Here is what’s wrong with universal pre-school
On April 28, President Joe Biden unveiled “The American Families Plan,” a proposal to spend $1.8 trillion on programs targeting families and children. Among other things, the plan calls for universal pre-school for three and four-year-olds.
President Biden is calling for a national partnership with states to offer free, high-quality, accessible, and inclusive preschool to all three-and four-year-olds, benefitting five million children and saving the average family $13,000, when fully implemented. This historic $200 billion investment in America’s future will prioritize high-need areas and enable communities and families to choose the settings that work best for them. The President’s plan will also ensure that all publicly-funded preschool is high-quality, with low student-to-teacher ratios, high-quality and developmentally appropriate curriculum, and supportive classroom environments that are inclusive for all students. The President’s plan will leverage investments in tuition-free community college and teacher scholarships to support those who wish to earn a bachelor’s degree or another credential that supports their work as an educator, or to become an early childhood educator. And, educators will receive job-embedded coaching, professional development, and wages that reflect the importance of their work. All employees in participating pre-K programs and Head Start will earn at least $15 per hour, and those with comparable qualifications will receive compensation commensurate with that of kindergarten teachers. These investments will give American children a head start and pave the way for the best-educated generation in U.S.
Childcare is indeed costly, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic greatly exacerbated shortages. But universal childcare has downsides that are worth revisiting.
For one, quality in childcare is hard to measure. Governments usually use observable measures such as student-to-teacher ratios, group sizes, and teacher training qualifications to assess quality. However, as research has shown, these factors do not directly correlate to quality childcare, but merely increase the cost of providing care and make it harder for providers to operate.
Universal childcare limits parental choice
Parents have different needs and prefer different childcare arrangements. Parents who work non-traditional hours, for instance, patronize informal or family childcare, settings that are more flexible than daycare centers. Similarly, rural areas, which tend to be sparsely populated compared to metro areas, are best served by family childcare providers. Public funding, since it comes with numerous rules, usually tends to drive small providers out of the market, limiting choice.
Universal pre-school, the private sector
Younger kids, like infants and toddlers, require more labor than older kids, so they tend to be less profitable for providers. Usually, providers offset the losses they make on infants through the profits they make on serving older kids. Taking away pre-schoolers from the market will financially squeeze private providers, wrecking the entire childcare model.