Most Idahoans believe the government should help provide high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, a Boise State University survey says.
Advocates for early-childhood education are arming themselves with the survey as the Legislature prepares to take up the topic this week.
The survey also said half of those polled think strong early-childhood education is affordable and available now. But advocates say early education is neither available nor affordable. Idaho law prohibits the expenditure of public school money on children under the age of 5, so most early childhood programs are private or federally funded.
Opponents say early childhood education is available - both at home and through private or church-based preschool programs. Either way, those opponents say early education is the responsibility of parents, not taxpayers.
Among the survey's findings was that a third of Idahoans said finding affordable child care was the largest challenge for low-income working parents with young children.
Asked if they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports expanding early childhood programs, almost two-thirds said yes.
The Idaho office of Kids Count, a national program that supports research on children's issues, paid about $10,000 for the survey, said Carole Nemnich, project manager at Boise State's Social Science Research Center.
Lawmakers have consistently blocked efforts to establish - or even legalize - early education in Idaho, and advocates like Kids Count say those actions go against the wishes of the majority. Kids Count believes early childhood education can help children succeed in school and can save the state money later on costs like special education and social services.
"We wanted to see if public perception was aligned with the voting records of policymakers around early care and education," said Linda Jensen, the state director for Kids Count. "My hope is it will serve as a wake-up call to policymakers."
Bryan Fischer, who lobbies on several issues through his Idaho Values Alliance, opposes the notion of changing state law to allow 4-year-olds to be served in schools - a provision contained in two of the early education bills now before the Legislature.
Just allowing early education is "the camel's nose inside the tent," Fischer said. "In short order, we'll be faced with demands to fund what has now been permitted."
Boise State released the survey findings to coincide with the emergence of the issue in the Legislature. On Wednesday, Sen. John Goedde, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, plans to hold a hearing on two early education bills, both of which seek to change state law that blocks school districts from offering programs to 4-year-olds.
One, sponsored by Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, would also give districts the option of levying taxes to support early education.
Meanwhile Goedde and Rep. Bob Nonini, both R-Coeur d'Alene, are asking legislative researchers to assess how many districts are now offering early education programs through federal or private funding or other means.
"We want an inventory because nobody can tell us what is being done out there," said Nonini, chairman of the House Education Committee. That report won't be ready until next year's legislative session.
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The early education and child-care study was carried out as part of Boise State University's 19th annual public policy survey. Researchers surveyed 773 randomly selected Idaho adults in every area of the state; about 300 were working parents, said Carole Nemnich, project manager of Boise State's Social Science Research Center. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
