On January 27, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker released a $39.6 billion state budget proposal for fiscal year 2017.

“This year’s budget sets the table for fiscal responsibility and a strong economic environment, without raising taxes or fees on our hardworking families,” Baker said in a press release. The Administration is charged with closing a $635 million budget gap.

Among the governor’s specific budget proposals for early education is a new Quality Improvement line item in the Department of Early Education and Care’s (EEC) budget (line item 3000-1020). The proposal emphasizes the importance of program quality, and consolidates funds from existing quality improvement line items including UPK, Early Childhood Mental Health, Services for Infants and Parents, Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative, and EEC administration.

Governor Baker’s budget would also level-fund full-day kindergarten grants, while changing how the grant is structured. Read more details on our blog, and visit our budget webpage for ongoing updates.

The governor’s proposal is the first step the state budget process. The House of Representatives will release its own budget in April and the Senate will release its proposal in May.

The second year of the 2015-2016 state legislative session is in full swing, and our elected officials are increasingly focused on early education.

“We have one shot to get this right. And we will,” said Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo in a speech made to House members on January 27. “Access to high-quality early education provides short and long-term benefits that not only impact an individual, but impact our society as a whole: everything from kindergarten readiness, to financial independence, to widespread economic health, to incarceration rates.”

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Senate recently launched a new initiative called  Kids First that will work to improve the lives of the commonwealth’s children.

In a press release, Senate President Stan Rosenberg said, “From the kids sitting on early education waitlists, to the special needs students and English language learners who need more focus, to the college grads with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, we must do a better job of investing in children and students.”

Newly announced grants from the state of Massachusetts will help 13 cities and towns “develop strategic plans for providing high-quality preschool to more children in their community.”

The grant program—the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative—is investing $500,000 to help communities design “a collaborative, public-private partnership model for providing high-quality preschool that is aligned with Massachusetts’ Preschool Expansion Grant program.”

The grant recipients are: Athol, Brockton, Cape Cod, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford, North Adams, Pittsfield, Springfield, Somerville, and Worcester.