HB 2377, also known as The Early Start Act, passed the house on February 18th. The bill creates incentives and requirements designed to improve access and quality of early learning opportunities in Washington. Rep. Senn spoke in favor of the bill on the House floor, and afterwards was asked for her thoughts on the bill. Here are her remarks…
“In my humble opinion, this bill is exactly why we are here as legislators.
By focusing on providing quality early education for all our kids, we are changing lives and creating systemic change. The evidence on the positive outcomes of early learning is clear and it is overwhelming.
With this bill, we’re making responsible investments in our communities and in our children. These investments will help close the achievement gap, increase graduation rates, and break the cycle of poverty. And for every dollar invested in high quality early learning programs, taxpayers save $8 in future costs.
As we debated this bill (click the link to see my floor remarks), I urged my fellow legislators to do this for the Jamie’s and Muhammads, Me-Lays and Williams, Rachels and Juanitas across the state who want to grow up with all the opportunity possible, regardless of their cultural, financial or geographic background.”