Justices in the State Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday about how many children should have access to public pre-kindergarten education. The program NC Pre-K exists in all 100 counties and serves more than 27-thousand children – the majority of whom are at-risk of falling behind in school. Funding for the program has been cut by the general assembly. A Superior Court ruled the state cannot impose barriers on children eligible for the program. The state appealed and now the issue heads for the Supreme Court. The central question that the Supreme Court is going to be considering is whether or not all at-risk children should have access to NC pre-K funded by the state.
“We know that pre-kindergarten is one of the best ways to close the achievement gap and make sure kids are entering kindergarten ready to learn. And this court decision will determine how many children will have access to pre-kindergarten in North Carolina,” said Rob Thompson, with the N-C Coalition For Children.
The state says a lower court overstepped its authority and that the ruling is only applicable to one county.