How an Oregon measure could be a national model
On Election Day, Multnomah County, which includes Portland, Ore., passed one of the most progressive universal preschool policies in the nation.
The measure, to be paid for by a large tax on high earners, will provide free preschool for all children ages 3 and 4, in public schools and in existing and new private preschools and home- based child care centers. It will also significantly raise teachers’ wages so they are equivalent to those of kindergarten teachers.
It seeks to overcome the central problem in early childhood care and education: It is unaffordable for many families, yet teachers are underpaid. The solution, Multnomah County voters decided, is to finance preschool with public funding instead of private tuition and to pay teachers much more.
It also seeks to overcome some of the pitfalls of universal preschool policies in places like New York and Washington, D. C. In doing so, early childhood researchers say the policy could serve as a blueprint for the rest of the country.
“This was focused on access to quality preschool, so when children enter kindergarten, they are able to succeed,” said Jessica Vega Pederson, a county commissioner and a chairwoman, with Sahar Muranovic, of the measure’s steering committee. “And to do that, we needed to raise wages.”
Caregiving has become a much more politically salient issue. The closings of schools and child care centers because of the coronavirus made clear the extent to which the sector underpins the economy. On Election Day, early education ballot initiatives also passed in St. Louis; San Antonio, Texas; and Colorado, which approved universal pre- K for 4- year- olds.
Child care is the largest expense for many families, and yet educators — who are disproportionately Black and Latino women — earn an average of $ 12 an hour, according to the center for the study of child care employment at the University of California, Berkeley. Half rely on public assistance. Even when they have the same education, preschool teachers earn half of what kindergarten teachers do.
Research has shown that high- quality preschool is beneficial for children, particularly those from low- income families. It helps them prepare for kindergarten — academically, socially and behaviorally — and shrinks achievement gaps. Research has shown that for poor children, it results in increased earnings and better health later in life.
The Multnomah County measure will pay preschool teachers roughly the same as public kindergarten teachers — around $ 74,000 a year for lead teachers, up from $ 31,000. Teaching assistants will earn about $ 20 an hour. The measure will eventually raise $ 202 million a year from taxpayers. It plans to add an estimated 7,000 preschool spots and hire 2,300 teachers.
The policy draws on recent early education research and tries to avoid the unintended consequences that have befallen other universal preschool programs.
For example, discrimination in discipline starts as early as preschool, research shows, and Black boys are much more likely than other children to be suspended or expelled. The measure forbids expulsions from preschool and provides training for how to address challenging behavior instead.
Another example: Public pre- K in places like New York and Washington, D. C., has ended up decreasing the supply of infant and toddler care programs. The Multnomah County measure aims to prevent that by paying providers to maintain those programs.
In Oregon, preschool will be universal, not aimed at children from low- income families. ( The program will start with children with the greatest need and take full effect in a decade.) Proponents of targeted programs say they’re most effective because children from lowincome families benefit most from free preschool, and it costs less to make it free for a smaller group of students.
Universal programs, though, are more politically popular and, research shows, have more benefits for children. They are less segregated, and children learn from spending time with peers from different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. The programs are more effective, most likely because they are held to higher standards and families become more invested in them, according to Elizabeth Cascio, an economist at Dartmouth.