Pre-K Pilot Expansion Bill Advances

Holli Sullivan's House District 78 includes parts of Vanderburgh and Warrick counties.

A bill that would add up to five more counties to a state-funded pre-kindergarten program is headed to the full House of Representatives. The legislation, authored by Rep. Holli Sullivan (R-78), would double the scope of the On My Way Pre-K pilot that launched in 2014.

The program currently involves nearly 2,300 students. The inaugural batch of counties are: Allen, Lake, Marion, Jackson and Vanderburgh.

Sullivan says "offering our at-risk youth a high-quality early childhood education is extremely important to me as a parent. This proposal would help us close the achievement gap for more low-income students. It will also provide necessary wrap around services, which will benefit the entire state. Children who aren’t ready for kindergarten are half as likely to read proficiently by third grade. Students who aren’t reading proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of school before graduation."

She adds the bill will give state leaders a larger set of data to determine the pros and cons of the system.

You can connect to the full bill by clicking here.