Funding for early education in Louisiana doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy this year, but advocates want last year’s cuts to be reversed.
“We say thank you, and,” Libbie Sonnier, with the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The proposed budget maintains funding for the state’s largest child care program at $77 million, down from $87.8 million two years ago under then-Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat.
Last spring, the Senate cut $24 million from early childhood programs, but later restored $15 million after advocates like Sonnier pushed back.
Ahead of the state’s revenue estimating committee meeting on Wednesday, Sonnier asked lawmakers to restore the missing $9 million if funding is available.
Dozens of early education advocates joined Sonnier in Baton Rouge for an event organized by the Ready Louisiana Coalition, a bipartisan group of over 180 organizations, including local chambers of commerce.
Advocates also want lawmakers to protect funding specifically for 4-year-olds and invest $30 million in the state’s early childhood education fund.
The fund provides a dollar-for-dollar match when parishes put their own money toward child care, encouraging them to invest. Sonnier said the money in the fund is expected to run out within the next two years.
In a video message welcoming them to the Capitol, Gov. Jeff Landry noted the long-term positive effects of high-quality early education on children. No lawmakers spoke at Tuesday’s event.
“Working together, I’m confident that we can continue to grow and support Louisiana’s childhood education,” Landry said in the video.
The state is trying to reduce its spending and has proposed cutting costs by about $440 million. House lawmakers recently added money to the budget for another one-time stipend for teachers and cut $30 million for student tutoring.
The plan, which passed the full House last week, includes $93 million for Landry's LA GATOR program, which gives families tax dollars for private homeschooling and tuition costs.
That cost is higher than lawmakers initially agreed to, and some state senators have said they'll oppose the spending when the budget gets to them.
The Child Care Assistance Program, known as CCAP, helps low-income parents pay for child care if they are working or in school.
The program serves a small fraction of eligible families and was at capacity before funding was cut last year, which eliminated 720 seats, Sonnier said. More than 4,500 children were on the program’s wait list in March.
“This setback deepened an already urgent crisis,” the Ready Louisiana Coalition said in a press release. “Nearly 100,000 children in Louisiana who need high-quality, affordable early learning still cannot access it. Without further investment, too many Louisiana families will not have access to affordable, quality child care, and too many children will arrive at kindergarten behind.”
Sonnier said child care isn’t simply a convenience for families, but an “economic necessity,” not just for them, but the state.
Two-thirds of kids in Louisiana don’t have someone at home to watch them, she said, adding that child care is often a family’s single-highest expense.
“They’re having to juggle, ‘Can I afford food? Can I afford clothing? Can I afford a roof over our head?”
For months, child care providers have voiced concerns, not just about the impact the cuts have had on families, but also on their businesses.
Shannon Jones, the owner of Cenla Christian Childcare Centers in Rapides Parish, said the drop in funding has impacted childcare centers, including hers. She has families waiting for CCAP spots to open so they can enroll their kids, she said.
“My margins are so tight that one broken air conditioner can feel like a crisis,” Jones said.
Jones and other advocates stressed that child care is the backbone of the workforce, and without it, “everything else is at risk.”
The state’s top education official, Cade Brumley, spoke to advocates in person. He said early education and kindergarten readiness remain a top priority for the state board of education.
Brumley said that while conversations around the number of seats available to families are important, so is the quality of care and education.
“That’s something we’re getting right,” he said, adding that child care providers have shown a willingness to improve and work with the state.
He credited early educators for their role in the state’s recent growth in reading and math scores, which have outpaced much of the rest of the country.
About a dozen 4-year-olds from a nearby child care center also took the mic at Tuesday’s press conference to tell the audience they were ready for kindergarten.
“Now it’s time for me to fly,” one girl said with her classmates shouting the last word in unison, as they all flapped their arms.
Then they sang “Mr. Sun,” by Raffi.
Before advocates headed out to talk to lawmakers, one used the song’s lyrics as a rallying cry. “Mr. Sun, shine on us,” she said, adding her own lyrics, “and bring us the gold.”
