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.
In the Abbeville County case, scheduled to be argued on Wednesday, the justices are being asked to apply the language of the state constitution, which guarantees an adequate public education for every child, to pre-kindergarten.
On appeal is Judge Thomas Cooper’s decision that the Legislature has a constitutional duty to fund effective early intervention programs to ensure low-income children have the same opportunity to learn as their more advantaged peers. Many children who live in poverty lack the early cognitive, language and social skills needed to succeed in school.
Judge Cooper found that without access to high-quality early learning programs, many of the state’s poor children will never be able to avail themselves of their constitutional right to an adequate public education. The judge’s ruling was based on the testimony of witnesses for both the plaintiff school districts and the General Assembly about the significant learning gaps disadvantaged children experience before they even begin kindergarten. Without effective early learning opportunities, these at-risk children find it nearly impossible to catch up with their peers, graduate from high school and lead productive lives.
Judge Cooper’s ruling could have a significant, positive impact on the children of South Carolina, as well as the long-term growth of our economy. A sizable majority of students in the public schools live in poverty, and it’s not a coincidence that most of these students are black. They are the children at greatest risk for poor academic performance, grade retention and school dropout.
Overwhelming scientific research confirms that high-quality pre-kindergarten increases school readiness and academic success for disadvantaged children. According to the National Research Council’s groundbreaking From Neurons to Neighborhoods, children who attend high-quality pre-K enter school prepared and achieve greater success, including fewer grade retentions, less remediation, higher standardized test scores and higher graduation rates.
Research in South Carolina proves the same. The Department of Education’s ongoing study of the state’s 4-year-old kindergarten program shows that despite risk factors, students who attended the program “significantly outscored” nonparticipants on PACT English language and mathematics assessments through seventh grade. Their average scores were significantly higher than those of non-participants among male and black students and those eligible for free and reduced-price lunch. Moreover, the performance gap between white and black students was substantially reduced for program participants when compared to non-participants. The pre-K program in South Carolina works and provides those students with an adequate education.
That outcome helps our state’s bottom line. Participation in high-quality pre-kindergarten provides a disadvantaged child with an opportunity to achieve long-term success in life, which, in turn, helps shape the state’s economic future. Studies show that participants are more likely to increase their earning potential, own their own homes and marry and are less likely to be involved in the criminal justice and welfare systems. When added to the benefits accrued during the school years — lower incidences of grade retention, school dropout and placement in special education and remedial services — many economists have concluded that high-quality pre-K is a smart public investment.
The Legislature has enacted several early learning programs over the past two decades that recognize and prove the critical necessity of high-quality early learning programs for disadvantaged children. Unfortunately, these programs have never been funded at a level sufficient to reach all disadvantaged children. There is no other option for our children and for our future; the time has come for the S.C. Supreme Court to recognize the promise in our constitution that all children must get an adequate education.
Full text available at The State: South Carolina's Home Page.