Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear will likely leave office without accomplishing one of his signature initiatives. In the last budget session of his second term, lawmakers declined to fund universal pre-K. The Republican-dominant legislature says it’s unaffordable, but Beshear, a Democrat, blames the decision on politics.
A group of three and four-year-olds shakes tambourines and maracas while playing on xylophones during music class at Warren County Public Schools’ Early Learning Academy. The school district’s first free-standing preschool opened last fall.
“It’s been great. It gives them a lot of opportunities and they really like coming in here," said teacher Tracy Phelps. “They come in to class not knowing how to interact with others and by the time they leave, they’ve got friends they talk to every day. They can socialize a whole lot better.”
Some families pay tuition, but for low-income and students with disabilities, this preschool is state-funded and free with the capacity to serve up to 650 students. Phelps says her students leave preschool knowing how to share, manage emotions, follow directions, and have stronger reading and math skills.
But not every three and four-year-old in Kentucky has the same opportunity.
In this year’s legislative session, lawmakers rejected Gov. Andy Beshear’s push for publicly-funded, statewide preschool for all four-year-olds. That’s despite less than half of those children being kindergarten-ready.
“They show up with fewer words. Some don’t know their colors," Beshear said. "I talked to one kindergarten teacher who had five students in her class that weren’t potty-trained.”
In a state with a lack of affordable daycare, Beshear also touted universal pre-K as a way to get more parents into the workforce.
But Republican lawmakers declared it dead on arrival, including Senate Majority Leader Mike Wilson of Bowling Green last November, speaking on the same day he helped cut the ribbon on Warren County’s Early Learning Academy.
“Preschool for all doesn’t necessarily go year round. It’s like the school system. What you need for the workforce is child care, which is year round," Wilson said. "And we just don’t have the infrastructure. We don’t have the teachers, and the funding for that will be enormous.”
Faced with long odds of universal pre-K clearing the Republican supermajority, Democrats unveiled other proposals this session to expand access.
Rep. Tina Bojanowski of Louisville sponsored House Bill 572, which would have expanded preschool eligibility to 250% of the federal poverty level. That amounts to about $80,000 a year or less for a family of four. The current threshold in Kentucky for free preschool is 160% of the federal poverty level, or about $38,000 a year.
Bojanowski, a former special education teacher, says preschool graduates have better test scores and high school graduation rates.
“By investing now, we save later.," Bojanowski said at a news conference held at the state capitol. "Studies show that every dollar invested in early learning, we see returns through reduced need for remedial education and special education services. Pre-K graduates are also less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system and they’ll earn a higher average lifetime income.”
A companion bill in the Senate (SB 166) would have also expanded eligibility to 250% of the federal poverty level, closing the gap for thousands of families who currently earn too much to qualify, but can’t afford private preschool. Other legislation would have established a phased approach to universal pre-K by the 2034-2035 school year.
Gov. Beshear suggested using tax revenue from sports wagering to fund his Pre-K for All initiative, but some Republican lawmakers said they worried about how that could affect pension funding. They also cautioned that preschool expansions will come with other requests, including money for new facilities and staff, and that day cares and private preschools could go out of business.
In the governor’s view, the resistance to universal pre-K comes down to politics.
“Four-year-olds can’t vote, so if any of these folks are pushing back against this because they think it gives me a win, what they’re really doing is handing another group of four-year-olds a loss," Beshear said.
What GOP lawmakers did do was pass House Bill 6, which became law without Gov. Beshear’s signature. The measure incentivizes kindergarten readiness by providing certain parents and child care providers a $2,000 payment if a child is deemed kindergarten-ready. The pilot program would be overseen by the University of Kentucky and funded by the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
The bill also creates pathways for “microcenters,” which are smaller, more flexible facilities that would serve families who live in rural or low-income areas, or who work odd hours like nights or weekends.
Additionally, House Bill 6 aims to revamp Kentucky All STARS, a rating system used for child care centers, Head Start, and public preschool programs.
The Kentucky Association of School Superintendents (KASS) advocated for universal pre-K, along with the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, more than 40 Chambers of Commerce, 60 county judge-executives, and 30 mayors.
Despite his support for expanded pre-K, KASS Executive Director Jim Flynn thinks a full-blown expansion may have been too soon.
“Each community is unique in terms of the kind of assets it has relative to early childhood education programming," Flynn told WKU Public Radio. "Space is different in each community. Access to the workforce, especially qualified early childhood educators, operational funding, and long-term funding streams to sustain any kind of expanded preschool program.”
Flynn wishes lawmakers would have approved a phased-in approach to Pre-K for All, but he said House Bill 6 is a good step.
“Your floor determines your ceiling, so the more kids we have prepared for kindergarten, the better the outcomes are going to be on the other side," Flynn added. "We think anything that moves us in that direction is a positive.”
Prichard Committee President & CEO Brigitte Blom says any proposal must balance the needs of child care and preschool.
"What we'd like to see as we move forward is a comprehensive package that really thinks about a holistic, integrated system of child care and preschool delivery," Blom added. "As the state grows and expands, as we attract workforce to the state, we need to get this piece right for working families and for employers."
As state lawmakers continue the conversation on responsibly expanding preschool, a new report suggests Kentucky isn’t making the grade in early learning.
The commonwealth fell from 26th in the nation to 28th last year for access, according to
the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).
In the 2024-25 school year, Kentucky served just 26% of its four-year-olds with preschool. The national average was 37%.
“When states invest in quality preschool programs that can produce strong outcomes, they invest in a better future for children and taxpayers,” said W. Steven Barnett, NIEER’s senior director and founder.“
With studies showing Kentucky's relatively low preschool enrollment, supporters of universal pre-K have a tough road ahead of them as they seek expanded services.
