AB 123 Passes Assembly Appropriations Committee
Last week, AB 123–the Preschool for All Act–passed through the Assembly Appropriations Committee with no amendments.
AB 123 will:
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Provide access to high-quality Pre-K for nearly 70,000 additional children in a mixed delivery system
- Raise Pre-K quality by improving teacher pay and qualifications
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Provide $200 million in scholarships for teachers to attain higher qualifications
AB 123’s author, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, joined Early Edge’s East Coast Pre-K Tour last December. He credits his visit to Quality Pre-K programs in New York City, New Jersey and Boston as a key motivation for sponsoring this important legislation: “California has lead the way on other issues, but preschool is not one of them. After visiting programs on the East Coast, I realized that California could do much more to serve our three-and four- year-olds,” McCarty stated. By expanding access to Pre-K while also providing higher pay and scholarships for teachers to attain higher qualifications, AB 123 incorporates best practices from other high-quality state Pre-K programs.
Early Edge would like to thank Assemblymember McCarty and Assembly Appropriations Committee Chair Lorena Gonzalez for their work to improve access to quality Early Learning opportunities for California’s children and families.
Next Steps
AB 123 will now go to the Assembly floor for a vote by the entire Assembly. This could happen as soon as later this week. We will continue to keep you updated on important developments.
More information on AB 123 can be found here.