The Democrats in the Iowa Senate are making a push to fully fund preschool education within public school districts in the state. 

Iowa Senator for District 14 Sarah Trone-Garriott explains that state funds are only covering 50-percent of the actual enrollment cost which is limiting access for many kids across Iowa. She says that their bill, “Senate File 310,” would boost the state funding to cover 100-percent of preschool enrollment that way families can have access to high-quality education. 

“Every dollar we put into early childhood education generates $6 of economic benefit. You get that kind of return with hardly anything else. And so if we were able to offer. Universal pre-k all over Iowa for four-year-olds, five-year-olds to be able to get the preparation they needed for school. It means it’s setting them up for a life of learning, of better behavior, better interactions with their peers, less engagement with the criminal justice system.”

The piece of legislation still remains in the Senate subcommittee.