let’s give our
kids that chance.”; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That we urge our colleagues in the California
State Legislature, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and
the Governor of California to restore budget funding to early care
and education programs and to support efforts to fund and
implement the Quality Rating and Improvement System begin delete for end delete begin insert and
other programs that support end insert early care and education; and be it
further

Resolved, That we urge our colleagues to commit to improving
the public’s understanding of the role that early care and education
plays in securing an educated, nimble, and stable workforce to
help keep California’s economy vibrant and strong for years to
come; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.