Here is a sample support letter for AB 123. Please copy and paste onto your letterhead and submit online at: https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/   Send Copy To: [email protected], [email protected]

Date – Please Submit by May 13

The Honorable Lorena Gonzalez
Chair, Assembly Committee on Appropriations
1020 N Street, Room 2114
Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: AB 123 (McCarty) Pre-K for All – SUPPORT

Dear Chair Gonzalez:

[Name of Your Organization] supports AB 123 (McCarty), which would expand access to high-quality full-day, full-year preschool for California’s children and raise preschool quality by increasing teacher salaries and qualifications.

Research shows that high-quality learning experiences during the critical early years of brain development are pivotal to children’s success in school, overall well-being, and prospects in life. High-quality preschool improves a child’s school readiness and social-emotional development and builds a foundation for future success. The benefits of high-quality preschool are especially powerful for disadvantaged children, who often enter kindergarten behind their peers and struggle to catch up.

Although California has made progress in expanding access to preschool through State Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten and Head Start, 30% of low-income 4-year-olds and 66% of low-income 3-year-olds in our state still lack access to licensed preschool. Even in neighborhoods that have access to preschool, high-quality care for young children is unaffordable for many working families.

AB 123 addresses this need by expanding access to full-day, full-year preschool for all 4-year-olds who live in a neighborhood where more than 70% of students are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals. AB 123 also ensures that all 3-year-olds in poverty receive two years of high-quality preschool, which evidence shows provides the greatest long-term gains.

In addition, AB 123 raises preschool quality by implementing proven best practices: increasing teacher salaries and qualifications to support children’s learning, and providing scholarships for teachers to pursue higher education in early learning fields. AB 123 will provide high-quality preschool to help close the opportunity gap for children in California who need it most and set them on a path to success in school and in life.

For all of these reasons, we strongly support AB 123 and respectfully urge your “Aye” vote.

Sincerely,

Your Name and Title