Washington lawmaker to tout pre-K

Kevin Richert | 04/10/2014

Idaho preschool advocates are bringing in a guest speaker: a Republican state legislator from Washington.

Steve Litzow of Bellevue chairs the Washington state Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee. His April 29 presentation, “The Importance of Quality Early Education in Building Our Future,” is sponsored by Idaho Business for Education.

The breakfast presentation will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the fifth floor of St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center’s Boise campus, 190 E. Bannock St. There is no registration fee, but space is limited. To RSVP, email Karla Dickson at [email protected].

Many education and business leaders have been pushing for the state to establish pre-kindergarten programs, but the Legislature has resisted funding early education. A pre-K pilot bill, authored by Boise Democratic Rep. Hy Kloc, was introduced by the House Education Committee in 2014, but went no farther.

Idaho is one of 10 states that does not fund pre-K.

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 35 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. He can be reached at [email protected]