King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer and Normandy Park Police Chief Rick Kieffer will hold a news conference at the Educare Early Learning Center 625 SW 100th St. in White Center on Wednesday September 15, 2010 at 10 a.m. to release a report showing that investing more in voluntary, high-quality early learning programs not only reduces crime over the long run but also saves millions of dollars in the state’s education budget in the short term.

The report shows that investments in early learning programs can reduce the need for special education placements and other K-12 education expenses as children advance to later grades.

The law enforcement leaders will call on Sen. Patty Murray to press for a shift from a K-through-12 education model to a preschool-through-12 approach, as Congress rewrites portions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, called the No Child Left Behind Act in its last renewal.

They will also urge Murray’s continued leadership on increased investments in current early care and education programs and for funding the new Early Learning Challenge Fund designed to help states increase access to high-quality early learning programs. Murray is a member of the Senate committee drafting the new education legislation as well as the Appropriations
subcommittee that approves funding for education.