But the new state money, along with governor’s vocal support (local advocates say they were thrilled simply to hear him say the words “early childhood education” over and over in public), can be a shift toward wiser, deeper, more sustainable education policy and reform. In fact, the boost for early childhood may be the most business-like thing this business-minded governor has done in education.

The legislation would provide $8 million in matching funds next year to early childhood education programs through school districts, private and parochial schools, private child care centers and Head Start.

We reviewed the makeup of the committees that wrote and reviewed the Common Core Standards. In all, there were 135 people on those panels. Not a single one of them was a K-3 classroom teacher or early childhood professional.  It appears that early childhood teachers and child development experts were excluded from the K-3 standards-writing process.

In Ohio, every dollar spent on early childhood yields a 10 percent return on investment every year, said state officials applying for a federal grant in 2011. Upfront costs reduce bigger costs downstream. Put up the effort and money for effective early education, and you narrow the skills and achievement gaps and reduce the need for remediation, retention and dropout programs later. You lower the social and economic costs of high rates of adult illiteracy, joblessness, incarceration and poverty.

Not all preschool programs are created equal. The state must ensure taxpayer dollars are only going to the best ones. Michigan's Great Start Readiness Program has a solid track record. It began with small, pilot programs in 1985 and has continued to grow.

After the 2012 legislative session, unresolved questions of funding and governance for Florida’s early-learning programs are shaping up as major issues again this year, with a key change — better collaboration by the once-sparring stakeholders of the billion-dollar industry.

The debate over Idaho education reform has covered a variety of topics considered essential for quality education, except early childhood education. This topic has the potential to give every child equal footing when they start school, improve third-grade reading scores, increase graduation rates, and reduce public spending on grade repetition and special education.

Through a concerted effort over the past five years, California is on track to meet a national requirement that 50 percent of Head Start lead classroom teachers hold a bachelor’s degree by the end of September. While only 27 percent of Head Start lead teachers held a bachelor’s degree in the 2007-08 school year, 48 percent now hold one, and an additional 11 percent are enrolled in a baccalaureate program.

[Gov. Brian Sandoval] goes one step further in boosting Nevada’s early childhood education system, proposing $14 million for an “English language learners’ initiative” that would be used to help children in kindergarten through third grade who don’t speak English at home or don’t use English as their preferred language.