King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer, Normandy Park Police Chief Rick Kieffer, and Senator Margarita Prentice gathered at the Educare Early Learning Center in White Center Sept. 15 to speak to the need for pre-K education in Washington schools.

Laura Wells, State Director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids of Washington, set the tone of the morning. “What’s really been proven to keep kids from ending up in the criminal justice system”? Referring to newly released studies Wells went on to say, “We use this research to inform policy makers and the public about approaches with children that are proven to cut crime, save lives, and save money.”

Back by recent studies showing that at- risk children who attend high quality early learning programs were less likely to commit crimes as adults than similar children who did not, Wells went on to praise Educare Early Learning Center for their efforts in preparing children for their entry into the education system.

Surprisingly both Chief Kimerer and Chief Kieffer spoke not only of the reduction in crime, they also talked about children who attend preschool programs are also less likely to need special education services during their K- 12 years. Sheriff Sue Rahr talked about her research, while working in a gang unit, on what keeps kids from getting into trouble. Her research showed that “Kids who do well in school, do well in life”.

Rigorous studies done by High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, The Chicago Child- Parent Centers, and The Abecedarian Project show, not only a substantial reduction in crime as children move into adult life, but a reduction in the need for special education needs for children during the K-12 years.

The High/Scope Educational Research Foundation initiated a study that began in 1962 that fallowed a randomly assigned group of at- risk, low income 3-4 year olds to attend the High/Scope Program and assigned an equal number to a control group not receiving preschool, and then fallowed these children over time, to age 40.

What the study found is astonishing. By age 27 those who did not attend the program as children were five times more likely to become chronic offenders with five or more arrests compared to those who did attend the program. By age 40, those who did not attend the program were more than twice as likely to become career offenders with more than 10 arrests and twice as likely to be arrested for violent crimes.

A similar study by the Chicago Child- Parent Center showed that children who did not receive preschool education were 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18.

There is another side to the preschool issue. The Abecedarian Project, studying poor and rural children in North Carolina from infancy through age five showed a 48 percent reduction in special education needs compared to children left out of the program. These numbers were echoed by the previously mentioned studies.

There are approximately 110,000 special education students enrolled in Washington public schools, comprising 11 percent of the total public school population and costing the taxpayers of Washington 1,2 billion dollars annually. The states elementary and secondary education budget for 2007- 2008 was 9.3 billion. There is money to be saved here. Economist Clive Belfield did an analysis of early education’s cost and found that early learning could cut ten percent off the cost of special education in Washington. That would be a savings of $120 million a year. Early learning can also reduce grade repetition. Combined with a reduction in special education needs this could reduce the cost to the taxpayers by another $120 million for a total $240 million dollars saved each year.

The High/Scope Perry Preschool Program showed that by reducing crime and special education needs the cost/benefit ratio was $16 saved for every $1 invested. This can also be extrapolated out to include a reduction in welfare costs.

Unfortunately the state of Washington is behind the curve. For the fiscal year 2010, Washington invested only $55 million in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), the state- funded pre- kindergarten program. Additional investments will be needed to reach a total projected investment of $600 million in high quality, full- day pre- K for 4 year olds. This would be the basis for the cost savings calculation. Right now in Washington, only 11 percent of all 3 year olds and 20 percent of all 4 year olds are served by ECEAP and Head Start programs.

Despite the lag, Washington State has made strides over the last several years and is implementing a systemic change through the adoption of pre- K through third grade programs. While full investments in pre- K for all of Washington’s four year olds is not expected to be achieved in the short term, such investments would yield tangible benefits in the long term.

As evident in today’s press conference, law enforcement leaders are convinced that high quality full time preschool learning will reduce crime. Sheriff Sue Rahr said, “This is what I call true crime prevention”. All who spoke will be calling for Congress to increase funding for preschool programs and will be asking Governor Gregior to make no more cuts in education.

Coupled with the reduction in the number of special needs student’s, full time quality early learning is a wise and prudent investment for the people state of Washington and our society as a whole.