Now is the time. Another generation of students should not be cheated. The S.C. Supreme Court has before it an historic opportunity to decide whether all of South Carolina’s children will have the opportunity to enter school ready to learn.

A recent article in The Greenville News titled "Education failings still holding state back" suggested that South Carolina's high school graduation rate of 60.1 percent was holding back the economic competitiveness of our work force. I suspect that most South Carolinians would agree that the educational level of our citizenry is impacting our overall opportunities for economic development. However, the implication that this is due to the failings of our education system is misdirected and counter to the research that exists on this topic.

Last year, a 10-month-old died after a north Columbia child-care provider left the child in a day-care van for seven hours.

Child-care operators who repeatedly violate state regulations or run illegal day cares could be fined or imprisoned for up to five years if a bill filed this week by a Columbia legislator becomes law.

An early childhood education group is about to propose a voluntary rating system for child-care facilities that would extend state aid to parents, day-care providers and teachers.

Thousands of children in South Carolina attend day care centers that are not regulated by the state.

Congress on Wednesday passed and sent to President Bush a five-year Head Start bill that opens up the popular preschool program to more children while taking steps to see that the program is well-run and that its teachers are better qualified.