New Jersey Goes Towards Free Preschool and Kindergarten For All Residents

Is anything "free"? That being said, New Jersey is moving closer to free pre-school and full-day kindergarten for all residents in the Garden State. This follows an education funding bill signed by Governor Murphy.

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New Jersey Passes Bill To Offer Universal Pre-school and Full-day Kindergarten

According to an article published by Patch, "The bill – S3910/A5717 – will require the state Department of Education to provide annual grants that expand access to preschool for 3-year-old and 4-year-old children in districts that don’t currently have a program."

In addition, the legislation provides for free, full-day kindergarten for all New Jersey families by 2030.

Read More: Best Family Restaurant In New Jersey Is Among Best In America

Watch Governor Murphy Talk About Legislation Concerning Free Pre-school and All-day Kindergarten

Governor Murphy said, "“With today’s bill signing, we are moving forward in making free, universal preschool and free, full-day kindergarten a reality in every corner of our state.”

Now the debate is how to fund this agenda. On July 3rd, the OLS (Office of Legislative Services) for New Jersey released its fiscal estimate of the bill’s impact. “Some provisions of the bill may result in marginal cost increases for the state and local school districts, to the extent that current resources are not sufficient to effectuate the purposes of the bill.” 

It appears to me that they don't know yet what the cost will be to taxpayers, but there will be increases in costs at school districts around the state. Do you think this is where this is going, too?

What are YOUR thoughts on this legislation? Let us know what you think and post your comments.