Obama’s early education proposal

President Obama wants to provide quality early education for all low to moderate income 4-year olds. Last week the White House provided more details on the proposal which would involve a  partnership with states to guarantee preschool for families at or below 200% of poverty. About two million children fit the criteria and economists estimate that the program would cost between $20 to $30 billion dollars.  This hour, we’ll look at the costs and benefits of early education – would this plan really level the playing field for disadvantaged kids?  And what are some of the challenges to implementation?  Marty talks about early childhood education with STEVEN BARNETT, Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, KATHY HIRSH-PASEK,  Professor of Psychology at Temple University, where she serves as Director of the Infant Language Laboratory, and ANDREW COULSON, Director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute.

AP Photo/John Bazemore